Finding methods to assess students' knowledge, skills, and abilities has become a central focus of institutional effectiveness around the globe.  Much has been made in the United States regarding institutional effectiveness and the assessment of educational outcomes as a way to gauge the quality of an insitution's educational program.  In Europe, the Bologna process has increased conversations regarding European cooperation in quality assurance, course transferability, and student mobility.  From these conversations have come concerns about not only having in place assessment processes in order to fulfill accountability requirements but also having processes that are meaningful and used to inform teaching and learning.  Concerns about measuring the quality of assessment processes have lead to discussions about the culture of assessment at institutions.  These discussions, in turn, have lead to attempts to measure assessment cultures as a proxy for measuring the quality of the assessment process and indeed, a proxy for educational quality in general.  This workshop will present a review of the theoretical framework regarding such a viewpoint and examine instruments currently used at institutions around the world.  In addition, the results at one institution are presented as a case example for the benefits and shortcomings of this approach.

Banta, T., Griffin, M., Flateby, T., & Kahn, S. (2009). Three promising alternatives for assessing college students' knowledge and skills. Occasional paper #2. National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment. Loukkola, T., & Zhang, T. (2010). Examining quality culture: Part 1 - Quality assurance processes in higher education institutions. European University Association. Rhoades, G., & Sporn, B. (2002). Quality assurance in Europe and the U.S.: Professional and political economic framing of higher education policy. Higher Education, 43, 355-390. Westerheijden, D. F. (2003). Accreditation in Western Europe: Adequate reactions to Bologna Declaration and the general agreement on trade in services? Journal of Studies in International Education, 7(3), 277-302.