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Due to social distancing practices and travel restrictions, I found myself at home with a wealth of free time over the past year. Some of this time was occupied by exploring vario…
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Having spent six years working in the field of student affairs, I still find myself feeling like a “new” professional at times. There is so much to learn, and at times, I feel like I am not sure what…
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For many in higher education, summer is often a time of reflection, a time to look back on the previous academic year and identify successes and areas for growth. The assessment of the previous year …
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In the Fall of 2019, during the Covid-19 pandemic, I began teaching an online course for first-year, first-generation students. Along with most universities across the country…
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To me, student affairs assessment has always been about asking questions. “What is the purpose of our work? How do we know we’re making a difference for our students? How are we im…
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As Student Affairs professionals, we know the importance of demonstrating and assessing student learning. Many institutions use tools such as co-curricular transcripts to help students document their experiences. The curr…
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Higher education is very good at reinventing the wheel. Why do something that another campus has done and demonstrated success with when you can…
I love musicals! As part of my bike riding regiment mentioned in Integrating STEEP Analysis into Planning, the Hamilton soundtrack became my go to playlist (by the way, I…
As 2020 is coming to a close, it is time for us to reflect on the past year. It has been a year of political unrest, fighting for racial justice, a national election, natural disasters, and a pandemic. And through it all, we have been working to do what we can to improve higher education and to supp…
Two recent blog posts (click here and here) have mentioned the various forms of professional development for assessment professionals. With many forms available, professional development is most valuable when aligned with a superficial goal or reason for learning more about assessment. Two assessme…
Winter is right around the corner and if you are like me, I am getting a little anxious just thinking about all of the tasks I need to do before winter break.
Since the pandemic began, I have been juggling being an at-home employee and being my teen’s right-hand teacher and tutor as we navigate r…
I’m excited to announce SAAL is gearing up for the fifth offering of our free, open course: Applying and Leading Assessment in Student Affairs! This post will provide some results from the last course run, share changes and updates about the upcoming course, and then confirm the schedule for the c…
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It’s job search season soon- but to get a job, you need experience, and to get experience you usually need a job. Well, when it comes to assessment, you can have your cake and eat it, too! Did you know that knowledge of and expe…
Planning, organizing, and implementing assessment of Student Affairs programs, events and other experiences in a purely online environment due to the shift to remote learning in Spring 2020 may have at first seemed easy and accessible. Why? No longer does the assessor have to distribute half sheets…
I remember watching TV shows around Black culture growing up and seeing the representation of historically Black colleges and universities in the form of apparel - at the time, I didn’t know these sweatshirts were showcasing HBCUs. In my senior year of high school, I applied to one HBCU, Virginia Un…
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Like many who are adjusting to life during a pandemic, stress-induced bad habits (binge watching TV, eating too much junk food, working long hours from home, etc.) quickly manifested in my life. As a diabetic with a heart cond…
A commitment to equity-minded assessment is needed to better support students and drive their success. Luckily, now there are examples of practice to follow.
There aren’t very many positives that one can use for motivation during a global pandemic. There aren’t many silver-linings to be found when …
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When I sat down to draft SAAL’s statement on racial justice, I was nervous.
Writing for a national audience is different from writing for my campus. At my institution, I am prepared for the reactions I get when I speak out about injustice. I was ner…
