Assessment & Planning in Student Affairs Practice: Documenting our Contributions to Higher Education #mimsac14

Presenters Dr. Becky Spurlock Associate Dean of Students Sewanee: The University of the South Dr. Dan Bureau Director of Student Learning & Assessment University of Memphis Daniel Kaczmarek Campus Labs/Higher One #mimsac14

Learning Outcomes As a result of participating in this workshop, the audience will be able to define assessment, specifically differentiating it from evaluation and research identify at least three strategies to document their contributions to student retention and success explain how they can incorporate assessment into their work rather than make it an add-on to their busy schedules.

Assessment is not currently a recurring part of my job Assessment is currently a recurring part of my job Assessment is currently a weekly part of my job Assessment is currently a daily part of my job #mimsac14

“Assessment builds a bridge between learners and educators so that each understands self and one another in a more authentic way” Keeling et al. (2009), Assessment Reconsidered

Why is assessment important? Positions us as wanting to be more, be better, improve our contributions to students Explains what we do, what we accomplished and what difference that makes in ways that other people who are not us can understand and remember For Student Affairs, it positions us stronger with the academic mission of the institution; strengthens idea that we educate Institutional demands – provide evidence of contributions Aligns us with divisional and institutional mission Externally demanded, inspired by a weakening of the implied social contract regarding higher education

Assessment Upcraft (2003) defines assessment as “any (intentional, meaningful, coordinated) effort to gather, analyze, and interpret evidence, which describes institutional, divisional, or agency effectiveness” (p. 556). Student affairs assessment is the formal and informal collection and review of data pertinent to student affairs functions. #mimsac14

What assessment is NOT It is NOT research. Research aims to prove/explain often across contexts; Assessment used for ongoing improvement in some singular context While assessment must have a determined methodology, the expectations for assessment are not the same as with research Research requires IRB approval; assessment typically does not

You doing assessment means you are: Asking appropriate questions (intentionality) Reflecting on answers across “cases” (reflection) Explaining common responses (identifying themes) Documenting these themes (record-keeping for dissemination/personal revisiting) Using the themes to inform approaches (Acting/improving practice) Assessment ultimately is Intentional, Reflective, Active, Developmental

Types of Assessment Learning/Retention – what do students/stakeholders learn? How does our program support keeping them in school and persisting to graduation? Program Effectiveness – what do we do well/not so well? Student Experiences – what are they? Student Perceptions (aka satisfaction) - what do they think of their experiences? Head counts – how many use our services/visit offices/? What kinds of contacts are we having?

Division of Student Affairs Mission and Values Mission The Mission of Student Affairs is to foster student learning and promote student success through engagement and involvement in community, academics, diversity and leadership. Core Values: LEADERS Learning: Establishing and articulating high expectations for student learning Excellence: Modeling excellence in all that we do Assessment: Making decisions on the basis of data. Diversity: Living well together in a diverse world Ethical Leadership: Developing leaders who demonstrate responsibility and integrity Relationships: Building connections within and beyond our community Spirit: Promoting enthusiasm, passion and a sense of belonging that inspires Tiger pride

#mimsac14

Division of Student Affairs Goals Increase student retention and graduation Increase the number of students participating in key co-curricular activities and programs Cultivate a welcoming, safe and respectful campus environment Create a service-oriented culture in all units

Documenting Contributions to Student Success and Retention Tracking populations Identifying trends and behaviors Correlation studies Perceptions of Contribution of Student Affairs 1:15 Block Where Do We Begin? Designing and Executing a Retention Study River Room (300) Andrew Hester and Maureen Flint, The University of Alabama

Why don’t we assess? If we do, why don’t we use the data we have? #mimsac14

I have the data, just not the data I need I CAN’T FIND IT It’s not good data What am I looking at? NO PLAN Data isn’t actionable I don’t know how to interpret it NO TIME

Incorporate Assessment in Your Daily Work 1. Look to Structures/Frameworks for Guidance * Professional standards, mission/vision/goals, strategic plans, learning outcomes 2. Tap into Existing Data * Institutional Data: Benchmarks, Consortiums * Tracking Data: Attendance, Participation, Visitor Statistics 3. Discover Your Own Data Surveys * Be intentional/strategic: Don’t over survey * Look for ways to collaborate with other departments * Leverage technology in your data collection to make it part of the workflow Rubrics * Evaluate documents/presentations/interactions already part of the work you do * Once created, rubrics can streamline data collection to involve less work on the part of respondents and administrators

Incorporate Assessment in Your Daily Work 3. Discover Your Own Data (contd.) Focus Group/Interviews * Any interaction with a (group of) student(s) * Take notes at meetings, make observations, use other methods to quantify (rubrics) One Minute Assessments * Ask brief follow up questions during workshops; ask students to respond in moment * This formative assessment will impact students NOW Incorporate Students * Leverage student workers, grad students, courses on campus to help you design and collect the information that you need * Connects curriculum and co-curriculum, eases any perceived burden, great learning experience/resume builder

REMEMBER YOUR OVERALL GOAL Continuous improvement and an illustration of the value of your work. Brag and Boast about the work you do and always strive to improve!

Close The Loop With students invitations PR campaign (flyers, newspaper, TVs) Student government meetings With staff Roadshows Brief s Newsletters Retreat Full reports With internal campus partners Cabinet meetings Elevator speech Exec. summary Annual reports With external constituents Presentations Website Press releases “If you don’t document it, it never happened…”

Annual Report

PR or Advertising Campaign

Sharing Internally

Assessment Reporting Advice 1. Seek out example reports/methods for sharing 2. Consider adopting a consistent style for reports/sharing 3. Develop an electronic template for reports/sharing 4. Adopt an “Assessment Spotlight” at staff meetings 5. Figure out how (not if!) to share results with students REMEMBER YOUR GOAL IN REPORTING: Share your results in a variety of ways with a variety of audiences in ways that are meaningful

Contact us for help! Dr. Becky Spurlock Associate Dean of Students Sewanee: The University of the South Dr. Dan Bureau Director of Student Learning & Assessment University of Memphis Daniel Kaczmarek Campus Labs/Higher One

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