NAVIGATING THE WATERS: USING ASSESSMENT TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE Amy Harper, Area Coordinator, Fordham University Greer Jason, PhD, Assistant Dean of Students, Fordham University

Introduction  Heading the call: The Division of Student Affairs focus on assessment and strategic planning  Greer Jason – Assistant Dean and Director of Residential Life  Amy Harper – Area Coordinator for Integrated Learning Communities

Introduction  What is assessment?  How is assessment different from evaluation?  How do I accomplish both in my area of work?  Division of Student Affairs at Fordham University uses Upcraft and Shuh’s definition of assessment as our guide: “Assessment [is] any effort to gather, analyze, and interpret evidence that describes institutional, departmental, divisional, or agency effectiveness.” 1  If assessment is the effort, evaluation is the examination of the effort  For assessment to be effective, it needs to be apart of the culture. Your efforts should be ongoing, not episodic.

Schedule of Assessment: Fordham University Residential Life SummerFallWinterSpring Training on Assessment and goal setting Analyze, discuss, and implement results of survey findings Refresher training on assessment Compile data from the year for sharing Create and distribute training evaluations Write the second quarterly report Create and distribute training evaluations Review previous RA and RD training evaluations Create and distribute needs and interest surveys for students Prepare and distribute EBI and Fall semester surveys Share fall semester data during winter training Compile relevant EBI data to share with other departments Write the first quarterly report Compile data from the semester for sharing Set dates for focus groupsCompile annual report Share information received from focus groups Set goals and objectives for the upcoming year Write the third quarterly report Make revisions to assessment schedule as needed

Setting Goals  External Analysis  SWOT Analysis  Environmental Scan  Study “Peer and Aspirant” Institutions  Internal Analysis  Mission: drives the decision making in organizations  Vision: describes aspirations and what an organization really wants to be; defines standards of excellence, organizational competencies, and our most desirable goals

Setting Goals  Goals: the aim of our specific work to achieve our mission and vision.  Note: Mission, Vision, and Goals should enhance the work we already do, helping us make purposeful decisions in daily functions.  Objectives: the game plan for making our Goals reality.  Action Steps: the specific steps to accomplish Objectives.  Desired Results: the outcomes hoped to be achieved via Action Steps, Objectives, and Goals.  Actual Results: the data (quantitative and qualitative) gathered to measure impact/effectiveness of Actions.  Follow-Up: measures taken to modify behavior in context of actual results.

Setting Goals  Template:

Ensuring you reach your Goals: Utilizing Quantitative and Qualitative Information  Quantitative  Large Scale inventories  Special interest projects  Benchmarks  Operational Data  Qualitative  Focus groups  Pictures  Personal testimonies  Staff meetings and one on one meetings

Ensuring you reach your Goals: Making Changes  Reflection  What did I learn from the findings?  What did people say? What are people saying?  How can we use what they are saying to reach our goals?  From what we are learning, do we need to re- examine our goals to better serve our population?

Ensuring you reach your Goals: Tracking your Progress  Many departments find themselves in a state of being data rich but analysis poor. It is important to not let assessment efforts sit on a shelf and collect dust.  Regular Self-Checks  Application of Data Connect Data to Goals, Objectives, and Action Steps  Quarterly and Annual Reports Goals should not exist without pre-planned methods of assessment  Semesterly Progress Check-ins Progress should be measured in the context of the current semester, goals, and previous semesters  What should you ask yourself?  How are things going?  Are we accomplishing what we set out to do?  What needs to be tweaked/changed?  Who needs to adjust their contributions?

Sharing Assessment Data  When planning to share information, consider the following questions:  Who is the audience of the results?  Why is this information important to this audience?  What is the appropriate format given the audience?  Obstacles to Sharing Data  Lack of Time  Lack of Expertise/Tools  Fear of the Results  Ineffective Data Sharing  Types of Reports  Full Reports: When working on a proposal or grant.  Summary Reports: Required of all assessment efforts in Student Affairs at Fordham.  Presentations: Used during staff trainings.  Informal Reporting: Student newspaper articles, meetings, planning opportunities.  Who Should be included in the Information Sharing?  Everyone! But not all constituents will have the same level of access to data.  Consider how your boss, your staff, and your students each might be given the information.

Reflecting on Assessment Data  Be willing to be transparent and acknowledge shortcomings identified by the data  Schedule regular time for reflection  Review prior assessment data during future planning

If at first you don’t succeed…  Try, try again!  It might take a few years to fully actualize your goals  Goals can not be attained due to circumstances outside of our control (e.g. the economy)  Strategies for achieving the goals were not implemented effectively  After reflection and evaluation, you may need to adjust your strategies for achieving your goals.

Questions/Discussions

References 1.Upcraft, M.L., and Shuh, J.H., Assessment in Student Affairs: A Guide for Practitioners. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1996.