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Office of Assessment and Accreditation
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Office of Assessment and Accreditation

The Office of Assessment and Accreditation (OAA) supports assessment, accreditation, and quality improvement efforts of A.T. Still University (ATSU). OAA is a reporting unit of Academic Affairs. OAA uses educational data, allowing for accurate and timely provision of information, and reports to members of the ATSU community. The assessment and accreditation processes institutionalized by OAA ensure the validity and quality of the higher education offered at ATSU. Team members within the office have major support roles for assessment and accreditation throughout the University, taking active leadership roles on institutional committees and in external organizations, including the strategic and operational supporting roles in pursuit of the University’s re-accreditation by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC).

  • Purpose +

    • With a focus on continuous quality improvement guided by evidence, OAA works to advance ATSU’s mission as an innovative learning-centered university by providing facilitation, support, and leadership for assessment endeavors, program reviews, and accreditations across the University.

  • Responsibilities +

      1. OAA fosters a culture of assessment across all levels of the University.
      2. OAA guides and implements the academic program review process across all schools and colleges of the University.
      3. OAA provides leadership for the HLC accreditation process and support for discipline and program accreditations across the University’s schools and colleges.

  • Administration and Staff +

    • Christopher Crismon, MA
      Director of the Office of Assessment and Accreditation

      Christopher Crismon, MSP, is director of the Office of Assessment and Accreditation (OAA). He works closely with Academic Affairs and manages his team to foster best practices and ensure ATSU’s quality higher education through developed processes in assessment and accreditation. He is a member of the University-Wide Assessment Committee (all subcommittees), member of the HLC Steering Committee, and the lead active role in assessing, addressing, maintaining, and archiving all ATSU assessment and accreditation projects. He started working at A.T. Still University, in the OAA, in April of 2024.

      Christopher has accumulated 20 years of experience in leading accreditation and regulatory compliance efforts in both the for-profit and public sectors of higher education working towards obtaining or reaffirming accreditations with three institutional accreditors and nine programmatic accreditors across multiple disciplines. He serves as a peer reviewer for the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools and the Association for Advancing Quality in Educator Preparation. Previously, he has worked with Educause as a Professional Pathways Advisor to executives in higher education. Christopher is currently enrolled in a Juris Doctorate program with an expected graduation date of January 2027. He has a Master of Science in Psychology and a Bachelor of Science in Management from the University of Phoenix. In his free time, Christopher enjoys spending time with his wife and daughters doing a number of activities, including swimming, hiking, and traveling.

      April Colbert, MSM
      Assistant Director, Office of Assessment & Accreditation

      April Colbert, MSM, is the Assistant Director of the Office of Assessment and Accreditation (OAA). April is responsible for managing and coordinating University accreditation efforts, assisting with programmatic accreditation reviews through collaboration with ATSU’s schools, colleges, and programs. As the system administrator for the University survey software, Course Evaluations & Surveys (CES), April manages all aspects of the tool, including training staff and user support. April also contributes to creating and generating HLC assurance arguments for reaccreditation, manage ATSU's academic and non-academic program review processes, track and support programs undergoing external accreditation, and is responsible for the management, development, distribution and collection of the Director's, SVPAA and Deans' evaluations.

      April has 20 years of experience leading higher education institutions in academics, academic operations, accreditation, and state affairs in the private sector for both for-profit and non-profit organizations. Over the years, she has worked with five institutional accreditors and eleven programmatic accreditors to obtain or reaffirm accreditation. In recent years, April has worked with Expert Education Consultants, providing guidance to higher education leaders about accreditation and state authorization. To date, she has guided and prepared fourteen organizations to launch new school operations, implement new programs, enter new markets, and begin or maintain accreditation initiatives.

      April has a Master of Science in Management with an emphasis in Leadership from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and a Bachelor of Business Administration with a concentration in Healthcare Administration from American InterContinental University. April has been a volunteer with the Tampa Bay Beagle Rescue for several years and fosters beagles and hound mixed breeds with complex medical diagnoses as well as hounds with a severe abuse history. She also has extensive education & training with crocodilians and venomous reptiles. She has volunteered over the years with various laboratories to extract venom from elapidae & viperdae species for the research and development of antivenoms and new medications. Most recently, she has started volunteering with colleagues to extract venom from North American viperdae species and also assist with conservation and education efforts. In her spare time, April enjoys performing arts events with her twin daughters (both are semi-professional musicians), hiking, fossil hunting, traveling, flying, and spending time with her “Beagle Brigade”.

