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Celebrating 2018

Celebrating 2018

SAAL has officially been in existence since December 4, 2008, and the first message was sent to the listserv on January 12, 2009! Today, we have more than 1000 members, and since 2009, we have participated in more than 2900 conversations on our listserv. As with most organizations, the heavy lifting for SAAL happens in committees and outside of the board meetings, and this year is no exception. While the board has been very active in rethinking how we are organized and how we make decisions, the work of bringing those concepts to life happens within committees. So, what have we done this year to enhance the work of assessment in student affairs? The short answer is a lot! Here are some of the details:

  • Facilitated the second iteration of SAAL and Colorado State University Open Course collaboration, Applying and Leading Assessment in Student Affairs with 1205 students, and supported registration of 2019 course.
  • Hosted five Structured Conversations.
  • Launched the SAAL Blog in January 2018; published 28 blog posts to-date.
  • Hosted SAAL meetups at the ACPA, NASPA, and NASPA Assessment and Persistence Conferences.
  • Managed a professional development calendar on the SAAL website and launched a submission form, allowing SAAL members to post directly to the PD calendar.
  • Launched a Conference Presenter Matching sheet to help SAAL members connect and to bring together members with similar interests to present on topic areas related to assessment.
  • Published six articles in the Journal of Student Affairs Inquiry.
  • Increased visibility on social media platforms (LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter).
  • Participated in the national conversation about Critical Assessment and how SAAL can promote awareness of social justice issues within assessment.
  • Joined CAS as a guest member.
  • Executed the 2019 elections process, which included proposed by-laws changes to redefine the terms of committee chairs.
  • Began drafting an elections manual.
  • Cleaned up membership database so we know who our members are.
  • Began revising the landscape survey that will go out in the spring to assessment leaders across the country.
  • Developed a tasks/projects list to keep us organized and on task.
  • Culled through 10 years of listserv posts to identify themes over the years and begin to understand the maturing of the role of student affairs assessment leaders.
  • Participated in updating Assessment Contextual Statement for CAS guidelines.

So how can we top this list? There is plenty for us to work toward in the coming year. Here are a few ways you can get involved:

Thanks for all of you who have helped make the last 10 years of SAAL so exciting and professionally rewarding. In particular, I want to thank the amazing board that has been so involved and engaged this year. As I said at the beginning, none of this would have happened without them!

Leslie Meyerhoff

Chair, SAAL

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