Graduate Psychology students present at NASPA

Several graduate students and faculty from the Department of Graduate Psychology partnered with colleagues in the Division of Student Affairs (SA) to present two sessions focused on outcomes assessment at the NASPA annual conference. The NASPA annual conference is the premier student affairs professional development event with 6,000-plus educators attending and more than 1,200 educational sessions.

Sara Finney (Associate Director of CARS; Professor for the Assessment & Measurement PhD program), Saleena Wilson (Psychological Sciences MA student), Jonathan Stewart (Associate Director of Finance, IT and Assessment in SA) and Sarah LaFrance (Assistant Director for Career, Experiential Learning and Transitions Assessment) emphasized the importance of evidence-informed programming and practice in higher education

Finney, S.J., Wilson, S., Stewart, J. & LaFrance, S. (2023, April). Developing competency and confidence in evidence-informed practice via professional development experiences. Presented at the annual meeting of NASPA, Boston, MA.

They explained how implementing large and small doses of professional development can narrow the research-divide in student affairs and can build a culture of evidence-informed practice. Utilizing results from a division-wide needs assessment at JMU, they shared resources they created to address the lack of training and experience in evidence-informed practice on campus. Their session was attended by 75 professionals who expressed gratitude for the resources that they could take back to their campuses across the nation. 

Kate Schaefer (Assessment & Measurement PhD student; Psychological Sciences MA alum), Jonathan Stewart (Associate Director of Finance, IT and Assessment in SA), Autumn Wild (Psychological Sciences MA student; incoming Assessment & Measurement PhD student ), Saleena Wilson (Psychological Sciences MA student), Sara Finney (Associate Director of CARS; Professor for the Assessment & Measurement PhD program), and Misty Newman (Associate Director of CSL) shared their structured approach to support use of assessment results to improve programming.

Schaefer, K., Stewart, J., Wild, A., Wilson, S., Finney, S.J., & Newman, M. (2023, April). A structured process of reporting, evaluating, and using assessment results in student affairs: Wins, losses, and realities. Presented at the annual meeting of NASPA, Boston, MA.

They explained how their approach mirrored that of academic affairs, in which meta-assessment is a key feature. They shared their reporting template, meta-assessment rubric, rater training, and feedback sharing system. They discussed the triumphs and tribulations of designing and implementing this system within a division of student affairs. The over 80 attendees were particularly interested in the new meta-assessment rubric that included key equity issues in assessment.

In addition to presenting their work, they attended high-quality professional development sessions related to program assessment. Additionally, they promoted the graduate programs at JMU.

This interdisciplinary team thanks the Division of Student Affairs at JMU for supporting the dissemination of this important work at the NASPA national conference.