Assessment 101
Summer Assessment 101 Workshops
Assessment 101 is an intensive, five-day workshop hosted by the Center for Assessment and Research Studies (CARS) that introduces faculty and staff to the assessment process. Participants learn about each step of the assessment cycle and experience a variety of hands-on activities designed to reinforce their knowledge and impart tangible skills.
Assessment 101 is held twice each summer: once in June and once in July. College deans select faculty participants, while the Student Affairs Assessment Advisory Council selects student affairs staff.
Winter Assessment 101 Workshop
In partnership with the College Student Personnel Administration (CSPA) master's program, SASS offers an additional Assessment 101 opportunity during winter break. This three-day workshop is intentionally designed for current and future student affairs professionals. First-year CSPA students are required to attend and all remaining seats are made available to the student affairs division.
During this workshop, participants will be briefly introduced to the entire assessment cycle before focusing extensively on the following foundational steps: specifying student learning outcomes, creating and mapping programming, examining implementation fidelity, and reporting/using results. Additionally, participants will learn about the various professional standards related to assessment put forth by organizations like ACPA and NASPA. By spending more time on a small number of crucial topics, participants will build a strong foundation for future assessment work and continued education.
Previously Held Workshops & Presentations
Inspiration to Action: Using Program Theory to Engage with Learning Outcomes Assessment
November 8, 2019, 10AM-12PM | Lakeview 1165
As faculty or student affairs professionals, we evaluate the effectiveness of our curriculum and programs. The focus on gathering outcomes data can distract from the equally important charge of initially building curriculum and programming informed by theory and research. Creating such evidence-informed programming can be a daunting task, especially given the lack of practical guidance. However, articulating the program’s theory will guide and inspire assessment activity. In this session, we guide participants through the steps of developing theory-based programs via construction of logic models. We model this process via several programs on our campus. Participants will leave with skills to develop theory-based programming.
Friend Not Foe: Using Theory & Research to Develop Impactful Programs
February 22, 2019, 10AM-12PM | Lakeview 1104
Dr. Sara Finney, Aaren Bare, and Andrea Pope guided participants through the key steps of developing theory-based programs that should impact students' learning and development through interactive examples. Participants left with a roadmap for developing theory own theory-based programs. Use the link below to download a PDF of the presentation slides.
Mapping Professional Standards in Student Affairs to Outcomes Assessment Practice
December 14, 2018, 9-11AM | Lakeview 1165
Dr. Sara Finney and Aaren Bare facilitateted familiarity with outcomes assessment by mapping three sets of student affairs professional standards (ASK standards, CAS standards, ACPA-NASPA Professional Competencies) to the outcomes assessment cycle. Although the standards differ in focus, the mapping showcases the immense similarity in expectations regarding gathering empirical evidence of program effectiveness and conveys that assessment practice should be supported and embraced by student affairs professionals. This mapping is an effective resource for student affairs graduate programs and informal professional development. To further facilitate professional development, the mapping was supplemented with a discussion of derivative products associated with the standards (e.g., rubrics to assess personal skills, guides to assess program characteristics, program development guides). LEARN MORE
CARS Talk: Learning Improvement and Implementation Fidelity
September 14, 2018, 10-12PM | Lakeview 1165
In this double feature, Dr. Keston Fulcher began by clarifying what student learning improvement means and how engagement and assessment can help achieve it. Keston uses humorous examples to help faculty and staff move beyond assessment-for-compliance onto more meaningful practice that benefits students. Dr. Sara Finney then revealed a powerful, but seldom-used tool to facilitate learning improvement efforts: implementation fidelity. LEARN MORE
CARS Talk: SA Professional Standards Related to Assessment
June 8, 2018, 9-10AM | Lakeview 1165
Student affairs professionals are guided by several professional standards regarding the development and assessment of evidence-based programs that improve student learning and development. In this talk, Dr. Finney and Dr. Horst examined the assessment-related student affairs professional competencies/standards (i.e., ASK Standards, ACPA & NASPA Professional Competencies, CAS Standards). They then related these standards to the typical assessment process. LEARN MORE
