Dos and Don’ts of Writing a Quality Survey Instrument

Darlena Jones, Director, Assessment and Research, Association for Institutional Research

Program assessment often uses survey research as a data collection tool. If you’re committed to a data-informed culture, you must be committed to quality data. Survey research is a popular method of data collection in student affairs but, if done poorly, can result in inferior data which leads to flawed decisions. In this session, the presenter will explore some funny, and not-so-funny, do’s and don’ts when writing a survey instrument. Come and learn from a seasoned researcher how to improve the quality of your survey instruments.

Examining the Moderating Effect of Perceived School Support on Rape Myth Acceptance and Likelihood of Reporting Sexual Assault

Julie Neisler, Research Assistant, University of Houston

Sexual assault campus climate surveys have shown that incident rates far exceed reporting rates. This session will discuss the operationalization of students' likelihood of reporting and will explore to what degree rape myth acceptance impacts this likelihood. Additionally, students' perceived school support will be examined as a possible moderator to this relationship.

Learning to Lead: Measuring Effectiveness of Service and Leadership Programs

Suja Rajan, Assessment Specialist, University of Alabama
Timothy Salazar, Director, Assessment and Planning, University of Alabama

At the University of Alabama, the Honor's College in collaboration with the Center for Service and Leadership enables students to be agents of change by empowering them with leadership and communication skills. This program will measure course success and identify areas of improvement in course curriculum to achieve learning objectives.

Benchmarking Strategies for Any Campus

Sherry Woosley, Director of Analytics and Research, Skyfactor

One of the biggest challenges with assessment data is making sense of it and acting on it. How do we know when results are outstanding or concerning? What if the results are below average? What should our target performance be? Benchmarking can help provide answers to these questions and more! In this session, we'll explore what benchmarking is, why campuses would use benchmarking, and different types of benchmarking. Attendees will leave with practical strategies for making the most of benchmarking data for any campus.

Build Effective Student Success Programming by Mapping the Student Experience

Learn how four institutions mapped student behavior and utilized data collected through large-scale assessment initiatives to identify student pathways of engagement. SJSU, YSU, EMU, and Cedar Crest will present short case studies on how these institutions used this assessment data to identify patterns of involvement, set benchmarks, and highlight critical programming for student engagement. Using the frameworks presented, session participants will workshop ideas and build models to map student engagement pathways at their institutions.

Exploring First-generation Student Success: Findings from a National Landscape Analysis of Four-year Institutions

Sarah Whitley, Senior Director of Center for First-generation Student Success, NASPA

Join NASPA's senior director of the Center for First-generation Student Success for an introduction to the Center's work and first look at findings from the recent national landscape analysis of first-generation student success programs at four-year institutions.

From Modeling to Action: Using Data to Collaborate for Success

Kimberlyn Brooks, Associate Director,Undergraduate Education, Bowling Green State University
Andy Alt, Assistant Vice Provost, Bowling Green State University
Stephen Kampf, Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs & Director of Recreation and Wellness, Bowling Green State University
Cynthia Roberts, Assistant Director, Office of Student Retention, Bowling Green State University
Sima Sharghi, Graduate Student, Bowling Green State University
Audry Alabiso, Graduate Student, Bowling Green State University

Using data from multiple sources and working with graduate assistants from statistics and computer science, persistence models with predictive, and more importantly, prescriptive analytics for the freshman cohort were produced and refined. Based on the outcomes from the modeling, secondary support structures were identified, strategies were constructed, and systems were put in place to monitor persistence of students impacted by the strategies. At the conclusion of the registration period, the analytical model was evaluated and refined for improved accuracy. The extended learning session will allow opportunities to workshop strategies for implementing a similar process on your campus.

