West Virginia University

Student Affairs Evaluation, Assessment & Training

Charge to Council

West Virginia University
Student Affairs Assessment Council
2005-2006

June 6, 2005

Dear Assessment Council Member,

As you are aware, WVU?s Student Affairs division has spent the past year gaining a foundation of the essential elements involved in assessment planning, analysis, and reporting. We have come to recognize that:

  • We are educators who care about student learning and improving that learning.
  • We know we are doing a good job; now we want to show it.
  • Consumers demand accountability, and through assessment we can produce our successes.
  • Government support is declining, resulting in greater demand for scarce resources.
  • Grants demand assessment data.
  • Assessment results can be embedded in accreditation reports and strategic plans.
  • Stakeholders, students, and colleagues will have greater confidence in our work by understanding our results.

As a result, we have made great assessment strides thus far. For instance,

  • We have completed a series of six professional development workshops.
  • We have begun to blend assessment efforts into our strategic plan.
  • Deans and directors have developed 10 guiding principles for our division?s assessment efforts.
  • Each unit developed and articulated learning outcomes based upon our division?s broad learning goals, also know as The Five Cs (Commitment to Excellence, Competence, Compassion, Citizenship, and Communication).
  • Each unit has drafted an assessment plan that includes learning outcomes, assessment methods, student participants, analysis procedures, and reporting styles.

In order to continue our progress toward building and implementing high quality student learning outcomes assessment plans, I have called upon you, the newly created Student Affairs Assessment Council, to provide leadership and direction.

Today I charge this Council with the task of establishing and monitoring the assessment efforts for WVU Student Affairs. You will guide the creation of an effective and organized assessment program across the entire division. Specifically, you are charged with:

  • Providing visible support, both philosophical and practical, for assessment efforts.
  • Encouraging wide participation in assessment efforts.
  • Directing the review of annual assessment plans.
  • Serving as resources for assessment implementation.
  • Coordinating assistance for analysis of assessment data.
  • Advocating for use of assessment data in strategic planning at unit and division levels.
  • Communicating assessment results and uses of assessment data.
  • Analyzing aggregated assessment plans and results for division-wide trends and gaps.
  • Making recommendations to improve student learning and development to the Student Affairs Vice President based on assessment results.
  • Functioning as a learning community that provides reinforcement, support, and division-wide professional development opportunities for assessment efforts.
  • Establishing standard format for unit level assessment annual reports that will be integrated into a Division of Student Affairs assessment report.
  • Investigating future assessment collaborations across campus.

Council membership includes volunteers from across the division. You will serve a one-year term during this inaugural year of WVU?s Student Affairs assessment implementation efforts. The council will be chaired by Senior Associate Dean of Students Tom Sloane, who I have spoken with regarding my expectations over the next year.

As you begin your efforts today, know that your role is vital and necessary, and will be of great benefit to West Virginia University. Thank you for your commitment.

Sincerely,

Kenneth D. Gray
Vice President for Student Affairs