Advertise on podcast: Leading Improvements in Higher Education with Stephen Hundley

As we begin season 7 of the podcast, we feature two leaders from the Council for Higher Education Accreditation, or CHEA as it is also known, discussing issues and opportunities surrounding quality assurance and accreditation. Our guests are Nasser Paydar and Antoinette Flores. Nasser is CHEA’s President, while Antoinette serves as its Vice President of Federal Policy and Government Relations.  Link to the Council for Higher Education Accreditation website: https://www.chea.org/ This season of Leading Improvements in Higher Education is sponsored by the Center for Assessment and Research Studies at James Madison University; learn more at jmu.edu/assessment. Episode recorded: September 2026.  Host:  Stephen Hundley.  Producers:  Chad Beckner and Angela Bergman.  Original music:  Caleb Keith.  This award-winning podcast is a service of the Assessment Institute in Indianapolis; learn more go.iu.edu/assessmentinstitute.

In this episode, we have a conversation with two colleagues of a forthcoming Routledge book entitled Relationship-Centered Assessment in Higher Education: A Model for Leadership and Practice. Our guests are Emilie Clucas Leaderman and Gina Polychronopoulos.  In addition to being assessment professionals in their own respective contexts, Emilie and Gina are national thought leaders when it comes to enhancing our understanding of collaborative assessment.    Link to the publisher’s website for Relationship-Centered Assessment in Higher Education: A Model for Leadership and Practice:  https://www.routledge.com/Relationship-Centered-Assessment-in-Higher-Education-A-Model-for-Leadership-and-Practice/ClucasLeaderman-Polychronopoulos/p/book/9781032776477   This season of Leading Improvements in Higher Education is sponsored by the Center for Assessment and Research Studies at James Madison University; learn more at jmu.edu/assessment. Episode recorded: July 2026.  Host:  Stephen Hundley.  Producers:  Chad Beckner and Angela Bergman.  Original music:  Caleb Keith.  This award-winning podcast is a service of the Assessment Institute in Indianapolis; learn more go.iu.edu/assessmentinstitute.

This episode features three colleagues discussing results of the GenAI Survey for Higher Education Assessment Professionals, a multi-year effort to chronicle how Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) is influencing our work.  Our guests are Joanna Boeing, Bobbijo Grillo Pinnelli, and Ruth Slotnick.  In addition to being assessment professionals in their own respective contexts, Joanna, Bobbijo, and Ruth are truly national thought leaders when it comes to championing GenAI and documenting its implications for higher education assessment and improvement. Links to information about the GenAI Survey for Higher Education Assessment Professionals: https://genaiassessment.com/   https://assessmentinstitute.indianapolis.iu.edu/program/genai-survey.html   This season of Leading Improvements in Higher Education is sponsored by the Center for Assessment and Research Studies at James Madison University; learn more at jmu.edu/assessment. Episode recorded: June 2026.  Host:  Stephen Hundley.  Producers:  Chad Beckner and Angela Bergman.  Original music:  Caleb Keith.  This award-winning podcast is a service of the Assessment Institute in Indianapolis; learn more go.iu.edu/assessmentinstitute.

In this episode, we have a conversation with three colleagues from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in which they describe an innovative program entitled the Assessment Leadership Institute.  Our guests are Yao Hill, Alohilani Okamura, and Jamie Simpson Steele, each of whom provides leadership, mentorship, and support for the Assessment Leadership Institute.   Link to website mentioned in this episode:   University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Assessment Leadership Institute: https://manoa.hawaii.edu/assessment/workshops/ali/    This season of Leading Improvements in Higher Education is sponsored by the Center for Assessment and Research Studies at James Madison University; learn more at jmu.edu/assessment. Episode recorded: May 2026.  Host:  Stephen Hundley.  Producers:  Chad Beckner and Angela Bergman.  Original music:  Caleb Keith.  This award-winning podcast is a service of the Assessment Institute in Indianapolis; learn more go.iu.edu/assessmentinstitute.

This episode features three colleagues from the National Board of Medical Examiners, or NBME, in which they share information about a recent large-scale, national-level research project involving, among other things, the influence of Artificial Intelligence on their work. Our guests are Monica Cuddy, Stephanie Iaccarino, and John Moore. Monica is a lead measurement scientist, Stephanie is a measurement scientist, and John is the director of data initiatives, all at NBME.   Link to website mentioned in this episode:   National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME):  https://www.nbme.org/    This season of Leading Improvements in Higher Education is sponsored by the Center for Assessment and Research Studies at James Madison University; learn more at jmu.edu/assessment. Episode recorded: January 2026.  Host:  Stephen Hundley.  Producers:  Chad Beckner and Angela Bergman.  Original music:  Caleb Keith.  This award-winning podcast is a service of the Assessment Institute in Indianapolis; learn more go.iu.edu/assessmentinstitute.