Institutions' Use of Data and Analytics for Student Success: Results of a National Landscape Analysis

Amelia Parnell, Vice President for Research and Policy, NASPA
Darlena Jones, Director of Assessment and Research, Association for Institutional Research

As student affairs divisions increase their capacity to make data-informed decisions, it will be important to strengthen relationships with other functional units. NASPA recently partnered with the Association for Institutional Research and EDUCAUSE to examine how student affairs, IR, and IT are working together to support students. This session will share findings from a national sruvey, which addressed trends in the types of student success data projects that institutions conduct; the structures in place for sharing data among multiple users; the level of coordination across functions; and how institutions are using data to inform interventions and program delivery.

The Factors that Make or Break Successful Assessment Implementation for Leadership

Nicole Cavanaugh, Organizational Change Strategist, Independent Consultant
Michael Nguyen, Research and Assessment Coordinator, California State University System

This presentation aims to arm leaders with what they need to know to increase the likelihood of success before diving into an assessment initiative using applied study within an actual Division of Student Affairs. Analysis revealed correlations among leadership, clarity, safety, and performance among student affairs departments as we worked alongside a division to design and implement an assessment initiative. The presentation will present information, role play for deeper understanding, showcase a student affairs case study, and allow for Q&A.

Using Metrics to Motivate Assessment

Rebecca Goldstein, Associate Director, Assessment and Research, Florida Atlantic University
Antonio Perry, Director, Assessment and Academic Initiatives, Florida Atlantic University

Assessment offices are uniquely situated to use state performance-based funding metrics to showcase how student affairs contributes to the overall profile of an institution. In this session, participants will learn how an assessment office designed their annual reporting cycle based around metrics and university priorities to best showcase the efforts and impact of student affairs. Participants will have the opportunity to practice using this model and discuss the impact of metrics in creating a culture of assessment.

Data and Tchotchkes: Streamlining Data Collection and Analysis

Eric Walsh, Assistant Director of Assessment and Evaluation for the Division of Student Life, University at Buffalo

Data collection and analysis can be an overwhelming task, especially when someone is new to assessment. Often times though, we make our work more difficult than it has to be. The presenter will introduce a framework for how to think about data collection, research design, and analysis. Drawing on lessons from a diverse set of fields ranging from data science and software development to the philosophy of science, we will explore strategies to increase efficiency and refine our research.

Gathering Data on Student Engagement and Improving Student Success with an Achievements App

Scott Reinke, Coordinator, Ball State Achievements, Ball State University
Cole Heady, Institutional Effectiveness Analyst, Ball State University
Tipton Russell, Assistant Director, Institutional EffectivenessBall State University

The Ball Sate Achievements App is a unique method of gathering student engagement data for use in student success analyses. The presenters will share results of their work studying the relationships between achievements and retention and graduation. They will also showcase this project as an example of a highly successful IR-enrollment management/student affairs collaboration.

How to Identify and Avoid Culture of Evidence Traps: The Sequel

Marguerite Culp, Executive Director, Maggie Culp Consulting

In 2017, Dr. Maggie Culp (co-editor of Building a Culture of Evidence in Student Affairs) led an interactive session that explored eight traps into which student affairs professionals often fall when using assessment to guide major decisions, tell the student affairs story, and build a culture of evidence. In this follow-up session, Dr. Culp will identify additional traps, help participants assess the extent to which the traps exist on their campuses, and explore strategies designed to help participants avoid or escape from the most common traps associated with building a culture of evidence.

Leveraging Residential Learning Programs to Improve Persistence of Under-represented Minority (URM) Students

Michael Seals, Associate Director of Residential Learning, Purdue University
Amber Martin, Coordinator for Program Analysis, Purdue University

The expansion of residential learning communities (RLCs) at Purdue University was seen as a method to address the problem of low graduation and retention rates (compared to Big Ten peers) and improve retention of the ever-growing percentage of under-represented minority (URM) students on campus in particular. The presenters will discuss the success of this persistence initiative as demonstrated by the comparison of eight years of cohort data with special emphasis on the effect of RLCs on URM student persistence.

