This is the author manuscript accepted for publication and has undergone full peer review but has not been through the copyediting, typesetting, pagination and proofreading process, which may lead to differences between this version and the Version of Record. Please cite this article as doi: 10.1002/tl.20299. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. In this chapter we describe strategies teaching and learning centers can use in partnering with programs to conduct action-oriented assessment projects. We illustrate these strategies with examples from an evaluation of a social engagement requirement for art and design students. Partnering with Teaching and Learning Centers for Curricular Assessment: A Case Study of Best Practices Tracy Bartholomew, Mary C. Wright, Charlie Michaels In some institutions, there is little interaction between those who collect and report assessment data and those who focus on improving teaching and learning. Teaching centers are in a unique position to bridge this gap by partnering with faculty and administrators on curricular assessment (Wright, Goldwasser, Jacobson, and Dakes 2017). Research on faculty and administrator support for institutional effectiveness activities suggests why teaching centers are well positioned to facilitate these endeavors. Faculty are more likely to participate in assessment activities if they believe these activities stem from an internally driven need (as opposed to external pressures) and if they have personal involvement over their design and implementation (Welsh and Metcalf 2003a). An emphasis on the applications of assessment data—or ―real results arising from instruction and efforts to improve‖—is also critically important to achieve buy-in (Welsh and Metcalf 2003a, 41). Teaching centers can play important roles in fostering all of these dynamics. Staff at teaching centers typically have much experience working with academic administrators and faculty on critical assessment- related tasks, such as defining local instructional needs, helping faculty work collaboratively, facilitating conversations and events that will prompt curricular enhancement, and providing resources to support follow-up and implementation of changes (Cook, Meizlish, and Wright 2011).