Division of Student Affairs Assessment Plan

Assessment serves as a way to evaluate whether or not the division of Student Affairs is progressing towards reaching the goals outlined by the strategic plan. In addition, assessment methods are currently being used to gain a better understanding of what aspects of the student experience predict student success. By using data from various sources to evaluate the relative contributions of different aspects of the student experience, we serve to gain a better understanding of how much influence one aspect may have.

There are several types of assessments ongoing throughout the division. A few of these types are:

Individual Program or Service assessment examines what a unit will do, achieve, or improve to demonstrate operational effectiveness; for example, assessment of timeliness of responses, satisfaction with customer service, efficiency of resource utilization, etc.

Learning outcomes assessment examines cognitive skills that students (or other stakeholders) develop through department/group memberships, interactions, programs, and services; i.e. assessment of what students will know (knowledge), do (skills), or believe (dispositions).

Department review is a collaborative process designed to provide an in depth, comprehensive study of individual departments. The purpose of unit review is to provide an opportunity for focused reflection, study, and gathering of information which supports on-going unit development and improvement. Student Affairs departments assess their effectiveness on a regular basis in one of two ways:

• By engaging a committee consisting of faculty, staff, and students to conduct a departmental self-assessment utilizing the CAS Professional Standards for Higher Education; or
• By inviting a professional from outside the university with expertise in their area to perform a review of outcomes, programs and services. These reports are utilized to develop departmental goals and objectives as well as to evaluate current outcomes, programs and services.

In addition, division and the departments evaluate their performance based on key metrics. Metrics are “numbers” that indicate performance or effectiveness. Metric are included in Department Annual Reports as well as the Annual Division Performance Metrics Document.

Please use the navigation bar on the left to access our previous and current assessment materials.