Talking Stick - May/June 2008 - 20

Res Life Minor feels it is important to pick goals with a timeline in mind. “What can we reasonably achieve in two years? I think focusing on those [goals] on which you can have an impact is more effective.” Assessment done within a timeframe that allows for the fact that most students spend only one or two years on campus – with information such as disciplinary incidents and persistence within the institution – provide an answer? Can useful information be gleaned from casual chats with students? Once you ﬁnd a tool that works, stick with it, Kuh says; as time passes, data from one year will be comparable to that from others. You may be assessing already and don’t know it. Learning outcomes don’t necessarily mean big operational changes. Often, it’s a matter of codifying practices that are already in place. After studying literature on learning outcomes, Wiltgen and his staff started “G Chats,” a series of semistructured, one-on-one conversations between RAs and their freshman students. “It’s important to establish that connection and get students integrated into the campus,” Wiltgen explains. During the ﬁrst chat at the beginning of the year, the RA asks how the high school-to-college transition is going. The second chat, near winter break, is about the challenges of college life. The third one, in early spring, is centered on the student’s goals for sophomore year. Of course, RAs at Gettysburg College have always advised and encouraged students, but as Wiltgen says, “The big shift here is from informal to intentional.” Now that the conversations are intentional, residence life can take note of what is being said, and that in itself is a form of assessment. Resources 1. Learning Reconsidered 2: A Practical Guide to Implementing a Campus-Wide Focus on the Student Experience, Susan Komives and Sarah Schoper (2006). 2. Program Mapping and Assessment Tool for Co-Curricular Programming, William McLaughlin (2006). Available in the ACUHO-I Online Library. 3. The Mapping Primer: Tools for Reconstructing the College Curriculum, Ruth Stiehl and Les Lewchuck (2005). 4. Faculty Guidebook: A Comprehensive Tool for Improving Faculty Performance, Steven Beyerlein and Daniel Apple (2005). 5. Guidelines for Successful Assessment, Commission on Assessment for Student Development, American College Personnel Association: College student educators international. To access, go to www.myacpa.org/comm/assessment/ and click the “Best Practices and Awards” tab and then choose the Guidelines for Successful Assessment. Do it all over again. Occasionally revisit the learning outcomes and how they are assessed to be sure your system is still providing useful information. If your institution recently changed its mission or if there has been a major change in student demographics, make sure the learning outcomes are still relevant, Kuh says. Minor agrees with the importance of periodic reviews: “Make sure you have an understanding of what departments and schools want in their students.” He advises conducting a detailed review every 10 years. “You may not change anything, but the review itself is worthwhile.” ts Emily Glenn is the ACUHO-I corporate librarian. E-mail: emily@acuho-i.org. may be more realistic. As Minor says, “What can we measure, improve, and progress toward in one year?” Of course, well-developed learning outcomes are worth little without an equally well-developed assessment. Kuh advises two assessments: one at the beginning of the academic year and the other at the end, so progress can be clearly seen. Depending on what is being assessed, there are many ways to do it. “Look at whether you’re getting the information back that you want,” Kuh suggests. Also important is the assessment’s ease of use. Will students ﬁll out the survey? Will student records Piper describes a strategy that works well at California State, Northridge: “When we state the learning outcome, we also state the way we’re going to assess it.” This way, they know that progress toward every goal will be measured. It is hard to separate student affairs from all the inﬂuences in a college student’s life, so invite other departments and students to assist in the assessment process; this will offer greater insights into what students are telling you. “I’m really impressed when staff and faculty sit down together and look at the results,” Kuh says. “I’m really impressed when students are there.” 20 Talking Stick

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Talking Stick - May/June 2008

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