LiFT Scholars Program: Supporting the Next Generation of Technology Leaders

Molly Morin, Program Manager, LiFT Scholars Program, IU School of Informatics and Computing at IUPUI, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis
Mathew Palakal, Executive Associate Dean, IU School of Informatics and Computing at IUPUI, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis

The Leading Informatics for Tomorrow (LiFT) Scholars Program is a multi-institutional scholarship/support program funded by the National Science Foundation. LiFT seeks to support the persistence and career readiness of students with unmet financial need at IUPUI/Ivy Tech pursuing degrees in IT fields. This session will provide an overview of the mission/history of the program, co-curricular activities, strengths of the program, and opportunities for growth. This session aims to help campus leaders brainstorm ways to support underrepresented students in STEM!

The Relationship Status Between Professional Development, Assessment, and Professional Competencies

Linda Demyan, Training Analyst, California State University Channel Islands
Dorothy Ayer, Special Assistant to the VPSA & Strategic Operations Administrator, California State University-Channel Islands

This program will provide an overview and practical examples of how to utilize the ACPA/NASPA Professional Competencies to guide your professional development and staff training program. Additionally, this program provides direction and suggestions on how to assess your training program to ensure that each staff member is increasing their level of expertise among each of the ACPA/NASPA competencies. Presenters will demonstrate how assessment and training can and should connect through the use of the Professional Competency rubrics and learning outcomes.

Using CAS to Inform Accreditation Processes

Matthew Pistilli, Director, Student Affairs Assessment & Research, Iowa State University

The Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS) publishes standards, guidelines, and self-assessment guides to help institutions demonstrate student learning, development, and achievement. Accrediting bodies increasingly recognize the role of student affairs and services in these outcomes. Working with CAS, assessment professionals developed a white paper discussing how this link could work. The presenter will review that paper, and engage participants in dialogue about how they do or could use CAS as part of their accreditation.

Addressing Challenges: Graduate Diversity Initiatives at a Predominately White Institution

Bianca Evans, Assistant Dean, Diversity and Inclusion, Indiana University

Recruiting, retaining, and graduating underrepresented graduate students requires targeted, comprehensive approaches, and welcoming, inclusive graduate environments. The presenter will examine and evaluate several initiatives ("Getting You into IU," recruitment program, "Emissaries for Graduate Student Diversity Ambassadors," and "Diversity Fellows Program") targeting recruitment and retention of underrepresented graduate students at Indiana University. An overview of research and diversity initiatives will include: examining the implementation and challenges of initiatives; evaluation of these programs; and identifying key factors contributing to student success.

Expanding the Student Success Narrative through Holistic Data Integration

Maureen Cochran, MSAP, MSTD Coodinator, Oregon State University
Daniel Newhart, Assistant Vice President, Director, and Assistant ProfessorOregon State University

For the past three years, the presenters' institution has been working towards a more coherent data collection strategy to examine student success. Presenters were recently able to analyze their first year cohort, triangulating data that we have not previously been able to triangulate - towards the end of creating a more complete narrative around student success. This afternoon dialogue will discuss roadblocks, lessons learned, and considerations for the responsible use of data to tie co-curricular involvement to retention and persistence analyses.

Making a Circle: Divisional Leaders’ Use of Data to Close the Assessment Loop

Timothy Salazar, Director, Assessment and Planning, University of Alabama
Steven Hood, Associate Vice President, University of Alabama
Matthew Kerch, Executive Director, Housing and Residential CommunitiesUniversity of Alabama
Kathleen Gillan, Director, Fraternity and Sorority Life, University of Alabama

This presentation will detail how strategic approaches to collecting and disseminating assessment data has been utilized by divisional leadership in decision-making. Through a collaborative approach, of creating a shared vision between assessment professionals and divisional leaders, meaningful assessment processes have been negotiated. Examples of divisional leaders closing the loop through intentional data reporting that is meaningful and relevant to operational decision-making will be provided.

