Managing resistance to classroom and student-learning assessment: lessons learned from the past

Selected in 1992 as Motorola´s partner in the nationally competitive University Challenge Program: TQM on Campus, Purdue University renewed its commitment to and the pursuit of quality in higher education guided by the principles of total quality management. Pursuant to the School of Technology´s commitment to continuous quality improvement, the Office of the Dean encouraged the development and implementation of a bi-directional support model (topdown and bottom-up) for implementing TQM. In addition, because it was recognized that the introduction and implementation of TQM could potentially create anxiety, uncertainty and stress that could adversely affect productivity, a model of managing change in an academic environment was implemented. The purpose of this paper is to describe both the bi-directional and change models and to revisit lessons learned from the past in order that they may serve as guides in the implementation of a school-wide assessment plan