University of Phoenix Academic Leadership Publish Article Establishing Process for Using Generative AI in Assessment

By: University of Phoenix via Business Wire

January 31, 2025 at 17:31 PM EST

Drs. Eric Page, Gretchen Meyers and Eve Krahe Billings led assessment framework development for University curricula

University of Phoenix Dean of Academic Innovation and Evaluation Eve Krahe Billings, Ph.D.; Eric Page, Ed.D., senior manager, Assessment; and Gretchen Meyers, Ed.D., director, Assessment, published an article offering a framework to integrate generative artificial intelligence (AI) into course assessments grounded in existing learning theory, “Theory to Practice: A Framework for Generative AI,” in the publication, Intersection: A Journal at the Intersection of Assessment and Learning.

“Recent advancements in generative artificial intelligence (AI) have disrupted assessment practices within the higher education sector,” states Krahe Billings. “At a time when progressive educators are pushing to move from traditional assessment mechanisms to authentic assessments that are career-relevant, and when employers are anticipating the development of skills related to generative AI, usage will be pivotal in many industries and there is opportunity to be career-focused and effective in building it into curricula for working adult learners.”

The authors propose a framework to integrate generative AI into formative and summative assessments across Bloom’s Taxonomy levels and Knowledge Dimensions in order to illustrate the versatility and intricacy of generative AI’s potential applications grounded in existing learning theory while retaining a focus on authentic assessment.

“Faculty, instructional designers, and academic leaders could benefit from examples of how to integrate generative AI into assessment design in a variety of learning contexts, specifically with a connection to existing theoretical models,” shares Page. “This paper aims to provide that and offers a table demonstrating our process and framework.”

The authors worked on a framework informed by the University’s established approach to building career-focused curricula. The authors collectively reviewed and vetted for appropriate, inventive, authentic, and career-relevant use of generative AI in education, correct and clearly differentiated Bloom’s leveling, and meaningful formative to summative assessment scaffolding, then incorporated feedback from internal stakeholders including college deans, an instructional designer, an institutional assessment professional, and a faculty training and development professional.

As Dean of Academic Innovation & Evaluation, Krahe Billings oversees student learning assessment across the University as well as the institution’s skills-aligned curriculum initiative from the perspective that learners benefit from socialization to the rigor, critical thinking, academic expectations, and longstanding traditions that are the hallmark of higher education. Krahe Billings earned her Ph.D. focused in Complexity Science and Innovation at Arizona State University. Krahe Billings is a 2019 Wellesley cohort HERS fellow and a past member of the Board of Directors and executive committee of the American Association of University Administrators. She served as lead author on a Fall 2022 white paper on the University’s foundational work building a career-focused skills ecosystem for adult learners.

Page is a Senior Assessment Manager at University of Phoenix and Associate Faculty in the University’s Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) program. His prior experience across higher education includes serving as Director of Retention and Assessment, Associate Program Director of General Education, and over a decade of teaching at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Foundational to the framework for generative AI, he previously published, “From the Knowledge Dimension to Assessment Design: A Theory to Practice Assessment Framework,” in the publication, The Assessment Review, A City University of New York (CUNY) Publication in 2024. His educational credentials include an Ed.D. in Higher and Postsecondary Education from Argosy University, an M.S. in School Counseling from SUNY Albany, and a B.A. in Psychology from SUNY Geneseo.

In her role as Director of Assessment, Meyers oversees academic assessment that relies on innovative practices including administering the University’s Rapid Assessment Process (RAP) and Comprehensive Assessment Process (CAP). Both processes integrate quantitative student learning data with rich qualitative insights from faculty. The implementation of both is described in “Increasing Engagement of Faculty in Assessment” published in Phoenix Scholar, in 2022. Meyers also serves as Associate Faculty in the College of Education and received the Faculty of the Year award in 2017. She is active on the Assessment Learning Exchange as part of the Association for the Assessment in Higher Education (AALHE). She holds an Ed.D. in Administration and Educational Technology and M.A. in Curriculum and Instruction from University of Phoenix, and an M.A. in Reading and Literacy from Walden University.

The published article “Theory to Practice: A Framework for Generative AI” is available online at Intersection: A Journal at the Intersection of Assessment and Learning.

About University of Phoenix

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