Assessing Student Affairs: Design and Implementation of Best Practices for Assessment of Supportive Services and Co-curricular Education

Assessment is an important component of research for any college or university. The data collected provides important information for internal improvements needed to enhance the quality of education the institution. While academic divisions have been assessing programs and general education for a long period of time, assessing student affairs is still relatively new. Supportive services and co-curricular education however serve an important function to provide a full image of student learning. For this reason, accrediting agencies require data to be shown demonstrating learning is taking place outside of the classroom. To begin assessment of supportive services and co-curricular education, the best place to start is with the best practices of institutions already assessing these areas. By examining the handbooks and practices of colleges and universities successfully assessing student affairs areas, specific aspects can be used to build a handbook for other institutions. Examination for best practices include important steps to development, the structure of student affairs, identifying the data collection team, steps to develop the mission statements and purposes of services and co-curricular education, creating student learning objectives to be assessed, tool development methods, steps to data collection, and how to report findings. The product created for this dissertation uses the best practices of community colleges and universities to create a handbook for assessing supportive services and co- curricular education for Edison State Community College. By using current literature and exploratory meetings with leaders of departments, the author developed matrices with the mission and purpose statements and student learning objectives of supportive s e r vices and co-curricular activities currently in place at Edison State Community College. Using the matrices created and b est practices identified, the author developed tools to assess the different areas. This handbook will be used for internal improvements at Edison State Community College as well as data for accreditation purposes.