Hello SAAL Blog readers! Welcome to the third installment of our four-part retrospective celebrating a decade of the SAAL MOOC, in the words of our participants!
The SAAL Research On and Advancing Knowledge of the Profession committee regularly analyzes participant reflections from discussion boards, and exploring them over time reveals how the MOOC meets a vital need in our field: building community. We do our best work when we feel connected to others — and assessment is no exception. But, as one participant pointed out in the quote titling this blog post, that can be challenging to do as an assessment professional. Another participant noted that “Assessment is my nerd-space where I find myself having fun! I look forward to learning with all of you. (2019)” The SAAL MOOC, on top of providing opportunities for content knowledge development for participants, has also served as a venue for feeling connected with colleagues, even in its asynchronous online (even pre-COVID!) environment.
Participants expressed challenges from their home institutions in feeling isolated in their assessment work; struggling through the process of operating as a lone assessment professional trying to bring colleagues on board:
“At my institution, it seems determining what will be done with the results is the most difficult part of the assessment planning process…because this requires change and change is difficult. Also, faculty/staff don't want to be told something they are responsible for is going wrong/needs updated/requires any sort of change because that requires work. Work is hard. (2017)”
Years later, other participants shared similar struggles in motivating colleagues and building buy-in for assessment.
”One of my bigger take-aways was a reminder that if we are going to effectively use assessment to improve our practice in my unit, then I cannot be the only one who cares about it. I have to figure out how to engage colleagues who don't think it's their job. (2023)”
“I still need to dig deeper into understanding how smaller departments within the institution can best align their goals with the overall institutional vision. Breaking down silos and identifying what data we already have, and how to best determine what common goals we all share will be important for me to figure out in the near future. (2023)”
Despite these challenges, many participants also highlighted how the MOOC helped them rediscover confidence and connection in their practice. While the general concept of learning from each other appears innumerable at times among the discussion boards, the following are some other examples of ways in which participants felt that the course helped them overcome challenges:
“As the sole data and assessment person in my division, I was feeling severe imposter syndrome about my abilities and knowledge in this area, and figuring out how to manage the expectations of others. I gained the perspective that assessment can't live and die with one person, and that we're constantly learning and growing as assessment professionals. I feel more confident and knowledgeable moving forward, and that was something I truly needed. (2023)”
“I fell into assessment. In my formal education, I studied history, and moved into assessment in my career out of interest and need. I have not had any formal training, and thus have learned on the job, and through colleagues, assessment professionals at conferences, and the published literature. I've been working in the field for some eight years now, and didn't realize how much I had learned during that time until I took this course. The modules and material have reinforced my understanding of assessment, given me more of the language and frameworks used in the field, and provided me with more resources and readings to build a stronger toolbox. (2023)”
“In previous roles, I found myself truly enjoying assessment as an opportunity to enhance services and learn new ways of reaching a changing dynamic of students. What I most enjoyed was trying to help others feel less anxiety around the activity. Somehow, I have relapsed and developed a heightened sense of anxiety as it relates to assessment. What used to feel fun and energizing has become formalized and foreign. I have come to see assessment as 'gathering information for others' rather than seeking the learning that is inherent for myself…This course has reminded me how much I used to enjoy assessment and encourages me to get back on a path towards a healthy relationship with assessment processes… Practice will make better! (2018)”
The SAAL MOOC provides a venue that can cultivate community. To provide closure on the sentiment expressed by the participant in the title for this blog, they concluded that the course was a strong solution to these challenges:
“One of my biggest takeaways is that sometimes it feels like you are in a silo when doing assessment work as “the assessment office” because you are a support department. However, this course has helped me to realize that so many people are doing assessment work, and that there is a community out there for assessment! (2024)”
Through collaboration, participants return to their institutions ready to tackle these big challenges!
“I was feeling very overwhelmed and intimated by the need to create all aspects of the Assessment Plan, but I realized through this course that it is best to take a step back and ensure that everything is indeed linked to our institution’s mission, vision and goals. The checklist and other resources will be instrumental in helping me to guide other colleagues through this exploration phase as we try to determine what and how we want to measure, and what we can do with the data. I feel reinvigorated in tackling this challenge thanks to having this professional development and resources at my disposal. (2023)”
Thank you for joining us in reflecting on participant responses from the past decade of the SAAL MOOC in this third installment of our four-part retrospective. These voices remind us that the power of assessment to create positive, sustainable change emerges when we learn from and with each other. If you’d like to learn more or share your own experience, leave a comment below and join us in the next SAAL MOOC.
The content of this blog post was written primarily by participants in the SAAL MOOC (2017 - 2025), and compiled by members of the SAAL Research on and Advancing Knowledge of the Profession Committee: Ellissa Brooks Nelson, Ph.D., SAAL VP of Profession Advancement, Divisional Director of Student Affairs Research and Assessment, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Leo Young, Assistant Director for Assessment, Evaluation, and Data Strategy, Virginia Tech, Misty Song, Assistant Professor of Education, West Texas A&M, and Rebecca Gibbons, Ph.D., incoming SAAL VP of Profession Advancement Director of Disciplinary and Institutional Accreditation, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.