Managing and aligning assessment knowledge

The process of including learning objectives in course syllabi and the subsequent course evaluation process are good knowledge building experiences for the faculty teaching the courses. The assessment and program management processes associated with evaluating all courses in such a manner, however, are difficult to track and maintain. The experience at The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) shows that most generated assessment information is not accessible to faculty when needed to plan and evaluate courses. In addition, the assessment results from the individual courses are not shared with faculty to integrate learning across the curriculum. This paper provides an overview of academic and nonacademic best practices for managing and sharing knowledge for improving course and curriculum offerings as well as student learning. Topics discussed include curriculum mapping in K-12 programs, integrative learning, and knowledge management (KM) practices and their possible application and affect in higher education. The initial design of the UTC KM curriculum process is also described