Second Call for All Directors of Division Assessment

Stacy Ackerlind, Special Assistant to the Vice President for Student Affairs & Director, University of Utah
Darby Roberts, Director, Student Life Studies, Texas A&M University

Directors of student affairs assessment face unique challenges, such as managing up with division leadership, across the division with peers (often without the authority to implement change) as well as their own teams. They face issues such as politics, ethics and competition for resources. This session is specifically for directors to talk about the challenges and successes in their role and will build on the conversation with directors of assessment that was begun last year at the 2017 NASPA Assessment and Persistence Conference in Orlando.

Are my Surveys Inclusive? Strategies to hear all Voices

Danielle Glazer, Assessment and Research Analyst, Resident Life, University of Maryland, College Park
Sophie Tullier, Assistant Director, Stamp Student Union, University of Maryland, College Park

In higher education, the principles of universal design have been applied primarily in the classroom. The Universal Design for Learning (UDL) focuses on how instructors can make classroom content accessible to all learners. Less has been shared about how to make assessment tools accessible. This session discusses how student affairs professionals can design surveys in ways that promote inclusivity, equity, and accessibility.

Catalyzing Student Success through Robust Partnerships and Evaluation

Carrie Carroll, Senior Partnerships Manager, College Possible
Jeff Knudsen, Director, Data Analytics and Evaluation, College Possible

Low-income students face many barriers to college graduation. To better support retention efforts, College Possible launched the Catalyze partnership model in 2016, which embeds a proven coaching model and curriculum on college campuses. With a laser focus on results, the program evaluate both Catalyze program outcomes and attribution- whether the outcomes are actually a result of programming. This learning lab will demonstrate how innovative programming, collaborative partnerships and adherence to a rigorous evaluation framework can lead to improved success for vulnerable students.

Conversational Data: Focus Groups for Formative and Summative Assessment in Student Affairs

Ethan Kolek, Assistant Professor, Central Michigan University
Anne Hornak, Professor, Central Michigan University
Frim Ampaw, Associate ProfessorCentral Michigan University
Matt Johnson, Associate Professor, Central Michigan University
Quentrese Cole, Doctoral Student and Graduate Assistant, Central Michigan University
Le Shorn Benjamin, Doctoral Student and Graduate Assistant, Central Michigan University

This session will explore how focus groups can be an effective approach for summative and formative assessment in student affairs. Presenters will discuss the strengths of focus groups as a data collection method and provide examples of focus group assessment in four student affairs department at one university. This session will review strategies for conducting focus groups as well as the successes and challenges in using focus group assessment results to inform programmatic change and understand student learning.

To use or not to use: Should you be Using Assessment Dashboards?

Cheryl Stanley, Assistant Director, Office of Student Assessment, Tulsa Community College
Scott Mannas, Assessment Specialist, Tulsa Community College

Dashboard is the hot new buzzword in higher education, but is the usage of dashboards right for you and your division/unit? What does it take to implement effective dashboards? This learning lab will focus on the decision to implement dashboards, a quick checklist for reviewing dashboard software, challenges facing the implementation of dashboards, and creating buy-in from campus constituents who will utilize assessment dashboards to make their decisions.

Assessment Strategies for Measuring Student Resilience

Argyle Wade, Assistant Vice Provost and Associate Dean of Students, University of Wisconsin–Madison
Ning Sun, Program Assistant for Student Life Assessment, University of Wisconsin–Madison

Recognizing the broad range of positive impact resilience can have on college student success, the division of student life at a large four-year research university adopted increasing student resilience as their divisional strategic priority. The presenters will share steps and lessons learned in developing and implementing the assessment on this divisional strategic priority. Included will be an institutionally created assessment tool as well as results from a variety of department assessment plans.

Beginning from Scratch: Creating a Student Affairs Assessment Office

Cheryl Stanley, Assistant Director, Office of Student Assessment, Tulsa Community College
Scott Mannas, Assessment Specialist, Tulsa Community College

As institutions continue to press forward in creating a culture of assessment, it is critical that student affairs play an important role in that process. In creating a new organizational structure at Tulsa Community College, the division of student affairs established a new office of student assessment. The goal of this office was to support assessment activities within student affairs. Participants in the presentation will explore a pre-development checklist, a multi-tiered training process, and how to establish your voice on campus.

