EMERGING DIALOGUES IN ASSESSMENT

May 4, 2026

• April M. Ivery, Ed.D., Coordinator of Academic Programs, FAMU
• Amy J. Heston, Ph.D., Professor of Inorganic Chemistry, Walsh University
• Kenya Baker, B.S., Coordinator, Teaching & Learning Center, FAMU

Abstract

In the spirit of continuous improvement in quality assurance and course assessment, a collaboration was created that included researchers at a Historically Black College or University (HBCU) and a mid-sized Catholic University. The main focus was the design and delivery of culturally-informed online learning experiences along with assessment strategies to evaluate student success in cultural connections. Researchers share successes from two different institution types, particularly showcasing that academic innovation supporting quality assurance can come from any institution size or classification.

Introduction

In the modern diverse classrooms, creating culturally-aware courses is the key to creating successful communications and effective social relations with learners (Hall et al., 2024, Lawson et al., 2024). The paper outlines some of the strategies and concrete instances of effective methods of designing culturally-aware online courses and other learning experiences. Moreover, the elements of cultural humility were also included in an online course about forensic science in this project. Lastly, researchers provide assessment strategies that are employed to measure student success in the course level and the role these strategies played in terms of quality assurance in online learning.

Collaboration Framework

The researchers in Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University (FAMU) also a HBCU, and Walsh University a mid-sized Catholic, had a common vision to improve the relationship of the students to the cultural issues in contemporary society. Using innovations in quality assurance as their blueprint, researchers contributed positively to student success at their respective campuses, experienced it, and established the course of action to be taken to ensure that the establishment of cultural connectivity was maintained in subsequent semesters.

The partnership involved various projects to assist the students in the two institutions. Researchers at FAMU and Walsh have formulated three main areas of focus including personalized learning, culturally-relevant pedagogy and formal professional development in cultural humility. Combined, these initiatives created a whole framework of how to establish culturally-informed course experiences that were responsive to the needs and identities of different student populations.

First, FAMU researchers named the initiatives to assist students. The IT training program included personalized learning in terms of real-life scenarios revealing problems that trainees faced, and also personally-relevant examples explained with the use of familiar language that appealed to the trainees. This strategy supported the idea that personalized learning is not aimed at modifying the instructional practices only. The student-centered idea created a context in which the learner felt that they were reflected into the material and this has contributed to higher engagement, retention and overall learning.

Another program was the use of culturally-relevant pedagogy and elements of the African American community as the instructions in the effective course design. The researchers discovered that these approaches could be used as a guideline on how to assess the impact of culturally-informed courses. Then the faculty researcher of Walsh underwent official cultural humility training (Knight, 2021), and she enacted the measures regarding the suggested professional growth to receive a cultural humility course designation that met the general education curriculum. The assessments were aimed at assessing student success in the area of cultural humility (Knight, 2021).

Together, by providing practical examples, both institutions developed deliberate course designs in adherence to Quality Matters (QM) standards of empowering students with a broad spectrum of views, promoting critical thinking, and securing strategies in the act of leading with humility (Quality Matters, 2023). Generally, the joint effort enhanced fresh ideas among the research team since they were able to share suitable practices towards developing these culturally-oriented courses. As a result, the joint work was also valuable to both the organizations.

The following examples demonstrate the positive gains of this cooperation in particular to the collaboration between institutions: support among colleagues within the research group in their quest towards constant enhancement, enhanced impetus in establishing a cultural connection within academic circles, and new avenues in research that facilitated academic innovation in assessment that enabled quality assurance.

Implementation of Cultural Connections at a HBCU

At FAMU, one faculty researcher identified an area of improvement related to the rubric design for evaluating cultural connections through written communication. Therefore, new rubric criteria were created to measure student achievement in cultural issues for a term paper in the undergraduate course, ESE 3341: Theory & Practice of Teaching in Secondary Schools. This strategy aligned well with findings from a recent report (Comstock et al., 2023). Research in practice revealed that culturally responsive teaching and participation in professional development in this area increased student self-efficacy as well as increased student self-awareness and beliefs regarding cultural issues (Comstock et al., 2023). Therefore, FAMU strived to model an efficient assessment approach for including multidimensional aspects of cultural connection ensuring that the different points of view were respected. As a result, new benchmarks were implemented into the grading rubric for the term paper that included 3 total criteria.

Implementation of Cultural Connections at a Catholic Institution

The Cardinal Newman Society has recognized Walsh University in The Newman Guide for its commitment to academic excellence through a faithful Catholic education (The Cardinal Newman Society, 2025). In an effort toward continuous improvement, one faculty researcher designed course elements to implement cultural aspects and perspectives including cultural humility. One specific effort focused on students’ written communication skills related to cultural viewpoints through cultural humility. One faculty researcher designed assessments to evaluate student success in cultural connections, too. Course assessments included a discussion forum and a written reflection for NS 114: Introduction to Forensic Science. This improvement allowed the course to be given a special course designation called Cultural Humility (CH). This designation included several strategies to aid in student success for cultural humility related to gaining knowledge and demonstrating its useful applications. 

