The University Assessment Program was founded in 1988. There were five aspects to this, the University's first, effort to comprehensively assess the quality of undergraduate education:

1. The Longitudinal Study, a four-year panel study of the undergraduate class of 1992, aimed at understanding the following aspects of undergraduate students' lives: goals and accomplishments, academic and extracurricular activities, important decisions, including choosing a major and a career, and the particularities of being a transfer student and a student in the transition program.
2. A study of general education requirements in the College of Arts and Sciences. This study included a review of area requirements by a faculty committee, a pilot study in the College which included surveys, interviews, and the collection of a portfolio by students.
3. Assessment in the Majors, a program which required academic departments to submit formal plans to the Provost for conducting their own assessment of programmatic strengths and weaknesses.
4. An examination of the effectiveness of the University's transition program, which sought to provide additional support to disadvantaged or underachieving students in the summer before their arrival and in their first semester.
5. A survey of alumni about their experiences at the University, and how these affected their career and life after graduation.

The Assessment Program merged with the Office of Planning and Institutional Studies in 1993 and became the Office of Planning, Assessment and Studies. In 1994, the planning mission was moved to a separate office, and the office was renamed Institutional Assessment and Studies. While the assessment mission has remained the same, the integration of the assessment and institutional studies offices has facilitated the logical and mutual support of the University's assessment and institutional studies units.

In 1995, IAS began planning for the implementation of a University-wide program review process. Program Review for academic schools, departments, and programs is a comprehensive process of planning and assessment conducted by the office of the Vice President and Provost for the academic area. Program Review in each school provides a means for each school, department, or program to ask whether it is moving towards its stated goals and to reaffirm the appropriateness of those goals. Program Review also provides opportunities to identify needed improvements and develop strategies to effect those improvements. In short, the program review process is intended to improve the quality of teaching, research, and service, by enabling faculty and administrators to give systematic, thoughtful consideration to their educational practices and to make changes when needed.

The first reviews were conducted in the 1996-97 academic year and the first cycle of reviews continued for another four years, ending in 2000-2001. In all, 75 academic programs in the College of Arts and Sciences, the McIntire School of Commerce, the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, the Nursing School, the Curry School of Education, and the School of Architecture were reviewed. To see the 5-year schedule and a list of the individual programs for the first cycle of Program Review, click here. At the end of the 2000-2001 cycle, a review of Program Review was conducted to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the process and to make suggestions for improvement. The results of this review were carefully considered in drafting a plan to begin a second cycle of Program Review, to begin in the Spring of 2003 and to include all academic programs (the first cycle did not include Law, Darden or the Medical School). The new process was piloted in the 2004-05 academic year and full implementation began in 2005-06.