Although many higher education institutions want to improve student success outcomes and narrow achievement gaps, they become overwhelmed with initiatives and can jump to solutions without taking a comprehensive assessment of how their institution performs against best practices. Through fifteen yea…
During an assessment planning meeting with an office, as we started to dialogue on the multiple major take-aways that students interacting with their center would have, a distinct discordance started to emerge. While one colleague clearly enjoyed expounding on the broad theoretical ways that the of…
Assessment often requires us to work backwards. We have a vision or dream of where we would like to go or what we would like to accomplish. Then, we develop our main goal (i.e. program outcome) broken down into smaller goals (i.e. student learning outcomes), and even further at times into objectiv…
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Typically, assessment and social justice are seen as both peripheral and additive to the work of student affairs, as opposed to being central and integrated in the way the work is done. However, some research indicates that practitioners are wor…
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So I am sure you have heard the talk? I am referring to the talk about culture and assessment. Culturally responsive assessment has emerged in conversations among the student affairs Assessment Leaders, NASPA Multi…
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As external forces assert increasing pressure and influence over higher education and student affairs work, college and universities are continuously called upon to demonstrate their value. In response to these accountability demands, our profession ha…
Have you ever attempted to plan a dinner party where you are both host and executive chef?
I have. I love to cook and enjoy bringing people together to enjoy the fellowship which typically occurs when friends or family gather…especially around the table! Over the years I have hoste…
In 2013 I took a leap of faith and moved from southern California to Tucson, Arizona to support student affairs assessment and research efforts at the University of Arizona (UA). I had always been passionate about assessment and, as my work evolved, I found it to be a powerful tool for tellin…
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Last year, a call went out over the SAAL listserv asking for volunteers to participate in projects related to critical approaches to assessment in Student Affairs. …
The Student Affairs Assessment Leaders (SAAL) Listserv officially began with its first posted message on January 12, 2009. Since then, the Listserv has become a place for student affairs assessment professionals to learn about and to understand their role as it developed, to discuss emergent i…
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Welcoming all of you into SAAL’s 11th year, I am writing today from the occupied territory of the Nuwuvi People, the seven tribes of the Southern Paiute--and especially, the Las Vegas Paiute Tribe.
With great delight and a good measure of both humility and an…
It’s been a year since the SAAL Blog was launched. We’ve had 33 posts in total and helped increase website traffic and unique visitors by more than 250%! The posts have spurred and responded to topics discussed on the listserv, as well as in the field at large. With a diverse range of topics covered…
All models are wrong, but some are useful. – G.E.P. Box
Earlier this year, I caught up with a colleague at a national conference who had recently taken a new position in student affairs assessment. Before she took the position we had discussed what to expect, but at this point she had been in …
What are we supposed to be assessing? What are we learning from our assessment efforts? How do we know if we are achieving our desired outcomes? How do we make sense of all the assessment data we do have? Whether you are assessing your own program, enhancing assessment within your unit, or coord…
Is your assessment house the kind that gives away the full-sized candy bars or one that gets egged every year, as is tradition, by the neighborhood kids? With a keen eye and some patience, you can turn into a regular Assessment Van Helsing, and slay your campus assessment monster. Assessment monst…
I have worked in Student Affairs since I was an RA a long time ago, and loved every minute of it. I enjoyed working with students at both their best and their worst, sometimes within hours of each part of that continuum. I remember stories from that time early on, and still even keep in contact with…
With the barriers many in Student Affairs face to create buy-in for the much-needed assessments, it can seem like an Olympic winning when others begin to see the importance of assessments and participate. But what happens when you are past the data collection phase and your results are not what you …
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I was recently in a meeting when the subject of faculty and staff attitudes towards assessment came up in the conversation. The discussion evolved into a debate about whether it is important that university employees value, or embrace, assessment or is it…
In higher education, we have a number of forums where we are able to share our ideas and best practices and discuss the day-to-day challenges we encounter. We set up working groups and committees with our colleagues, we have professional development organizations and listservs where we share resour…
