Student Outcomes Assessment Plan
Postsecondary Education: Student Affairs
University of Northern Iowa
April 2014
Assessment Philosophy and Program Goals
The Master's Degree in Postsecondary Education: Student Affairs prepares individuals who currently
serve as student affairs professionals or who aspire to careers in the field of student affairs in
postsecondary education. Our program is built around the following beliefs and values.
•
We believe that a body of knowledge forms the basis for effective practice in the field of student
affairs. This body of knowledge includes student development theory, organization and governance
of postsecondary education, history and philosophy of higher education, ethics, law, leadership
functional areas and language of the student affairs profession, and the college effects literature.
•
In addition to content knowledge related to the field of student affairs, we believe that student
affairs practitioners need the intellectual skills required of most other professionals including
conceptualizing, analyzing, and problem solving and that success in the field is a product of the
context in which practitioners work and the personal and professional qualities and skills they
possess.
•
We support the values of the student affairs profession as formally articulated in such documents
produced by the Council on Academic Standards (CAS), A Statement for Ethical Principles and
Standards by the American College Personnel Association (ACPA), and Ethical Standards of
Professional Practice by the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA).
(See http://www.uni.edu/coe/departments/educational-leadership-counseling-postsecondaryeducation/postsecondary-education/progr-1.)
As a department, we believe in the power of assessment to provide insights and information to guide
the development of individual courses, curriculum, and the program as a whole. We believe that data
and information provided through assessment offer a starting point for collaboration and conversation
among members of the program faculty, and it is that interaction which will support and lead to ongoing
program quality and development.
Student Outcomes and Competencies
In 2011-2012, faculty in the program of Postsecondary Education: Student Affairs adopted the
statement of student affairs competencies jointly created and endorsed by the American College
Student Personnel Association and the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators
(NASPA). These goals form the basis for curriculum decisions and the framework for the required
student portfolio for the program:
Advising and Helping: The Advising and Helping competency area addresses the knowledge, skills, and
attitudes related to providing counseling and advising support, direction, feedback, critique, referral,
and guidance to individuals and groups.
Assessment, Evaluation and Research: The Assessment, Evaluation, and Research competency area
(AER) focuses on the ability to use, design, conduct, and critique qualitative and quantitative AER
Postsecondary Education SOA Plan—April 2014—page 1 of 8
analyses; to manage organizations using AER processes and the results obtained from them; and to
shape the political and ethical climate surrounding AER processes and uses on campus.
Equity, Diversity and Inclusion: The Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) competency area includes the
knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to create learning environments that are enriched with diverse
views and people. It is also designed to create an institutional ethos that accepts and celebrates
differences among people, helping to free them of any misconceptions and prejudices.
Ethical Professional Practice: The Ethical Professional Practice competency area pertains to the
knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to understand and apply ethical standards to one’s work. While
ethics is an integral component of all the competency areas, this competency area focuses specifically
on the integration of ethics into all aspects of self and professional practice.
History, Philosophy, and Values: The History, Philosophy, and Values competency area involves
knowledge, skills, and attitudes that connect the history, philosophy, and values of the profession to
one’s current professional practice. This competency area embodies the foundations of the profession
from which current and future research and practice will grow. The commitment to demonstrating this
competency area ensures that our present and future practices are informed by an understanding of our
history, philosophy, and values.
Human and Organizational Resources: The Human and Organizational Resources competency area
includes knowledge, skills, and attitudes used in the selection, supervision, motivation, and formal
evaluation of staff; conflict resolution; management of the politics of organizational discourse; and the
effective application of strategies and techniques associated with financial resources, facilities
management, fundraising, technology use, crisis management, risk management, and sustainable
resources.
Law, Policy, and Governance: The Law, Policy, and Governance competency area includes the
knowledge, skills, and attitudes relating to policy development processes used in various contexts, the
application of legal constructs, and the understanding of governance structures and their impact on
one’s professional practice.
Leadership: The Leadership competency area addresses the knowledge, skills, and attitudes required of
a leader, whether it be a positional leader or a member of the staff, in both an individual capacity and
within a process of how individuals work together effectively to envision, plan, effect change in
organizations, and respond to internal and external constituencies and issues.
