Teaching, Learning and Assessment Committee
TLA Committee Mission and Goals
The mission of the Teaching, Learning and Assessment (TLA) Committee is to cultivate a commitment to exceptional practices and continuous improvement in teaching, learning, and assessment at the course, curricular, and program levels.
To accomplish this, the TLA Committee will:
- Champion a culture of continuous improvement in teaching and learning through evidence-based practices.
- Serve in an advisory capacity to Ohio University departments, programs and offices on matters relevant to teaching, learning and assessment.
- Offer advice and recommendations to University leadership regarding teaching, learning and assessment priorities, needs, opportunities and capacity-building.
- Advocate for enhanced University resources to promote exceptional practices and continuous improvement in teaching, learning and assessment.
Membership
The TLA Committee includes 18-28 faculty and administrator members.
- Term-limited faculty and administrative members are appointed by the Executive Vice President & Provost for three-year appointments. The committee strives to include representation from each academic unit as well as regional higher education.
- Standing committee members are appointed annually by the Executive Vice President & Provost. Standing committee members are appointed academic leadership, including (but not limited to) the Office of the Provost, Faculty Senate, University College, Graduate College, the Division of Student Affairs, Office of Instructional Innovation, Center for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment, and Institutional Effectiveness and Analytics.
2024-25 TLA Committee Members
| First Name | Last Name | Title |
|---|---|---|
| Corey | Beck | Associate Professor of Instruction, Chemistry |
| Amanda | Chiplok | Senior Director of Faculty Learning & Pedagogy |
| Kitty | Consolo | Associate Professor; Department of Social and Public Health |
| Todd | Eisworth | Professor; Department of Mathematics |
| Danielle | Fenney | Assistant Professor of Instruction; Department Teacher Education |
| Allyson | Hallman-Thrasher | Associate Dean for Student Success, Graduate College |
| Katie | Hartman | Vice Provost for Faculty Development |
| Imants | Jaunarajs | Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs |
| Jennie | Klein | Professor, School of Art & Design |
| Deb | McAvoy | Associate Professor of Civil Engineering |
| Kalyn | McDonald | Assistant Clinical Professor, School of School of Rehabilitation and Communication Sciences |
| Candi | Morris | Executive Director, Office of Instructional Design |
| Jen | Newton | Assistant Professor, Department of Teacher Education |
| David | Nguyen | Dean, University College |
| Cat | Penrod | Assistant Professor, School of Visual Communications |
| Sarah | Poggione | Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education |
| Andrew | Pueschel | Assistant Professor, Department of Marketing |
| Beth | Quitslund | Professor, Department of English |
| Kate | Raney | Assistant Professor, School of Media Arts & Studies |
| Melinda | Rhodes | Executive Director, Center for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment |
| Nuhkhet | Sandal | Associate Dean, College of Arts and Sciences |
| Jennifer | Smith | Associate Professor of Instruction, School of Music |
| Jim | Strode | Associate Dean, College of Business |
| Andrew | Szolosi | Associate Professor, Department of Recreation and Sport Pedagogy |
| Joni | Wadley | Senior Director for Institutional Effectiveness |
| Yuqiu | You | Associate Professor; Department of Engineering Technology & Management |
Projects
To achieve its mission, the TLA Committee strives to complete three to five projects annually. Broadly, each project is designed to advance Ohio University’s commitment to exceptional practices and continuous improvement in teaching, learning and assessment. Typically, projects are focused on supporting university initiatives or creating research reports with recommendations for changes to university policies or practices.
Annually, projects are proposed and approved by members of the committee and discussed with the Executive Vice President & Provost.
Examples of TLA Committee initiatives and reports include:
- Assessment Clearinghouse
- General Education: Moving Beyond the Pilot (report)
- Excellence in Assessment Designation: Gap Analysis, Priority Recommendations, & Action Steps (report)
- HLC Evidence: Gap Analysis, Priority Recommendations and Next Steps (report)
- Inclusive Pedagogy & Assessment Practices (report)
- Moving Beyond Student Evaluations of Teaching: Documenting Teaching Activities to Demonstrate Teaching Effectiveness (memo)
- Spotlight on Learning Conference
- Conceptualizing Teaching Excellence (report)
- Teaching Effectiveness: Alternatives to Instructional Evaluations during COVID
- Graduate Student Instructional Training (report)
Meetings
The full TLA Committee meets monthly during the academic year. Project teams meet as needed throughout the academic year.