      Holly Klusmeyer
      University Assessment Project Manager

      Holly Klusmeyer is the university assessment project manager at ATSU. Klusmeyer works closely with her team as they collect, assess, address, and archive assessment techniques from all levels of the University. In doing so, she collaborates with and supports the needs of faculty, staff, and students as they nurture and maximize varying techniques of assessment in higher education. Klusmeyer is most dedicated to mapping University core professional attributes to the University curricular and co-curricular outcomes, taking on the support role for this institutional software. Klusmeyer serves as a member on university committees and actively participates in the University accreditation process for the Higher Learning Commission (ATSU’s regional accrediting body). She has attended conferences for assessment and/or accreditation.

      Klusmeyer graduated from University of Central Missouri with a bachelor’s in Special Education. As assessment specialist, she finds her skills in education for 18 years are used daily, whether she is assessing the validity of a course syllabus or editing a critical document for institutional process.

  • Core Professional Attributes +

    • The OAA played a vital role in the creation of ATSU’s institutional outcomes, better known as the Core Professional Attributes (CPAs).

      ATSU’s CPAs enable graduates to select, adapt, and apply their discipline-specific knowledge and skills to varying situations, enhancing competence and improving outcomes across all aspects of their roles as healthcare professionals.

      Learn more

  • Accreditation +

    • ATSU is regionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. ATSU has many programs that are accredited by outside agencies. The University also requires all programs to undergo periodic program review.

      Institutional accreditation

      A.T. Still University of Health Sciences is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission.

      230 S. LaSalle Street, Suite 7-500,
      Chicago, IL 60604

      Phone: 800.621.7440
      Fax: 312.263.7462

      Email: info@hlcommission.org

      hlcommission.org

      Program accreditation

      For all programs, the University conducts a rigorous program review cycle to ensure the quality of all program offerings in addition to the many externally accredited reviews that ATSU programs undergo. More about program review.

      Learn more

  • Program Review +

    • The purpose of ATSU program review is to improve student learning through academic program assessment. The internal review process provides systematic evidence of a program’s effectiveness with respect to the discipline and policy and assures consistency with the University’s mission. Broad and comprehensive program review identifies strengths as well as needs and shapes future program priorities. Program review results and recommendations guide resource allocation and decision-making at the University level.

      Program review goals:

      1. Assure high-quality, professional programs are provided for students;
      2. Identify opportunities for improvement in each program;
      3. Assist program with plans to implement changes to improve student learning; and
      4. Archive programmatic changes at the University level.

      Learn more

  • Committees and Conferences +

    • Conferences the OAA attends:

      AIR and RM-AIR Annual Conferences

      HLC Annual Conference

      IUPUI Annual Conference

      Watermark Conference

      Conferences and/or events which members of the OAA have presented:

      2018-2023 HLC Conference

      2018-2023 Watermark Conference

      2017 Taskstream/TK20 Conference, presenter

      2016 HLC Conference, speaker

      2016 HLC Collection of Papers, essay

      2016 AIR, poster

      2015 HLC Conference, speaker

      2015 AIR Conference, poster

      2014 Taskstream Conference, presenter

      2014 IUPUI Conference, speaker

      Committees the OAA serves on:

      Academic Support & Information Technology Committee: Christopher Crismon

      ACOD: Christopher Crismon

      DEC: Christopher Crismon

      HLC Steering Committee: Christopher Crismon

      Institutional Research Committee: Christopher Crismon

      OAA Advisory Council: Christopher Crismon and Holly Klusmeyer

      Online Migration Team: Christopher Crismon

      University-wide Assessment Committee: Christopher Crismon and Holly Klusmeyer

      University-wide Assessment Committee—Academic Subcommittee: Christopher Crismon and Holly Klusmeyer

      University-wide Assessment Committee—Resources Subcommittee: Christopher Crismon and Holly Klusmeyer

      University-wide Assessment Committee Steering Committee: Christopher Crismon