DSA Assessment Plan for AY 2014-2015
Department Name:
Director:
Assessment Contact(s)
(if not the director):
Department Mission Statement:
Department Vision Statement:
Center for Student Involvement
Keith T. Kowalka (Interim)
Kristen Ernst
The Center for Student Involvmeent faciltates student development through diverse opportunities to engage in leadership, programming, and the University
community.
The Center for Student Involvement will offer impactful, nationally recognized programs and opportunities that support student success and enrich the
University Community.
Goal #1: The Center for Student Involvement (CSI) will increase the number of Civic Engagement opportunities offered to students.
DSAES Strategic Initiative: 1.D & 1.E
Goal #2: Determine if additional trainings/intervations are needed to enhance overall Stipend Student Leader Learning.
DSAES Strategic Initiative: 1.D & 4.C
Department Goals: (include DSAES Goal #3: Assess areas of improvement for the Student Organization Leadership Conference (SOLC).
strategic plan mapping)
DSAES Strategic Initiative: 1.D
Goal #4: Determine areas of improvement in relation to customer service provided at The Commons Desk.
DSAES Strategic Initiative: 2.E
Program or Services Being Assessed: Days of Service - Labor Day and MLK Day
Learning Outcome(s) and/or
Purpose
Program Objective(s)
Program Objective: CSI will provide This assessment will measure participants
two Day of Service opportunities for satisfaction level with the event, the level
students, one during Weeks of
of impact they believe they made, and
Welcome the other celebrating MLK gather feedback about what was learned
Day.
during the event and what could be
Learning Outcomes: Participants will improved about the event.
feel that they have made an impact
in the community, learn new skills
and build new relationships.
Goal(s)
Supported
Method #1: A paper evaluation will be
First evaluation will be completed on September CSI Goal #1,
completed by participants at the end of each
1st after Labor Day. The second evaluation will and DSAES
Day of Service. The evaluation asks students to be completed immediately after the MLK Day of #1.D & 1.E
rate the satisfaction using a Likert scale in areas Service.
such as time and length of project to likelihood
of attending future Days of Service.
Method #2: Notes will be taken by
leaders/facilitators during group reflection.
Method
1
Frequency / Timeline
DSA Assessment Plan for AY 2014-2015
Results:
Labor Day – Day of Service Summary
• 82 event participants
• 96% reported making new friends or networking at the Day of Service
• 93.33% reported learning something new during the Day of Service
• Three themes emerged from the participant responses about what they learned during the Day of Service. 34 statements mentioned practical skills. 16 statements mentioned learning about
the Third Ward or Volunteering opportunities. 15 statements mentioned learning teamwork and communication skills.
5 point scale: 1 – Very Dissatisfied to 5 – Very Satisfied
• Overall how do you Rate the Event? 4.86
• Time and length of Project? 4.63
• How would you rate the positive Impact you made at this event? 4.69
• How would you rate the project / activity at this event? 4.70
• Based on your experience how likely are you to attend future? 4.80
MLK Day of Service Summary
• 455 total student/faculty/staff participants
• 90.38% learned something new
• 84.62 Made a friend or new connection
• In a post reflection students were asked to list any “new insights they gained as a result of the experience. Throughout the responses three themes emerged. 81 listed being grateful or
appreciative of what they have and a better understanding of the hard work it takes to volunteer. 73 listed learning about volunteering or the community they served it. 37 listed teambuilding
and communication skills.
5 point scale: 1 – Very Dissatisfied to 5 – Very Satisfied
• Overall, how would you rate the event? 4.29
• Satisfaction with the project assigned 4.35
• Satisfaction with the time and length of the project 4.17
• The positive impact had with the event 4.27
• I understand the purpose of the organization that I partnered with today. 4.5
Action:
Due to the generally positive responses of participants CSI aims to continue growing the day of service programs by actively marketing the program and brining more campus partners to the team.
CSI will continue to work to find meaningful projects that allow students to interact wtih each other and ideally the community. The reflection process will be expanded to include discussions lead
by student site leaders after each project and in order to increase the number of survey participants the program assessment will be sent out electronically for students to fill out, ideally, on the
bus ride back to campus.
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DSA Assessment Plan for AY 2014-2015
Program or Services Being Assessed: Stipend Student Leader Learning in SPB & CEO
Learning Outcome(s) and/or
Purpose
Method
Program Objective(s)
Identified program objectives
To measure students self-reported growth During SPB and CEO's retreat, their advisor has
include:
in competency areas of:
students complete the NACA Student Leader
• Organization advisor able to
• Leadership Development
• Competency Evaluation (specifically in the
demonstrate participation in a
Collaboration
•
areas of Leadership Development,
student organization leads to
Intellectual Growth
Collaboration, and Intellectual Growth). After
personal growth.
