Primary Research Group has published The Survey of Assessment Practices in Higher Education, 2013 Edition, ISBN 978-1-57440-227-8.

This 106-page study, based on data from more than 70 North American institutions of higher education, explores the student and faculty assessment practices of colleges. The report looks closely at the use of benchmarking data and standardized tests to assess progress, and at other strategies, including the use of ePortfolios and departmental assessment plans. The study gives detailed data on assessment efforts including size, compensation levels and budgets for assessment departments, and the assessment efforts of administrators and faculty outside of these official departments. The study also looks at how colleges assess instructors and how these assessments affect career advancement, including the scope and impact of student assessment of instructors. The report also looks at the impact of new technologies on student assessment such as use of videotaping of classroom lectures, and much more.

Just a few of the study's many findings are that:

• Assessment offices in colleges in the sample have a mean annual budget of $140,933, including salaries and overhead
• 90.48 percent of colleges with 2,500 to 10,000 students enrolled use student evaluation forms
• Less than 3 percent of colleges in the sample use ASSET for student assessment, while more than 30 percent use AAC&U VALUE Rubric
• Community colleges in the sample have a mean of 1.47 employees devoted to student assessment, whereas 4-year degree granting colleges have a mean of 2.01 and research universities a mean of 2.44
• 67.74 percent of public colleges in the sample say that student instructor assessment questionnaires have some impact on the hiring and retention of adjunct faculty, as compared to 40 percent of private colleges
• Colleges with an annual tuition between $10,000 and $30,000 spend a mean of $12,539 to pay students to take standardized assessment tests

The study is available in print and PDF formats for $89.50. Site licenses costs $219.00. To view a table of contents, a list of tables and participants, and sample data, or to order a copy of the report, please visit our website at www.PrimaryResearch.com.