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National & International Projects on Accountability and Higher Education Outcomes

In response to increased interest on the part of policy makers, higher education leaders, and the general public, a number of initiatives are underway that define, measure, or report on the outcomes of higher education. To help members of the higher education community keep track of these new developments, the ACE Center for Policy Analysis has produced this online resource, profiling the following major accountability and learning outcome initiatives occurring in the United States and abroad:

1. Assessment of Higher Education Learning Outcomes (AHELO)
2. Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) Initiative
3. National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA)
4. New Leadership Alliance for Student Learning and Accountability
5. Pathways Construction Project (Higher Learning Commission)
6. Tuning USA
7. University and College Accountability Network (U-CAN)
8. Rising to the Challenge
9. Voluntary System of Accountability (VSA)

Each summary includes the following information, drawn from publicly available documents from the sponsoring organizations and augmented by conversation or correspondence with staff members and other experts:

• Projects sponsors and major funders.
• Key staff.
• Description of project goals and general orientation.
• Work plan.
• Accomplishments.
• Upcoming activities.
• Web address for further information.

ACE's Center for Policy Analysis will update this document several times each year and add new initiatives as appropriate. To provide updated information, or suggest a new initiative, please e-mail us at policy@ace.nche.edu.