As it is part of the professional responsibility of programs and faculty members to collect and evaluate evidence of student learning to make appropriate improvements in curriculum and pedagogy, the control over that assessment process should also rest with the responsible parties. Programs and faculty members can make the best choices about the learning outcomes, the most effective assessment methods, the best processes for collecting and analyzing the data, and the most informed judgments about what changes are suggested by the evidence.

Assessment evidence of student learning is not intended be used to negatively affect the employment, promotion status, or salary of faculty. Ferris recognizes that faculty can best collect and analyze effective evidence of their student learning and make changes to enhance the educational environment when they can do so without fear of penalty.