Carol VanZile-Tamsen
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About
Carol VanZile-Tamsen, Ph.D., is an accomplished academic administrator and scholar specializing in educational psychology, assessment, and teaching innovation. She currently serves as Associate Vice Provost and Director of Curriculum, Assessment, & Teaching Transformation at the State University of New York at Buffalo. In this role, she has led critical initiatives including the integration of educational support services, advancement of online learning systems, and coordination of accreditation efforts.
With a robust academic foundation—including a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from SUNY Buffalo—Dr. VanZile-Tamsen has consistently blended research with practice throughout her career. Her scholarly focus lies in metacognitive self-regulation, instructional assessment, psychometric theory, and the scholarship of teaching and learning. She has taught a wide range of subjects such as educational statistics, psychometric theory, and human cognition, and has held adjunct roles in both the Graduate School of Education and the College of Arts and Sciences at SUNY Buffalo.
Dr. VanZile-Tamsen has over 25 peer-reviewed publications and numerous presentations addressing student retention, self-regulated learning, sexual assault research, and program evaluation. Her contributions have been recognized with honors including the Professional Staff Senate Staff Recognition Award and the Institutional Research Leadership in Student Retention Award. She was also a key participant in the Elon University Faculty Research Seminar on Capstone Experiences, a multi-national collaboration that generated influential publications on general education reform.
She brings extensive leadership and program development experience, having worked as a faculty member, research analyst, and associate director in various academic units, including the Center for Educational Innovation and the Office of University Accreditation. Her work often intersects institutional research, data analysis, accreditation, and continuous improvement planning.
Dr. VanZile-Tamsen's collaborative spirit has been instrumental in her work with national educational research networks such as the SUNY Council on Assessment and the Association for Authentic, Experiential and Evidence-Based Learning. Her research and policy advocacy extend to improving student learning assessment and leveraging data analytics to inform strategic academic planning.
With an h-index of 25 and over 3,000 citations on Google Scholar, Dr. VanZile-Tamsen remains an influential figure in higher education research. Her commitment to equity, data-driven decision-making, and fostering reflective learning environments continues to shape effective instructional strategies and institutional effectiveness across the SUNY system and beyond.
Skills & Expertise
Educational Assessment
Curriculum Design
Program Evaluation
Metacognitive Instruction
Data Analysis
Psychometrics
Rasch Analysis
Survey Design
Strategic Planning
Faculty Mentorship
Accreditation Reporting
Teaching Pedagogy
Mixed Methods Research
Instructional Design
Higher Education Administration
SPSS
AMOS
HLM
Qualitative Research
ePortfolio Design
Research Interests
Educational Psychology
Metacognition
Self-Regulated Learning
Assessment Strategy
Higher Education Leadership
Capstone Curriculum
Accreditation Standards
Learning Analytics
Program Evaluation
Institutional Research
Student Retention
Cognitive Development
Curriculum Innovation
Faculty Development
Sexual Assault Research
Assessment in Higher Education
Capstone Experiences
Cognitive Psychology
Educational Innovation
Student Retention Strategies
Teaching and Learning Scholarship
Psychometric Modeling
Sexual Assault and Substance Use Research
Instructional Effectiveness
General Education Reform
Learning Management Systems
Mixed Methods Analysis
Evaluation of Teaching Practices
Educational Technology Integration
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Experience
Director, Curriculum, Assessment, & Teaching Transformation
- In 2021, led the merger of the Center for Educational Innovation (CEI) and the Office of Educational Effectiveness (OEE) into a new, comprehensive office providing instructional support, management of the virtual learning environment, and oversight of comprehensive program review and student learning assessment. Foster collaboration among various units charged with supporting instructors, such as UB Information Technology and University Libraries. Provide support for select initiatives within the Division of Academic Affairs, such as serving as the implementation lead for the transition from Blackboard to the Brightspace learning management system. Compile relevant reports related to accreditation through the Middle States Commission on Higher Education and serve as the co-chair for the 2024 reaccreditation review.
Associate Director
Associate Director
- Coordinating assessment efforts at UB and assisting with the development of the self-study for our 2014 MSCHE reaccreditation visit. Design surveys and conduct research studies related to UB students and programs. Coordinate UB Advocates, a panel of students who participate in focus groups and web surveys. Prepare reports for publication and articles for newsletter dissemination. Currently assist with the design and implementation of the electronic annual faculty report. Serve as a consultant to university faculty and staff members in the areas of survey design and administration, statistical analysis, and qualitative data analysis.
Data Manager/Statistician
- Employed to maintain two large NIH_funded longitudinal data sets. Responsibilities include cleaning raw data, computing scores, running basic descriptive statistics, conducting analyses for project publications and presentations, and assisting with interpretation of results. Helped disseminate findings by writing manuscripts for publication.
Associate Professor
- Carried out a dual research agenda related to the self-regulated strategy use of college students and constructivist teaching strategies. Conducted both quantitative and qualitative research projects. Taught courses related to research methods, measurement, and data analysis for graduate students in education and counseling. Assisted fellow faculty members with research and data analysis and taught SPSS workshops for students and faculty alike. Taught via distance technology a course offered at 5 remote sites. Courses taught: Assessment and the Effective Use of Data, Developmental Psychology, Educational Psychology, Educational Research, Psychology of Classroom Learning, Research and Program Evaluation, Tests and Measurement. Promoted to Associate Professor and awarded tenure April, 2001.
Education
University at Buffalo, New York
University at Buffalo, New York
University of Pittsburgh (UP)
Thesis Guided (1)
Metacognitive Self-Regulation and the Daily Academic Activities of College Students
Institution: University at Buffalo, New York
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