The Assessment Cycle

The assessment cycle provides a guiding framework for assessment practice in students affairs. Student affairs professionals should refer to this page as they begin planning assessment projects.

Definitions

Assessment - Assessment is any effort to gather, analyze, and interpret evidence which describes institutional, departmental, divisional, or agency effectiveness.

Assessment vs. Research

Evaluation - Evaluation is any effort to use assessment evidence to improve institutional, departmental, divisional, or agency effectiveness.While assessment describes effectiveness, evaluation is how assessment results are used to improve effectiveness, however that may be defined.

Student Learning – "Learning is a complex, holistic, multi-centric activity that occurs throughout and across the college experience. Student development, and the adaptation of learning to students' lives and needs, are fundamental parts of engaged learning and liberal education. True liberal education requires the engagement of the whole student – and the deployment of every resource in higher education" (Learning Reconsidered, 2004, p. 6).

Adapted from Upcraft, M. L., & Schuh, J. H. (1996). Assessment in student affairs: A guide for practitioners. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

The Cycle: Step-by-Step

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Adapted from Student Voice, The Assessment Cycle, 2011

Types of Assessment

• Learning Outcomes Assessment – measuring the impact our services, programs and facilities have on students' learning, development, and student success.
• Tracking – monitoring who uses our programs, services and facilities (e.g. raw numbers, frequency, age, class standing, gender, race, residence, etc).
• Needs Assessment – identifying needs of our students (e.g. student perceived, research supported).
• Satisfaction Assessment – measuring the level of student satisfaction with our programs, services, and facilities.
• Student Cultures and Campus Environments Assessment – assessing the collective perception of campus and student experience (e.g. campus climate, academic environment, residential quality of life).
• Comparable Institution Assessment (Benchmarking) – identifying how the quality of our programs, services and facilities compare with peer institutions' best practices.
• National Standards Assessment – using nationally accepted standards to assess our programs and services (e.g. national assessment inventory– EBI, CAS standard self-assessment, departmental review by consulting group).
• Cost Effectiveness Assessment – determining whether the programs, services and facilities we offer to students are worth the cost.