2020 Challenge Accepted: Moving Beyond the Institutional Status Quo

Although 2020 began in a relatively normal way, many of our lives were challenged by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in Higher Education. Even in the face of uncertainty, Drexel University maintained committed to bringing together assessment practitioners from across the country and globe with our 7th annual assessment conference "Challenge Accepted: Moving Beyond the Institutional Status Quo." The theme of moving beyond the status quo could not have been more relevant as institutions of higher education pivoted quickly and successfully to meet the needs of our students, faculty, and staff in an assessment arena. Even in a virtual environment, Drexel University provided a robust conference experience to our presenters and attendees that included 4 pre-conference workshops, the AALHE Assessment Institute which had 3 sessions over 2 days, 20 concurrent sessions, 2 networking events, an opening plenary hosted by Andrew Flagel (PhD: President and CEO of the Consortium of Universities of the Washington Metropolitan Area), a luncheon plenary hosted by Teri Shapiro (PhD: Associate Professor of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Hofstra University), 1 snapshot session that included 4 presentations, and a roundtable discussion titled, "The Effects of the Coronavirus Pandemic on Higher Education", and an early morning Coffee Talk focusing on regional accreditation. As always, our incredible partnership with AEFIS allowed the conference to provide not only assessment related sessions like a Comprehensive Learner Record "Boot Camp" and a Makerspace session. But also sessions that focused on self-care such as virtual yoga and "Assessment the Musical." While the entire Conference Committee and all of our volunteers enjoy hosting this event in person each year, we saw first-hand that it is not the modality of the conference that determines success. It is our commitment to excellence and to our attendees that drive us each year no matter the obstacles.