CAS Standards Announced for
Parent and Family Programs
NASPA - Philadelphia, PA
March 15, 2011
Margaret (Mickey) Hay, Ph.D., Southwestern Michigan College
Kevin Kruger, Ph.D., NASPA - Associate Executive Director
Marjorie Savage, University of Minnesota
Kristine Stewart, Miami University
Colleen O’Connor Bench, Syracuse University
Deanie Kepler, Ph.D., Southern Methodist University
CAS
Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education
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Founded in 1979
Consortium of 38 professional organizations
Constituency of over 100,000
Member associations send representatives to the CAS
Board of Directors
• Consensus-oriented, collaborative
• Focused on quality programs and services for students
• Guide practice by student affairs, student
development, and student support service providers
CAS Mission
• Establish, adopt, and disseminate professional standards to guide
student learning and development programs and services
• Promote assessment and improvement of higher education
programs and services through self-study
• Establish, adopt, and disseminate professional preparation standards
for student affairs practitioners, and promote assessment and
improvement of graduate programs
• Advance use and importance of professional standards
• Develop and provide materials to support the use of standards
• Promote and encourage focus on quality assurance
• Promote inter-association efforts to address these issues
CAS Philosophy
1. Higher education must dynamically seek
continuous quality enhancement of all services
and programs
2. Quality is foundationally grounded in standards
3. Standards become basis of desired student
outcomes that address the whole student
4. These learning and developmental outcomes are
established through self-assessment
5. Assessment must loop back to continuous
quality enhancement action interventions
Komives, National CAS Symposium, November 14, 2006
Uses of the CAS Standards
• Measures of program and service
effectiveness
• Institutional self-studies
• Preparation for accreditation
• Design new programs and services
• Staff development
• Academic preparation
• Credibility and accountability
Functional Areas
• CAS standards and guidelines generally are
targeted to individual functional areas.
Functional Areas are specialized or focused
educational programs and services generally
arranged into distinctive administrative units
within an institution of higher education.
• Standards and guidelines present criteria
describing the fundamental essential
expectations of practice agreed upon by the
profession at large for a given institutional
function.
CAS Resources
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CAS Professional Standards, 2009 edition
Self-Assessment Guides
CAS Statement of Shared Ethical Principles
CAS Characteristics of Individual
Excellence
• Frameworks for Assessing Learning and
Development Outcomes
CAS Guiding Principles
• Students and Their Institutions
• Diversity and Multiculturalism
• Organization, Leadership, and Human
Resources
• Health Engendering Environments
• Ethical Considerations
CAS Essentials
• The CAS Standards (big blue book) provide an important tool
that expresses to students, faculty, and administrators the
complex and vital nature of student support programs and
services, and their relationship to student learning and
development. Standards are agreed upon conditions of
educational service that must be provided to achieve the
highest level of service to students.
• The Self Assessment Guides are used to gain informed
perspectives on the strengths and deficiencies of programs
and services and to plan for improvements. Guidelines are
recommended enhancements that should be included in all
services to students, but are not required to meet minimal
benchmarks.
General Standards
• Mission
• Program
(Student Learning and
Development Outcomes)
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Leadership
Human Resources
Ethics
Legal Responsibilities
Equity and Access
• Diversity
• Organization and
Management
• Campus and External
Relations
• Financial Resources
• Technology
• Facilities and Equipment
• Assessment and
Evaluation
Standards
• Indispensible
requirements
• Achievable by any
and all programs of
quality
• Appear in bold type
• Use verbs Must and
Shall
vs.
Guidelines
• Clarify and amplify
standards
• Guide enhanced
practice beyond
essential function
• Appear in light-faced
type
• Use verbs Should and
May
Expectations of Functional Areas
• Must promote student learning and development
outcomes
• Must identify relevant and desirable student learning
& development outcomes
• Must assess outcomes
• Must provide evidence of their impact on student
learning and development
• Must articulate how they contribute to or support
student learning and development
Parent and Family Programs (PFP)
Standards
• Accepted April 2010
• Available from www.cas.edu for $15
• SAGs available as well for $35
(RTF format)
• Let’s take a peek!
Selected text - Mission
• The mission of Parent and Family Programs (PFP) is to build
collaboration between parents and families and the
institution for the common goals of student learning,
development, and success.
• PFP must develop, disseminate, implement, and regularly
review their mission. Mission statements must be consistent
with the mission of the institution and with professional
standards. PFP in higher education must enhance overall
educational experiences by incorporating student learning
and development outcomes in their mission.
