Can Institutions Have Quality Programming Without Utilizing a Systematic Outcomes-Based Assessment Process?

Lauren Weiner and Marilee J. Bresciani   |    Volume Six: Summer  |   

For many students, service learning not only expands their educational horizons, but also makes them more aware and compassionate of those who live in communities very different from their own. Yet, despite the expressed benefits of service learning and the increasing numbers of institutions offering service-learning programs, it is not known whether they are truly successful unless evidence of their success is provided. The use of outcomes-based assessment is one of the processes that generates evidence of program effectiveness. While scholars have written about the ways in which effective outcomes-based assessment must be implemented (Bresciani, 2006; Bresciani, Moore- Gardner, & Hickmott, 2009; Maki, 2004; Palomba & Banta, 1999; Suskie, 2004; Upcraft & Schuh, 1996), few studies have been performed to identify whether all the components of effective outcomes-based assessment must be present in order for quality programs to be identified. Thus, the purpose of this cross-case comparative study was to find out whether implementation of a systematic outcomes-based assessment system is necessary for demonstrating quality in service learning at a community college and a private four-year institution.

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