Louisiana Association of Student Assistance Programs 41 st Annual Conference Re.vu/drbbourke Making Assessment Part of Our Daily Conversations Brian Bourke, Ph.D. Louisiana State University

Louisiana Association of Student Assistance Programs 41 st Annual Conference Re.vu/drbbourke Download this PowerPoint Re.vu/drbbourke

Louisiana Association of Student Assistance Programs 41 st Annual Conference Re.vu/drbbourke Outline  My Background in Assessment  Why is Talking About Assessment Important?  What is Assessment?  Why Do We Need to Discuss Assessment Daily?  How Can We Realistically Infuse Assessment into Daily Conversations?  Is Talking About Assessment Enough?  What is the End Goal of Making Assessment Part of Our Daily Conversations?  Where Can We Go to Learn More?

Louisiana Association of Student Assistance Programs 41 st Annual Conference Re.vu/drbbourke My Background in Assessment

Louisiana Association of Student Assistance Programs 41 st Annual Conference Re.vu/drbbourke Why Is Talking About Assessment Important?

Louisiana Association of Student Assistance Programs 41 st Annual Conference Re.vu/drbbourke What is Assessment?  “the gathering of information concerning the functioning of students, staff, and institutions of higher education”  (Astin & Antonio, 2012, p.3)  “gathering evidence: gathering data, transforming data so that they can be interpreted, applying analytical techniques, and analyzing data in terms of alternative hypotheses and explanations”  (Lenning, 1988, p. 328) Formal Definitions

Louisiana Association of Student Assistance Programs 41 st Annual Conference Re.vu/drbbourke What is Assessment?  All About Asking Questions  Using Systematic Approaches to Answer Questions  Gathering information to answer those questions (Data Collection)  Making sense of the gathered information to answer those questions (Data Analysis)  Making decisions, based on data  Sharing our answers to the questions  Discovering more questions  Having a Common Framework/Language Basic Conceptions

Louisiana Association of Student Assistance Programs 41 st Annual Conference Re.vu/drbbourke The Assessment Cycle ObjectivesOutcomes Evaluation Methods Assessment Implementation Results Decisions & Recommendations Department & Purpose

Louisiana Association of Student Assistance Programs 41 st Annual Conference Re.vu/drbbourke What Questions Should be Asked?

Louisiana Association of Student Assistance Programs 41 st Annual Conference Re.vu/drbbourke Why Discuss Assessment Daily?

Louisiana Association of Student Assistance Programs 41 st Annual Conference Re.vu/drbbourke Why Discuss Assessment Daily? Accountability Cost Quality Access Equity Accreditation

Louisiana Association of Student Assistance Programs 41 st Annual Conference Re.vu/drbbourke Accountability  Accountability ≠ CYA  Who are we accountable to?  How do we manage accountability?  Accountability > Required Reports

Louisiana Association of Student Assistance Programs 41 st Annual Conference Re.vu/drbbourke Quality  How do we demonstrate:  that we’re providing quality services?  that students are getting quality experiences?  that we’re positively affecting student outcomes?

Louisiana Association of Student Assistance Programs 41 st Annual Conference Re.vu/drbbourke How Can We Realistically Infuse Assessment into Daily Conversations?  Standing agenda item for meetings  Break down the Assessment Cycle  Where are you?  What needs to be addressed?  Informal conversations about big-picture items  Frame discussions about planning in assessment  “We should look at our intake process to make sure it meets our student and departmental needs” ObjectivesOutcomes Evaluation Methods Assessment Implementation Results Decisions & Recommendations Department & Purpose

Louisiana Association of Student Assistance Programs 41 st Annual Conference Re.vu/drbbourke How Can We Realistically Infuse Assessment into Daily Conversations?  s  Share tidbits of interesting information within the department and across TRIO units, based on assessment evidence  Marketing campaigns  “Students who participate in Student Support Services are 3X more likely to graduate on time”  Social Media

Louisiana Association of Student Assistance Programs 41 st Annual Conference Re.vu/drbbourke Is Talking About Assessment Enough? NO

Louisiana Association of Student Assistance Programs 41 st Annual Conference Re.vu/drbbourke The Assessment Cycle Outcomes Evaluation Methods Assessment Implementation Results Decisions & Recommendations Objectives Department & Purpose

Louisiana Association of Student Assistance Programs 41 st Annual Conference Re.vu/drbbourke What is the End Goal of Making Assessment Part of Our Daily Conversations? Decisions and Recommendations

Louisiana Association of Student Assistance Programs 41 st Annual Conference Re.vu/drbbourke Any Additional Benefits?

Louisiana Association of Student Assistance Programs 41 st Annual Conference Re.vu/drbbourke Where Can We Go to Learn More? Books  Assessment for Excellence, 2 nd Edition by Alexander Astin and anthony lising antonio  Demonstrating Student Success. Marilee Bresciani, Megan Moore Gardner and Jessica Hickmott  Assessment Reconsidered. Richard Keeling, Andrew Wall, Ric Underhile and Gwendolyn Dungy  Assessment Essentials. Catherine Palomba and Trudy Banta,  Assessment Methods for Student Affairs. John Schuh and Associates. 2009

Louisiana Association of Student Assistance Programs 41 st Annual Conference Re.vu/drbbourke Where Can We Go to Learn More? Websites  Student Affairs Assessment Leaders   NC State’s Internet Resources for Higher Education Outcomes Assessment   Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education   Campus Labs 

Louisiana Association of Student Assistance Programs 41 st Annual Conference Re.vu/drbbourke Where Can We Go to Learn More? Other  Assessment in Action   Research and Practice in Action   ACPA’s ASK Standards  ASK-Brochure-1.pdf ASK-Brochure-1.pdf  NASPA’s Assessment, Evaluation and Research Knowledge Community   Social Media  Twitter  #saassess  #assessment

Louisiana Association of Student Assistance Programs 41 st Annual Conference Re.vu/drbbourke Where Can We Go to Learn More? Brian Bourke, Ph.D. Louisiana State