West Virginia University

Student Affairs Evaluation, Assessment & Training

Abstracted Assessment Articles – More Forthcoming

ACPA. (1996). The Student Learning Imperative: Implications for Student Affairs. Retrieved on May 24, 2004 from http://www.acpa.nche.edu/sli/sli.htm.

In 1996, the American College Personnel Association issued a document to assist student affairs professionals in their efforts to assess student learning and personal development. The document’s intent was to create a dialogue among students and professionals on how to improve student learning and development.

ACPA outlines five characteristics of a student affairs division that is committed to student learning/development and its measurement. They include:

  1. Division’s mission complements the institution’s mission, with student learning and development at the core.
  2. Appropriate resources and rewards are included for those professionals who are deliberate about the promotion and measurement of its learning outcomes.
  3. Division works with other divisions, departments, and units within the university to elevate student learning and development.
  4. The division recognizes and consists of “experts on students, their environments, and teaching and learning processes” (p.6).
  5. The division considers both research on student development and its own institutional assessment data when making decisions.

Bresciani, M. J. (Apr. 2003). Assessing Student Development and Learning in the Cocurricular: Moving Our Institutions Closer to Providing Evidence of Educating the Whole Student. American Association for Higher Education Bulletin. Retrieved May 17, 2004 from http://aahebulletin.com/member/articles/evidence.asp.

Bresciani, director of assessment for the division of undergraduate affairs at North Carolina State University, addresses the need for student affairs to assess learning and development of the whole student, thus requiring co-curricular outcomes to be measured. The author cites AAHE director of assessment, Peggy Maki?s description of assessment. ?Assessment is a means of discovering?both inside and outside of the classroom?what, how, when, and which students learn and develop an institution?s expected learning outcomes? (p. 2). Building upon that definition, Bresciani explains that student affairs assessment plans often require unit directors to ?re-package? their student services and satisfaction data collection methods and focus on measuring learning outcomes. In order to measure those learning outcomes, the author explains that each unit must identify its constituency, and when the constituency is too vast (changes daily), then it is recommended that ?they focus on the assessment of student learning and development of graduate students or student paraprofessionals educated to assist with the work.?

The author also suggests that universities look at today?s technological advancements when considering how to measure student learning and development?particularly in the case of those students who move in and out of various units. Such technology exists to manage electronic portfolios; however, clearly defined outcomes and criteria that are relevant to various departments must be defined. This too will create what Bresciani refers to as the ?institutional competency conversation? (p. 4).

Bibliography

Banta, T. W. & Kuh, G. D. (1998). A Missing Link in Assessment: Collaboration Between Academic and Student Affairs Professionals. Change, (March/April), 40-48.

Blimling, G. S. & Whitt, E. J. (1999). Good Practices in Student Affairs: Principles to Foster Student Learning. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Bresciani, M. J., Zelna, C. L., & Anderson, J. A. (2004). Moving from Assessing Satisfaction to Assessing Student Learning and Development. In Assessing Student Learning and Development: A Handbook for Practitioners, (pp. 19-24). Washington, DC: NASPA.

Council of Regional Accrediting Commissions. (May 2003). Regional Accreditation and Student Learning: Principles for Good Practices.

Schuh, J. & Upcraft, M. L. (1998). Facts and Myths about Assessment in Student Affairs. About Campus, (Nov./Dec.). 2-8.

Smith, K. M. & Mather, P. C. (2000). Best Practices in Student Affairs Research. In New Directions for Institutional Research, no. 108. San Francisco: Josey-Bass.