Despicable Me: Encouraging Persistence through Collaborative Student Engagement

Chris Crippen, Director, Center for Service and Learning, Brigham Young University
Casey Peterson, Associate Dean of Students, Brigham Young University
Moisés Aguirre, Director, Multicultural Student Services, Brigham Young University

It has been demonstrated that students are more likely to persist to graduation as they feel supported by student affairs personnel and programming. This presentation will demonstrate the causal links between individual outreach through integrated student involvement programming and persistence, particularly with students who have exhibited poor conduct. Also included is a discussion regarding the benefits of integration of collaborative assessment within student affairs.

Exploring the Impact of First-Year Residential Experiences on Students' Sense of Belonging

Ling Ning, Quantitative Research Analyst, University of Colorado Boulder
Amy Biesterfeld, Director, Strategic Planning & Assessment, University of Colorado Boulder

Many factors influence students' sense of belonging and retention. The research question of focal interest has always been what the prominent factors are and how to align the resources towards the implementation of programs that are effective to improve students' first-year experience. The present study proposes to use a supervised machine learning algorithm to identify and rank order prominent factors within the residential hall environment impacting students' sense of belonging and retention, with particular focus on the underrepresented student population.

Measuring Student Success by Assessing Out-of-classroom Engagement

Christine Deacons, Director of Academic Support Programs and the Holman Success Center, Eastern Michigan University
Lauren Condon, Director of Student Union and Engagement, Cedar Crest College

Eastern Michigan University and Cedar Crest College will demonstrate how they utilized data collected through large-scale assessment initiatives to identify successful student pathways of engagement. Both institutions used mobile technology to integrate real-time measurement and feedback mechanisms capturing student engagement across events and services. Session participants will learn how these institutions have used this assessment data to identify patterns of involvement, set benchmarks, and highlight critical programming for student engagement.

The VALUE of Institutional Assessment for Co-Curricular Learning

Terrel Rhodes, Vice President for the Office of Quality, Curriculum and Assessment, Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U)
Kate McConnell, Senior Director for Research and Assessment for the Office of Quality, Curriculum and Assessment, Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U)

Assessment in higher education has seen vast improvements in recent years. Institutions have grown beyond using standardized tests to assess learning, and now implement new methods, such as using rubrics, to evaluate authentic student work. The presenters will discuss the development and utility of the Association of American Colleges and Universities VALUE rubrics by evaluating data displays and institutional examples. Attendees can evaluate whether their campus can benefit from utilizing the VALUE rubrics as a tool for co-curricular assessment.

Trade-offs in a Comprehensive and Comparable Model of Involvement and Persistence

Jennifer Lowman, Director, Persistence Research, University of Nevada, Reno
Lisa Maletsky, Coordinator, Persistence Research, University of Nevada, Reno

We examine tradeoffs made in the construction of a comprehensive and comparable model of campus involvement to predict persistence. Campus involvement indicators differ widely in how they capture the depth of involvement (e.g. quality, intensity, onset, and duration). Tradeoffs between depth and breadth are a common research challenge that we invite our audience to debate. The presenters will highlight the need of institutional researchers and program professionals to collaborate when evaluating the impact of decisions made in quantitative persistence research.

Unexpected Assessment Results? Strategies for Handling the “Oh-No” Moment

Sherry Woosley, Director of Analytics and Research, Skyfactor
Erin Bentrim, Senior Research Analyst for Student Affairs, University of North Carolina Charlotte

Most presentations focus heavily on the successful aspects of data analysis. But what happens when the results are the opposite of what was expected or just does not make sense? How do we respond when our data does not support our theories, programs, initiatives, or resources? In this session, we will explore six concrete strategies for making the most of unexpected data findings using both national data and examples from specific campuses.

