Assessment in Student Affairs:Campus Life Programs
Dan BureauMahauganee Shaw
Positioning Assessment in Student Affairs
• Assessment – The ongoing, systematic process of collecting, analyzing, and using information about divisional, departmental, and programmatic effectiveness, in order to improve student learning (Upcraft & Schuh, 1996; Anderson, Bresciani, & Zelna, 2004).
The Assessment Cycle
in Studen
t Affairs Work
• It’s about being intentional, forward thinking and responsive all at the same time.
• It’s about positioning ourselves as educators who work with students outside the classroom
• It’s about shifting the focus from hoping they learn to expecting that they will learn
What are students learning?
• Assessing Learning– Determined outcomes– Student’s own perceptions
• EBI• CAS Student Learning and Development Domains• Student Voice – Student Unions and Activities Evaluation• NSSE• ACUI Assessment Toolkit• Home grown
What are the outcomes of involvement in student union events, programs and activities?
• Assess outcomes of engagement– Besides “learning,” what should they be able to do?– Student leaders, those involved and those who benefit from participation
in programs
• Student Voice• EBI• NSSE• Focus Groups• Basic work: what can you report from your interactions with
students over the span of time?
To what extent are students satisfied?
• Assessing satisfaction– Overall campus perceptions of your programs.– Perceptions of specific groups of students.
• NSSE • EBI• Home grown• Focus groups
To what extent are operations efficient?
• Assessing efficiency and operational effectiveness– What aspects can different functional areas improve upon?– Are there best practices that your institution can mirror/implement?
• CAS Standards• ACUInfo• Student Voice – Coming soon – (operational, size of facilities,
funding, services, etc.)• Interviews with colleagues• Professional immersion experience – why not?
To what extent is our staff competent?
• Assessing professional competence– Professional development opportunities (in-house, regional,
national)
• ACUI Core Competencies• Staff Evaluations• Student Evaluations of Staff• College Union and Student Activities Evaluation
Program
CUSA Benefits• Gain a peer-to-peer review of an institution’s college union and student
activities operation
• Develop perspective and appreciate the value of an institution’s college union and student activities program, services, and operations
• Assess levels of customer satisfaction
• Conduct a detailed analysis of areas responsible for delivering high-quality and customer-friendly programs, services, and facilities
• Influence the future direction of the organization
Diverse Approaches
• Quantitative– Surveys– Evaluations
• Qualitative– Open-ended surveys– Focus Groups– Interviews– Meetings with students– Observations
Make it a part of your work• If you don’t like assessment, find someone who does to help
you• Reframe your role
– Educator– Cycle of assessment– Reflection
• Revisit your current work– Track your time– What can you remove? Revise?
• Think like an assessment person– Interactions with students– Interactions with colleagues