Demystifying Outcomes Assessment for International Educators: A Practical Approach

For many in international education, assessment can seem daunting and overwhelming, especially given that such efforts need to involve much more than a pre/post survey. This book is a practical guide to learning-outcomes assessment in international education for practitioners who are starting to engage with the process, as well as for those who want to improve the quality and effectiveness of their assessment efforts.

Assuming no prior knowledge, the book offers an accessible and clear road map to the application of assessment. Recognizing that a “one size fits all” approach cannot capture the diversity of goals and settings of international education, or the rich variety of programs and organizations involved in delivering it, author Darla Deardorff provides the reader with foundational principles and knowledge to develop appropriate assessment approaches for evaluating and improving student learning outcomes, which are the drivers of higher education internationalization

She provides the background for assessment, highlights how the characteristics of international education pose unique challenges for assessment, considers the contexts to which assessment may be applied – whether in cross-border or “at home” institutional experiences, such as in curricular, co-curricular or extracurricular settings – and distills a seemingly convoluted process into a manageable approach. From the basics of getting started in assessment to highlighting pitfalls to avoid, this book offers a holistic and practical approach to assessment that moves beyond seeing assessment as a discrete activity to on-going process that is integrated into student learning. There is also a unique chapter for education leaders on assessment essentials from a leadership-perspective.

The appendices include worksheets for implementing assessment, creating an assessment team, and getting buy-in from stakeholders. Other appendices include a list of standards adapted to international education outcomes assessment, guidance on assessing intercultural competence, and resources.

This book reflects the author’s experience of over a decade of work with international education programs and higher education institutions around the world, and synthesizes what she has learned into an easy-to-use resource for anyone who wants to understand and utilize effective assessment in the field of international education.

Darla K. Deardorff is Executive Director of the Association of International Education Administrators and Affiliated Faculty at Duke University, Nelson Mandela University (South Africa), and at Shanghai International Studies University (China).

Trudy W. Banta is professor of higher education and vice chancellor for planning and institutional improvement at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. She is co-author of "Assessment Essentials" and "Making a Difference", and founding editor of the bi-monthly Assessment Update.

Hans de Wit is distinguished fellow and professor emeritus of the practice in international higher education at the Center for International Higher Education (CIHE) at Boston College, USA. During 2015–2020, he was full-time director of CIHE. He is senior fellow of the International Association of Universities (IAU), based at UNESCO.

Hans de Wit is founding member (1989) and past president (1993–1994) of the European Association forInternational Education (EAIE). He is the founding editor of the Journal of Studies in International Education (Association for Studies in International Education/SAGE), and consulting editor of the journal Policy Reviews in Higher Education (SRHE). He is associate chief editor of International Higher Education, and coeditor of the book series Global Perspectives in Higher Education (Brill/Sense).

He has (co)written many books and articles on international(ization of) higher education and is actively involved in assessment and consultancy in international education, for organizations such as the European Commission, the European Parliament, UNESCO, the World Bank, and IAU.

He has been director of the Centre for Higher Education Internationalisation (CHEI) at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (UCSC) in Milan, Italy, and professor of internationalization of higher education at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences. In 2005–2006, he was selected as a scholar of the Fulbright New Century Scholars Program.

During 1996–2005, he was vice-president for international affairs at the University of Amsterdam. He holds a bachelor degree, a master degree, and a PhD from the University of Amsterdam.

In 2022, CIHE established the Hans de Wit Fellowship for Early Career Researchers in Higher Education with seed funding from World Education Services. In December 2021, De Wit received the North Star Medal of Lifetime Achievement under the A. Noam Chomsky Global Connections Awards of StarScholars (Society of Transnational Academic Scholars). In 2019, he was the recipient of the Charles Klasek Award of the Association for International Education Administrators (AIEA) for long-term and outstanding service to the field of international education. He has received several other awards from the following organizations: EAIE (2008), NAFSA (2002), CIEE (2006), University of Amsterdam (2006), AMPEI (2014), and UCSC (2015).