ASSESSMENT IN STUDENT AFFAIRS
(AND BEYOND)
Jessica Oyler
Director of Student Affairs Assessment and Strategic Initiatives
Weber State University
TAKE A MOMENT TO THINK ABOUT ONE
THING YOU’RE REALLY PROUD OF WITH
ASSESSMENT…
THINGS THAT HAVEN’T CHANGED
• Assessment has been a national discussion for almost 30
years.
• For community colleges overall:
• Accreditation is still a driving factor
• Followed by interest in improving learning and
institutional commitment
• The heart of assessment is still the same…
• Improving student learning and development
ASSESSMENT TRENDS
• Everyone does assessment
• Portfolios, badges
• Direct assessment
• Strategic planning
• Incorporating student learning into program review
AND MORE TRENDS…
• Performance funding
• Making higher education accountable for results
• Institutional learning outcomes
• Lots and lots of tools.
WHAT INSTITUTIONS SPEND ON
ASSESSMENT
• Institutions spend approximately $160,000 on assessment
activities (although $108,000 is in salaries)
• 57% of institutions spend less than $25,000 on assessment
resources including national surveys, exams, and books
• 65% of institutions use assessment software while 54%
pay for that software.
OBSTACLES
What do you believe are the primary barriers to
engaging in outcomes-based assessment?
OBSTACLES
Category
Properties
competing priorities; added responsibility; unsure how to re-allocate
Time
responsibilities; a feeling of being overwhelmed when trying to approach doing this
professional development; time; rewards for engaging in outcomes-based
Resources
assessment
do not know what assessment is or how to do it, do not know how to compose
Knowledge and Skills
outcomes; do not know how to select and implement evaluation methods; anxiety
over not knowing creates more anxiety
Coordination of Process
no central person to coordinate division efforts or to coordinate committee
having to overcome traditional and/or historical definitions of assessment;
Conceptual Framework for addressing Student Affairs' role in assessing student learning and development;
Assessment
unclear connection of process to academic processes and accreditation processes;
unclear expectations for engaging in assessment
faculty do not collaborate with student affairs folks and vise versa; faculty
Collaboration with Faculty
involvement is limited
varying levels of conceptual understanding for assessment across various levels of
leadership; varying expectations across various levels of leadership; how will
Trust
evidence be used; who will see evidence; varying degree of expectations for role of
student affairs professionals in evaluating student learning and development
acknowledging what the goals of a program may be verses (a) how a program can
actually deliver those goals; (b) the capacity of the staff to deliver the goals; (c) the
Managing Expectations
knowledge of the staff to be able to deliver those goals; (d) therefore determining
what the actual outcomes really are; clarifying the different between passion for
what the outcomes should be and what they really can be
(Banta, 2002; Bresciani, Moore Gardner, & Hickmott, 2009; Bresciani, 2006; Bresciani, Zelna, &
Anderson, 2004; Palomba & Banta, 1999; Suskie, 2004; Upcraft & Schuh, 1996).
TIME
• There is no “new” time
• Reallocating time based on priorities
• Implementing faculty release time and/or
workshops and trainings at all levels.
UNDERSTANDING OF
ASSESSMENT
• Can be easily addressed through professional development
workshops, the assistance of an assessment coordinator, or
professional reading and applications
• Ensuring that everyone is on the same page (or at least in
the same book)
• Making sure departmental, division, and institution goals
and priorities are clearly articulated.
RESOURCES
• Be very specific about what resources are required
• Ensure that they are really necessary
• Be creative with regard to where the resource need can be
met
• Students
• Faculty
• Colleagues
• Implement rewards structures where possible.
COORDINATION OF THE PROCESS
• Develop a plan for assessment within your division or
department
• Designate an individual or committee of individuals to
help guide assessment processes
• Incorporate assessment into strategic planning and
program review processes
• Consider incorporating assessment into job descriptions.
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR
ASSESSMENT
• Create clear expectations of purpose of engaging in
assessment
• Articulating how planning at all levels fit together and
what is being done with data
• Discussing how academic and student affairs collectively
contribute to student learning
• Define what excellence looks like.
