Assessment
in Student Affairs at
The University of Memphis
Active learning: Comment at Twitter #umassess
Polleverywhere = pollev.com; text from phone
Take notes
Three volunteers

Identify aspects of “doing assessment”

Explain why assessment is important to Student Affairs at
The University of Memphis

Recognize types of assessment

Develop a self-perception of your individual competence for
assessment

Identify ways you might improve your individual
assessment competence

Recognize the extent to which your department supports
assessment

Identify one action you might do in order to support
divisional assessment priorities
Objectives
“Assessment builds a
bridge between learners
and educators so that
each understands self
and one another in a
more authentic way”
◦ Keeling et al. (2009), Assessment Reconsidered

Upcraft (2003) defines assessment as
“any (intentional, meaningful,
coordinated) effort to gather, analyze, and
interpret evidence, which describes
institutional, divisional, or agency
effectiveness” (p. 556).

Student affairs assessment is the formal
and informal collection and review of data
pertinent to student affairs functions.
Assessment

It is NOT research.
◦ Research aims to prove/explain often across
contexts; Assessment used for ongoing
improvement in some singular context
◦ While assessment must have a determined
methodology, the expectations for assessment
are not the same as with research
◦ Research requires IRB approval; assessment
typically does not
What assessment is NOT

Quantitative
◦ Surveys
 National admin (e.g. NSSE)
 Locally developed; post and pre
◦ Evaluations
◦ Tests; Exams; Direct measures
 Qualitative
◦ Focus groups
◦ Interviews
◦ Student one-on-one interaction;
document; analyze themes
How will we know?

Learning/Retention
– what do students/stakeholders learn? How does our
program support keeping them in school and
persisting to graduation?

Program Effectiveness
– what do we do well/not so well?

Student Experiences
– what are they?

Student Perceptions (aka satisfaction)
- what do they think of their experiences?

Head counts
–
how many use our services/visit offices/? What kinds of
contacts are we having?
Types of Assessment

Externally demanded, inspired by a weakening of
the implied social contract regarding higher
education

Institutional demands – provide evidence of
contributions

For Student Affairs, it positions us stronger with
the academic mission of the institution;
strengthens idea that we educate

Explains what we do, what we accomplished and
what difference that makes in ways that other
people who are not us can understand and
remember
Why is assessment important?

You doing assessment means you are:
◦ Asking appropriate questions (intentionality)
◦ Reflecting on answers across “cases” (reflection)
◦ Explaining common responses (identifying
themes)
◦ Documenting these themes (record-keeping for
dissemination/personal revisiting)
◦ Using the themes to inform approaches
(Acting/improving practice)

Assessment ultimately is
◦ Intentional, Reflective, Active, Developmental





What do I know to do well?
What kind of assessment do I already do?
What do I need to know more about?
What are the best ways to teach me?
How do I make the time to do
assessment?
Handout, notes, discuss and/or personal
reflection
 Offer thoughts on #umassess and
polleverything

Individuals

What do YOU need from me?
◦ #umassess
Diverse skills/perceptions of competence
 Varied commitment to increased
competence
 Unsure of how to infuse into work

Individual Debrief

Contribute through administering a
quantitative approach
◦ Dan can help

Contribute through some qualitative
approach
◦ Dan can help

Contribute through thoughtful, intentional
approach with students, asking the right
questions, documenting responses, reflecting
on themes, reporting, using for future
practice
◦ You have to do this but it has the most payoff for
practice
◦ Can be collaborative and developmental
Making it a part of our work
What MUST stay and what CAN go in
order to infuse this more into your work?
 What must a work week look like if we
better infuse assessment?

Assessment must be a priority
Rate your department:
5 – part of culture; consistent purposeful attention to
assessment; attentive to institutional, divisional,
and distinct departmental demands/needs; “We
have an assessment agenda”
4 – part of culture; ebbs and flows as a priority;
attentive to divisional demands and distinct
departmental needs “We have an assessment plan”
3 – part of culture during key reporting times; some
ongoing assessment exists; attentive to divisional
demands; “We attend to assessment tasks”
2 – not a part of the culture; attentive to divisional
demands during report times; assessment is
something we hurry up and do when we’re tasked
to do so “We respond to assessment demands”
1- If wouldn’t get in trouble for not doing
assessment, then wouldn’t. “Assessment? UGH!”
Departmental
What messages do I get from
departmental leadership about the
importance/value of assessment?
 Have clear expectations been set for all in
the department to participate in
assessment?
 What have we been doing? How effective
has it been?
 What times during the year do I see
assessment become a bigger part of my
job? Are there (extended periods of time)
during which I can just forget about
assessment?

Departmental
Rate your department:
5 – part of culture; consistent purposeful attention to
assessment; attentive to institutional, divisional,
and distinct departmental demands/needs; “We
have an assessment agenda”
4 – part of culture; ebbs and flows as a priority;
attentive to divisional demands and distinct
departmental needs “We have an assessment plan”
3 – part of culture during key reporting times; some
ongoing assessment exists; attentive to divisional
demands; “We attend to assessment tasks”
2 – not a part of the culture; attentive to divisional
demands during report times; assessment is
something we hurry up and do when we’re tasked
to do so “We respond to assessment demands”
1- If wouldn’t get in trouble for not doing
assessment, then wouldn’t. “Assessment? UGH!”
Departmental

What does YOUR DEPARTMENT need from
me?
Departmental Debrief
 What’s
working? What needs
to improve?
 What do I need to do to
support collective efforts?
 What roles could each of us
play?
Divisional Discussion



Acknowledge the external/internal demand
will not go away
Become educated/educate (TAG)
Advocate for the value of assessment
Determine assessment priorities




Create a plan to best collect evidence
Infuse assessment into our work; philosophy!
Dedicate time to some level of assessment
Discussion with supervisors:

◦ Driven by Federal and State priorities, Dr. Raines,
Dr. Bingham, AVPs, departmental needs/functions
◦ If doing assessment is too demanding, but there is
a need for assessment, what needs to give?
◦ If not you, then who?
What we all need to do
“Assessment builds a
bridge between learners
and educators so that
each understands self
and one another in a
more authentic way”
◦ Keeling et al. (2009), Assessment Reconsidered