What is Assessment?

The objective of all our assessment initiatives is to document an action plan for what the student affairs advisor expects the students to learn as a result of a particular experience and how they will demonstrate that they have learned it. The concept is simple and the methodologies vary, but we all use a matrix model that depicts the process and outcomes within a timeline.

We understand that prospective students and families want to know as much as they can about the value of their Assumption College education. The question of whether or not student affairs is appreciated or even recognized as a true profession rears its ugly head from time to time. Throughout my twenty-five years in student affairs, I have come to understand that regardless of our success in developing high quality co-curricular programs, we will always encounter those who assume our sole purpose is to regulate student behavior. Clarifying our role as educators and connecting our programming to the academic mission has to become part of our work, whether the venue is large, small, public, private, two-year, or four. The upside to this burden is that our purpose in the academy gets regularly reinforced as colleges and universities scramble for even scarcer resources.

Our work generates unique awards, particularly when students develop cognitive and practical life skills as a result of our interaction with them. It is even more rewarding when students are able to articulate what they have learned. Accreditation agencies loom large as they mandate colleges and universities to establish measurable learning outcomes, much to the chagrin of the more independently minded members of the academy. On the other hand, this mandate presents an ideal opportunity to create a seamless transition between traditional classroom learning and a plethora of opportunities for educational opportunities outside the classroom. It also allows people in student affairs to showcase their work through the voices of students. If students are indeed experiencing a high-quality student affairs program, we should give them a way to demonstrate what they are learning and how it connects to the overall mission of the institution.