• Inherent in the mission statement should be a vision for
students and their families to develop lifelong affinity for the
institution and its initiatives.
Selected text - Program
PFP must be:
• integrated into the life of the institution
• intentional and coherent
• guided by theories and knowledge of learning and development
• reflective of developmental and demographic profiles of the
student population served
• responsive to needs of individuals, diverse and special
populations, and relevant constituencies
Programming and services may include parent and family orientation
programs, parent and family weekends, move-in and send-off
events, educational workshops and seminars, newsletters, and
fundraising. Other programs should be specifically reflective of
the institutional history, traditions, and culture.
Selected text – Human Resources
• Parent and Family Programs (PFP) must be staffed
adequately by individuals qualified to accomplish the
mission and goals. Within institutional guidelines, PFP must
establish procedures for staff selection, training, and
evaluation; set expectations for supervision; and provide
appropriate professional development opportunities to
improve the leadership ability, competence, and skills of all
employees.
• PFP staff should include full-time professionals.
• PFP should have sufficient and specifically trained staff to
support technology including the maintenance of program
websites, social networks, communications systems, and
developing emerging technology.
Selected text – Equity & Access
• Parent and Family Programs (PFP) must be provided on a
fair, equitable, and non-discriminatory basis in accordance
with institutional policies and with all applicable
state/provincial and federal statutes and regulations. PFP
must maintain an educational and work environment free
from discrimination in accordance with law and institutional
policy.
• PFP should include statements related to disability and equal
opportunity laws in all print and electronic materials in
accordance with institutional policy.
Selected text - Facilities
• PFP staff members must have work space that is wellequipped, adequate in size, and designed to support their
work and responsibilities. For conversations requiring
privacy, staff members must have access to a private space.
• The design of the facilities must guarantee the security of
records and ensure the confidentiality of sensitive
information.
• PFP must ensure staff members are knowledgeable of and
trained in safety and emergency procedures for securing and
vacating facilities.
Response/Comments from
“seasoned professionals”
Syracuse University
• 2006 CAS assessment: SU Parents Office
• Subsequent qualitative analysis:
interactions w/parents & families of
underrepresented populations
Response/Comments from
“seasoned professionals”
Miami University of Ohio
Student Voice project:
• Surveys first-year parents before summer
orientation through Commencement
• Focus on interaction b/t parent & student with
regard to behavioral changes of both
• Survey Question examples
• Shared system; ability to network data to other
universities working on assessment issues
Self-Assessment Guide - SAG
Purpose
• To gain perspectives on strengths and
deficiencies of programs and services
• To plan for improvements
The CAS SAG:
A Self-Assessment Guide
• Translates CAS standards into an effective
workbook / evaluative format
• Promotes program self-assessment and
development
• Informs on program strengths and weaknesses
• Supports professional staff development
• Leads to enhanced programs and services that
benefit student learning and development
Self-Assessment Guide
Components
• Review team, team leader
– Staff, faculty, students, parents
• Program documentation
– Mission/vision statements, print and web
materials, staff manuals, policy and
procedure statements, evaluation and
periodic reports
CAS Self-Assessment Process
1. Establish and prepare the self-assessment
team
2. Initiate the self study
3. Compile and review documentary and
evaluative evidence
4. Identify discrepancies
5. Determine appropriate corrective action
6. Recommend steps for program
enhancement
7. Prepare an action plan
Self-Assessment Guide
Assessment process
Steps
• Rate on scale
• Assess each criteria
• Review with
interested parties
• Develop action plan
to enhance program
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Not done
Not met
Minimally met
Well met
Fully met
Not rated
Self-Assessment Guide - Mission
ND
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NR
Not Done Not Met Minimally Met Well Met Fully Met Not Rated
Criterion Measures
1.1 The program develops, disseminates, and
implements its mission.
1.2 The program regularly reviews its mission.
1.3 The mission statement is consistent with that of
the host institution and with professional standards.
1.4 The program enhances overall educational
experiences by incorporating learning and
development outcome domains in the mission
statement.
Rating
Self-Assessment Guide
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Identify areas of strength
Identify areas of weakness
Identify actions to implement
Prioritize recommended actions
Prepare comprehensive implementation plan
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Identify resources (i.e., human, fiscal, physical)
Establish timeline for specific actions
Identify responsible parties for action steps
Set tentative date for the next self-study
Questions and Discussion