Assessment is not difficult to talk about and conceptualize, but in the real world of classrooms, deadlines, students, faculty, departments, administrators, and accountability the practice can appear a mare's nest of clashing interests and perceptions. Chapters in this volume untangle that nest as the editors review assessment at:

• Alverno College
• Colorado State University
• Frederick Community College
• Isothermal Community College
• John Carroll University
• Northern Arizona University
• North Carolina State University
• Oregon State University
• Paradise Valley Community College
• Pennsylvania State University
• California State University, Sacramento
• Texas A&M University
• Widener University

From student involvement and software development to the use of assessment data in strategic planning and the broad institutionalization of a pilot program, there is something here for everyone responsible for assessment in higher education.

This is the 127th volume of the Jossey-Bass quarterly report series New Directions for Student Services. An indispensable resource for vice presidents of student affairs, deans of students, student counselors, and other student services professionals, New Directions for Student Services offers guidelines and programs for aiding students in their total development: emotional, social, physical, and intellectual.