While both committed to providing effective programs and services that help students succeed in college and beyond, and aware of the increasing demands from internal and external stakeholders that every dollar spent benefits students and contributes to the mission of higher education, student affairs professionals have little guidance about how to create and sustain the culture of assessment to achieve these goals. This book provides the practical directions for embedding assessment in the fabric of practice.The authors in this volume – all experienced senior level leaders who have established programs that exemplify a culture of evidence-based practice – identify and explicate ten tenets of practice for leading and implementing a culture of change committed to student learning and sound assessment methods. Grounded in assessment literature, the tenets are:1. Understand the Why of Assessment2. Commit to Student Learning as a Primary Focus3. Lay the Foundation for a Sustainable Assessment Culture4. Develop Strategies to Engage Staff in a Commitment to Assessment5. Provide Recognition and Accountability Structures6. Reaffirm the Importance of Assessment to Anchor Cultural Change 7. Develop Sound Assessment Plans8. Connect Assessment Plans to Divisional and Institutional Strategic Plans9. Determine the Appropriate Methods for Assessing Programs and Services10. Market Data to Leverage Buy-in, and Promote Utility to the Campus Community The basic premise of this book is that the Senior Student Affairs Officer must be the primary leader and spokesperson for this effort, both in setting the tone and keeping all members of the team accountable for implementation and the commitment of their units. The book opens with an overview of history and purpose and language of assessment, relates it to the educational mission of student affairs, and outlines the four elements necessary to start a culture of assessment: commitment, connection, consistency, and communication. In addressing the role of the Senior Student Affairs Officer, subsequent chapters address the process of gaining “buy-in” and the importance understanding the unique culture of the institution; provide guidance on creating an environment of trust, accountability, and transparency; and describe how to lay the foundations to sustainability through consistency and strong interpersonal and collaborative relationships among the staff.The book concludes by summarizing the essential assessment practices and tools that senior leaders need to be aware of – providing examples of assessment cycle templates that can be applied across departments – and outlining how to establish a strategic plan aligned with institutional mission that is linear, predictable and consistent, and aligned with institutional mission; as well as communicating results both externally and internally for the purposes of improvement.
Rosie Phillips Bingham is Vice President for Student Affairs and a professor in Counseling, Educational Psychology, and Research at the University of Memphis. Bingham serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Career Assessment and is a past member of the editorial boards of In Session Journal of Clinical Psychology, the NASPA Journal, the Journal of College Student Development, the Journal of Counseling and Development, and The Counseling Psychologist. She is co-editor of Career Counseling and African Americans (2001) with Walsh, Brown, and Ward. She is past co-chair of the Council on Student Affairs within APLU and is a national leader in advocating for a focus on learning and assessment in Student Affairs. Daniel Bureau is Director for Student Affairs Learning and Assessment at the University of Memphis and has worked within student affairs for 18 years. In his role, he is tasked with helping departments within the Division of Student Affairs to develop assessment plans and collect evidence for annual reporting. Dan has been actively involved in the Student Affairs Assessment Leaders organization, as well as maintaining activity in the ACPA Commission for Assessment, Evaluation and Research. He currently serves on the Council for the Advancement of Standards board of directors. Dan has written articles on assessment in student affairs and presented over 20 workshops on this topic. Amber Garrison Duncan is the Evaluation and Strategy Officer at Lumina Foundation focusing on managing evaluations and applying evaluation findings to inform Lumina’s strategies to reach Goal 2025. Amber also serves on Lumina’s strategy work group focusing on new systems of quality credentials in higher education, including the Degree Qualifications Profile and Tuning. These activities allow her to draw upon her many years of campus-based experience designing co-curricular learning experiences and leading assessment. Previously, Amber worked in student affairs and in
