Do We Dare Slow Down? Taking the Time to Assess

Judith Olson-FallonLori YoungJames Eller

• Celebrate success• Find what students need versus what they want• Determine which programs to keep and which

to eliminate• Reallocate resources• Compare programs/services across time• Determine student utilization• Improve existing programs

Why Do We Assess in Student Affairs?

Basic Assessment To-Do List

1. Departmental assessment leader2. Assessment vocabulary3. University, division, and department mission4. Demographic information in an unobtrusive

manner5. Buy-in from staff6. Format for reporting data7. Assessment decisions8. Assessment calendar

Some Basic Assessment Terms

Assessment

Evaluation

Formative Assessment

Summative Assessment

Qualitative versus Quantitative Data

Goals/Outcomes/Objectives/KPI’S

What Are Student Affairs Goals?

1. Are we supporting the academic community?

2. Are we working on helping students develop outside the classroom?

3. Are we providing basic services?

Student Affairs Assessment Outcomes

Program Outcomes: Meaningful, Measurable, Manageable

Student Outcomes: Reflect-Indirect Data—students show how to

handle situations

Demonstrate-Direct Data—students show how their

behavior changed

Questions to Spur on Student Affairs Assessment

1. What do you expect students to know when they leave your services/programs?

2. How aligned are you to the university’s learning paradigms?

3. Which students are you targeting for your services/programs?

4. Are your services/programs helping students to make the connection in and out of the classroom?

5. Are your goals building on your staff’s individual goals and departmental goals?

Mission Statements

University’s Missionto strive to be the most powerful learning environment…to have a transformative impact on all that teach, learn…

Student Affairs’ Missionto provide programs, facilities, and services to extend and enhance students, faculty, and staff experiences

ESS Educational Services for Studentsto empower students to maximize their learning experiences at Case.

Assessing Existing/Established Programs

SUPPLEMENTAL INSTRUCTION (SI)Supplemental Instruction is an academic enhancement program that utilizes peer-assisted study sessions led by SI Leaders, former students who have succeeded in the course and trained by ESS. SI sessions are regularly-scheduled, informal review sessions in traditionally difficult courses.

SI Data – Fall 2005

Total students enrolled in courses with SI sessions: 1834

Total students attending at least one SI session: 1677

Percentage of students attending SI sessions: 91.4%

Total number of sessions: 385

Total number of visits by students to SI sessions: 7410

Average attendance at each session: 19.2

Average visits per student: 4.42

Number of SI Leaders: 23

Number of courses supported by SI Sessions 11

Why We Need to Assess and Evaluate the SI Program?

• High profile program

• SI Leaders work autonomously

• Continued university funding and support

What We Need to Assess

•Student Satisfaction

•SI Leader performance

•Program effectiveness

•Student demographics and usage

WHEN and HOW We Assess the SI Program

• On-going (formative)Meetings, bi-weekly reports, attendance sheets

• Mid-term (formative)Supervisor/mentor observations and student

surveys

• End-of-semester (summative)Student surveys, individual supervisor meetings,

end-of-semester report, and data summary/analysis

Outcomes of Assessment Efforts

• Ideas for program improvement

• Quality control of program delivery

• Statistics and data to secure funding support

Using Assessment to Enhance or Expand Services and Programs

Peer Tutoring

Students nominated by professors and trained to assist students in undergraduate courses at Case.

Peer Tutoring at Case

Current Format

• Face-to-face

• Appointments scheduled using TutorTrac

• TutorTrac accessible via the Interent

• Tutors create availabilities

• Students select appointment times

• Limited use of Instant Messaging (“Office Hours”)

Previous Uses of Technology in Peer Tutoring

• BlackBoard

• Instant Messaging

Benefits of an Intentional Approach

• Save Time• Time required to supervise program or service • Train students and supervisors to use the technology

• Save Money• Software• Training• Contracts

• Preserve Other Resources• Technology that may be used in other areas• Expertise that may be required to maintain technology

Process for Assessing the Expansion of an Existing Services and Programs

•Advances in technology• Can limit or benefit program or service

• Avoid novelty of technology• Technology alone is not justification for change• Assess service to determine need for change

• Research existing technology and its uses• Similar institutions with similar student

population and demographics• Commercial services

Using Assessment to Enhance or Expand Services and Programs

• Assess effectiveness of current program • Needs-based assessment• Include users of program• Can be expanded to include non-users

• Create and implement a trial of the technology• Limit trial participation initially• Progressively expand trial to include potential

users• Implement on limited basis

Using Assessment to Enhance or Expand Services and Programs

• Evaluate trial

• Compare trial results with needs assessment data

• Recommendations for implementation

• Consideration of other applications– Supplemental Instruction (SI)

Do We Dare Slow Down? Taking the Time to Assess

Wrap Up

• Next steps in assessment for ESS

• Next steps for assessment within Student Affairs

Do We Dare Slow Down? Taking Time to Assess

Questions?

Thank You!

Do We Dare Slow Down? Taking the Time to Assess

Judith Olson-FallonLori YoungJames Eller