In this episode, we discuss evidence-based interventions focused on student motivation, persistence, and success.  Our guest is Dave Paunesku.  Dave is Executive Director and Co-Founder of the Project for Educational Research That Scales, or PERTS, which is based at Stanford University. Link to website mentioned in this episode:   The Project for Educational Research That Scales (PERTS)  https://www.perts.net/   This season of Leading Improvements in Higher Education is sponsored by the Center for Assessment and Research Studies at James Madison University; learn more at jmu.edu/assessment. Episode recorded: January 2026.  Host:  Stephen Hundley.  Producers:  Chad Beckner and Angela Bergman.  Original music:  Caleb Keith.  This award-winning podcast is a service of the Assessment Institute in Indianapolis; learn more go.iu.edu/assessmentinstitute.

This episode discusses the role program review plays in strengthening higher education quality. Our guest is Marilee Bresciani Ludvik. Marilee currently serves as the Director of Academic Effectiveness at the University of San Diego, and she has written extensively about program review’s role in assessment and improvement.  Links to publications mentioned during this episode:   Outcomes-Based Program Review Closing Achievement Gaps In- and Outside the Classroom With Alignment to Predictive Analytics and Performance Metrics https://www.routledge.com/Outcomes-Based-Program-Review-Closing-Achievement-Gaps-In--and-Outside-the-Classroom-With-Alignment-to-Predictive-Analytics-and-Performance-Metrics/BrescianiLudvik/p/book/9781620362303   Assessment Update Article, “Rethinking Academic Program Review: A Data-Informed Approach” https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/au.30445   This season of Leading Improvements in Higher Education is sponsored by the Center for Assessment and Research Studies at James Madison University; learn more at jmu.edu/assessment. Episode recorded: January 2026.  Host:  Stephen Hundley.  Producers:  Chad Beckner and Angela Bergman.  Original music:  Caleb Keith.  This award-winning podcast is a service of the Assessment Institute in Indianapolis; learn more go.iu.edu/assessmentinstitute.

In this episode, we have a conversation with an assessment leader who adapts The Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award to higher education through a framework known as "Champion for Excellence." Our guest is Bridget Dewees, who serves as Senior Officer for Institutional Effectiveness at the University of Wisconsin-Stout.   Links to resources mentioned in this episode:   Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (National Institute of Standards and Technology, U.S. Department of Commerce): https://www.nist.gov/baldrige/baldrige-award   HBCU-CEEQA (Collaborative for Excellence in Educational Quality Assurance): https://hbcu-ceeqa.org/   This season of Leading Improvements in Higher Education is sponsored by the Center for Assessment and Research Studies at James Madison University; learn more at jmu.edu/assessment. Episode recorded: March 2026.  Host:  Stephen Hundley.  Producers:  Chad Beckner and Angela Bergman.  Original music:  Caleb Keith.  This award-winning podcast is a service of the Assessment Institute in Indianapolis; learn more go.iu.edu/assessmentinstitute.

This episode describes an updated higher education assessment framework known by the acronym ACCELERATE, and we will ‘unpack’ each letter of this acronym during this podcast episode. Our guests are Divya Bheda, Daniel Kaczmarek, and Constance Tucker, each of whom is an assessment professional in their respective institutional context. Importantly, these three guests are also representing the larger group involved in developing the ACCELERATE framework.   Link to an article describing the ACCELERATE framework: https://aalhe.scholasticahq.com/article/145101-accelerate-assessment-principles-for-best-practice    This season of Leading Improvements in Higher Education is sponsored by the Center for Assessment and Research Studies at James Madison University; learn more at jmu.edu/assessment. Episode recorded: December 2025.  Host:  Stephen Hundley.  Producers:  Chad Beckner and Angela Bergman.  Original music:  Caleb Keith.  This award-winning podcast is a service of the Assessment Institute in Indianapolis; learn more go.iu.edu/assessmentinstitute.

In this episode, we discuss the concepts of program theory and implementation fidelity, including their influences on teaching, learning, assessment, and improvement.  Our guest is Sara Finney.  Sara is Professor of Graduate Psychology at James Madison University, where she also serves as Associate Director for Student Affairs Assessment in the Center for Assessment and Research Studies. This season of Leading Improvements in Higher Education is sponsored by the Center for Assessment and Research Studies at James Madison University; learn more at jmu.edu/assessment. Episode recorded: November 2025.  Host:  Stephen Hundley.  Producers:  Chad Beckner and Angela Bergman.  Original music:  Caleb Keith.  This award-winning podcast is a service of the Assessment Institute in Indianapolis; learn more go.iu.edu/assessmentinstitute.

This episode features two leaders from the International Academy of Process Educators.  Our guests are Josh Morrison and Tris Utschig. Josh is Director of Academic Retention Programs at the University of Indianapolis. Tris is Director for Scholarly Teaching and Professor of Nuclear Engineering at Kennesaw State University. Link to resource mentioned in this episode:   International Academy of Process Educators https://www.processeducation.org/     This season of Leading Improvements in Higher Education is sponsored by the Center for Assessment and Research Studies at James Madison University; learn more at jmu.edu/assessment. Episode recorded: September 2025.  Host:  Stephen Hundley.  Producers:  Chad Beckner and Angela Bergman.  Original music:  Caleb Keith.  This award-winning podcast is a service of the Assessment Institute in Indianapolis; learn more go.iu.edu/assessmentinstitute.

