2

A Word... from the co-chairs

Welcome to the first SLPKC newsletter of the summer! We hope you have all had a

successful academic year and that the summer brings a time of reflection, planning,

and creating. As commencement ceremonies turn to orientation sessions, we want to

remind everyone about the critical role of assessment in our work. Our work in

leadership programs must be in constant state of improvement as we create new and

innovative ways to work with our students. Creating and sustaining a culture of

assessment is the gateway to innovation, and we hope this newsletter highlights the

importance of assessment.

In this issue of the newsletter you will find great article that offers a glimpse into the

world of assessment from some leaders in the area. Additionally, Adam Cebulski will

help equip you with some tools of assessment that can be used through electronic

platforms. And Annie Carlson-Welch discusses a practical application of assessment

to leadership programs through the use of rubrics in Fraternity and Sorority Life.

We hope you stay engaged with the SLPKC over the summer. Please follow us at

@NASPASLPKC or on Facebook, and stay tuned for exciting professional

development opportunities this year!

3

I am excited to start my role as SLPKC co-chair! Currently, I serve as the Director of

Residence Life at Wake Forest University in North Carolina. I earned my Bachelor of Arts in

English from Davidson College, a Master of Education in Higher Education and Student

Affairs from the University of South Carolina, and a Doctor of Education in Higher

Education from the University of North

Florida. Within the KC, I have previously

served as the Team Leader for Resources

and Recognition. Student leadership

touches every aspect of student affairs, and

I hope we can bring the collective efforts of

our membership to advance what we know,

improve our practices, and celebrate our

successes.

I am very grateful for this opportunity to serve our KC! Currently, I am the Director of

Orientation and Commuter Student Involvement at the University of Miami. Prior to UM, I

worked in the NASPA office in DC, which will prove useful to

our KC. I earned a Bachelor of Science in Social Sciences

focusing on Sociology and Psychology, from Central

Washington University and a Master of Education in Higher

Education Administration from University of Nevada, Las

Vegas. Our KC has the potential to grow and impact every

member within NASPA. I am very passionate about student

leadership because I truly believe it can be applied to every

aspect of student affairs. I look forward to leading this KC

with Matt, meeting additional members, and continuing the

success of the SLPKC.

Matt Clifford

Danielle Howard

4

from the co-chairs

meet the

EDITORS

Ashley Spicer-Runnels is the Leadership Institute

Coordinator in the Dean of Students Office at Texas State

University. She obtained a B.S. in Family Studies from Lamar

University, an M.B.A. from University of Houston-Victoria,

and a Doctorate of Education in Educational Leadership from

Lamar University. Her research was broadly based on

multiracial student persistence as well as the implications of

social and academic integration. Prior to her existing role as

Coordinator, she was responsible for the following areas:

multicultural programming, new student programming, student

government, Greek life, and parent and family programming.

Amanda Horton is the Assistant Director for Campus Life and Student Programs at Wake

Forest University. She received a B.A. in Communication from N.C. State University and a

M.S. Ed. from Baylor University. In her current

role she oversees the My Journey Initiative

which seeks to develop and promote innovative

programs designed to intentionally challenge

and support students through the distinct

developmental transitions that occur throughout

a four-year college experience. Prior to her work

at Wake Forest, Amanda worked in the Office of

the Chaplain at Baylor University.

5

SLPKC Leadership Team

SLPKC Leadership Team members come together from all

over to share best practices, provide critical evaluation of

the field, examine standards for leadership programs,

support national and regional efforts to develop student

leadership programs, make contributions to the literature,

recognize exemplary programs, and cultivate a forum for

the presentation of new ideas.

Meet the Leadership Team and find more ways to connect

with the SLPKC via our WEBSITE.

6

“If I had to choose only one

professional development

opportunity to invest in, it

would be the Leadership

Educators Institute.”

-Joseph Ginese www.joeginese.com

Announcements!