TRUST
• Enhanced by leadership commitment, transparency, and
articulation of values
• Educate student affairs professionals regarding the use of data
• Educate faculty about student affairs professionals’
contributions to student learning
• Focus on what you have control over.
COLLABORATION WITH FACULTY
• Faculty Members
• Genuinely interact with faculty/staff and utilize feedback
to improve the process
• Faculty /Administrators must have ownership of the process
• Show how this impacts the learning in the classroom
• Provide professional development opportunities
• Include assessment in the annual performance review
• Share the results of assessment and how they’re being used
COLLABORATION WITH OTHERS
•Peers
•Share examples with each other
•Work together; oftentimes, we are assessing the same things
•Students
•Incorporate students in all facets of assessment planning
and implementation, if your program is ready
•Community Members and employers.
• Remember that collaboration is a process of give and take.
MANAGING EXPECTATIONS
• Acknowledge that our values may not be measurable
• Focus on the components of what we value that are
measurable
• Acknowledge that we don’t always find what we think we
will
SPECIFIC CHALLENGES FOR
COMMUNITY COLLEGES
•
Varying student characteristics
•
Much learning takes place outside of the university
•
Less professional support
•
Large numbers of adjunct faculty
THINGS TO CONSIDER
• Learning must be facilitated
• We are doing a LOT of assessment. We must make sure to
disseminate results and keep the process transparent
• Make sure that you are willing and able to change that
which you assess
• Keep it simple
• Every department and institution is different
• Maintain flexibility and structure
THINGS TO CONSIDER
• Identify and celebrate success
• Know the culture of your institution
• Have patience
• Start with those who are excited
• Consider both short and long term goals
• Discuss why you are engaging in assessment
THINGS TO CONSIDER
• Keep a pulse on staff engagement and knowledge
• Look at what you’re learning from your assessment plans
• Use assessment results to inform future decisions
• Don’t leave the plan on the shelf
• Ask stakeholders if they’re seeing what they expect
• Revise the assessment process
QUESTIONS?
REFERENCES
•
American Association of College and Universities. (2007). College learning for the new global century.
Retrieved from https://www.aacu.org/leap/documents/GlobalCentury_final.pdf
•
Banta, T. W., & Associates. (2002). Building a scholarship of assessment. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass
•
Bresciani, M. J. (2006). Outcomes-based academic and co-curricular program review: A compilation of
institutional good practices. Sterling, VA: Stylus.
•
Bresciani, M. J., Moore Gardner, M. M., & Hickmott, J. (2009). Demonstrating student success: A practical
guide to outcomes-based assessment of learning and development in student affairs. Sterling, VA: Stylus
Publishing.
•
Bresciani, M. J., Gardner, M. M., & Hickmott, J. (Eds.). (2009). Case studies in assessing student success. New
Directions for Student Services, 127. Boston, MA: Jossey-Bass.
•
Cooper, T., & Terrell, T. (2013). What are institutions spending on assessment? Is it worth the cost? Retrieved
from
http://learningoutcomesassessment.org/documents/What%20are%20institutions%20spending%20on%20assessme
nt%20Final.pdf
•
Hanover research. (2013). Best and innovative practices in higher education assessment. Retrieved from
http://www.grip.umn.edu/assets/best-and-innovative-practices-in-higher-education-assessment-(4).pdf
•
Kuh, G. D., Kinzie, J., Buckley, J. A., Bridges, B. K., & Hayek, J. C. (2006). What matters to student success: A
review of the literature. Commissioned Report for the National Symposium on Postsecondary Student Success:
Spearheading a Dialog on Student Success. Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/npec/pdf/kuh_team _report.pdf
•
Nunley, C., Bers, T., & Manning, T. (2011). Learning outcomes assessment in community colleges. Retrieved
from http://www.learningoutcomeassessment.org/documents/CommunityCollege.pdf
•
Schuh, J. H., & Gansamer-Topf, A. M. (2010). The role of student affairs in student learning assessment.
Retrieved from http://www.learningoutcomeassessment.org/documents/studentAffairsrole.pdf