Good Practices in Assessment of Student Learning and Development

II. Good Practices in Student Affairs/Services Assessment of Student Learning and Development

The purpose of this study is to outline good practice case studies in the assessment of student learning in various types of divisions for student affairs/services.  These good practice case studies are intended to assist faculty and administrators in the evaluation of student learning and development within their divisions of student affairs. In addition, the case studies are intended to provide readers with information about what was learned from evaluating student development and learning and what may be avoided in the future.

It is hoped that the reader will note from reading the various case studies that there are several ways in which to evaluate student learning and development within student affairs.  Each case will most likely vary in its approach and each contributing author will share some tips for implementing assessment as well as some challenges.  While not a "how-to" study on engaging in assessment of student learning and development, this study will be designed to give practical advice for consideration of implementation of assessment of student learning and development through the examination of each case study.  Questions to guide the reader through each case study will be posed in Chapter One. 

To further aid the reader, the study will also contain some considerations to address when planning for assessment of student learning and development and a summary of good practice strategies for application.

Selection of Case Studies
An open invitation for submission of a case study will be made to all institutions that belong to the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators, Inc (NASPA) via an avenue approved by the NASPA office.  Selection of the good practice case studies will be based on criteria emerging primarily from four key resources.  The first is the Nine Principles of Good Practice for Assessing Student Learning developed in December 1992 at the American Association for Higher Education (AAHE) Assessment Forum (http://www.buffalostate.edu/offices/assessment/aahe.htm).   The second is taken from criteria illustrated in Palomba and Banta's (1999), Assessment Essentials.  The third is extracted from criteria illustrated in Kuh, Kinzie, Schuh, and Whitt's (2005), Assessing Conditions to Enhance Educational Effectiveness.  The fourth will be drawn from meta- assessment criteria found in Bresciani's (2006), Outcomes-Based Academic and Co-Curricular Program Review: A Compilation of Institutional Good Practices.

Each institution will be asked to provide an 8-10 page case study that

1. Overview of Institutional Culture
   Describe your Institutional Culture
   1. Briefly describe your institution (size, type, location). 
   2. What is your institution known for?
   3.  How is it organized?  Where does Student Affairs/Services fit into the overall organizational structure? 
   4. How does your institution's special culture or peculiarities affect its view of student affairs/services
2. Overview of your Division of Student Affairs/Services
   Describe your division of student affairs/services.
   1. What is the mission and/or primary purpose of your division?
   2. What do the faculty and administrators expect to see as a result of having a division of student affairs/services?
   3. What are students expected to learn or how are they expected to develop as a result of engaging in student affairs/services?
   4. How involved are faculty in what you deliver and evaluate within student affairs/services?
3. Overview of Assessment  Process within the Division of Student Affairs/Services
   Describe your process of assessing student learning and development within the Division of Student Affairs/Services
   1. How and when is student development and learning evaluated within the Division? 
   2. Who is responsible for each step?
   3. How flexible is the administration of the assessment process?
   4. What parts are required?
   5. What can be adapted?
4. Examples of assessment and how results are used
   Please provide a specific example of your outcomes based assessment process for at least one program or service, complete with outcomes, evaluation methods, criteria, and decisions based on results, etc.
5. Tips for implementing process
   Based on how you construct assessment of student learning and development within student affairs/services and how you evaluate it; what recommendations would you make for other institutions who would want to implement your design? 
   1. What would you encourage them to replicate and/or adopt? 
   2. What would you recommend they avoid? 
   3. What general advice would you provide?
6. Description of barrier to assessing student learning and development and an illustration of the strategy to overcome it
   Please describe at least one challenge you encountered when implementing your assessment process and at least one strategy that you used to overcome that challenge.  In describing this challenge, please feel free to recommend suggestions for adoption or strategies that should be avoided.
7. Reference
   List the  references you utilized in your writing the aforementioned material
8. Resource Suggestions
   Would you like to share any specific suggestions for resources or references for others to use as they implement assessment of student learning and development within student affairs?

This study will be a compilation of the good practice case study submissions from those good practice institutions that elected to participate. Using grounded theory (Strauss and Corbin, 1990), the case studies will be reviewed by the editor to compile the list of recommendations to consider when implementing assessment of student learning and development in student affairs/services.  However, the reader should be cautioned that this study is not intended to be a "one-size fits all, lock step" application of good practice.  The contributing authors will emphasize several points about the dangers of taking one institution's practice and trying to make it your own without tending to institutional culture and values.  Thus, this study is intended to provide the reader with ideas for consideration for adapting to the reader's own institutional culture.

This study will not be intended to promote outcomes-based assessment of student learning and development as a process established merely to sustain itself.  Rather, this study is intended to illustrate good practice in self-reflection that contribute to improved integration of and quality in student learning and development within student affairs/services.  The process of assessing student learning and development is not a means to its own end; rather, it is a way to systematically engage in daily critical inquiry about what works well and what needs to be improved (Maki, 2004). 

The results of this study will be published by NASPA, Inc.

References

American Association of Higher Education (1992). Nine Principles of Good Practice for Assessing Student Learning. Retrieved March 16, 2006 from http://www.aahe.org/assessment/principl.html.

Bresciani, M.J. (2006). Outcomes-Based Academic and Co-Curricular Program Review: A Compilation of Institutional Good Practices. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publications.

Kuh, G.D.,  Kinzie, J.,  Shuh, J. H., and Whitt, E.J. (2005). Assessing Conditions to Enhance Educational Effectiveness.  San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass.

Maki, P. (2004).  Assessing for Student Learning: Building a Sustainable Commitment Across the Institution.  Stylus Publishing, LLC: Sterling, VA.

Palomba, C. & Banta, T. (1999) Assessment Essentials: Planning, Implementing, and Improving Assessment in Higher Education. Jossey Bass, San Francisco.

Strauss, A. & Corbin, J. (1990). Basics of Qualitative Research: Grounded Theory Procedures and Techniques. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.