Provost's Working Group on Innovation in Assessment

The Provost's Working Group for Innovation in Assessment supports research, experimentation, and adoption of alternative student assessment practices at Cornell University. Sponsored by the offices of the Vice Provost for Academic Innovation and the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education, this working group seeks to:
- Learn from, experiment with, and test emerging student-centered assessment practices in higher education practice and research.
- Gather and put into conversation practical experience with alternative assessment practices already in use around the university, including in large introductory and foundational classes.
- Seek potential alternatives to competitive grading cultures and high-stakes testing models that have been found to contribute negatively and unequally to stress and well-being amongst Cornell undergraduates.
- Where appropriate, offer assistance to faculty and students in navigating high-stakes examinations.
Participating Faculty Fellows will design and implement innovative assessments into a course and share their results with the Cornell community.
2025-2026 Faculty Fellows
- Catherine Appert, Music
- Chris Schaffer, Meinig School of Biomedical Engineering
- Derek Chang, History
- Ding Fei, City and Regional Planning
- Elizabeth Fox, Public and Ecosystem Health
- Elliiot Shapiro, Jewish Studies Program and Knight Institute for Writing in the Disciplines
- Kyle Harms, Information Science
- Landon Schnabel, Sociology
- Marie MacDonald, Mathematics
- Mark Sarvary, Neurobiology and Behavior
Upcoming Events
Alternative Approaches to Assessment at Scale
- When: Tuesday, September 23, 2025, from 1:00–2:00 p.m., in person. Register for Alternative Approaches to Assessment at Scale
- Description: In this faculty-led panel discussion, we will discuss practical alternatives to the prelim-prelim-final assessment model. Faculty panelists Allison Godwin (Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Cornell Engineering), David Fruend (Mathematics, College of Arts & Sciences (A&S)), and Doug McKee (Economics, A&S) will share their experiences of implementing alternative assessment approaches in their medium- to large-sized classes. The panelists have designed their course assessments to align with their teaching goals and provide meaningful, engaging, and creative opportunities for students to learn in a large course environment. At the end of the session, you will have some creative ideas to implement into your course.
Academic Integrity and Artificial Intelligence: Strategies for Responding
- When: Wednesday, November 12, 2025, from 2:00–3:15 p.m., in person. Register for Academic Integrity and Artificial Intelligence: Strategies for Responding.
- Description: Educators are increasingly concerned about the unauthorized use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) in their courses, especially with growing evidence showing how it undermines student academic and personal development. Given this, how can we help students to be critical of GenAI tools, and learn to draw boundaries around them, to support their learning?
Join us for a keynote address and faculty panel discussion addressing these concerns by focusing on promoting student responsibility and academic integrity.
Keynote: Liz Karns (Dept. of Statistics and Data Science, Cornell Bowers CIS), will discuss the impact of GenAI on teaching and learning at Cornell and share practical tips from her research for instructors looking to proactively and productively respond to GenAI use and misuse in their courses.
Faculty Panel Discussion: Tim Riley (Mathematics, College of Arts & Sciences) and Kate Navickas (John S. Knight Institute for Writing in the Disciplines, A&S) will share how they have designed assessments to help students take ownership of their learning. Riley will discuss how he converted the assessments in his Introduction to Analysis course from a prelim-prelim-final model to a homework portfolio and quizzes with multiple attempts. Navickas will share how she creates a culture of accountability in her First Year Writing Seminar courses using different strategies including scaffolding assignments, a labor-based grading contract, and student reflections.Both the keynote and panel will be followed by Q&A sessions for faculty.
Past Events
Contact Information
To learn more about the Provost Working Group for Innovation and Assessment, please contact our team:
- Tim Riley, Director of the Active Learning Initiative
- Rob Vanderlan, Executive Director of the Center for Teaching Innovation
- AraOluwa Adaramola, Postdoctoral Associate, Center for Teaching Innovation