Overview
please respond to Kathleen with. 350. words. citations and references
'McClellan & Stringer (2016) identified three stakeholders in higher education: “those who provide funding and support, those who ensure that institutions fulfill their various fiduciary and educational responsibilities, and those who are consumers of higher education. Each group has different expectations related to institutional accountability” (p. 100). This quote resonated with me because higher education institutions are accountable to so many people for a variety of reasons. Student affairs professionals are uniquely positioned in how they serve students, which can make accountability more difficult to navigate. However, they are still responsible for ensuring their programs and services are meeting the needs of students and the campus.
The textbook continued to discuss assessment and accreditation as processes to hold institutions accountable (McClellan & Stringer, 2016). Assessment has become a stronger focus after a statement was made by the American College Personnel Association (ACPA) and NASPA, Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education in 2015 (Castillo-Montoya, 2021; Fernandez et al., 2022). Fernandez et al. (2022) draw attention to the fact that assessment is an important way to ensure student affairs services are relevant and ethical. Unfortunately, many student affairs professionals report having limited experience in assessment, either in their own degree programs or professional experience (Castillo-Montoya, 2021).
I serve as a representative for student affairs on my university’s Administrative Assessment Committee. This committee is made up of representatives from academic affairs, student affairs, and administration. It is a helpful group to process ideas and work through challenges with assessment. I have noticed how it can be easy in student affairs to default to assessing efficiency of services. However, having the committee has been beneficial to me in helping brainstorm ways to expand assessment to capture new or different data. Digging deeper into assessment in student affairs benefits students, and is also valuable evidence when evaluating program successes. Data from assessments keeps student affairs accountable to stakeholders, as it provides direct evidence of the quality and quantity of services provided.
References
Castillo-Montoya, M. (2021). Assessment: The “wild card” in student affairs. Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, 58(1), 79-93. https://doi.org/10.1080/19496591.2019.1707090Links to an external site.
Fernandez, F., Mason, S., Saetermoe, C. L., & Chavira, G. (2022). Evaluating mentorship programs: Survey items for improving student affairs practice. Journal of College Student Development, 63(2), 223-228. https://doi.org/10.1353/csd.2022.0017Links to an external site.
McClellan, G. S., & Stringer, J. (2016). The handbook of student affairs administration (4th ed.). Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated.