For many of us, the summer is a time to look back at the previous year so that we can have perspective moving forward into a new academic year. In this blog entry, we will take a look back at the SAAL blogs posted so far this year (great chance to go back and read some you might have missed!) as wel…
Finally…sweet summertime! Summer is a great season to plan ahead, re-calibrate, and, for many of us, go on a much needed vacation.
Photo by Mohamed Ajufaan on Unsplash
What makes a vacation great? Is it where you go, when you go, or in planning the details? Although this can be…
Choral music has been a part of my life since I was a child. I have nostalgic, fun-speckled memories of being part of the children’s church choir, with an emphasis on volume versus quality, and can recall my excitement at being part of a comedic Gilbert and Sullivan musical as a university undergra…
Art museums. Quiet venues designed for the imagination. Places of inquiry that give you a glimpse into an artist’s creative mind.
Have you ever been to an exhibit and been captivated by the lines, shapes, forms, spacing, textures, colors, or value of the artwork? When combined with a specifi…
The big moment is here! After all your planning and hard work collecting data throughout the year, the results are in and ready to be analyzed. As you begin to dive into the results, your smile turns to a frown and you begin to feel disappointed.
These results are not what you expected or ant…
Photo credit: Renee Delgado-Riley
‘El agua es la vida,’ means ‘water is the life.’ Thus, water is a critical element for sustaining life. It is our most precious resource and we cannot control it and must leave it to Mother Nature. For generations, my ancestors lived off the land in New Mexico …
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…
My Life Through a Lens via Unsplash
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…
Photo credit: https://www.eposts.co/what-are-the-types-of-culture/
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…
Suzanne D. Williams via Unsplash
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…
Image courtesy of https://us.itarian.com/itcm-network-assessment.php?frmReg=US
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…
Nicolas Tissot via Unsplash
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 …