Accounting for the ‘I’: Practical Strategies for Incorporating Students’ Precollege Characteristics and Attitudes in Assessment

Frim Ampaw, Associate Professor, Central Michigan University
Anne Hornak, Professor, Central Michigan University
Matt Johnson, Associate ProfessorCentral Michigan University
Ethan Kolek, Assistant Professor, Central Michigan University
Quentrese Cole, Graduate Research Assistant, Central Michigan University
Le Shorn Benjamin, Graduate Research Assistant, Central Michigan University

This session will explore the importance of precollege characteristics, commonly referred to as "input measures" in student affairs assessment. The presenters will highlight the relevance of input measures, especially attitudes and perception constructs, in assessment activities. Further, they will explore possible uses of input measures within programmatic and division-wide assessments, and finally, will discuss practical and inexpensive procedures for incorporating input measures into current institution data collection.

Assessing Inclusiveness and Engagement with Cultural Diversity to Increase Success for All

Jillian Kinzie, Associate Director, Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research, National Survey of Student Engagement Institute, Indiana University Bloomington

The assessment of inclusivity and cultural responsiveness represents an imperative for higher education. In 2017, the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) added a module asking students more about inclusive educational practices and perceptions of their institution's cultural responsiveness. This session highlights findings from this set, examines how results vary by student characteristics, and includes a discussion about campuses' use of these findings to create environments that support students of all backgrounds and leverage the educational benefits of diversity.

Equitable Assessment Practices in Student Affairs

Gianina Baker, Assistant Director, National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA), University of Illinois
Natasha Jankowski, Director, National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment, University of Illinois

In this session, attendees will discuss current assessment practices at their institutions and the role equity can play in moving towards culturally responsive assessment. Acknowledging that learning happens in a variety of ways and places, colleges and universities are working to connect, capture, and document learning in both the curriculum and co-curriculum through several initiatives.

Inferential Statistics: Choosing the Right Statistical Analysis for Your Assessment Project

Elizabeth Duszak, Assistant Director for Student Affairs Assessment, Evaluation, and Research, University of Utah

The presenters will delve into the use of statistical analyses for student affairs assessment projects. While some projects don't need analyses beyond simple descriptive statistics, other projects can benefit from more advanced statistical analyses. The presenters will address: the selection of various statistical tests in line with the data; examples of analyses conducted to answer specific assessment questions; the use of statistical software programs to employ these techniques; and the accurate interpretation of the results of these statistical tests.

Nurturing Committement and Transparency in a Compliance Driven Assessment Culture

Dan Stroud, Assessment Specialist, Midwestern State University
Mark McClendon, Director, Institutional Research and Assessment, Midwestern State University

A commonly asked question by student affairs professionals and faculty regarding assessment expectations is 'How will this help my program?' In too many cases, the response refers to compliance rather than commitment. As Barbara Walvoord suggests, assessment should be "a kind of 'action research,' intended not so much to generate broad theories as to inform local action." This session outlines strategies for enhancing commitment and transparency in assessment that will positively influence staff, faculty, and student learning outcomes.

Promoting Success and Persistence for First-Generation Students

Nicole Battaglia, Director, First Year Initiatives, Seton Hall University
Monica Burnette, Director, Projects and Planning, Seton Hall University
Rohan Thakkar, Consultant, Campus SuccessCampus Labs

The persistence efforts of first-generation college students continue to be a national focus as statistics indicate a high attrition for this population. To improve the academic and social integration of first-year, low-income, first-generation students, a small, private institution partnered student services and faculty to develop a 10-day orientation program called "Gen 1"; to provide a holistic pre-college experience. This session will describe "Gen 1", it's formative and summative assessment, and show how this program yielded a 100% semester persistence rate.