2014 Leadership Educators Institute

December 11 – December 13, 2014 Texas Christian University, Fort Worth Texas

The Leadership Educators Institute will engage early and mid-level student affairs educators in active learning and dialogue to assist with program and leadership course development. Register HERE for LEI 2014!

LEI REGISTRATION IS OPEN

7

2014 National Leadership Symposium

Leadership Competencies from Research to Results July 14 - 17, University of Tampa, FL, USA

As student leadership development professionals, the task of assisting students in the development of their leadership competencies seems to be a much harder task than the theoretical framework we base our craft on. What leadership competencies are most critical for students to develop? How do we create meaningful experiences to assist students in developing those competencies? And how will we know they have developed the intended competencies? This symposium will introduce participants to the world of leadership competencies; how they are conceptualized, utilized, and evaluated. In addition symposium participants will work together to explore the following issues in regard to leadership competencies:

What exactly is a competency? What are the foundational tenets and the historical context of competency-based learning?

What competency-based models currently exist? If I were to create a

competency-based model, how would I do that? Where do I start?

What is the process for creating a competency-based leadership curriculum? How do I determine what competencies to focus on for students at my

individual institution?

Can competencies be developed or mastered? How would one know? What kind of assessment and reflective techniques assist in measuring competency

development?

Register HERE for the 2014 National Leadership Symposium!

Registration Open!

8

Ask an Expert

How can student affairs professionals create a culture of assessment and create buy

in?

This is the million dollar question. I believe the best method is to appeal to their base motives.

We chose this field because we love students. We want to provide them the best experiences

we can to learn and grow. Assessment helps us do that.

I believe it also helps to make the process as simple and pain-free as possible. Many

professionals believe it is just another “hoop” to jump through but when assessment is done

well, it is not overly burdensome and can really inform our programs. I am not saying we

should water down our assessment efforts, but we should keep the process simple and focus

on the real goal – continuous improvement.

Many student affairs professionals already have some type of assessment efforts in

place. How can individuals take ownership of assessment within their

departments and cultivate an environment of assessment excellence?

Assessment is about continuous improvement. While we use assessment to inform and

improve our programs, we should also remember that our assessment efforts can grow and

improve. A year does not pass without my looking at our assessment plans to see where we

should improve. We may add a student learning outcome, modify an instrument or take a

program in a completely different direction. Our students’ characteristics change and our

institutions and programs evolve. Our assessment plans and methods must do the same.

Dr. Amanda Chesser Drum - Assessment in Action

Amanda Chesser Drum, Ph.D. has designed and implemented student development programs and services for over twenty years. She has experience in the areas of housing, student activities, student organization leadership, judicial affairs, prevention, strategic planning and assessment.

Dr. Drum serves as the Executive Director of Strategic Engagement Initiatives at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi. In this role she led the Division of Student Engagement and Success in the creation and implementation of a division-wide assessment plan which includes program review and the assessment of student learning outcomes. Under her leadership, the division was awarded the 2011 Ted K. Miller Achievement of Excellence Award from the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS).

9

How can professionals benefit from better understanding, implementing, and

assessing professional standards?

Professional standards guide our practice and aid us in program improvement to better

facilitate the learning and development of our students. Individuals who understand and

utilize professional standards to guide their efforts will not only find that their programs

improve but also that they further develop as a professional.

It is also important to touch base periodically and make sure we are really doing what we

believe we are doing. I find the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher

Education (CAS Standards) self-study process very beneficial when reviewing our programs

to assure we meet our professional standards. It is a simple, straightforward method to

assess our programs and incorporates an action planning strategy for continuous

improvement.

Why do you think professionals have such a fear of assessment and how can

supervisors work to overcome this fear within their departments?

People are, by nature, fearful of what they do not know. Many professionals believe that

assessment will reveal that they are not effective in their duties, will lead to program – and

potentially staffing – cuts or that it is a lot of work to satisfy a bureaucratic requirement.

Many supervisors unintentionally perpetuate this message.

