Our Story:Our Story: The Story of One Student Affairs Division’s Quest to Improve Assessment

Don Whalen, Coordinator of Assessment, Department of

Residence

Carolyn Nading, Assistant Registrar, Office of the Registrar

NASPA International Assessment & Retention Conference

St. Louis, MO

June 10th, 2007

Overview:Overview:I. Where are you at?II. Why do we have an assessment

committee?III. Who is involved in the

assessment committee?IV. What are the involvements of

the assessment committee?V. When is the committee active?VI. Where does the committee do

it’s work?VII. How does the assessment team

do what it does?VIII.Conclusions/discussion/

questions

Where are you at?Where are you at?

• Do you have an assessment office on your campus?

• Do you have an assessment person or staff dedicated to assessment in your student affairs division?

• Where would you rate your student affairs division in its assessment efforts: beginning, intermediate or advanced?

Iowa State University Iowa State University FactsFacts• 1st land-grant institution in U.S.

• Student Population = 25,462 (Fall 06)– 20,440 undergraduates– 4,583 graduate/professional students

• Six undergraduate colleges– Agriculture, Business, Design, Engineering,

Human Sciences, & Liberal Arts & Sciences• Carnegie Doctoral/Research Extensive

University • Accredited by the Higher Learning

Commission, a commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools

Division of Student Division of Student AffairsAffairs

• Enrollment Services– Admissions– New Student

Programs– Student Financial

Aid• Registrar’s Office• Student Counseling

Service• Student Health

Center• Memorial Union

– Student Activities & Organizations

• Dept. of Residence• Dining Services

• International Students & Scholars

• Learning Communities • Dean of Students:

– Academic Success Center

– Disability Resources– Greek Affairs– Judicial Affairs– LGBT Student Services– Multicultural Student

Affairs– Recreation Services– Student Legal Services– Women’s Center

WhyWhy do we have an do we have an Assessment Committee?Assessment Committee?

• Implementation• Committee charge• Changes in leadership &

membership• Defining and shaping our

purpose

The purpose of the Assessment The purpose of the Assessment TeamTeam

• Establish a liaison with the university assessment efforts, including those of the Provost’s Office and Institutional Research

• Conduct Assessment for the Division (consistent with the Student Affairs Strategic Plan)

• Identify or establish professional development opportunities related to assessment

• Act as a resource for departments within the division. Communicate with department level teams or staff with assessment responsibilities.

WhoWho is involved in the is involved in the Assessment Committee?Assessment Committee?

• Original Committee Make-Up• Current Committee Make-Up

– Representation at all levels– Entry-level professionals– Registrar component (unique)– Full-time Researcher- DoR

• Support Staff

WhatWhat are the are the involvements of the involvements of the

committee?committee?

• Educate division staff at all levels– Departmental Outreach: training

sessions & meetings with each department

– Members consulted with departments – Encourage assessment within the

division and its’ departments– Annual reporting of projects– Project support through review of

assessment methodology

WhatWhat are the are the involvements of the involvements of the committee? committee? (cont.)

• Collaboration between departments

• Resource for departments within the division

• Keeping assessments aligned with the strategic plan

• Assessment of committee involvements

WhenWhen is the committee is the committee active?active?

• Creating the culture of improvement

• General activity during the academic year

• Training activities• Activity at various roles

and levels• When to engage students

in assessment initiatives

WhereWhere does the does the committee do it’s work?committee do it’s work?

• General meeting structure- once per month

• Previously twice per month• Meeting w/ departmental

staffs• Informal contacts among

members

HowHow does the assessment does the assessment team team

do what it does?do what it does?• Education of staff

– Assessment basics• Developing outcomes, qualitative & quantitative

research, focus groups, survey development

– Assessment-related skills• Excel, pivot tables, queries, SPSS, Stata,

knowledge of data

– Available resources on campus• Institutional Research (CIRP, NSSE), Statistics Lab,

RISE, Registrar’s data

– Encouraging collaboration– Establish working relationships– Consultation– Common readings on assessment

HowHow does the assessment does the assessment team do what it does?team do what it does?

• Group Projects– Research

• “Financial, Academic, & Environmental Influences on the Retention & Graduation of Students” retention project

• Student leadership study

– Surveys • Student Opinion Survey• NASPA gambling survey • NASPA benchmarking survey• Student Affairs Satisfaction survey (local)• Student Employment Survey (local)

HowHow does the assessment does the assessment team do what it does?team do what it does?

• Reports• Publications • Presentations

– On-campus– Regional– National/International

• Budget

Discussion:Discussion:

• Would this model work on your campus? What changes would you need to make?

• What barriers would you face in implementation?

• Who would you need buy-in from to make it happen?

Other Questions:Other Questions:

• What has been successful for you to get people involved in assessment at your institution?

• Have you formed collaborative relationships with faculty or others outside of student affairs?

• How have these collaborations enriched your campus community? Have any projects or initiatives resulted?

“If we knew what we were doing, it wouldn’t

be called research, would it?”

~Albert Einstein

Conclusion/Conclusion/QuestionsQuestions

Please feel free to contact us for further

information/questions:

Carolyn Nading- clnadin@iastate.edu

Don Whalen- dwhalen@iastate.edu

http://www.iastate.edu/