While there are many important reasons to engage in assessment, the following are most fundamental from the Providence College perspective:

• Identifying Purpose—determining how actions help to  fulfill institutional and departmental mission
• Building Evidence—generating evidence-based answers to questions such as: are we doing what we say we do; are we doing well what we say we do?
• Formal Linking of Mission, Goals, and Outcomes—connecting purpose and performance
• Regional Accreditation/Governmental Mandates—responding to external demands; e.g., NEASC identified assessment as an area for significant improvement during the College’s 1997 accreditation review and an area for continued improvement during the College's 2007 comprehensive visit
• Competition—providing constituents with evidence of success and positive outcomes