Using Persistence Data in Student Affairs: A Panel Discussion

Pamelyn Shefman, Director of Assessment and Planning, Division of Student Affairs and Enrollment Services, University of Houston
Christos Korgan, Director of Institutional Research and Effectiveness, University of Saint Katherine
Timothy Salazar, Director, Student Life Assessment and PlanningThe University of Alabama
Vincent Nix, Dean of Student Services and Assistant Professor, United States Sports Academy
B. (Brenda) Woods, Director of Research and Assessment,

Knowing student affairs' impact on student persistence assists in telling the story of our places within our institutions. The institutions represented on the panel will share how they define and measure persistence as well as roadblocks and successes. Attendees of this session will be able to gather solid frameworks of how persistence data is used across a variety of institutions and how to apply these to their respective campuses.

Culture Eats Strategy: Rethinking Program Review to Align with Divisional Needs and Expectations

Robert Snyder, Executive Director of Planning and Outreach, Division of Student Affairs, The George Washington University

Learn how the George Washington University's Division of Student Affairs Assessment Committee re-thought departmental program review in response to divisional culture and stakeholder feedback, resulting in a departmental continuous improvement project model. This model provides departments with flexibility and significantly expanded the number of reviews being completed, while also remaining rigorous and standards-driven. Participants will have an opportunity to consider how they might adopt this model and to provide feedback on the model as the committee continues to refine it.

Designing and Implementing an Assessment Framework Across Student Services

Kristen Vickery, Director, Testing & Assessment, Anne Arundel Community College
Danielle Brookhart, Director, Orientation Programs, Anne Arundel Community College

How do you get student affairs staff to embrace assessment with excitement instead of fear? Learn how one institution created a culture of assessment and implemented an assessment framework grounded in CAS with continued success. Information will be provided on strategies, meeting planning, organization, materials, accreditation planning, and training. All of this while staying student focused.

Developing a Welcome Survey: Our Efforts to Research the First-year Student Experience

Eric Walsh, Assistant Director of Assessment and Evaluation for the Division of Student Life, University at Buffalo
Douglas Sweet, Director of the Office of Student Affairs Assessment and Planning, University at Albany
Emily Feuer, Assistant Director for Student Affairs Assessment and Planning, University at Albany

Student affairs assessment and planning, with help from institutional research, surveys all new students six weeks into the fall semester. The data collected is used to understand a student's experience, reimagine how we engage with these students, and ensure that they persist and succeed. The presenters will discuss how we have refined the instrument and increased response rates over time. We will also discuss the items that provided the most meaningful insight and explain how this insight was put into action.

Institutional Research: Your New Best Friends

Daniel Kaczmarek, Director, Assessment and Evaluation-Student Life, University at Buffalo
Rohan Thakkar, Consultant, Campus Labs

A friendship built from shared history, investment in the same community, and common interests and goals? When student affairs assessment professionals partner with Institutional Research, data collection, reporting, and decision-making can improve across the university. This sesion will guide participants through a reflection of their relationship with Institutional Research on their campus, provide insight through promising practices at the University at Buffalo and other institutions, and leave participants with concrete steps on how to develop this important campus connection.

Surveys for Social Justice?: Aligning our Assessment Practices with our Beliefs

Sophie Tullier, Assistant Director, Assessment and Research, University of Maryland, College Park

This session will examine beliefs about knowledge creation and student voice as student affairs professionals. Attendees will engage in an activity centered on identifying how our beliefs about knowledge creation align with the methods used to assess student learning and discuss how we might work towards greater alignment in our assessment data collection.

