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 10 th, 2007

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? 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 Facts 1 st 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 Affairs 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

Why do we have an Assessment Committee? Implementation Committee charge Changes in leadership & membership Defining and shaping our purpose

The purpose of the Assessment Team 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.

Who is involved in the 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

What are the involvements of the 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

What are the involvements of the committee? What are the involvements of the committee? (cont.) Collaboration between departments Resource for departments within the division Keeping assessments aligned with the strategic plan Assessment of committee involvements

When is the committee 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

Where does the committee do it’s work? General meeting structure- once per month Previously twice per month Meeting w/ departmental staffs Informal contacts among members

How does the assessment team 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

How does the assessment 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)

How does the assessment team do what it does? Reports Publications Presentations –On-campus –Regional –National/International Budget

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: 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/Questions Please feel free to contact us for further information/questions: Carolyn Nading- Don Whalen-