In 1976, the college formally established an office of educational research and evaluation that would investigate a series of questions at the behest of the faculty, with special attention to linking the outcomes of college to the curriculum, establishing the validity of assessment techniques and the assessment process, and demonstrating the link between college-learned abilities and alumnae performance in the world of work, personal life, service, and citizenship.
When the department began in 1976, it was originally referred to as the Office of Evaluation and was under the directorship of Dr. Marcia Mentkowski (1940-2019). ERE has produced a wealth of research, analysis and documentation on the Alverno learning process. It is now part of the Assessment and Outreach Center.
This article, featured in the 1978 winter issue of Alverno Today, highlights the research grant and work of the Office of Evaluation, now known as ERE.
Below is a link to a printable copy of the article. [PDF]
Their studies have involved a variety of approaches, strategies, and processes. These include: (a) evaluation of general education and the major field; (b) longitudinal analysis of changes in student and alumnae abilities, learning, and development as a result of curriculum, who changes, who benefits and why; studying student and alumna perspectives on learning and causal attributions to curriculum; studying graduates' career advancement; (c) studying the performance of alumnae abilities in work, personal, and civic roles; and of outstanding professionals who are not Alverno graduates; (d) validating the ability-based performance assessment process (student assessment-as-learning).
Initial findings of their longitudinal studies were released in the 1983-1984 academic year and their work has continued. Over the years, ERE has received noteworthy accolades from leaders in the field of education as well as numerous grants, and invitations to share their expertise on ability-based curriculum and assessment models. Members of the ERE have been invited to sit on national panels and committees founded by the National Institute of Education and the U.S. Department of Education to explore performance assessment and the creation of national assessment models. Much of their work has been published; most notably in the book, Learning that Lasts: Integrating Learning, Development, and Performance in College and Beyond (2000). Here is a link to a
listing of some ERE publications.
Learning that Lasts, written by Marcia Mentkowski, members of the ERE staff and many others from the Alverno College community, explores how learners transform themselves and how educators foster skills for learning, leading, teamwork, and adapting with integrity in college and beyond. The authors' theory includes practical strategies for enabling a wide range of students to cultivate integrative and expansive capabilities across a lifetime. The theory draws on two decades of longitudinal studies of student learning in the Alverno curriculum, leading educational theories and experience in institutional consortia. The authors illustrate how faculty and academic staff forge effective curricula, design innovative programs, implement key institutional goals, and renegotiate the college culture. There is a copy of the book in the Alverno College Archives.
The article below, "Alverno experience aids national initiative," was featured in the May 1992 issue of Alverno Magazine. It discusses the contributions that Marcia Mentkowski and Georgine Loacker made as U.S. Dept. of Education panelists exploring a national assessment system.
Here is a link to a printable copy of the article. [PDF]
Here is a link to a printable copy of another article on the work of the office of Educational Research and Evaluation which reported on the initial findings of their longitudinal study. It appeared in Alverno Magazine in Winter 1984 [PDF].
