Winona State University

Office of Assessment

WINONA, Minn. (WSUPIO) -- Winona State University has been awarded a $1.367 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education for a project to design and implement an integrated database and analytical engine that will be a central tool in the assessment of WSU's educational quality.

Dr. Susan Hatfield, coordinator of WSU's Assessment program and the principal grant writer for the project, said the grant will help WSU develop an automated, ongoing assessment program that will document student learning, student success and student satisfaction.

"Integrated electronic assessment moves WSU's assessment efforts away from simply the collection of data to the creation of knowledge," Hatfield said. "The integrated database allows analysis of complex data from which we can engage in high-confidence decision-making and innovation."

WSU President Darrell Krueger was pleased that the grant sets Winona State at the forefront of innovation in assessment. "One of my main emphasis areas here at Winona State has been accountability," Krueger said. "We owe it to our students and to the taxpayers of Minnesota to not only provide high quality education, but to also be a self-regarding institution that focuses on ways to be able to truly evaluate our performance so we can continually improve."

Through the implementation of this database and analysis tool, Hatfield said WSU expects to be able to demonstrate three things: Increased enrollment, improved retention, and promote high-confidence university decision-making.

A portion of the grant funds will be used to develop a technological infrastructure at Winona State that integrates the existing campus databases and begins to collect additional assessment data in a timely, efficient, reliable and secure manner.

"The type of assessment system we envision adds significant value to WSU's assessment efforts," Hatfield said. "Winona State has long been on the cutting edge of assessment of student success, but this takes us to the next level-actually to a new level that no one has yet approached in higher
education."

The project also has applications to K-12 education. "Assessment of educational quality is not going to go away. Leveraging technology to assist in data collection and interpretation is as relevant to K-12 as it is to higher education" said Hatfield.

The total project will cost $2.3 million over five years. The Title III "Strengthening Institutions" grant from the Department of Education, provides 56 percent of the funds required for the project. The remaining costs will be made up through in-kind contributions from Winona State
University in the form of employee salaries, and technical and office operations. Implementation of the grant project begins this fall with the first installment of nearly $350,000 from the Department of Education.

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