A-B-C’s Assessment, Budget and Communication AHEAD 2010 Wednesday, July 14, 2010

1. A-B-C’s Assessment, Budget and CommunicationAHEAD 2010Wednesday, July 14, 2010 Karen Pettus, University of South Carolina Tom Thompson, William R. Harper College Emily Singer, The Catholic University of America

2. PROGRAM GOALS • to provide newcomers a foundation of information and best practices in managing a disability services program • to provide an orientation to AHEAD’s program standards • to provide participants with information about how to plan & budget for the future while maintaining the office and services on a day to day basis.

3. Outline • Introduction to the three campuses • AHEAD Program Standards • CAS Standards • Strategic Planning & Learning Outcomes • A is for assessment: data collection impacting DSS policy development, service delivery and overall program evaluation • B is for budget: what resources already exist, what is needed, where are the sources of funds, who are the gatekeepers • C is for communication: build genuine relationships with colleagues, gatekeepers, allies; get to know them and share about your work and interface with their work.

4. AHEAD Program Standards and PerformanceIndicators • The standards present a consensus among experts in the field regarding minimum essential services. • These standards are intended to enhance service provision for college students with disabilities by • directing program evaluation and development efforts, • improving personnel preparation and staff development, • expanding the vision of disability services at the postsecondary level.

5. AHEAD Program Standards and Performance Indicators 1. Consultation / Collaboration 2. Information Dissemination 3. Faculty / Staff Awareness 4. Academic Adjustments 5. Counseling and Self-Determination 6. Policies and Procedures 7. Program Administration and Evaluation 8. Training and Professional Development

6. CAS Standards • Mission • Program • Leadership • Organization and management • Human Resources • Financial Resources • Facilities, Technology, and Equipment • Legal Responsibilities • Equity and Access • Campus and External Relations • Diversity • Ethics • Assessment and Evaluation

7. Planning to Plan • What is Strategic Planning? Proactive problem solving done in advance of taking action; is ongoing • Why Do Strategic Planning? • Provides a framework for action • Provides development and organization • Provides better understanding of environment • Provides focus on needs served versus services offered

8. Strategic Planning Steps • Step I: Planning for Strategic Planning • Determine readiness for strategic planning • Identify members of the planning team • Develop commitment • Step II A: Develop Values Statement • Decisions are values based (Personal values, Team values, Departmental values, Organizational values) • What do we value? (Performance, People, Process)

9. Strategic Planning Steps • Step II B: Develop Mission Statement • Answers four questions • What function(s) are performed • For whom are these functions performed • How are these functions fulfilled • Why is the group (organization) in existence • Step II C: Develop Vision Statement • Idealized self-image • Forward looking • View of the future • Provides sense of pride and purpose • Instills sense of uniqueness and teamwork • Promotes growth

10. Strategic Planning Steps • Step III Performance Review • Identify services provided • Identify stakeholders • Analyze internal strengths and weaknesses and external opportunities and threats (SWOT) • What is the reality of today • STEP IV: Gap Analysis • Compare the reality of today with the vision • Can the gap(s) be closed? • What is needed to close the gap(s)? • Establish goals • Consider impact to stakeholders • Develop initiatives or strategies to meet goals

11. Strategic Planning Steps • STEP V: Action Planning • Prioritize goals • Develop timelines for goals and initiatives • Make assignments • Educate entire group • Encourage participation • STEP VI: Implementation • Present and market plan with due respect of its importance • Anticipate potential reactions and prepare responses • Establish monitoring or tracking of progress • Keep plan in the forefront with scheduled progress reports • Review regularly and adjust as needed

12. How Do I Use Strategic Planning to Implement Best Practices on my Campus?

13. LEARNING OUTCOMES • What does assessment do for us? • Defining Assessment and Evaluation • Assessment Process • Identify Mission/Objectives/Outcomes • List Activities/Programs/Services (Strategic Plan) • Measuring Impact • Interpretation of Data/Evaluation • Decision Making/Implementation • Reassessment (Brescianti,Zelna and Anderson 2004)

14. LEARNING OUTCOMES • Type of Data: Defining Indicators • Strategic Indicators • Dashboard Indicators • Program Indicators • Articulation of Purpose (Objectives and Outcomes) • Creating Objectives and Outcomes

15. A is for Assessment “As resources decline and the competition for resources within institutions increases, every program and service must demonstrate its importance and worth.” Upcraft and Schuh

16. A is for Assessment • Assessment – any effort to gather, analyze, and interpret evidence which describes institutional, departmental, divisional, or agency effectiveness in the aggregate • Evaluation- any effort to use assessment evidence to improve institutional, departmental divisional or agency effectiveness • Effectiveness – includes student learning outcomes, cost-effectiveness, and clientele satisfaction(both internal and external to the institution) Assessment in Student Affairs – Upcraft and Shuh

