How will you navigate the new world of student affairs assessment?

“The beauty and brilliance of [this book] is in the aggregate design it offers to demystify student affairs assessment and make successful leadership accessible. This book should be on the reading list of every senior student affairs officer.” -- Professor Larry Roper at Oregon State University

From defining the best methods of assessing student success, either in terms of academic, social, or emotional progress, to measuring the efficacy of an individual program or initiative, the role of the Student Affairs Assessment Coordinator is complex, multifaceted, and ever-evolving. Coordinating Student Affairs Divisional Assessment , authored by Kimberly Yousey-Elsener, Erin Bentrim, and Gavin W. Henning, helps to demystify this new role, outlining a practical and professionally grounded roadmap that informs and supports successful leadership in student affairs assessment.

Cultivating a Culture of Assessment in Student Affairs: Challenges and Transitions

Addressing the common challenges and issues related to implementing the role and cultivating a culture of assessment in student affairs organizations, the authors then tackle the practicalities of creating effective systems and structures, developing assessment skills throughout the organization, and creating an integrated model for measuring progress toward strategic planning goals. No assessment professional should be without it.

“Coordinating Student Affairs Divisional Assessment is a comprehensive A-Z guide to establishing, evolving and sustaining a student affairs division assessment program,” says Professor Larry Roper at Oregon State University. “The beauty and brilliance of [this book] is in the aggregate design it offers to demystify student affairs assessment and make successful leadership accessible. This book should be on the reading list of every senior student affairs officer.”

For those taking on this role, this book constitutes a practical guide to leading and implementing an assessment program— whether doing so full- or part-time, as an individual or in a multi-person office, or whether reporting to or being in positional leadership.

An Evolving Profession: A Roadmap for Addressing Critical Needs in Higher Education

Recognizing that this assessment-based function is new to student affairs professionals, and that those who take it on frequently find themselves in an in-between world, being both embedded with, but also distinct from, their divisional colleagues, this book first addresses the common challenges and issues related to defining and implementing the role and cultivating a culture of assessment. It then deals with a number of key challenges:

• the practicalities of creating systems and structures;
• how to develop assessment skills throughout the organization;
• creating an integrated model for measuring progress toward strategic planning goals; and
• how to use assessment data to inform decision making and resource allocation.

The book concludes with guidance on leading and maintaining ethical standards related to data collection, storage and sharing for the division, and on navigating the dynamic political environment that assessment professionals will encounter.

The book is available in the NASPA Bookstore at the member price of $24.95.

Upcoming NASPA Events: Assessment & Persistence

To gain additional insight into student assessment, student persistence, college completion rates, and the role of student affairs offices, organizations, and professionals, join us for our 2016 Assessment and Persistence Conference.

Additional Resources for Student Affairs Professionals:

For additional resources for student affairs professionals, browse NASPA’s publications, which include scholarly articles, books, periodicals, and other media featuring the work of scholars and practitioners in the fields of higher education and student affairs.