by 
by Dr. Kristin Walker, Clemson University
It’s hard to believe the start of the fall semester is looming. I know my local stores and ads are shouting “back to school!” Many of us may have been involved with orientation in a variety of capacities while perhaps counseling students this summer, closing out data from the previous year, and preparing for a new academic year. Oh yes – and we’re trying to recharge our batteries. Collective deep breath – inhale and exhale.
All of this back to school chatter got me thinking how it’s also a “back to basics” time for assessment. Hopefully I didn’t undo that collective inhale and exhale because we got this! Whether you formally oversee assessment efforts in your area, are part of a committee, or do some individual, informal assessment on programs, events, and/or services, I thought I would share some things that help me prep myself and our center for the new academic and reporting year.
A – Analyze, Ask, and Apply
It’s important to take time to analyze and report data to stakeholders as well as apply the data to the coming year. To apply, we need to ask questions first. Can discussions occur about current practices or operations that could be tweaked? Can counseling hours be adjusted? Are students requesting specific informational resources be on hand at fairs or networking events? Are there lingering questions based on last year’s data that need to be further explored with focus groups or interviews? Can you change a question to be open-ended to learn more without having to coordinate a focus group? Are evening and weekend workshops yielding the turnout that warrants having a counselor work after hours? Are there any majors who aren’t seeing as much come to your office? Are students saying they want more information during counseling on a topic but staff may have forgotten a valuable resource exists on the website? Or is it possible to bring in a campus partner to retrain staff? There are plenty of questions that can arise when examining data. It’s important to carve out the necessary time to bring together the right folks to brainstorm and determine if a pivot is necessary that could improve operations, learning outcomes, etc… Ask the questions. Don’t leave out ideas. Identify a potential solution to try for a year and discuss next summer or after the fall semester how it went. Adjustments don’t have to be permanent.
B – Bolster, Balance, and Believe
You’ve analyzed and identified ways to make some changes. You now need to determine the best way to bolster your current data collection methods to determine if the changes yielded a positive outcome. If a survey provided the data to prompt the conversation and make a change, can you revise a question? If you altered a schedule or developed targeted outreach efforts can you more regularly check data collected by card swipes? If you’ve developed a new event entirely to address a need, you may need to develop a new way to collect data to determine effectiveness. Remember surveys aren’t always the answer! Can you get creative with a two minute assessment using pencil and paper that can give you a clearer picture with a higher response rate? Regardless of what you do, balance new efforts and tools with existing ones. Don’t’ overwhelm yourself or your colleagues. Are there graduate assistants, interns, or peer ambassadors that can help you analyze data and give them a real world project? Remember certain things may not require assessing every year. Developing a multi-year schedule could be beneficial. Finally, if you are relying on others to help collect data, make sure they believe in the data you’re attempting to gather. Help colleagues understand why the data matters, how it will be used to inform the future, and when it will be shared with colleagues. Is it possible to bring together everyone or in small groups to share data at year end or when it makes sense during the year. Timely data can be helpful! Assessment can take a village, but understanding why there’s value and letting them see how data has informed decisions can help them believe and get on board.
C – Celebrate, Carry On, and Commit
We must take the time to celebrate accomplishments, student stories of success, collaborations with campus partners that have proven fruitful, and where we’ve moved needles. As my supervisor says, we do important work in career services. We have the honor and privilege of working with a variety of students at such an important time in their lives. Even though I love data, everything can’t be just data. Celebrate how we felt when working with stakeholders, how the energy at a corporate partner retreat felt, or how a space felt when we reconfigured it? People get excited when hard work is noticed, especially if being okay with a change or an adjustment wasn’t that exciting last year or semester. After celebrating it’s time to “keep calm and carry on” before the students return because we can’t lose the energy. But carry on doesn’t mean business as usual. Commit to the things that are important for your respective office. Commit to the tweaks discussed and owned by everyone. Commit to challenging ourselves like we encourage students to challenge themselves. We owe our students and stakeholders our best.
I hope these ABC’s may have sparked an idea about something each of us can do whether you work independently in this area or with others in a variety of ways. Assessment can be intimidating, so it’s all in the delivery and attitude. We may have been the children who was so excited to return to school or we may have been the ones who felt apprehensive. Could be we have mixed feelings in us and/or our colleagues. Regardless, if we take time for a deep breath and realize we share the same passion for our work, everything else will fall into place. We’ll find our cubby, locker, or seat and smile at the school year ahead.
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Kristin has 15 years of experience in education and fraternity/sorority life. She earned her B.S. in English from Radford University, and her M.Ed. in Counselor Education and Ph.D. in Educational Leadership from Clemson University. Kristin currently serves as the Associate Director of Analytics and Initiatives at Clemson University’s Center for Career and Professional Development. In addition to coordinating the center’s competency initiatives and assessment, she oversees the graduate and off-campus internship area. Kristin teaches in Clemson’s masters and doctoral programs and has been a volunteer and board member of her sorority, Alpha Sigma Tau. Through her professional and volunteer roles, Kristin has traveled to and worked with students at over 40 college campuses. Her research interests include career development, fraternity/sorority life, and STEM education.
