Instruction Coordinators and Higher Education Accreditation: A Study of Awareness and Assessment Documentation Use

Abstract

This study gauges instruction and information literacy coordinators' awareness of higher education accreditation processes at their institutions and provides a picture of how coordinators use assessment documentation produced by units external to the library. The study took the form of a survey sent to a random sample of instruction coordinators and information literacy librarians stratified by regional accrediting body. Results showed that instruction coordinators generally are aware of accreditation processes but that only about half use documentation relating to student learning assessment, which may include written student learning outcomes at the institution, program, or course level, plans for assessing learning outcomes, and reports on assessment activities and results, to further their information literacy goals. Accreditation awareness is influenced by time in position, time in the profession, and, to some extent, regional accreditor. Use of and considered importance of assessment documentation is influenced by size of institution, regional accreditor, and, to some extent, time in position. Suggestions for increasing awareness and use of documentation include introducing the accreditation process to new librarians in library school, encouraging contribution of experiences with assessment documentation to the literature and regional conferences, and advocating for instruction coordinators to serve on campus assessment committees.