• Support academic and cocurricular units in developing learning outcomes, assessment plans, and annual reports in coordination with the academic program and co-curricular assessment coordinators.
• Provide training, consultations, and resources to strengthen evidence-based assessment practices.
• Facilitate annual university-wide assessment cycles and feedback processes to promote continuous improvement.
• Align academic program and cocurricular assessment frameworks to create a shared, campuswide approach to student learning.

• Lead and coordinate all institutional accreditation efforts with the Higher Learning Commission (HLC).
• Support academic programs with discipline-specific accreditation and IBHE reporting requirements.
• Maintain accreditation documentation and oversee compliance with federal, state, and system-level regulations.
• Facilitate processes related to substantive change, professional licensure disclosures, NC-SARA reporting, and IAI course submissions.

• Guide the development, implementation, and progress tracking of the University’s strategic plan.
• Support academic and administrative units in setting goals aligned with WIU’s mission and priorities.
• Provide data-informed insights, planning tools, and dashboards that strengthen decision-making.
• Coordinate integrated planning across divisions to ensure coherence, transparency, and mission alignment.

• Partner with faculty, staff, students, and campus leaders to promote a culture of continuous improvement.
• Communicate updates, expectations, and resources related to assessment, accreditation, and planning.
• Work closely with the President, Provost, Student Success, Finance and Administration, Foundation, and Institutional Research to ensure that strategic initiatives and reporting needs are met.
• Serve as a campus and external liaison on assessment, accreditation, and planning matters.

The Director works with faculty, staff, administrators, and students across the University to build a cohesive culture of continuous improvement. This includes communicating updates and expectations; offering consultations, workshops, and training; and ensuring that our assessment and planning processes are transparent, evidence-based, and aligned with institutional priorities. The Director also partners closely with Institutional Research to ensure the right data, tools, and methods are used to support decision-making.

While programs and units assess their own learning outcomes, assessment at WIU is strengthened by a collaborative, cross-divisional University Assessment Team. The academic program assessment coordinator, co-curricular assessment coordinator, and the AASP Director work together and with the Student Learning Assessment Committee (SLAC) and Subcouncil on Assessment in General Education (SAGE) to provide coordinated support and guidance that help units:

• Identify meaningful learning outcomes
• Build and refine assessment plans
• Conduct annual assessment of academic and cocurricular learning
• Submit clear, consistent reports
• Document results and impacts
• Use findings to strengthen programs

The Director collaborates with both assessment coordinators to ensure consistent, aligned, institution-wide practices.

The AASP Office leads all work related to institutional accreditation with the Higher Learning Commission (HLC). This includes preparing major reports, coordinating reviews and site visits, maintaining compliance records, managing timelines, and interpreting HLC and IBHE policies for campus stakeholders.

The Director also supports program-level accreditations by offering guidance, promoting consistency, coordinating reports to IBHE, and assisting with specialized requirements such as IAI submissions, professional licensure disclosures, NC-SARA reporting, Regular Substantive Interaction (RSI) expectations, and substantive change protocols.

While the Provost’s Office manages curricular oversight and academic operations, the AASP Director ensures that all curriculum-related changes are recorded, communicated, and compliant with state, federal, and accreditor regulations.

The Director leads the design, implementation, and evaluation of the University’s strategic plan. This work includes:

• Facilitating unit-level planning and goal-setting
• Ensuring alignment between institutional priorities and unit initiatives
• Developing metrics, dashboards, and progress-tracking tools
• Coordinating the publication of planning documents
• Supporting a campus culture of data-informed decision-making

Where the Provost’s Office oversees academic strategy and operations, the AASP Office maintains the University's integrated framework for long-term planning across all divisions.

The Director regularly partners with the President, Cabinet, Deans, Department Chairs, Student Success leadership, Financial Administration, and faculty governance bodies to ensure policies and processes reflect accreditation expectations, assessment needs, and strategic goals.