17. A is for Assessment • Basic questions to Guide Assessment • What’s the problem? • What’s the purpose? • Who will be studied? • What’s the best assessment method? • How do we decide who to study? • How should the data be collected? • What instrument(s) should be used? • Who should collect the data? • How should we record the data? • How do we analyze the data? • How do we report the results? • How do we use the results? Upcraft and Shuh

18. A is for Assessment • The Assessment Model • Keep track of who uses your services, programs, and facilities • Assess the needs of your students and other clientele • Clientele satisfaction • Assess campus environments and student cultures • Assess outcomes- effect on learning, development, and academic success, compare to non-users • Compare to similar institutions • Use nationally accepted standards to assess

19. A is for Assessment • The Assessment Cycle

20. A is for Assessment • Principles of Good Practice for Assessment 1.Assessment begins with what we value 2. Assessment is most effective when it reflects an understanding of organizational outcomes as multidimensional, integrated, and revealed in performance over time. 3. Assessment works best when it has clear, explicitly stated goals. 4. Assessment requires attention to outcomes but also, and just as important, to the processes that lead to them. 5. Assessment works best when it is ongoing, not episodic.

21. A is for Assessment • Principles of Good Practice for Assessment 6. Assessment is most effective when representatives from across student affairs and the institution are involved. 7. Assessment makes a difference when it begins with issues of use and illuminates questions that people really care about. 8. Assessment should be part of a larger set of conditions that promote change. 9. Through assessment, student affairs professionals meet responsibilities of students, the institution, and the public. Upcraft and Schuh

22. How Do I Use Assessment and Evaluation to manage financial resources on my Campus?

23. B is for Budget • Basics of budgeting and resource development • Basic data collection on students using accommodations, delivery of accommodations, related costs • Methods used by colleagues: what is expected in terms of reporting • Annual reporting, trend data, episodic updates and reports on needs

24. Budget and Resources • Learn about and tap into assessment and evaluation processes in your college • Student achievement, engagement, progress • What is your budget development process, who are the gatekeepers • Mandated accommodations: fixed and variable costs (pre-warn of cost overruns) • People, capital, equipment, contractual

25. How Do I Track Costs for Direct Services? • Fixed Costs vs Variable Costs • Fixed Costs: Salaries for professional positions, student help, supplies and expenses, capital equipment. • Variable Costs: Mandated direct services: interpreting, captioning, notetaking, document conversion, test accommodations. * Adapted from presentation by Trey Duff at AHEAD 2004

26. Deaf Services Costs • Figure out the total budget line for Deaf Services. You can do this for an individual service as well (i.e. Interpreting only) • Sample: • Student 1: 24 Credits in one year • Student 2: 9 Credits in one year • Student 3: 6 Credits in one year • Total credits: 39 • Total costs: $41, 733 • Total costs per student: $14,000 ($41,733/3) • Total costs per credit: $1,070 ( $41,733/39) * Adapted from presentation by Trey Duff at AHEAD 2004

27. Budget and Resources… • Develop a data base for tracking students and services • Work with I.R. and I.T. on your campus • Create an annual report, fact sheets on populations, services provided • Tell your ‘story’ in multiple ways • Can you do comparisons: internally or externally?

28. Resource Development • Leveraging support from others • Foundation support and contact with corporations; grant internal, state, external • Careful accumulation and presentation of data: prepare before you present • Examples: • Corporate support of AT and UDI • Internal IT support of AT, Text Conversion and Captioning • Generating increases for interpreting and assistive tech

29. Resource Development… • Ultimately about demonstrating need, emphasizing the mandate for accommodations, making connections with donors • Build ongoing relationships and show donors the impact of their contributions • Keep proposals simple, short, need and outcome oriented

30. C is for Communication • Who is your audience • Communication is key to this process • Build genuine relationships with colleagues, gatekeepers and allies • Get to know them • Share about your work and interface with their work • Communicate about the importance of students with disabilities being integrated and involved in all aspects of campus life

31. Contact Information Karen Pettus, The University of South Carolina Student Disability Services, Rm 112 A LeConte College, Columbia, SC 29208 Phone: 803-777-6142 karen@mailbox.sc.edu Emily Singer, The Catholic University of America Disability Support Services 620 Michigan Ave, 207 Pryzbyla Center Washington, DC 20064 Phone: 202-319-5211 singere@cua.edu Tom Thompson, William R. Harper College Disability Services, 1200 West Algonquin Road Palatine, IL 60067-7398 Phone: 847-925-6266 tthompso@harpercollege.edu