Personal Foundations: The Personal Foundations competency area involves the knowledge, skills, and
attitudes to maintain emotional, physical, social, environmental, relational, spiritual, and intellectual
wellness; be self-directed and self-reflective; maintain excellence and integrity in work; be comfortable
with ambiguity; be aware of one’s own areas of strength and growth; have a passion for work; and
remain curious.
Student Learning and Development: The Student Learning and Development competency area
addresses the concepts and principles of student development and learning theory. This includes the
ability to apply theory to improve and inform student affairs practice, as well as understanding teaching
and training theory and practice.
The electronic portfolio required of students in the program provides students with descriptions of the
competency areas and behavioral descriptions for the competencies at the basic level appropriate for
professionals entering the field. Behavioral descriptions for these competencies at basic, intermediate,
and advanced levels of practice 2010 publication ACPA and NASPA Professional Competency Areas for
Student Affairs Practitioners available online at
Postsecondary Education SOA Plan—April 2014—page 2 of 8
http://www.naspa.org/images/uploads/main/Professional_Competencies.pdf
Two additional areas for competency continued from the earlier set of program outcomes and based on
CAS standards are competencies in communication and use of technology, taken from the Practical
Competence domain of the General Standards for programs, found at
http://www.cas.edu/getpdf.cfm?PDF=E868395C-F784-2293-129ED7842334B22A.
Assessment Methods and Frequency of Assessment
The program uses four major sources of information for assessment of student learning during the
program.
Student Portfolios (Direct Assessment)
Every student enrolled in the Postsecondary Education program, either part-time or full-time, is required
to upload artifacts to ifolio, the electronic portfolio for the program, throughout the course of his/her
studies. The ifolio was created through collaboration of program faculty and resides on portfolio
software provided by the university. The artifacts are samples of student work related to the
competencies for the program, along with end-of-program reflections on their growth and learning
related to each competency area, and an overall end-of-semester reflection for each semester in the
program. Students are also required to upload their list of courses completed, supervisor evaluations
for practicums and/or internships, the PowerPoint for their final presentation, and a written evaluation
of the Postsecondary program. Students receive comments and feedback on their artifacts and
reflections from their program advisor, as well as other program faculty.
The program head and all faculty members have access to students’ portfolios throughout their time in
the program. Faculty members review each student’s ifolio contents at the end of the program through
the use of a rubric that examines completeness of the portfolio and quality of the work presented (see
below).
A Student End-of-Program Oral Presentation (Direct Assessment)
Within the last few weeks before graduation from the program, students are required to complete an
oral presentation of their key learning from the program, discussing what they learned and what aspects
of the program, inside or outside of class, contributed to that learning. The presentation is made to
program faculty members and any family or friends that they choose to invite. The PowerPoint or Prezi
created for the program is uploaded to the student’s electronic portfolio.
Faculty member in attendance at each student’s oral presentation complete a rubric on the level of
reflection evidenced in the presentation; the head of the Postsecondary program collects and combines
the comments and evaluations and provides those to the student. The rubric was developed through
collaboration of the program faculty. (See the rubric below.)
An End-of-Program Survey of Graduating Students (Indirect Assessment)
An anonymous survey is e-mailed to students prior to graduation to gather information related to their
perceptions of their level of learning related to the program competencies and their perceptions of the
contributions to their learning made by selected aspects of the program—e.g., internships and/or
practicums, participation in Student Affairs Pre-Professional Association, electronic portfolio, etc.
Content of the survey is reviewed by faculty each year for addition or deletion of survey items, in
addition to core survey content related to students’ perceptions of their learning related to the
Postsecondary Education SOA Plan—April 2014—page 3 of 8
competencies. One faculty member is assigned to create the survey using an electronic survey tool
(either Qualtrics or SurveyMonkey); students are provided the link to the survey in a letter from the
program head that invites them to complete the survey and underlines the important of student
responses for future program development.
Responses to the survey are aggregated and presented to faculty in a faculty meeting early in the
following academic year.
A Written Program Evaluation Required of Each Graduating Student
As part of their electronic portfolio, students are required to write a one or two paper providing their
perspectives on strengths and/or areas for improvement for the program overall. Program evaluations
are read by all faculty members and discussed at a faculty meeting dedicated to discussion of program
assessment data.
