The Human Development and Family Science undergraduate program has received NDSU’s 2020 Amy Rupiper Taggart Award for Excellence in Program Assessment.
The Assessment Award Committee chose the program based on implementing a holistic model for programwide assessment, commitment to continued improvement in assessment techniques through internal and external validation and the execution of a program-level curriculum mapping initiative.
“In the spirit of continuous improvement, we should never really be finished. But we are at a place now where we can reflect on how far we’ve come,” said Joel Hektner, professor and department head of human development and family science.
The committee was impressed by the department’s efforts centered around intensive data collection methods and strategic restructuring of the curriculum.
“We are honored to receive this award in recognition of our ongoing efforts to improve the effectiveness of our undergraduate pedagogy,” said Heather Fuller, associate professor of human development and family science, who has led the department’s assessment efforts. “We have gained tremendous insight into the interconnections among instructors, students and alumni and are excited to continually evolve our programs for years to come.”
The Office of Teaching and Learning at NDSU sponsors the award to honor academic programs for documenting and improving assessment effectiveness. The award promotes sharing of outstanding program assessment models with the NDSU community. The HDFS undergraduate program received a $1,000 prize to use toward a professional development opportunity of their choice.
The award is named after the late Amy Rupiper Taggart, NDSU faculty member and Office of Teaching and Learning’s associate director who died in 2017. She joined the NDSU English department in 2002 after earning her doctorate at Texas Christian University. Rupiper Taggart provided leadership with the National Science Foundation-funded Gateways-ND teacher training project and general education improvement at NDSU.
Nominations for the 2021 NDSU Amy Rupiper Taggart Award for Excellence in Program Assessment will be accepted Jan. 1 through March 1, 2021.
As a student-focused, land-grant, research university, we serve our citizens.