Dr. Tia Brown McNair

Vice President of the Office of Diversity, Equity & Student Success

Dr. Tia Brown McNair is the Vice President in the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Student Success at Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) in Washington, DC. She oversees both funded projects and AAC&U’s continuing programs on equity, inclusive excellence, high-impact educational practices, and student success, including AAC&U’s Network for Academic Renewal series of yearly working conferences. McNair also directs AAC&U’s Summer Institute on High-Impact Educational Practices and Student Success. McNair serves as the project director for several AAC&U initiatives: "Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation," “Committing to Equity and Inclusive Excellence: Campus-Based Strategies for Student Success,” and Purposeful Pathways: Faculty Planning and Curricular Coherence.” She directed AAC&U's projects on "Advancing Underserved Student Success through Faculty Intentionality in Problem-Centered Learning,” "Advancing Roadmaps for Community College Leadership to Improve Student Learning and Success,” and "Developing a Community College Roadmap. McNair chaired AAC&U’s Equity Working Group that was part of the General Education Maps and Markers (GEMs) project that represented a large-scale, systematic effort to provide “design principles” for 21st-century learning and long-term student success. She is the lead author of the book Becoming a Student-Ready College: A New Culture of Leadership for Student Success (July 2016). McNair is a co-author on the publication Assessing Underserved Students’ Engagement in High-Impact Practices. Prior to joining AAC&U, McNair served as the Assistant Director of the National College Access Network (NCAN) in Washington, DC. McNair’s previous experience also includes serving as a Social Scientist/Assistant Program Director in the Directorate for Education and Human Resources at the National Science Foundation (NSF), Director of University Relations at the University of Charleston in Charleston, West Virginia; the Statewide Coordinator for the Educational Talent Search Project at the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission; and the Interim Associate Director of Admissions and Recruitment Services at West Virginia State University. She has served as an adjunct faculty member at several institutions where she taught first-year English courses. McNair earned her bachelor’s degree in political science and English at James Madison University and holds an M.A. in English from Radford University and a doctorate in higher education administration from George Washington University.

Stephanie Marken

Chief Methodologist

Stephanie Marken is the Chief Methodologist of the U.S. Gallup Poll as well as the sampling and design architect for Gallup’s largest education studies including the Gallup Purdue Index and the Strada-Gallup Education Consumer Survey. This work is designed to inform higher education leaders, policy-makers and the public about the long-term outcomes of a college degree, and the individual collegiate experiences that are most directly related to positive outcomes. To date, Stephanie has worked with more 100 higher education universities and organizations to design and conduct studies measuring student and alumni outcomes.

Stephanie received her bachelor’s degree in political science from Elon University and her master’s degree in survey research from the University of Connecticut.

Dr. Stephanie Gordon

Vice President for Professional Development

Dr. Stephanie Gordon serves as the vice president for professional development at NASPA - Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education. She joined the association in 2003 as the director of educational programs. Since that time, the association has more than doubled in size to more than 15,500 members. She supervises a professional development team at the largest, most comprehensive student affairs association in the United States.

Prior to joining NASPA, Stephanie served as director of residence life and coordinator of first-year programs at Chatham University, assistant director of residence life, staff development, and training at Colgate University, and assistant director of undergraduate admissions at Simmons College.

Her research interests focus on student retention, persistence, and readiness to learn.  Stephanie also focuses on assisting student affairs educators in their daily work on campus. She has co-authored a chapter in the Student Services: A Handbook for the Profession and authored a chapter in the forthcoming edition of The Handbook of Student Affairs Administration.

Stephanie received her B.A. in English literature and political science from Simmons College and her Ed.M. in higher education administration from Harvard University Graduate School of Education. She completed her Ed.D. in higher education management at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education.

Dr. Amelia Parnell

Vice President for Research and Policy

Dr. Amelia Parnell is vice president for research and policy. She directs the Research and Policy Institute (RPI), which links research, policy, and effective student affairs practice in support of student success. Amelia is leading NASPA’s examination of several critical higher education issues, including colleges’ use of emergency aid programs to address student needs. Prior to her arrival at NASPA, Amelia was director of research initiatives at the Association for Institutional Research (AIR), where she conducted two national studies related to future directions of the institutional research function. Her current research portfolio also includes studies on leadership attributes of college presidents and vice presidents, documenting and assessing co-curricular learning, and assessment and evaluation in student affairs. Amelia is co-editor of the forthcoming book, The Analytics Revolution. She is an advisory board member for the DC Public Schools’ Urban Education Leaders Internship Program Alumni Board and an advisory committee member for Lumina Foundation’s BeyondFinancial Aid toolkit. Amelia holds a Ph.D. in higher education from Florida State University and masters and bachelor’s degrees in business administration from Florida A & M University.