Do We Dare Slow Down? Taking the Time to Assess Judith Olson-Fallon Lori Young James Eller

Celebrate success Find what students need versus what they want Determine which programs to keep and which to eliminate Reallocate resources Compare programs/services across time Determine student utilization Improve existing programs Why Do We Assess in Student Affairs?

Basic Assessment To-Do List 1.Departmental assessment leader 2.Assessment vocabulary 3.University, division, and department mission 4.Demographic information in an unobtrusive manner 5.Buy-in from staff 6.Format for reporting data 7.Assessment decisions 8.Assessment calendar

Some Basic Assessment Terms Assessment Evaluation Formative Assessment Summative Assessment Qualitative versus Quantitative Data Goals/Outcomes/Objectives/KPI’S

What Are Student Affairs Goals? 1.Are we supporting the academic community? 2. Are we working on helping students develop outside the classroom? 3. Are we providing basic services?

Student Affairs Assessment Outcomes Program Outcomes: Meaningful, Measurable, Manageable Student Outcomes: Reflect-Indirect Data—students show how to handle situations Demonstrate-Direct Data—students show how their behavior changed

Questions to Spur on Student Affairs Assessment 1.What do you expect students to know when they leave your services/programs? 2.How aligned are you to the university’s learning paradigms? 3.Which students are you targeting for your services/programs? 4.Are your services/programs helping students to make the connection in and out of the classroom? 5.Are your goals building on your staff’s individual goals and departmental goals?

Mission Statements University’s Mission to strive to be the most powerful learning environment…to have a transformative impact on all that teach, learn… Student Affairs’ Mission to provide programs, facilities, and services to extend and enhance students, faculty, and staff experiences ESS Educational Services for Students to empower students to maximize their learning experiences at Case.

Assessing Existing/Established Programs SUPPLEMENTAL INSTRUCTION (SI) Supplemental Instruction is an academic enhancement program that utilizes peer-assisted study sessions led by SI Leaders, former students who have succeeded in the course and trained by ESS. SI sessions are regularly-scheduled, informal review sessions in traditionally difficult courses.

SI Data – Fall 2005 Total students enrolled in courses with SI sessions: 1834 Total students attending at least one SI session:1677 Percentage of students attending SI sessions:91.4% Total number of sessions: 385 Total number of visits by students to SI sessions: 7410 Average attendance at each session:19.2 Average visits per student: 4.42 Number of SI Leaders: 23 Number of courses supported by SI Sessions11

Why We Need to Assess and Evaluate the SI Program? High profile program SI Leaders work autonomously Continued university funding and support

What We Need to Assess Student Satisfaction SI Leader performance Program effectiveness Student demographics and usage

WHEN and HOW We Assess the SI Program On-going (formative)  Meetings, bi-weekly reports, attendance sheets Mid-term (formative)  Supervisor/mentor observations and student surveys End-of-semester (summative)  Student surveys, individual supervisor meetings, end-of-semester report, and data summary/analysis

Outcomes of Assessment Efforts Ideas for program improvement Quality control of program delivery Statistics and data to secure funding support

Using Assessment to Enhance or Expand Services and Programs Peer Tutoring Students nominated by professors and trained to assist students in undergraduate courses at Case.

Peer Tutoring at Case Current Format Face-to-face Appointments scheduled using TutorTrac TutorTrac accessible via the Interent Tutors create availabilities Students select appointment times Limited use of Instant Messaging (“Office Hours”) Previous Uses of Technology in Peer Tutoring BlackBoard Instant Messaging

Benefits of an Intentional Approach Save Time Time required to supervise program or service Train students and supervisors to use the technology Save Money Software Training Contracts Preserve Other Resources Technology that may be used in other areas Expertise that may be required to maintain technology

Process for Assessing the Expansion of an Existing Services and Programs Advances in technology Can limit or benefit program or service Avoid novelty of technology Technology alone is not justification for change Assess service to determine need for change Research existing technology and its uses Similar institutions with similar student population and demographics Commercial services

Using Assessment to Enhance or Expand Services and Programs Assess effectiveness of current program Needs-based assessment Include users of program Can be expanded to include non-users Create and implement a trial of the technology Limit trial participation initially Progressively expand trial to include potential users Implement on limited basis

Using Assessment to Enhance or Expand Services and Programs Evaluate trial Compare trial results with needs assessment data Recommendations for implementation Consideration of other applications –Supplemental Instruction (SI)

Do We Dare Slow Down? Taking the Time to Assess Wrap Up Next steps in assessment for ESS Next steps for assessment within Student Affairs

Do We Dare Slow Down? Taking Time to Assess Questions?

Thank You!

Do We Dare Slow Down? Taking the Time to Assess Judith Olson-Fallon Lori Young James Eller