Smarter, Not Harder

This Friday (tomorrow), we have an opportunity to learn ways we can work smarter. When I was an Assistant Dean, I quickly realized that Assurance of Learning (AOL)/Assessment is one area we are prone to work harder, not smarter. We try to do everything and measure everything. We spend so much time collecting and analyzing data and tweaking systems that we often forget to use the data to make improvements.

This is one area where simpler is better. Karen Tarnoff is an expert at making it happen. She is the Assistant Dean for Assurance of Learning and Assessment for the College of Business and Technology at East Tennessee State University. Karen is responsible for their SACS, AACSB, ABET, CADE, and AAFCS accreditations, so streamlining and focusing on what is most important is critical. And she finds time to facilitate the AACSB AOL seminars as well as help other schools.

Dr. Tarnoff will be facilitating the following sessions for us this Friday (tomorrow – Feb. 23) in Tate 207 (MBA room):

8:00       The AOL Process

9:45       Developing Learning Goals & Objectives (Revising Current Ones)

12:00   Developing AOL Rubrics (Lunch Provided)

2:30       Building a Robust AOL Division of Labor and Infrastructure

Special thanks to Gia and Marcia for making this day possible. I hope to see you there.

And, as a bonus, Tuesday’s HBR Ideacast was on a similar topic:

Companies Can Win by Reducing Overwork (hbr.org)

YOU make a difference!