•
the students have completed their self
Determine if this tool would be
evaluations, the advisor reviews each
applicable for use amongst other feesubmission and provides written feedback on
funded organizations.
•
students' evaluation responses. The advisor
Students' able to self reflect on their
then reviews their response with each student
individually in a one-on-one 30 to 60 minute
progess in identified competency
meeting. During this meeting, the advisor uses
areas.
the NACA Student Leader Competency
Evaluation - Facilitator's Guide to help provide
suggestions on how to aid students in their
development in the three aforementioned
competencies. This process is repeated at the
end of the Fall semester. At the end of the
Spring semester, students in both SPB and CEO
provide their self-evaluations to the advisor,
but do not then have a follow up interview..
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Frequency / Timeline
First Evaluation - NACA Student Leader
Competency Evaluation given to SPB and CEO
students to self assess their development in
Leadership Development, Collaboration, and
Intellectual Growth - July 2014
Advisor
provides written feedback on evaluations &
meets individually with students to discuss this
feedback and how to encourage development August 2014
Second
Evaluation - NACA Student Leader Competency
Evaluation given to SPB and CEO students to self
assess their development in Leadership
Development, Collaboration, and Intellectual
Growth - December 2015
Advisor provides written feedback on evaluations
& meets individually with students to discuss this
feedback and how to encourage development February 2014
Third
Evaluation - NACA Student Leader Competency
Evaluation given to SPB and CEO students - April
2015
Goal(s)
Supported
CSI Goal #2,
and DSAES
#1.D & 4.C
DSA Assessment Plan for AY 2014-2015
Results:
In the Leadership Development competency, positive growth was identified in three out of four criteria from August 2014 to April 2015. For example, when asked to rank themselves from
Strongly Agree to Strongly Disagree for the statement "Encourages institutional pride and community building among student body," 56% responsed Strongly Agree in August, while 89%
responded Strongly Agree in April. For "Develops an organization inclusive of teambuilding, collaboration and strategic planning" 37% responded Strongly Agree and 62% responsed Agree in
August , while 33% responded Strongly Agree and 66% responsed Agree in April. Some qualitative feedback received in April on this competency included "Being able to create a committee and
allow the students to assist with the marketing process was definitely beneficial for me and it became a gateway into allowing the students to gain leadership experience" and "I could have
definitely improved on going beyond my leadership role and its duties and encourage community and diversity building among the student population." In the Collaboration competency, positive
growth was identified in all four criteria from August 2014 to April 2015. For example, for "Works cooperatively with others, seeking their involvement and feedback" 44% responded Strongly
Agree in August, while 89% responded Strongly Agree in April. Also, for "Promotes and conducts joint programs between organizations" 44% responded Strongly Agree and 50% responsed Agree
in August, while 78% responded Strongly Agree and 22% responsed Agree in April. A sample of qualitative feedback received in April on this competency included "There were times when we
collaborated with other student organizations to host events. This was a good opportunity to be able to bond with other organizations and even great towards the budget since we would split the
cost for marketing and other items." In the Intellectual Growth competency, positive growth was identified in all four criteria from August 2014 to April 2015. For example, for "Uses complex
information from a variety of sources including personal experience and observation to form a decision or opinion" 50% responsed Strongly Agree in August, while 78% responded Strongly Agree
in April. Also for "Produces personal and educational goal statements" 44% responsed Strongly Agree in August, while 78% responded Strongly Agree in April. A sample of qualitative feedback
received in April on this competency included "My marketing class had a great impact on the way I would word my marketing specifically, I would use tactics I learned in my Public Relations classes
to market to students and have them come to my events. I would always take the opinions of my friends outside the fee funds very seriously because that's the student population we're catering
to and it helped getting a refreshing opinion."
Action:
Based on the information received from the NACA Student Leader Competency Evaluation results, CSI was able to determine that participation in a fee-funded student organization (specifically
the Student Program Board and the Council of Ethnic Organizations) does lead to personal growth in identified competency areas. Given that this tool has a total of 17 competency areas, it could
be broadly used for all of the fee-funded organizations housed within CSI. Students were also able to provide self reflections at the end of their terms, and identify areas for growth moving
forward. The qualitative data especially that was gleened from the evaluation results will be used to determine the content of trainings over the course of the academic year. Some examples of
trainings include a focus on effective communication and collaboration, and tips and tricks for delegation.
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DSA Assessment Plan for AY 2014-2015
Program or Services Being Assessed:
Learning Outcome(s) and/or
Program Objective(s)
Identified program objectives
include:
• Students will understand the
importance of working effectively
with those different from
themselves.
