The Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Planning (OIEP) hosts George Mason’s Excellence in Assessment Awards each year to highlight the university’s commitment to continuous improvement and elevate exemplary assessment practices.
These awards honor assessment efforts across the university, including academic, administrative, co-curricular, and Mason Core assessment. Awards will be given to both specific assessment champions, as well as units who submitted exemplary assessment reports.
2025 Assessment Awards
The second annual Excellence in Assessment Awards honor assessment efforts across the university. Several academic and co-curricular programs were recognized for exemplary assessment plans, all receiving top scores on their submissions. Assessment champions were identified for their unique contributions to the culture of continuous improvement at George Mason University. OIEP commends the Excellence in Assessment Awards winners!
The awardees for excellence in academic assessment include:
- Philosophy, MA – Outstanding Assessment Plan
The philosophy master’s program integrated a clear scoring methodology, engaged multiple faculty members in the assessment process, and implemented aligned course improvements as a result of their findings.
- Climate Dynamics, PhD – Exemplary Mission Statement
The climate dynamics doctoral program’s mission statement included clearly articulated stakeholders, an impactful description of what students and graduates gain from the program, and alignment with the George Mason mission and strategic direction.
- Systems Engineering and Operations Research, PhD – Exemplary Improvement Plan
The system engineering and operations research doctoral program’s improvement plan included a thoughtful reflection of past improvements and outlined specific actions to strengthen the program.
- Adrienne Sullivan, College of Education and Human Development – Champion of Academic Assessment
Adrienne is an active member of the Mason Academic Assessment Council and has been a key participant in large-scale assessment initiatives, including implementing an annual assessment feedback process, piloting and establishing an external review process for academic program review, and successfully completing a request for proposal to acquire an assessment management platform.
The awardees for excellence in co-curricular assessment include:
- Graduate Student Life – Outstanding Assessment Plan
Graduate Student Life demonstrated a comprehensive approach to documenting outcomes. Goals were broad and were mapped to the unit mission, SMART outcomes were established, and collaboration occurred with other units to develop a career and professional readiness workshop series to support student success.
- Housing and Residence Life – Exemplary Mission Statement
The Housing and Residence Life mission statement was clear and concise, demonstrated alignment to the George Mason mission and strategic direction, described what students will gain from the unit and explicitly articulated its stakeholders.
- New Student and Family Programs – Exemplary Improvement Plan
The New Student and Family Programs’ improvement plan included a thoughtful reflection of past improvements and outlined specific actions to strengthen the unit’s institutional effectiveness.
- Yali Pan, Office of International Programs and Services – Champion of Co-Curricular Assessment
Yali Pan is an active member of the Co-Curricular Assessment Council and has been a key participant in the annual assessment feedback process, co-curricular program review, and panels sharing best practices in annual assessment and program review. Her thoughtful engagement in these initiatives has contributed to building a culture of continuous improvement at George Mason.
The awardees for excellence in Mason Core assessment include:
- Debra Sprague, College of Education and Human Development – Champion of Mason Core Assessment
Debra has consistently demonstrated exceptional dedication to the Mason Core assessment process, including reviewing exemplars, scoring student artifacts, and providing valuable feedback on rubric revisions. Her contributions to the Mason Core Assessment Council have been invaluable, and her commitment to excellence makes her a highly deserving recipient of this recognition.
The awardees for excellence in administrative assessment include:
- Kat Bell, University Libraries – Champion of Administrative Assessment
Kat is an active member of the Administrative Assessment Council and the administrative assessment liaison for the university libraries. She has been a key participant in developing the administrative assessment feedback process and refining guidelines and procedures for annual administrative assessment. Kat’s commitment to meaningful and effective assessment is apparent in her insightful questions and contributions to council discussions.
2024 Assessment Awards
The MAT Art Education, MS Forensic Science, and MS Systems Engineering programs were selected from over 175 academic programs to receive an inaugural Excellence in Annual Assessment Award. Colleagues from the Mason Academic Assessment Council (MAAC), the College of Visual and Performing Arts, the College of Science, and the College of Engineering and Computing celebrated this accomplishment at a reception hosted by OIEP in October 2024.
All three programs engaged in a comprehensive approach to documenting student learning and integrating peer feedback. Each awardee spoke about how their program’s assessment efforts support continuous improvement. The complete assessment plan and specific strengths for each awardee are included below.
MAT Art Education
The program presented a strong longitudinal improvement plan that built upon findings from year-to-year. By combining student self-perceptions and observer perceptions, the program effectively illustrated how students demonstrated professional dispositions, which were established in the program’s external standards.
The assessment results highlighted the need for prerequisite knowledge in principles of statistics. The program improved the curriculum and launched a quantitative methods for forensic science course.
MS Systems Engineering
The program incorporated detailed assessment methods that captured how students integrated model-based and architectural-based systems engineering concepts. Both instructors and external reviewers from the industry engaged in the process to provide meaningful feedback to the students and program.