What Critics Are Saying About Relationship-Centered Assessment in Higher Education
What if effective assessment in higher education depends on more than data?
Relationship-Centered Assessment in Higher Education: A Model for Leadership and Practice, the forthcoming book by Emilie Clucas Leaderman and Gina B. Polychronopoulos, explores a simple but often overlooked idea: assessment is fundamentally about people and relationships.
Published by Routledge and scheduled for release on October 16, 2026, the book introduces the RARE Model, a relationship-centered framework designed to help higher education assessment professionals build stronger, more collaborative relationships with faculty and staff.
Early critics of the book highlight its practical approach, counseling-informed perspective, and potential to reshape how assessment leaders think about engagement, collaboration, and institutional improvement.
Why Relationship-Centered Assessment Matters
Higher education assessment often focuses on collecting and interpreting evidence, measuring student learning, documenting outcomes, and supporting continuous improvement.
But the success of those activities depends on people.
Faculty and staff need to participate in assessment processes. They need to understand why assessment matters, have opportunities to contribute their expertise, and feel that assessment is something they are participating in rather than something being imposed upon them.
This is where relationship-centered assessment offers a different perspective.
Rather than treating relationships as secondary to the technical work of assessment, Clucas Leaderman and Polychronopoulos place relationships at the center of effective assessment leadership.
Assessment Is More Than Data
Gavin Henning, Professor of Higher Education and Director of the Doctor of Education and Master of Higher Education Administration Programs at New England College, emphasizes this point in his review of the book.
He describes assessment as more than "loops, data, reports, and dashboards," highlighting the importance of creating a relationship-centered assessment culture.
The message is straightforward: better assessment isn't only about better information. It's also about creating the conditions for people to use that information meaningfully.
For assessment professionals, that can mean shifting the focus from simply gathering evidence toward creating conversations that encourage reflection, inquiry, and improvement.
The Human Side of Assessment Leadership
Nick Curtis, Director of Assessment at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and Editor-in-Chief of Research & Practice in Assessment, praises the book for making visible the interpersonal foundations of effective assessment leadership.
That interpersonal focus is central to the authors' approach.
Assessment professionals frequently work across departments, disciplines, and institutional roles. They may need to facilitate difficult conversations, encourage participation, respond to resistance, build trust, and help stakeholders see the value of assessment.
These aren't simply technical assessment tasks.
They are relationship-building skills.
By bringing counseling-informed strategies into the assessment conversation, the RARE Model provides a framework for thinking more intentionally about these interactions.
Introducing the RARE Model
The RARE Model provides four interconnected areas for relationship-centered assessment practice:
Relate
Effective assessment leadership begins with relationships. Relating involves developing meaningful connections with the people involved in assessment and creating a foundation for collaboration.
Affirm
Assessment professionals can strengthen engagement by recognizing people's experiences, expertise, perspectives, and contributions. Affirmation helps create an environment where stakeholders feel valued rather than evaluated.
Readiness
Not every individual, department, or institution is at the same point in its willingness to engage with assessment. Understanding readiness can help assessment leaders respond more effectively to different circumstances.
Embolden
Relationship-centered assessment isn't simply about creating positive interactions. It is also about helping people develop the confidence and ownership to engage with assessment and use what they learn to support improvement.
Together, these four elements offer a practical framework for building stronger assessment relationships.
From Assessment Compliance to Meaningful Improvement
One of the most compelling ideas highlighted by the book's critics is the possibility of reframing assessment from a compliance activity into an opportunity for learning and professional development.
Assessment requirements aren't necessarily going away. But the way institutions approach those requirements can change.
When assessment is built around trust, empathy, shared purpose, and collaboration, the process can become more meaningful for the people involved.
The third critic reviewer describes the book as demonstrating how these principles can help transform institutional effectiveness work from a compliance task into a catalyst for learning and professional development.
That shift is at the heart of relationship-centered assessment.
A Practical Approach for Higher Education Assessment Professionals
Relationship-Centered Assessment in Higher Education isn't intended only for researchers studying assessment theory.
The book offers a practical toolkit of strategies, microskills, and reflective exercises designed for assessment professionals and higher education leaders.
Its flexible approach also recognizes that institutions, departments, and individuals have different needs.
Instead of prescribing a single solution, the authors encourage readers to experiment with relationship-centered practices and adapt them to their own roles and institutional contexts.
This practical orientation makes the book relevant to both new and experienced assessment professionals looking to strengthen stakeholder engagement.
What the Critics Are Saying
Across the three early reviews, several themes consistently emerge.
Relationships are foundational to effective assessment leadership: Assessment leaders need more than technical expertise. They also need the ability to build trust, communicate effectively, navigate challenging conversations, and create meaningful partnerships.
Assessment is people work: Data, reports, dashboards, and assessment cycles are only part of the picture. People ultimately determine whether assessment leads to meaningful change.
Empathy can strengthen assessment practice: A counseling-informed approach can provide assessment professionals with new ways to understand stakeholder perspectives and respond to the human challenges that accompany assessment work.
A strong assessment culture supports continuous improvement: When faculty and staff are engaged as partners rather than simply recipients of assessment requirements, assessment can become a vehicle for deeper inquiry, learning, and improvement.
Rethinking Higher Education Assessment Through Relationships
The critics' reviews point to a broader question for anyone working in higher education assessment:
What could assessment look like if relationships were treated as a core part of the process rather than an afterthought?
That question is central to Relationship-Centered Assessment in Higher Education and the RARE Model.
The book offers assessment professionals a framework for thinking about engagement differently: not simply how to collect better evidence, but how to build the relationships that allow evidence to lead to meaningful conversations and action.
For higher education leaders, assessment professionals, faculty, and staff interested in creating more collaborative assessment cultures, the RARE Model offers a practical starting point.
Explore Relationship-Centered Assessment
Relationship-Centered Assessment in Higher Education: A Model for Leadership and Practice by Emilie Clucas Leaderman and Gina B. Polychronopoulos is forthcoming from Routledge on October 16, 2026.
The book provides a deeper exploration of the RARE Model and offers practical strategies for bringing relationship-centered assessment into higher education practice.
Interested in building stronger relationships around assessment? Explore the RARE Model and discover how Relate, Affirm, Readiness, and Embolden can help create more collaborative and meaningful assessment practices.