Methods of Evaluating and Interpreting Results
Faculty members review information provided by all of the assessment methods listed above and
discuss their implications for the program at one or more meetings during the summer that are
identified for program evaluation and assessment. To prepare for the discussion, faculty members are
provided with the summary evaluations on the oral presentation that were provided to each graduating
student and a compilation of quantitative and qualitative (comments) data from the graduating student
survey. They bring to the meeting their thoughts on key ideas presented by students in their written
program evaluations posted in the electronic portfolio, and their rubric-based evaluations of student
work in the electronic portfolio.
The discussion(s) have two major purposes—to identify program strengths and areas for improvement
as identified through the information on student performance and to create action plans for addressing
course, curricular, or co-curricular changes or enhancements. Information from the meeting is captured
in the annual assessment report for the program.
The assessment plan and annual reports are archived on department-assigned web space that is part of
the university portal system, accessible by the program head and all program faculty.
This plan was reviewed and accepted by Postsecondary Education Faculty, April 17, 2014.
Postsecondary Education SOA Plan—April 2014—page 4 of 8
RUBRIC FOR FINAL ORAL PRESENTATION REFLECTIONS ON LEARNING AND COMPETENCIES
CRITERIA
Reflective Practitioner
Aware Practitioner
Knowledge
Discussion of achievements and
experiences provides strong evidence
of learning and growth and an indepth understanding of the
individual’s skills, behaviors, values,
and motivations related to serving as a
student affairs professional.
Discussion of achievements and
experiences provides an adequate
level of ability to articulate
achievement and learning and to
demonstrate individual understanding
of skills, behaviors, values, and
motivations related to future work as
a student affairs professional.
Discussion of achievements and
experiences provides some level of
ability to articulate achievement and
learning, with more focus on what
was done than on what was learned
and the impact of what was learned
on future performance as a student
affairs professional.
The reflection offers detailed analysis,
synthesis, and insights connected to
thoughtfully selected aspects of
experiences inside and/or outside of
the classroom. Discussion provides
individual perspectives related to such
topics as impact, growth,
achievement, accomplishments, goals
for continued learning, and/or
anticipated use of learning in the
future. Depth and complexity of ideas
are supported by rich, engaging and
pertinent details.
The reflection goes beyond
description of experiences to include
some analysis, synthesis, and insights
related to the competency. Discussion
provides individual perspectives that
include explanation/examples
primarily related to current and past
experiences but also show some
attention to goals and applications for
the future. The reflection is supported
by the use of specific details.
The reflection focuses primarily on
description of experiences or general
evaluation of experiences and areas of
learning. Most details and examples
deal with what the student did and
immediate reactions to the
experiences. Discussions of both
experiences/achievement and related
learning tend to focus on immediate
applications or to deal with future
applications in a general and abstract
manner rather than a manner is that is
specific and detailed.
Thoughts are well organized and
supported by relevant examples
clearly presented through detail,
example, and explanation. While the
reflection is personal, it is
communicated in a way that can be
understood others. The PowerPoint
or Prezi is visually attractive and adds
to understanding of points made
during the oral presentation.
Ideas presented in the reflection
generally flow logically and clearly
from one point to the next. Details,
examples and explanations help the
reader understand the presenter’s
experience and perspectives. The
PowerPoint or Prezi supports the
presentation rather than serving as a
script for the presentation.
Ideas are presented in a manner that
is more episodic than coherent and
connected. Details that are broad,
general, or limited may leave the
reader with an incomplete
understanding of the writer’s
experience and perceptions. The
PowerPoint or Prezi is loosely
connected to the presentation and/or
serves as a script rather than support.
Application
Presentation
Emerging Practitioner
Postsecondary Education SOA Plan—April 2014—page 5 of 8
POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION IFOLIO CHECKLIST
Student Name_______________________________________________________Reviewer Name___________________________________
Have artifacts been submitted for all competencies? Is there a summarizing reflection for each competency?
