Assessment as sensemaking: Community college faculty chair perspectives

Abstract

This project would not exist without the candid interviews I conducted with my unnamed participants. The best way I can thank them for their time and directness is to promise that I will heed their suggestions and improve the assessment of student learning outcomes at community colleges using what I have learned from our conversations.Above all I would like to thank my wife and children for encouraging me throughout this process, and I apologize for my repeated absences during Friday Night Pizza and Movie Nights while I was in class. You have had to listen to me use the words "assessment" and "rubric" too many times over the last three years, and you never complained. My wife, Melissa, gave me complete support from the moment I expressed interest in earning a doctorate. She was a consummate cheerleader and always went the extra mile to make sure I could complete my work.Just like everything else in my life, this dissertation is yours as much as it is mine. I can promise you one thing: my days as a (formal) student have finally come to an end!