The Futility of Assessment in Student Affairs

1. The Futility of Assessment in Student Affairs Larry Moneta, Ed.D Vice President for Student Affairs Duke University

2. Student Affairs • Community development • Student self governance • Development of ethics and integrity • Career direction and purpose • Civic engagement and allocentrism • Management of emotions and impulses • Wellness and health promotion

3. How can we determine the added value of any single aspect or aggregation of these objectives?

4. Assessing Quality in Higher Educationby Douglas C. BennettLiberal Education, Spring 2001, V.87, No. 2 • Value has many dimensions - measurements of value added must therefore attend to a number of different dimensions of value • Institutions are different - Vary missions • Effects unfold - Some consequences of a college education may take years to express themselves • Complexity and cost

5. Other Options for Assessment • Reputation (U.S. News and World Report Rankings) • Expert Assessment (Templeton and Fiske Guides) • Self Reports (Peterson’s Guides) • Processes and Participation (NSSE)

6. What does it mean to be a liberally educated person?

7. "Only Connect.. . : The Goals of a Liberal Education:, The American Scholar (Autumn 1998, p. 73-80 • They listen and they hear • They read and they understand • They can talk with anyone • They can write clearly and persuasively and movingly • They can solve a wide variety of puzzles and problems

8. "Only Connect.. . : The Goals of a Liberal Education:, The American Scholar (Autumn 1998, p. 73-80 • They respect rigor not so much for its own sake but as a way of seeking truth • They practice humility, tolrance and self criticism • They understand how to get things done in the world • They nurture and empower the people around them • They follow E.M. Forster’s injunction from Howard’s End: “Only Connect..”

10. So, How do we isolate Student Affairs and co-curricular value added?

11. For example, can we: • Measure contribution to an ability to nurture and empower people around them through residence hall community living?

12. For example, can we: • Measure students capacity to talk with anyone through our diversity and intercultural initiatives?

13. For example, can we: • Measure how students learn to get things done in the world through their various leadership opportunities?

14. Furthermore: • How do we isolate a purposefullness value-added of career services as distinct from academic advising and personal counseling?

15. Furthermore: • How do we isolate the thical and moral value-added of judicial and disciplinary efforts from the influences of family, faculty and friends?

16. Furthermore: • How do we isolate the emotional value-added of gender and sexual orientation programs from the intimate experiences, substance experimentation and biological processes inherent with the collegiate experience?

17. So, what are we to do?

18. Opportunities • Standardized Instruments (NSSE, CIRP, COFHE) • Develop a culture of evidence • Clarify goals and objectives • Dashboard Indicators

19. University of Minnesota Student Development OutcomesThe successful University of Minnesota student engages in activities which develop and demonstrate achievement in several areas. Responsibility and Accountability･Makes appropriate decisions regarding his/her own behavior･Recognizes and accepts consequences of actions･Meets agreed upon expectations･Follows through on commitments･Willing to accept responsibility for personal errors･Takes responsibility for his/her own learning Independence and Interdependence･Appropriately determines when to act alone and when to work or consult with others･Demonstrates ability to initiate action and effectively engage others to enhance outcomes･Works with minimum supervision whether it be alone or within a group･Adapts behavior as appropriate in response to team or organization needs Goal Orientation･Manages energy and behavior to accomplish specific outcomes･Possesses and maintains sufficient motivation to achieve goals.･Has an understanding about how to use his/her talents and skills to
contribute to the betterment of society･Demonstrates effective planning and purposeful behavior･Does not allow distractions to prevent timely completion of tasks･Pushes self, when needed, to accomplish goals Self Awareness･Maintains and projects optimistic perspective･Expects the best from self and others･Accurately assesses and articulates (when appropriate) personal strengths and weaknesses･Shows interest in learning about others and their accomplishments･Demonstrates ability to help others adapt to new situations Resilience･Able to recover from disappointment or bad experience and continue to
work successfully･Able to learn from a bad experience and recover･Able to work through disappointments (i.e., what caused them, what can
be done to avoid them next time, and what can be done to repair them
now) Appreciation of Differences･Works effectively with others, despite differences; can respectfully discuss
differences with others･Recognizes advantages of moving outside existing ﾒcomfort zoneﾓ･Seeks out others with different backgrounds and/or perspectives to
improve decision making･Appreciates the importance of diversity and conveys this value to others･Understands and respects the values and beliefs of others Tolerance of Ambiguity･Demonstrates intellectual and emotional ability to perform in complicated
environments and the absence of standard operating procedures.･Can work under conditions of uncertaintyWe encourage you to modify the list to match the outcomes you think are most critical. The purpose of this guide is simply to provide another way to think about what you should accomplish during your time at the University. http://www.osa.umn.edu/outcomes/index.html