Supervisors can lead the effort in helping staff become less fearful by first tackling their own

fears. Only by educating themselves on the purpose and benefits of assessment can they

eliminate any negative messages they may be communicating to their staff. Then,

supervisors can create buy-in to the process by educating their team and helping them

achieve their professional and program potential by focusing on the process of closing the

loop.

Amanda Chesser Drum, Ph.D. Executive Director, Strategic Engagement Initiatives

Division of Student Engagement & Success Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi

Amanda.drum@tamucc.edu

10

On a quarterly basis SLP KC recognizes the contributions of members who are transforming higher education through outstanding and innovative leadership programs and services. All NASPA members are encouraged to share successes and highlight good or promising practices in research and assessment, influences on student learning in and outside the classroom and theory to practice.

Cal State Dominguez Hills

Circle of Change Leadership Conference Spotlight Award for Influences of Student Learning

In & Outside the Classroom

Since 2012, California State University, Dominguez Hills has partnered with the Circle of Change to host a three-day National Leadership Conference that is focused on preparing

students for career leadership success. During this three day period, student leaders from across the country are empowered and inspired through a variety of speakers, workshops, panel discussions, small group conversations with facilitators, and exciting activities. The conference also includes a community service project, a career fair, and a powerful graduation ceremony. The first day of the conference is strategically focused on career success. A variety of accomplished speakers, workshop presenters, small group facilitators, and dynamic panelists donate their time and expertise to share life skills and lessons learned around their career journey. During this exciting day of events, students not only have the opportunity to hear from two nationally recognized keynote speakers, they also get to participate in cutting-edge leadership workshops that are focused on helping them develop important leadership skills for leadership success. Mixed in with these different sets of speakers are networking events; powerful dialogues with industry experts from various fields talking with students about the keys to career and leadership success. The panel discussions are arranged based on students’ majors. Student have more than 10 panel presentations to choose from ranging from Business, Health Care, Entrepreneurship, Entertainment, Sports, Social Responsibility (Non-Profit), Education, and Public Service (Government), to name a few. Finally, at the end of the first day, student leaders participate in an exciting dinner where they get to network and engage in a variety of activities alongside the individuals from the different companies and organizations.

Spring Spotlight Award Winner Profiles P

rogr

am S

potl

ight

11

On day two of the conference, a new batch of keynotes, workshops, activities, and panel sessions take place where the strategic focus is centered on leadership success. Similar to the first day of the conference, students had the opportunity to hear from nationally recognized speakers and participate in cutting-edge leadership workshops that focused on operational and relational leadership success. In addition to gleaning knowledge from the amazing speakers, a corporate reception was hosted followed by a com-munity service project. Student participants learned about the importance of service and they walked away with practi-cal leadership skills and con-nections with executives from companies such as Mat-tel, CNN, Magic Johnson Enterprise, Disney, Warner Bros. Universal, ESPN and many more. The final day of the con-ference featured a strate-gic focus on service. Student leaders participate in small group discussions to reflect upon the weekend thus far and had the opportunity to en-gage in an inspirational graduation celebration that consisted of selected student speak-ers, student testimonials, free giveaways, dancing, a powerful keynote speech from the president of UPS, and dynamic voices of the University of Southern California Gospel Choir. In addition to the celebration, students received Circle of Change certificates, which indicated their commitment to leave the conference as a change agent who was in-spired, transformed, and empowered with the connections, resources, and skills to make a positive impact in their community, nation, and world as a 21st Century Leader. Some of the greatest takeaways of this program for higher education professionals is that leadership educators need to expand their concept of leadership and become more creative in developing innovative programs that can positively impact the lives of student leaders on their campuses. Secondly, this leadership program reveals that campuses can obtain sponsorship from outside sources and they can use professional resources and partnerships with campus departments, such as Student Activities, Multicultural Centers, and Career Development Centers to create powerful leadership programs that will empower their students for career leadership success. Finally, the last takeaway from this leadership program for Student Affairs professionals is the inspiration and courage to step outside of the box and pursue those innovative and incredible leadership development programs that many leadership educators may have within to transform the lives of student leaders.