In this episode, we have a conversation with colleagues from the Consortium of Organizations for Student Affairs Assessment, or COSAA, which is a collaborative effort across key student affairs assessment organizations.  Our guests are Shaun Boren, Renée Delgado-Riley, Paul Holliday-Millard, and Sarah LaFrance.  In addition to serving as student affairs assessment professionals within their own institutional contexts, our guests are also national leaders involved in the organizations operating under the umbrella of COSAA. Link to resources mentioned in this episode:   ACPA’s Commission for Assessment and Evaluation https://myacpa.org/groups/cae/   Consortium of Organizations for Student Affairs Assessment (COSAA) https://studentaffairsassessment.org/entries/blog/announcing-the-formation-of-the-consortium   NASPA’s Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Knowledge Community https://www.naspa.org/division/assessment-evaluation-and-research   Student Affairs Assessment Leaders (SAAL) https://studentaffairsassessment.org/   This season of Leading Improvements in Higher Education is sponsored by the Center for Assessment and Research Studies at James Madison University; learn more at jmu.edu/assessment. Episode recorded: September 2025.  Host:  Stephen Hundley.  Producers:  Chad Beckner and Angela Bergman.  Original music:  Caleb Keith.  This award-winning podcast is a service of the Assessment Institute in Indianapolis; learn more go.iu.edu/assessmentinstitute.

As we kickoff season 6 of the podcast, we feature co-authors of Foundations of Assessment: From Theory to Practice, a recently released book from Routledge. Our guests are Joe Levy and Natasha Jankowski. Joe is Associate Vice Provost of Accreditation and Quality Improvement at Excelsior University. Natasha is Director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.   Link to resources mentioned in this episode: Foundations of Assessment: From Theory to Practice https://www.routledge.com/Foundations-of-Assessment-From-Theory-to-Practice/Levy-Jankowski/p/book/9781032581569    This season of Leading Improvements in Higher Education is sponsored by the Center for Assessment and Research Studies at James Madison University; learn more at jmu.edu/assessment. Episode recorded: September 2025.  Host:  Stephen Hundley.  Producers:  Chad Beckner and Angela Bergman.  Original music:  Caleb Keith.  This award-winning podcast is a service of the Assessment Institute in Indianapolis; learn more go.iu.edu/assessmentinstitute.

In this episode, we have a conversation with co-editors of a new book, published by Routledge, entitled, “Maximizing the Impact of Assessment in Higher Education: Closing the Loop with Change Management.” Our guests are Cindy Cogswell and Gavin Henning. Cindy is Director of Data Strategy at New York University. Gavin is Professor and Director of Higher Education Administration Graduate Programs, along with serving as Director of the Center for Innovation in Teaching, Learning, and Scholarship, at New England College.   Link to publication referenced in this episode: Maximizing the Impact of Assessment in Higher Education: Closing the Loop with Change Management: https://www.routledge.com/Maximizing-the-Impact-of-Assessment-in-Higher-Education-Closing-the-Loop-with-Change-Management/Cogswell-Henning/p/book/9781032649085   This season of Leading Improvements in Higher Education is sponsored by the Center for Assessment and Research Studies at James Madison University; learn more at jmu.edu/assessment. Episode recorded: July 2025.  Host:  Stephen Hundley.  Producers:  Chad Beckner and Angela Bergman.  Original music:  Caleb Keith.  This award-winning podcast is a service of the Assessment Institute in Indianapolis; learn more go.iu.edu/assessmentinstitute.

This is the third of a special 3-part series of our podcast, and in this episode—which is Part 3—we will focus on disseminating scholarly results in various outlets. Part 1 focused on being a consumer of scholarship, and Part 2 focused on engaging in the scholarly process.  Parts 1 and 2 were featured in Season 5, Episodes 9 and 10, respectively, of this podcast.   Our guests for this episode are Bill Heinrich, Sarah Lacy, John Moore, and Marti Snyder, each of whom represents a scholar-practitioner perspective related to teaching, learning, assessment, and improvement.     Links to publications related to this episode:  Assessment Update: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/15360725   Experiential Learning and Teaching in Higher Education: https://journals.calstate.edu/elthe   Journal of Student Affairs Inquiry, Improvement, and Impact: https://journals.indianapolis.iu.edu/index.php/jsaiii   Research & Practice in Assessment: https://www.rpajournal.com/    This season of Leading Improvements in Higher Education is sponsored by the Center for Assessment and Research Studies at James Madison University; learn more at jmu.edu/assessment. Episode recorded: February 2025.  Host:  Stephen Hundley.  Producers:  Chad Beckner and Angela Bergman.  Original music:  Caleb Keith.  This award-winning podcast is a service of the Assessment Institute in Indianapolis; learn more go.iu.edu/assessmentinstitute.