First, the CH focus was to foster awareness in this area by helping students gain knowledge and skills in forensic science processes (treatment for drug addiction), cultural considerations, ethical considerations and preserving human dignity during treatment. The CH implementation occurred in Week 6 of the 8-week course. The lesson titled, “Illicit Drugs”, included some special instructional materials. Two papers served as excellent additions to the course 1) Prevention Technology Transfer Center article titled “Embracing Cultural Humility in Substance Use Prevention” (PTTC Network, 2023) and 2) Advances in Addiction & Recovery’s article titled “Cultural Considerations in Addiction Treatment: The Application of Cultural Humility” (Jones, 2021).

Next, learning activities and assessments were created to support the instructional content. The course had a wide range of evaluations for measuring student achievement in the CH content such as multiple choice or true/false questions as found in the lesson quiz, short answer questions in the online discussion which included an original post and at least two replies to classmates, and low stakes evaluation via short answer questions in the forensic reflection. One example included asking students open-ended questions to encourage problem solving and critical analysis within this reflection. One question encouraged this by asking learners how the lesson activities help them to relate course content to real-life situations including cultural humility, self-awareness, and/or empathy.

The CH artifacts aligned appropriately with Walsh University’s General Education Outcome V: Develop an understanding of cultural humility through the analysis of specific discipline concepts; including social justice, strong sense of community, or preserving human dignity. One example of a key learning objective for this lesson was to describe how two aspects of cultural humility make an impact in today's society.

The next steps to innovation in quality assurance include modifying the grading rubric to more closely measure student achievement in cultural connections for the next course offering at Walsh.

Broader Impact for Quality Assurance at Both Institutions

The strategies described above to improve these online courses are aligned with best practices in quality assurance by following QM Specific Review Standards (SRS) (Quality Matters, 2023). Several elements of the design and evaluation of cultural connections increased quality assurance at both institutions. The following section describes the alignment with each standard, specific details, and then a reference to the specific standard number. At FAMU, the course rubric design provided clear evidence for the confirmation of the evaluation criteria for the graded assignment (SRS 3.3) with special attention to providing learning objectives appropriate for the learning level (SRS 2.5). At the Catholic institution, the cultural humility emphasis aligned with QM standards including the instructional materials supported achievement of the learning objectives (SRS 4.1) and provided opportunities for learner-learner and learner-content interaction that support active learning (SRS 5.2) via engagement in the online discussion (SRS 6.1, 6.2). Additionally, the assignments (assessments) from both institutions measured the achievement of the learning objectives (SRS 3.1), correlated to best practices for providing multiple types of assessments sequenced and suited to the class (SRS 3.4) and aligned with accessibility standards (SRS 8.1, 8.2, 8.3) (Quality Matters, 2023). The next step for researchers is to analyze other online courses in the curriculum where they can implement similar strategies to evaluate student success in cultural connections and continue to design assessments to measure student achievement in those concepts.

Mission Alignment

This project showcases strong mission alignment for both institutions. Collectively, FAMU and Walsh University share missions that are centered on empowering students through academic excellence, ethical leadership, and service to others. Both institutions emphasize developing globally-minded graduates that are invested and committed to making a positive impact to their communities. In addition, both institutions focus on graduates’ personal growth and professional success so that they are well-equipped to make a meaningful impact to society. This project, in turn, can serve as an example of the power of multi-institution collaboration that can support campus-wide student success and support quality assurance.

References

Comstock, M., Litke, E., Hill, K. L., & Desimone, L. M. (2023). A culturally responsive disposition: How professional learning and teachers’ beliefs about and self-ffficacy for culturally responsive teaching relate to instruction. AERA Open, 9(1), 233285842211400. https://doi.org/10.1177/23328584221140092

Hall, J. N., Avent, C. M., Boyce, A. S., & Acheampong, K. O. (2024). Culturally responsive evaluation teaching and learning in higher education: A higher calling. New Directions for Evaluation. https://doi.org/10.1002/ev.20574

Jones, C. T., & Branco, S. F. (2021). Cultural considerations in addiction treatment: The application of cultural humility. Advances in Addiction & Recovery, 8(Winter), 18–23.

Knight, J. L. (2021). Heart: A journey toward cultural humility. Leading With Humility LLC.

Lawson, T. K., Knox, J., Romero, E., Andrea Molina Palacios, Fallon, L. M. (2024). Check yourself! Exploring current culturally responsive teaching assessment measures. Psychology in the Schools, 61(6). https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.23189

Kuh, G. D. (2008). High-impact educational practices: What they are, who has access to them, and why they matter. Association of American Colleges and Universities.

Prevention Technology Transfer Center. (2023, November 14). Embracing cultural humility in substance use prevention: A journey, not a destination. PTTC Network.

Quality Matters. (2023). QM higher education rubric (7th ed.). Quality Matters. https://www.qualitymatters.org 

The Cardinal Newman Society. (2025–2026). The Newman Guide to Choosing a Catholic College. The Cardinal Newman Society.