Scholars News Desk
College Park Scholars Acknowledged for Assessment Efforts
June 10, 2008
Results from a multi-year and multi-campus study funded by the Boyer Center, that sought to identify principles of good practices by partnerships between student affairs and academic affairs, acknowledged College Park Scholars for its assessment practices. The Boyer Partnership Assessment Project collected dated from 18 institutions, between 2002 and 2004. Results from the study’s analysis, appearing in the May-June issue of The Journal of College Student Development, cited the value of the Scholars program in implementing multiple approaches to assessment, including: Course and program evaluations; analysis of recruitment and retention data; annual program reviews; and exit surveys.
An earlier report from the same research observed that students participating in College Park Scholars were "more aware of knowledge and learning for its own sake than for other motives." Also cited was that as a program, College Park Scholars contributes to "persistence in college." (Scholars’ retention and graduation data consistently demonstrate rates above those of all Maryland undergraduates.)
"I am particularly pleased to witness the national recognition that College Park Scholars is receiving for its assessment efforts,” said Greig Stewart, Scholars Executive Director. “These efforts are a significant investment of time and energy by the Scholars faculty and staff, but their results are critical in informing our program improvement initiatives."
These findings are reinforced by the fact that for the seventh consecutive year, Maryland has appeared in the U.S. News and World Report publication listing schools with outstanding examples of academic programs that lead to student success. Similar to past years, of the eight categories of programs, College Park appears on the lists of "First-year experiences," "Learning communities," "Service learning," "Undergraduate research/Creative projects," and "Study abroad."
"We in College Park Scholars can feel confident in sharing the U.S. News acknowledgments with the rest of the campus's learning communities," said Greig Stewart, Scholars Executive Director. "Our focuses on community building, undergraduate research, service learning and global awareness, contribute to the campus-wide efforts in these areas."College Park Scholars is a class of twelve programs, each comprising a multi-disciplinary learning community. Scholars are academically and creatively talented freshmen and sophomores, eager to explore their future personal and professional roles. Each program prepares students academically for competitive research opportunities and challenging internships. Through civic engagement, team projects and other programs, Scholars examine and develop their personal character. For more information on this press release or on College Park Scholars, contact Kevin Baxter at (301) 314-1522, or bax@umd.edu.
