UND Today

University of North Dakota’s Official News Source

UND’s new director of Institutional Effectiveness and Accreditation

Shane Schellpfeffer has extensive experience in higher education assessment and evaluation

After a nationwide search, Shane Schellpfeffer has been appointed to the position of Director of Institutional Effectiveness and Accreditation at UND.

The appointment was made by Karyn Plumm, UND’s vice provost of undergraduate studies and student success. Schellpfeffer is currently the Associate Director of Assessment at Kansas State University, and his start date at UND will be July 3.

“We are excited to welcome Shane to the Assessment & Accreditation team at UND,” Plumm said. “He will be an excellent fit for this position, given his experience in outcomes-based assessment of academic and co-curricular programs. His previous work with faculty and staff in accreditation will help lead UND through our institutional accreditation process.

“Additionally, his goal of providing better assessment-related data, with a focus on predictive and curricular analytics, will help us improve our assessment practices.”

Schellpfeffer expressed his enthusiasm about coming to UND.

“I am excited to join the UND community as an employee, as it’s a community I have been a part of as a student since 2018,” he said. “I look forward to working with academic and co-curricular programs in an effort to enhance the assessment process, streamline accreditation, and harness the power of data for the University.”

In his position as the Director of Institutional Effectiveness and Accreditation, Schellpfeffer will provide leadership for the processes related to assessing the university’s performance relative to its mission, vision, values and strategic goals. He will help promote a culture of comprehensive assessment at UND and administrative oversight to UND’s institutional accreditation efforts.

Schellpfeffer has served in his current role at Kansas State University since May 2021. He has approximately 10 years of experience in higher education related to assessment and evaluation, as well as experience with key accrediting organizations such as the Higher Learning Commission and Liaison Committee on Medical Education.

Prior to arriving at K-State, he was the Coordinator of Education and Evaluation and then Director of Evaluation and Assessment at a medical school. In addition, he has experience in student affairs assessment while working in a Dean of Students Office and as a residence hall director.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Augustana College in Sioux Falls, S.D., a master’s degree in education from Texas Christian University, a doctorate in educational administration from the University of South Dakota and is currently a doctoral candidate at the University of North Dakota in the Educational Foundations and Research program. His areas of interest in scholarship and research include learning analytics, predictive analytics as it applies to assessment, IPEDS datasets, and curricular analytics.