Office of the Provost

Assessment Faculty Fellows will play a central role in capacity building and direct faculty support related to learning outcomes and assessment at the University of Connecticut. They will provide direct support to academic units by guiding the creation of meaningful and measurable student learning outcomes. Fellows will have support for professional development for the duration of the fellowship, with the aim of deepening the skills base in relation to assessment and learning outcomes development at the University. This is an opportunity for interested faculty to strengthen their skills in team-management, to deepen their expertise in this area of teaching and learning, and will have a key role in how we develop a purposeful culture of assessment at an institutional level.

Assessment Faculty Fellow: Purpose and Description

The University of Connecticut is currently building infrastructure for, and resources toward, creating a sustainable culture of assessment, with a specific focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion, across academic programs at UConn. The Assessment Faculty Fellows will serve as a resource to support assessment innovation and transformation at the program and institutional level.

The Assessment Faculty Fellow is to support the Executive Director of Learning Initiatives & Program Assessment with outreach and support through consultations, workshops, and trainings for academic programs and faculty. Most work will involve partnering with a small set of academic units who will be working on learning outcomes for their undergraduate program(s), with the option to offer wider workshops and trainings to faculty outside of these units. Work done by the Fellows will focus on:

• Development or refinement of learning objectives
• Development of curricular maps
• Aligning assessment measures from courses to learning objectives
• Supporting best practice in relation to equity and inclusion in the development of learning objectives, outcomes, and assessment
• Analysis of assessment results through quality improvement and an equity and inclusion lenses.

Additionally, the Fellows will participate in regular meetings with the Executive Director of Learning Initiatives & Program Assessment and other relevant staff to work collaboratively on planning, and to share progress and impact. They will also serve as co-chairs of the University Student Learning Assessment Committee. The Fellows will have the option to develop a specific project related to learning outcomes and assessment that they would like to work on throughout the duration of their fellowship.

The hourly commitment may vary throughout the year, but the expectation is that each Fellow will commit an average of 10 hours a week to this work. Each Assessment Fellow will take on the role for a full academic year (with summer support to prepare for the upcoming academic year), with the possibility of renewing for a second year.

Fellowship Support

Each Assessment Fellow will receive:

• One course buyout per semester (two in total across the academic year) in order to support the time commitment of the work associated with the role
• Summer salary of $5,000 for summer 2022 to allow for preparation time ahead of the academic year related to the fellowship
• $2,000 of professional development support, intended for activities that will benefit the fellowship (e.g., participating in conferences or workshops related to assessment)

Fellows would be expected to attend the Assessment Institute on Thursday, May 12, 2022. The Fellowship period would run from May 23, 2022, through to May 22, 2023, with preparation effort (meetings with relevant professional staff, professional development activities) occurring during the summer period.

Application Process

Applicants should be current full-time faculty members at the University (tenured, tenure track, and CIRE faculty are all welcome to apply). To apply, you should submit a brief letter of interest (no more than two pages, single spaced) addressing the following questions:

• What is your interest in the assessment of student learning and program-level assessment?
• What would you offer as a Fellow given your experience and expertise?
• What would you hope to learn or gain through the Fellow experience?
• Beyond this fellowship, what are some of the long-term possibilities for the work you would like to engage in related to learning outcomes and assessment?
• What are some potential indicators of success for your participation in this program?

Each application should also be accompanied by a letter of support from the department head (or dean in a non-departmentalized school) indicating their support for the applicant serving as an Assessment Faculty Fellow in AY 23. This can be in the form of emails sent to assessment@uconn.edu, which should clearly state the name of the faculty member who is applying.

Both the nominee’s letter of interest and the letter(s) of support can be emailed together to: assessment@uconn.edu. Please put “Faculty Fellows” in the email subject line.

Please email Lauren Schlesselman at assessment@uconn.edu with any questions about the Faculty Fellows position or the application.

Deadline for applications: April 15, 2022

Decisions communicated by May 6, 2022