Department Outcomes and Tools
Education Advisory Board
http://www.educationadvisoryboard.com/salc/nbpr_toolkitPortal.asp
Department Outcomes
Council Insights:
Student Affairs unit-level outcomes vary widely in content, level of detail, and target audience.
Although units should strive to develop outcomes that are applicable to all students, many units
target outcomes to specific categories of students who have high involvement with the
program (e.g., student employees, leaders, and board members). In order to create successful
and understandable outcomes, units must consider how they will assess attainment of learning
goals while they are defining outcomes statements.
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Overview of Outcomes for 6 Different Units
Graphical Analysis of Key Research Insights
Residence Life Outcomes
View samples of Residence Life Outcomes by Theme »
Sample Websites for Residence Life Outcomes
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Michigan State University
Georgia Tech (note: Residence Life is an auxiliary, not a unit within Student Affairs)
University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire (clicking on each outcome statement reveals a list of
ways for students to achieve each outcome)
Student Leadership and Involvement
View samples of Student Leadership and Involvement Outcomes by Theme »
Sample Websites for Student Leadership and Involvement Outcomes
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Goucher College
University of Tampa
University of Maryland
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Career Services Outcomes
Samples of Career Services Outcomes by Theme »
Sample Websites for Career Services Outcomes
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California State University, Stanislaus
Texas State University
Campus Recreation Outcomes
View samples of Campus Recreation Outcomes by Theme »
Sample Websites for Campus Recreation Outcomes
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University of Texas at Arlington
University of Idaho
Judicial Affairs Outcomes
View samples of Judicial Affairs Outcomes by Theme »
Sample Websites for Judicial Affairs Outcomes
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University of Texas at Arlington
Florida State University
Health and Counseling Center Outcomes
Samples of Health and Counseling Center Outcomes by Theme »
Sample Websites for Health and Counseling Center Outcomes
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Paradise Valley Community College
California State University, Stanislaus
American College Health Association resources on student learning outcomes
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Department-Level Tools
Council Insights:
To help unit-level practitioners create assessment plans, the Council has compiled mini-toolkits
for Residence Life, Leadership and Involvement, Career Services, Campus Recreation, Judicial
Affairs, and Health and Counseling units. The tools below are intended to help Student Affairs
staff generate ideas for assessment; we encourage practitioners to modify or add tools
according to their needs.
Residence Life
Assessing appreciation of diversity
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Texas A&M University (pdf)
McKendree University (pdf, original source)
Assessing teamwork
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Texas A&M University’s interpersonal communication rubric (pdf)
Measuring Learning Across the Semester
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Michigan State University’s pre and post first semester survey (pdf, original source)
University of Vermont’s guide to reflection exercises
Reflection exercises to measure more abstract outcomes, such as values and ethics.
(original source)
Student Leadership and Involvement
Rubrics
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Texas A&M University student leadership rubrics
o Ethical Leadership (pdf)
o Project Management (pdf)
Reflection Exercises
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University of Florida student leader reflection exercises (pdf, original source)
Bridgewater State University’s blogging exercises (original source)
Scenarios
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Oregon State University’s planning scenarios for student leaders (pdf)
Career Services
ePortfolios
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Florida State University’s ePortfolios
“The FSU Online Career Portfolio Program: An Evaluation Report” (pdf)
Rubrics
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Bowling Green State University
Incorporating values into decision making. (pdf, original source)
Skills Tests
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Skills tests can be used to assess students’ resume writing skills and knowledge of career
services resources.
This document from North Carolina State University includes tips for using tests to
assess student learning. Although the document references academic coursework, its
advice could be used to create tests for structured Student Affairs programs, such as
employee training sessions. (pdf)
Campus Recreation
Tools for Assessing Student Staff/Officials
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University of Maryland’s rubrics for campus recreation staff
o Vocational Competence (pdf)
o Report Writing (pdf)
Indiana State University’s survey of campus recreation officials (pdf, original source)
Tools for Assessing all Participants
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University of Texas at Arlington’s guide to campus recreation learning outcomes and
assessment tools (pdf, original source)
Sacramento State University’s guide to assessing campus recreation learning outcomes
(pdf)
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Judicial Affairs
Rubrics
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Texas A&M University’s ethical leadership rubric (pdf)
University of Maryland’s rubrics for the Office of Student Conduct
o Ethical Development (pdf)
o Oral Communication (pdf)
Other Assessment Tools
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North Carolina State University’s collection of assessment tools for Student Conduct
(pdf, original source)
Health and Counseling Services
Assessing Peer Educators and Student Volunteers
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University of Maryland
o Communication rubric for peer health counselors (pdf)
o Collection of rubrics and surveys used to assess Health Center learning outcomes
(pdf)
Other Tools
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University of Arizona’s guide to gathering qualitative data.
Reflection exercises and focus groups can be a useful method of assessing students’
experiences with Health and Counseling Services. The University of Arizona has put
together an insightful guide on collecting qualitative data through these and other
methods. (pdf, original source)
Skills tests may be an appropriate way to measure students’ knowledge of health issues
and available resources. This document from North Carolina State University includes
tips for using tests to assess student learning. Although the document references
academic coursework, its advice could be used to create tests for structured Student
Affairs programs, such as employee training sessions. (pdf)
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