Competency
Artifacts
Reflection
Level of Achievement of Competence
As Reflected in Selected Artifacts
Advising and Helping
2
2+
Y
N
High 5
4
3
2
1 Limited
Assessment, Evaluation, and Research
2
2+
Y
N
High 5
4
3
2
1 Limited
Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
2
2+
Y
N
High 5
4
3
2
1 Limited
Ethical Professional Practice
2
2+
Y
N
High 5
4
3
2
1 Limited
History, Philosophy, and Values
2
2+
Y
N
High 5
4
3
2
1 Limited
Human and Organizational Resources
2
2+
Y
N
High 5
4
3
2
1 Limited
Law, Policy, and Governance
2
2+
Y
N
High 5
4
3
2
1 Limited
Leadership
2
2+
Y
N
High 5
4
3
2
1 Limited
Personal Foundations
7
7+
Y
N
High 5
4
3
2
1 Limited
Student Learning and Development
2
2+
Y
N
High 5
4
3
2
1 Limited
Effective Communication
2
2+
Y
N
High
4
3
2
1 Limited
Technical Competence
2
2+
Y
N
Excellent 5
4
3
2
Comments
1 Limited
Does the ifolio include the following required documents?
Postsecondary Education SOA Plan—April 2014—page 6 of 8
Required Documents
Included?
Evaluations from practicums and/or
internships
Y
N
List of Courses Taken, by semester
Y
N
Reflections for each semester in the
program
Y
N
PSE Program Evaluation
Y
N
Overall evaluation of reflections:
 Reflective Practitioner
 Aware Practitioner
Comments
 Emerging Practitioner
Overall comments on student learning related to the competencies
Strengths:
Areas for improvement:
Postsecondary Education SOA Plan—April 2014—page 7 of 8
RUBRIC FOR iFOLIO REFLECTIONS ON COMPETENCIES
CRITERIA
Reflective Practitioner
Aware Practitioner
Emerging Practitioner
Knowledge
Artifacts/examples provide strong
evidence of achievement and learning
related to the competency. Discussion
of student achievements and
experiences show in-depth
understanding of skills, behaviors, and
values related to the competency.
Artifacts/examples provide an
adequate level of evidence of
achievement and learning related to
the competency. Discussions of
student achievements and
experiences show understanding of
the major skills, behaviors, and values
related to the competency.
Artifacts/examples provide some
evidence of achievement and learning
related to the competency.
Discussions of student achievements
and experiences are related to limited
or selective aspects of the skills,
behaviors, and values related to the
competency.
The reflection offers detailed analysis,
synthesis, and insights connected to
thoughtfully selected aspects of
experiences related to the
competency. Discussion provides
individual perspectives related to such
topics as impact, growth,
achievement, accomplishments, goals
for continued learning, and/or
anticipated use of the competency in
the future. Depth and complexity of
ideas are supported by rich, engaging
and pertinent details.
The reflection goes beyond
description of experience to include
some analysis, synthesis, and insights
related to the competency. Discussion
provides individual perspectives that
include explanation/examples
primarily related to current and past
experiences but also show some
attention to goals and applications for
the future. The reflection is supported
by the use of specific details.
The reflection focuses primarily on
description of experiences and general
areas of learning related to the
competency. Most details and
examples deal with what the student
did and immediate reactions to the
experiences. Discussions of both
experiences/achievement and related
learning tend to focus on immediate
applications or to deal with future
applications in a general and abstract
manner rather than a manner is that is
specific and detailed.
Thoughts are well organized and
supported by relevant examples
clearly presented through detail,
example, and explanation. The
reflection is person, yet it is
communicated in a way that can be
understood by a reader. Writing
demonstrates appropriate use of
grammar, spelling and punctuation.
Ideas presented in the reflection
generally flow logically and clearly
from one point to the next. Details,
examples and explanations help the
reader understand the writer’s
experience and perspectives. The
writing includes only occasional minor
errors in grammar, spelling, and
proofreading.
Ideas are presented in a manner that
is more episodic than coherent and
connected. Details that are broad,
general, or limited may leave the
reader with an incomplete
understanding of the writer’s
experience and perceptions. The
writing includes misspellings,
grammatical errors, and/or
proofreading errors
Application
Presentation
Postsecondary Education SOA Plan—April 2014—page 8 of 8