The SAAL Blog is a place for diverse voices and perspectives and offers continuous, varied, and educational content that informs student affairs assessment practice in a creative and approachable manner. The SAAL Blog is an engaging digital space that provides sustained dialogue towards advancing SAAL’s values of curiosity, equity, justice, and intentionality.
I’m Paul (he/him/his) and I currently serve as the Senior Research Associate with Student Affairs Research & Assessment at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNC Charlotte). I support our team in the coordination, development, implementation, and interpretation of assessment, evaluation, and research projects. I have over 10 years of experience in higher education and student affairs, and in each of my roles assessment was an integral component of my position. I’ve co-authored journal articles in the Journal of Applied Research in Community Colleges and the Journal of Higher Education. I have a deep passion for qualitative research and assessment, assessment training and professional development, and helping organizations with their capacity building efforts to ensure assessment is an integral and integrated component of their division strategic plan.
I'm Sophie (she, her, hers), the Director of Assessment, Data Analytics, and Research at the University of Delaware. I received my B.S. in Geography and an M.A. in Evaluation, Measurement, and Statistics from the University of Maryland and an M.A. in Higher Education and Student Affairs from The Ohio State University (not in that order). I am passionate about leveraging data to inform decision-making and using my expertise to improve the student experience and ensure equitable higher education outcomes. I have held full-time student affairs assessment roles since 2013, previously serving at Ohio State and the University of Maryland in both centralized assessment offices as well as full-time assessment roles embedded within functional units (Resident Life, the Student Union), respectively. I am excited by the recent transformation of the SAAL blog and hope to contribute to this effort, sharing reflections, building community in what can be a lonely job, and learning from all of you!
Hi, I’m Jordan Bulltington-Miller and I have 11 years of experience leading and evaluating student success programs and initiatives in higher education. In past roles, mostly within Academic Affairs and Enrollment Management, I have led assessment efforts to enhance programming and services. I joined Student Affairs in the research and assessment world in June 2022 and have been busy learning as much as I can from colleagues from within my institution and beyond. I love working with Student Affairs practitioners to find ways to highlight the important work they’re doing every day. Specifically, I enjoy any opportunity to help colleagues tell their stories in compelling ways to stakeholders. To that end, joining the SAAL blogging team would open the door to network and learn from other professionals in our field. This is an opportunity to grow professionally, but also an opportunity to contribute to the larger profession.
My name is Will Miller and I have worked in assessment on three different campuses (Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Jacksonville University, and Flagler College) along with ~1700 campuses during my time at Campus Labs as AVP of Campus Strategy. I used to write prolifically about various higher ed topics, but I haven’t been as good about making time recently. This strikes me as a perfect opportunity. With a strong background in accreditation and assessment, I firmly believe campuses need to be spending significant resources on helping all student-facing offices become well-versed in outcomes assessment as it will become a greater point of emphasis soon. As Associate Vice President for Accreditation and Assessment at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, I help the campus community design and implement rigorous, high-quality, authentic, and useful assessments for measuring progress and the impact of initiatives. I also serve as SACSCOC Liaison and also oversee all disciplinary accreditations (including AABI, ABET, and ACBSP).
I'm Sydney (she, her, hers), an Assessment Specialist at CU Boulder. I received my B.A. in Psychology and M.A. in Educational Equity, Justice, and Social Transformation from the University of Michigan, and am passionate about shifting assessment practice towards equity. I have previously served in teaching and research positions at the University of Michigan, NYU-Langone/Bellevue Hospital, Virginia Tech, and Fordham University, assessing how identity and socialization shape academic and psychological outcomes. New to higher ed assessment, the SAAL blog provides an opportunity to build community, engage both creatively and analytically, highlight storytelling, and learn in and from good company.