12

California State University, Fullerton Spotlight Award for Research & Assessment

The Center for Research on Educational Access and Leadership (C-REAL)

at California State University, Fullerton (CSUF) is a data-driven, solution

focused research center that strives to develop strategies in response to

addressing the complex challenges of educational access and leadership

through practice, policy, and change. This partnership between local educational

agencies, schools and colleges, as well as faculty and graduate students from

the College of Education at California State University, Fullerton serves as a

strong foundation for quality work.

C-REAL conducts research on access, equity, and success for P-20 student

populations and P-20 educational leadership. Additionally, C-REAL carries out

program assessment and evaluation for a broad range of educational and

community partners with the goal of assessing program effectiveness, making

program improvements, and identifying promising practices. Projects include the

program evaluation of federally funded programs such as GEAR UP and Pro

gram

Spo

tlig

ht

13

C.R.E.A.T.E. that work with K-12 institutions to increase enrollment of ethnically

unrepresented students in higher education and integrate the arts into the classroom to

increase student engagement, attendance, and academic performance, respectively.

Other evaluations include a campus climate study regarding the experiences of

undocumented students, a review of a program that intends to develop future nurses to be

more culturally sensitive, an evaluation of institutions’ effectiveness of engaging students

in STEM fields, and working with a variety of community colleges to increase the number

of minority male students that transfer to a 4 year college. Results from assessments and

evaluations are shared with practitioners for program improvement. The center shares

findings as well as evaluation and logic models at regional and national conferences such

as NASPA, ACPA, AERA, AAHHE, NCORE and WPA to encourage practitioners to assess

their programs. Moreover, findings from studies are also shared through publications.

In addition, C-REAL also provides a number of educational programs, ranging from

College of Education colloquium series to international partnership exchange programs

and professional development workshops for local and international partners. Programs

include a summer research institute for local high school students, annual research

symposiums that showcase student research, an LGBTQ symposium exploring the

identity development of students who identify as LGBT or Q, and research institutes

coordinated for interactional partners from South Africa and Vietnam. All program

evaluations and educational programs are led and coordinated by undergraduate and

graduate students with the supervision of the director and coordinator of the center.

Some of the greatest takeaways of this program for higher education professionals is that

the center’s assessments are by student assistants of all levels, including doctoral

students, master’s students, and undergraduates. Secondly, through the evaluation and

assessment of various programs being done at the center, other campuses can learn

about some of the best practices that have been identified within these different program

designs. Finally, C-Real provides a great model of assessment that can be effectively

implemented at other campuses throughout the country.

14

Analyzing data can be a challenge on campuses where it is collected and stored in a vari-ety of ways and locations yet it’s become one of the most important tasks to document learning outcomes and student success. One tool that makes things easier is OrgSync. From conducting annual assessments or tracking program participation, data can be easily collected and analyzed at multiple levels in OrgSync. The platform is especially helpful for assessment professionals because it creates a central repository for all involvement and assessment data to enable successful ex-ecution of campus assessment strategies.

Assessments and Evaluations

Moving all surveys and assessments online not only allows for easier completion by your participants but also eliminates the need for manual data entry.

There are plenty of online survey tools on the market all offering different features and benefits. With OrgSync, submitted forms link to other student information in the system, like profile information, so you can easily compare results across demographics. It also can be connected to involvement information in the system. Roquee Forson, Director of Student Involvement at Houston Baptist University, says, “OrgSync is great because it allows so much information to be gathered, and there are so many opportunities to use it for assessments and accreditation. You can also aggregate participation and service data in a way that makes sense.”

Moving beyond simple participation numbers for program evaluation is essential to determining impact and ROI for programs on campus. But, how you do it is sometimes the biggest challenge. In OrgSync, you can customize event and program evaluations. From pre-tests to post-tests or simple feedback forms, the platform allows you to target the correct people for your evaluations helping reduce survey fatigue on campus. So, whether you are assessing the effectiveness of presenters or trying to identify learning outcomes achieved, the platform is a streamlined solution.

