Four, general institutional commitments inform SWU’s participation in assessment.

1. SWU is committed to Biblical faithfulness. Scripture is replete with commands and examples of general assessments. At the creation, God assesses the “goodness” of His creation (Genesis 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31; 2:18). Throughout Scripture, God repeatedly affirms that He assesses human behavior, and, therefore, His people should perform honest self-assessments (1 Samuel 16:7; Matthew 12:33, 35; cf. Luke 6:43f; James 3:11-12; Lamentations 3:40; Haggai 1:5; Proverbs 21:5, 29-30; 27:23; Acts 20:28; 2 Corinthians 13:5; 1 Timothy 4:16; 2 Timothy 2:15).
2. SWU is committed to students. SWU aims to be a “student-focused learning community.” Assessing the learning of students in academic programs is a way that SWU demonstrates commitment to students and focuses on them and their needs.
3. SWU is committed to improvement. A commitment to continuous quality improvement is how SWU demonstrates its core values of academic rigor and vocational excellence. SWU recognizes that there is always room to grow in quality and excellence. Assessing student learning helps the institution make improvements in that direction.
4. SWU is committed to accountability. Assessing student learning is a way for the institution to be accountable to internal and external stakeholders and constituents. As a part of institutional accountability, assessment of student learning is mandated by the institution’s external accreditor, SACSCOC.