September 26- September 30, 2011

1 comment (Add your own)

1. Claudia wrote:

Hey Jeff, There is some interesting stuff going on in the ceotmnms here and I think it's awesome your post provoked so much discussion. I think you bring up a really important point in your first suggestion and I agree with it- I would guess that many of the programs our offices hold for students are being widely attended, but by the same smaller percentage of students. I think there's a legitimate possibility that student affairs divisions are providing a statistically small group of students with learning outcomes-based programming. I do see a lot of assessment initiatives, however, that focus heavily on attendance- we do it in our own office, actually. Every program we host, students have to swipe in to enter with their student id card- this gives us access to both individual points of contact as well as repeaters. This data is incredibly helpful, but also comes with challenges of its own. As your second point suggests, we can't rely on attendance alone- even if events are reaching a wide audience- to determine a program's success, we need to address whether those programs are DOING anything and if students are learning and growing as a result. While I think it is great that our field really seems to have begun embracing the importance and necessity of assessment, what I think frustrates me is the lack of directed purpose to it all. I think outcomes based assessment is critical in program evaluation, but also think that before assessment design is even undertaken, the SA professional needs to set out some guidelines and goals: What types of data are being gathered? Who is the intended audience of the results? How and when will the results be communicated? Why does the assessment matter? I feel like if those questions can't be answered prior to undertaking an assessment initiative, it's not worth devoting the time and energy, or potentially fiscal resources. Thanks for writing and provoking discussion.

Tue, April 17, 2012 @ 3:57 AM

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