OrgSync for the Assessment

Professional

OrgSync is great

because it allows

so much information

to be gathered...

Res

ourc

e R

evie

w

“ “

15

Quantify Student Involvement and Success

Research consistently points to a direct correlation between campus involvement and student success, but documenting this trend can be difficult without a resource like OrgSync. The platform helps campuses streamline their data collection.

For example, The University of Akron used OrgSync to compare involvement information and GPAs stored in OrgSync. For example, after comparing 2011 and 2012 GPA data, administrators found that in Fall 2011 the average GPA for an organization President was 3.515 (campus average: 2.70), Fall 2012 was 3.461 (campus average: 2.75), and Fall 2013 was 3.418 (campus average: 2.82). With this information, they can now better tell students, parents, colleagues, and administrators the value of involve-ment on campus.

Damon Brown, Director of Student Activities and Involvement at Central Michigan University said, “OrgSync provides a great platform for institutions to track involvement and justify what students are doing and tie that to retention and persistence throughout the collegiate experience.” By combining OrgSync and campus data, powerful insights can be gleaned regarding the impact of student involvement and other factors influencing student success.

Adam Cebulski Director of Research and Strategic Initiatives adam@orgsync.com

16

The debut of our new Student Life Curriculum, bLUeprint, encouraged our department to rethink our work, particularly with student leader training. To align our practices with a more learning-centered approach, we created interactive training sessions, focusing on student growth and self-reflection. Following the bLUeprint learning cycle model, students engaged in interactive experiences that encouraged them to “Discover, Explore, Connect, and Apply:"

Discover:

Gryphons (RAs) completed online learning modules throughout the summer covering fundamentals;

Shared national, institutional, and departmental assessment data with Gryphons. Explore:

Gryphons spent five uninterrupted minutes sharing a personal story with a peer;

Students participated in a gallery walk to encourage them to consider aspects of their identity and others’ identities;

Students participated in a scavenger hunt introducing them to community members and local resources to assist in programmatic efforts;

Monthly Lunch and Learns facilitated by campus presenters allowed students to explore optional special-interest topics.

Reinventing Student Leader Training to Promote

Self-Authorship and Transformative Learning

Cur

ricu

lum

Rev

iew

17

Connect:

Through panel discussions, Gryphons connected support networks to crisis follow- up and their role in that process.

Students utilized previously gained knowledge to rehearse conversations with residents and to practice confronting policy violations;

Student staffs created Pecha Kuchas highlighting best practices.

Apply:

“Gryphon Leadership Tracks” allowed student staff members to apply their skills in workshops addressing hot topics.

1:3 supervision between professional staff and 3 Gryphons provided students an opportunity to be learning partners in their leadership role. Students shared experiences, advice, and feedback with one another.

The benefits of this new model include increased student engagement, heightened community connections, and an improved understanding of resident concerns and community dynamics.

Visit our website for more information about bLUeprint! http://studentaffairs.lehigh.edu/content/blueprint

Lehigh University Office of Residence Life

Taran Cardone, Kate Grady, Kerri Kloorfain, Brandon Morris, Michael Mullin, Jennifer Scaia, Chelsea Sims tac212@lehigh.edu

18

In the summer of 2013, Wake Forest University set about the task of redefining its

fraternity and sorority community toward a shared vision and common goals. The initial

intent was to create a program that offered increased support and resources while

measuring each chapter’s experiences in meaningful ways. Like many other communities,

the WFU community had become defined almost solely through a social lens leaving little

opportunity for learning experiences to take center stage.