20. Duke University • The Division of Student Affairs of Duke University facilitates the translation of learning. We uphold and are integral to the university mission. • o Align our programs and services to optimize Duke’s educational goals as articulated by “Making a Difference”. • o Increase our communications and partnerships with faculty, academic departments, interdisciplinary centers, deans and schools. • o In particular, collaborate with the academic community to provide seamless models of advising and mentoring including academic, personal and career guidance. Take advantage of the residences where appropriate to deliver advising and mentorship support. • o Support the alignment of the residential experiences to optimize students’ formal and informal learning. • ｷThe Division of Student Affairs of Duke University shapes and sustains inclusive and supportive communities committed to each individual’s sense of belonging. • o Review the roles and functions of our identity-based efforts and the development of models of intervention, support and engagement that reflect the evolving demographics of our campus and the need for both inter and intra-group support and activities. • o Strengthen our partnerships with the various religious communities at Duke, their ministries as well as with the Chapel and its interfaith efforts. • o Expand our focus on Duke’s globalization agenda by enhancing support for international students, expanding efforts to educate US students about international issues and cultures and creating opportunities for international and domestic students to interact. • o Ensure that no opportunities are limited by socio-economic difference.

21. ｷThe Division of Student Affairs of Duke University cultivates ethical and engaged citizens dedicated to serving one's local and global communities. • o Partner with programs that emphasize engagement with the world beyond Duke’s campus boundaries such as Duke Engage. Collaborate with the Nicholas School and other appropriate schools and centers to promote environmental literacy and commitment. • o Ensure that processes of accountability for student behavior are fair, consistent and expeditious. Provide ample opportunity for student participation in these processes. • o Broaden opportunities for students to hear from and interact with people (especially alumni) representing varied perspectives on local, regional, national and international issues. Refine parent and family programs to provide appropriate (but not excessive) opportunities for their engagement in the lives of their children. • o Take seriously the role of student self-government, peer and paraprofessional participation and while providing appropriate advisory functions, provide significant opportunity for student decision making. Expand and enhance leadership (and followship) development efforts including more immersion experiences (such as the Beaufort Retreat and Common Ground) as well as broad-based efforts to reach many students. • ｷThe Division of Student Affairs of Duke University advances the physical, emotional, and spiritual health of university community members. • o Enhance the overall quality of our heath promotion initiatives and partner with faculty who have expertise in adolescent and post-adolescent development on research and activities that will. In particular, expand our collaboration with the Duke health system with particular focus on Pediatrics, Psychiatry and Integrative Medicine (e.g. meditation and other non-traditional forms of health care). • o Develop a new model for student health insurance that will provide adequate coverage to all students at affordable rates. • o Substantially expand various modes of stress relief and mental health intervention with a focus on peer, para-professional and community support models. • o Expand and enhance our partnerships to promote the availability and consumption of more nutritious foods and to provide effective opportunities for organized sport and exercise.

22. ｷThe Division of Student Affairs of Duke University channels resources wisely to strengthen our ability to meet emerging student needs. • o Expand and enhance staff development activities for all levels of divisional employees; Focus competency development such that staff can do what’s asked of them; Foster an atmosphere of innovation and creativity among all staff and reward exemplary achievements. • o Advocate and support essential facility improvements particularly for residence halls, student community spaces (e.g. West Union, Bryan Center and East union) and the Career Center. • o Ensure effective use of technologies that enhance our services but sustain appropriate human intervention. • o Take optimal opportunity of institutional investment vehicles to ensure proper management of assigned resources and deploy a restructured development role to ensure stewardship of existing supporters and the development of new prospects and donors.