This article reports on the use of assessment center (AC) methods for student outcome assessment for undergraduate business school students at a large state university. Using the model of a traditional managerial AC, our student assessment center (SAC) project sought to use this technology for measuring business student outcomes. The SAC consisted of a 5-hour combination of performance-based exercises and a battery of pencil-and-paper tests and relevant personality inventories to assess students' work readiness. A total of 754 junior and senior students completed the AC. Reliability coefficients of ratings of SAC exercises were consistent with those found in professional managerial ACs. There was some evidence for the content and construct validity of our SAC, and cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses demonstrated the SAC's concurrent and predictive validity. Strengths, weaknesses, and costs of using AC methods for student outcome assessment are discussed and suggestions are made for using ACs in higher education.
American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) . (1989). Report of the AACSB Task Force on Outcome Measures. St. Louis, MO: Author.
2.
Bass, B.M. (1954). The leaderless group discussion. Psychological Bulletin, 51, 465-492.
3.
Boyatzis, R.E. (1982). The competent manager: A model for effective performance. New York: John Wiley.
4.
Brown, S. , & Glasner, A. (1999). Assessment matters in higher education: Choosing and using diverse approaches. London: Open University Press.
5.
Campbell, R.J. , & Bray, D.W. (1993). Use of an assessment center as an aid in management selection. Personnel Psychology, 46, 691-699.
6.
Engelbrecht, A.S. , & Fischer, A.H. (1995). The managerial performance implications of a developmental assessment center process. Human Relations, 48, 387-404.
7.
Fine, S.A. , & Getkate, M. (1995). Benchmark tasks for job analysis: A guide for functional job analysis (FJA) scales. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
8.
Gaugler, B.B. , Rosenthal, D.B., Thornton, G.C., & Bentson, C. (1987). Meta-analysis of assessment center validity. Journal of Applied Psychology, 74, 493-511.
9.
Howard, A. (1997). A reassessment of assessment centers: Challenges for the 21st century. In R.E. Riggio & B.T. Mayes (Eds.), Perspectives on assessment centers [Special issue]. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 12, 13-52.
Kottke, J.L. , & Shultz, K.S. (1997). Using an assessment center as a developmental tool for graduate students: A demonstration. In R.E. Riggio & B.T. Mayes, (Eds.), Perspectives on assessment centers [Special issue]. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 12, 289-302.
12.
Lowry, P.E. (1994). Selection methods: Comparison of assessment centers with personnel records evaluations. Public Personnel Management, 23, 383-395.
13.
Mayes, B.T. (1997). Insights into the history and future of assessment centers: An interview with Dr. Douglas W. Bray and Dr. William Byham. In R.E. Riggio & B.T. Mayes, (Eds.), Perspectives on assessment centers [Special issue]. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 12, 3-12.
14.
Mayes, B.T. , Belloli, C.A., Riggio, R.E., & Aguirre, M. (1997). Assessment centers for course evaluations: A demonstration. In R.E. Riggio & B.T. Mayes, (Eds.), Perspectives on assessment centers [Special issue]. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 12, 303-320.
15.
Messick, S.J. (Ed.). (1999). Assessment in higher education: Issues of access, quality, student development, and public policy: A festschrift in honor of Warren W. Willingham. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
16.
Mintzberg, H. (1973). The nature of managerial work. New York: Harper & Row.
17.
Mullin, R.G. , Shaffer, P.L., & Grelle, M.J. (1991). A study of the assessment center method of teaching basic management skills. In J.D. Bigelow (Ed.), Managerial skills: Explorations in practical knowledge (pp. 116-153). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
18.
Nunnally, J.C. (1978). Psychometric theory (2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
19.
Office of Strategic Services . (1948). The assessment of men. New York: Rinehart.
20.
Porter, L.W. , & McKibbin, L.E. (1988). Management education and development: Drift or thrust into the 21st century. New York: McGraw-Hill.
21.
Riggio, R.E. (1989). Manual for the Social Skills Inventory. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.
22.
Riggio, R.E. (2000). Introduction to industrial/organizational psychology (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
23.
Riggio, R.E.Aguirre, M. , Mayes, B.T., Belloli, C., & Kubiak, C. (1997). The use of assessment center methods for student outcome assessment. In R.E. Riggio & B.T. Mayes (Eds.), Perspectives on assessment centers [Special Issue]. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 12, 273-288.
24.
Riggio, R.E. , & Mayes, B.T. (Eds.). Assessment centers: Research and applications [Special Issue]. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 12.
25.
Schleicher, D.J. , Day, D.V., Mayes, B.T., & Riggio, R.E. (1999, April). A new frame for frame of reference training: Enhancing the construct validity of assessment centers. Paper presented at meeting of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Atlanta, GA.
26.
Schmitt, N. , Gooding, R.Z., Noe, R.A., & Kirsch, M. (1984). Meta-analysis of validity studies published between 1964 and 1982 and the investigation of study characteristics. Personnel Psychology, 37, 407-422.
27.
Thornton, G.C., III . (1992). Assessment centers in human resource management. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.
28.
U.S. Department of Labor . (1991). Dictionary of occupational titles (8th ed.). Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.