Over the course of nine weeks, a committee redefined the fraternity/sorority experience

by outlining five core learning areas, developing belief statements and common definitions

for each learning area and assigning a continuum of growth based on an abbreviated

version of Bloom’s Taxonomy. In essence, we created an assessment rubric as our

measurement tool. Rubrics provide the means to measure multiple interconnected areas

along a shared continuum of growth. When considering cultural change, they are one of

the best assessment tools to strategically plan and measure growth.

For a detailed view of the rubric, click here.

Wake Forest University Redefines its Fraternity/

Sorority Experience Utilizing Rubrics

In

Pra

ctic

e

19

The result of this work was the development of the Expectations for Excellence

program. At its core, the program measures the environment that exists within an

organization, which we would also think of as the organizational culture. By thinking with

the end in mind, the program provides our staff with a framework and common set of

language to guide our organizations, essentially working on a roadmap toward

excellence in each learning area. Additionally, it allows each organization’s leadership

team the opportunity to assess the organization, practice goal setting, reassess and

reflect on how successful they were by the end of their year in office. This then becomes

a transition document, passed along to the next leadership team when they begin their

process of assessment and goal setting.

As a result of the Expectations for Excellence program, WFU is provided with current

data on each chapter’s experiential environment, a snapshot of strengths/weaknesses

of the entire community and the longitudinal data resulting from these measurements.

This data shows where there may be potential gaps for educational and resources. It

provides our staff with needed information for long term planning, curriculum

development and educational interventions.

More information on the Expectations for Excellence program can be found on our

website.

Annie Carlson-Welch Associate Director, Student Leadership & Organizations

Wake Forest University carlsoaw@wfu.edu

20

Entering the student affairs field as a graduate student, it is easy to underestimate what all

the word “assessment” entails and encompasses. We constantly hear about the

necessity of assessment and how important it is to the value and credibility of our field.

However, it sometimes feels as though we are launched into graduate assistant positions

before we even start course work in our program without being taught background

Information, while at the same time being expected to complete certain tasks. One of

these tasks that feels as though it is thrown around without any introductory information or

knowledge is assessment.

In our specific program in Texas, one of the most beneficial and helpful classes we take

as a part of our two year program is our assessment course. The only downside to this

course is the fact that it is currently offered the last semester of our program.

The course itself, however, is one that is bursting at the seams with curriculum

that has students leaving each class feeling as though our brains are about to

spill over with information. With that being said, assessment is truly nothing

less than just information. This particular course allows us the opportunity to

learn everything from the basics of qualitative and quantitative data, to

budgeting, to the grand finale of creating a full strategic plan for a designated

department on campus. The course is designed to start from the bottom up and

filled with readings that are often tedious; but as a student with limited prior

knowledge of assessment, each week seems to build nicely off of the previous

information to create a holistic educational setting for the acquisition of

assessment knowledge.

Since taking a formal course in assessment, we have been able to put the

content we learned in the course to work. We have updated old, tired, and

repetitive evaluations for our programs and have received more, useful

feedback from our students. In addition to simply improving the assessments

we use in our programs as graduate assistants, we now have a greater

#Assessment for #GradStudents:

The Importance of Assessment Course in Student Affairs

Graduate Programs

Gra

duat

e I

mpa

ct

21

understanding of why we do assessment and why we do it the way we do; assessment

overall has become more intentional. As it was previously mentioned, we currently do

not take the assessment course until our final semester in the program but feel it would

be beneficial to take this course within our first year to better utilize and practice these

assessment skills before heading off to be a full time professional.

At the end of what seemed like a very quick semester, we have a greater understanding

of designing learning outcomes, the different types of budgets and how to build a

budget, the difference between goals and objectives and how to write each, to

conducting a needs assessment and ultimately building a strategic plan. We feel more

prepared to enter the field of student affairs, and the overarching realm of higher

education because of the usefulness and practicality of the assessment course.

Kristina Graves Graduate Research Assistant

Dean of Students Office Leadership Institute

Texas State University kgraves512@gmail.com

Bailey P. Albrecht Graduate Research Assistant

Dean of Students Office Leadership Institute

Texas State University bpa13@txstate.edu