Staying Ahead of the Curve: Keeping Our Assessment Skills Sharp International Assessment & Retention Conference St. Louis, Missouri June 9, 2007 Ted Elling, Ed.D. Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Research & Systems Development Univ. of North Carolina at Charlotte twelling@uncc.edu Carrie Zelna, Ph.D. Director of Student Affairs Research and Assessment North Carolina State University carrie_zelna@ncsu.edu

Goals Share findings from recent national NASPA survey (August 2006) How we use assessment Where our pockets of expertise lie What are our training needs & desired forums How do we differ from our generalist colleagues Group Discussion How are we keeping current? How can we get & keep others current How do we sustain these efforts Joint NASPA/ACPA Assessment Contact Effort

SAAER Membership Survey Administered to all NASPA Student Affairs Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Knowledge Community Members – August/September 2006 413 respondents 147 Coordinate assessment at the SA division level 73 Coordinate assessment at the SA department level 112 Do not formally coordinate assessment efforts 81 (other – mainly academic affairs and other divisions) What Are Our Data Gathering Methods? What Are Our Training Needs & Desired Formats? Where Is Our Presentation Expertise?

Group Discussion How are we keeping current? How can we get & keep others current? How can we sustain these efforts?

Assessment Survey Process Joint NASPA/ACPA Assessment Summer 07 Contact Effort NASPA SAAER Knowledge Community Support Assessment Curriculum Effort ACPA Commission for Assessment for Student Development Support Assessment Skills and Knowledge (ASK) Standards Email to all ACPA Senior Student Affairs Officers Multi-modal email contact to NASPA SAAER KC & IARC Attendees Forward email to dedicated assessment staff (75 to 100% FT) Request to complete survey via embedded link Main Purpose Who & Where are our dedicated assessment staff? Develop updated web-based resource list Identify our trainers Encourage focused-presentations in conference & workshop settings

Survey Areas Institution & Location Title Education & Experience Level of Coordination Home Department/Division Research Findings Website (URL) Areas of Skill Development Needs & Expertise Desire to Present Contact Data Others – What are we missing?

Purpose of a “Curriculum” Provide a frame for the KC to use when choosing programs for national and regional conferences and workshops. Serve as a guide to assist Professionals in choosing educational opportunities that will provide them with the most useful information for engaging in assessment.  Provide those in Student Affairs that did not receive any assessment education through academic programs an opportunity to learn assessment “skills”. A curriculum format may allow us to implement programs in such a way that completing it will provide a resume item/documentation of training.