• Students will integrate knowledge
of campus resources to build
successful registered student
organizations.
• Students
will recognize the importance of
developing coherent communication
practices within their student
organization.
Student Organization Leadership Conference (SOLC)
Purpose
To measure student comprehension of:
• on-campus resources for Registered
Student Organizations
• ideas and themes that provide insight
into developing communication skills (i.e.
personality profile and conflict
management workshops)
• the importance of creating inclusive
environments in student organizations
Method
Student participants in SOLC will be asked to
complete an evaluation form.
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Frequency / Timeline
Students will receive the evaluation at the
conclusion of the SOLC event on September 13,
2014 and February 2015 (Date is TBD).
Goal(s)
Supported
CSI #3 and
DSAES #1.D
DSA Assessment Plan for AY 2014-2015
Results:
Fall 2014 SOLC
• 103 Participants
5 point scale: 1 – Poor to 5 – Excellent
• Overall how do you Rate the Event? 4.47
• Awareness of Conflict Resolution strategies and techniques 4.31
• Awareness of the Importance of collaboration 4.33
• Awareness of techniques to navigation 4.70
• Awarness of resources/operations for RSOs 4.33
Spring 2015 SOLC
• 59 Participants
• 82.25% rted the conferene as Very Good or Excellent
• 81.81 % felt that they were moderately or extremely aware of how to be a stronger leader in regards to conflict management and motivating teams.
• 86.37% felt that they were moderately or extremely aware of how to better connect with organization members and advisors to create relationships for success
Populare respones from the Open-Ended questions reflected satisfaction with the Cougar Connection Experience as well as the keynote from Dr. Jerry Evans.
Action:
The data showed that student leaders enjoyed intentional experiences that provided them with knowledge on campus resources as well those that develop their own personal leadership
aptitude. From this conclusion, we have created two unique experiences that focus on both of these areas of need. To educate student leaders on campus resources we have created the Cougar
Connection. The Cougar Connection will be a networking and campus resources event for student leaders. Additionally, we have created the Student Organization Leadership and Advancement
Retreat (SOLAR). SOLAR will utilize a curriculum based on StrengthsQuest that will allow students to identify their strengths and apply them to their leadership experiences within their
organizations.
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DSA Assessment Plan for AY 2014-2015
Program or Services Being Assessed:
Learning Outcome(s) and/or
Program Objective(s)
The program objective is to assess
the traffic and usage of the
University Center North Commons
Desk including:
• Number of visits.
• Nature of Questions (i.e. RSO
Services, Events and Programs, How
to Get Involved on Campus, General
campus directions, and/or specific
RSO questions pertaining to carrell
hours.)
Commons Desk Usage
Purpose
To measure student traffic and at the
Commons Desk for the purpose of
developing additional services as well as
determining peak hours of operation for
the desk.
Method
The students who work at the Commons Desk
will be required to enhance the current tally
system that denotes the frequency of students
that approach The Commons Desk. In addition
to recording frequency, student employees will
now be required to report the time and day as
well as the type of questions asked.
Question Categories:
• RSO Mail Services
• RSO Event Registration
• RSO Annual Registration
• Get Involved Platform
• Events and Programs
• General Campus Questions
• UC Questions
On every Monday following the previous week
a report will be compiled of all the recorded
data from The Commons Desk for week.
Frequency / Timeline
Tracking will be throughout the regular hours of
The Commons Desk for the 2014-2015 school
year starting Monday, September 15, 2014
• MON - FRI 7:30 AM - 8:00 PM
• SAT - 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
• Sun - 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM
• Weekly reports will be generated on the
following Monday.
Goal(s)
Supported
CSI Goal #4
and DSAES
#2.E
Results:
In tracking the needs of students who came to the Commons Desk, the top 3 needs arose to be:
• 37.85% for Student Centers questions
• 21.12% for general campus questions
• 20.72% for RSO mail services
In tracking the needs of students who came to CSI’s front desk, the top 3 needs arose to be:
• 82.86% for other services (majority are student organization related such as carrel space, AFB applications, bank accounts, Cat’s Back, EIN application, Officer change, etc.)
• 9.48% Annual registration process
• 2.59% RSO event registration process
Action:
The majority of questions and inquiries that were received at CSI's front desk were related to student organizations and those at the Commons desk were related to the building and mail for
student organizations. In order to re-purpose the Commons desk to be seen and used as a resource for student organizations, the Cougar Involvement Ambassador program has been developed.
This group of students will be trained to be peer support for student organizations and students interested in involvement opportunites on campus. This program will free up the student
employees as the front desk to assist with office management and projects for the CSI staff.
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