Title: Charting a Course for Assessing Academic Advising Code

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Title Charting a Course for Assessing Academic
AdvisingCode 912007 NACADA Annual Conference

• Presenters
• Karen Boston, Assistant Dean for Undergraduate
  Programs
• Sam M. Walton College of Business
• kboston_at_walton.uark.edu
• Dave Dawson, Director
• Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
  Advising Center
• daved_at_uark.edu
• Carol Gattis, Director of Recruitment, Retention
  and Diversity
• College of Engineering
• csg_at_uark.edu

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Charting a Course for Assessing Academic Advising

• Karen Boston, Assistant Dean for Undergraduate
  Programs
• Sam M. Walton College of Business
• Dave Dawson, Director
• Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
  Advising Center
• Carol Gattis, Director of Recruitment, Retention
  and Diversity
• College of Engineering

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Academic Advising Council

• Grew out of the Undergraduate Academic Advising
  Council, an unofficial campus group of
  professional advisors from each of the
  undergraduate colleges
• Formed and charged by the provost in Spring 2003
  to further develop advising on campus
• Composition
• One faculty member and one advising staff member
  from each undergraduate college
• Three ex-officio members the Director of the
  Career Development Center, the Director of First
  Year Experience, and the Director for Retention
  and Remediation Studies in the Fulbright College
  of Arts and Sciences
• Total of 15 members

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Academic Advising Council

• Goal To Improve Academic Advising on the
• U of A Campus
• Revise our advising mission statement
• Training and workshops
• University advising awards
• Web site (aac.uark.edu)
• Address advising issues with a unified voice
• 8 semester graduation plans
• Advisor career ladder
• Establish assessment task force

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Why the Need for Assessment?

• Need for a campus baseline for advising
• Satisfaction surveys had run their course
• Limited significance
• Need to measure the real impact of advising
• Learning outcomes of advising
• Advising is important, so its worth assessing

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Early Challenges

• Colleges have different advising systems
• Grasping that advising can be assessed and
  outcomes measured
• How will we get the information?
• How do we know advising is the factor?
• We were trying to set goals/measurements based on
  where we are and not where we want to be
• Some defensiveness about potential results

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What Helped Get Us Going

• AAC Collaboration, support and budget
• Goals and Mission Statement
• NACADA Core Values
• CAS Standards for Academic Advising
• AAC Mission Statement
• Consultant (Charlie Nutt) Someone with
  expertise to keep us focused and moving forward

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What Helped Get Us Going

• A good definition of assessment
• a systematic collection, review, and use of
  information about educational programs undertaken
  for the purpose of improving student learning and
  development
• (Marchese, 1993)
• Remembering that assessment is not
• Focused on the negative
• A performance evaluation of individuals
• One-time or episodic
• Used to measure productivity and, thus, is the
  first step in layoffs
• Easy, quick, fun, or simple
• (Nutt, 2006)

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On the Move

• AAC Task Force created
• NACADA Facilitator (Charlie Nutt)
• The Assessment Cycle
• Set the mission/program goals
• Identify outcomes
• Gather evidence
• Interpret the evidence
• Implement changes
• (Nutt, 2006)

Mission/Purposes Program Goals
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UofA Academic Advising Mission

• Academic advising is an active, ongoing
  partnership between the advisors and students
  grounded in teaching and learning. Advising is
  based on students gaining accurate and
  appropriate information and direction to help
  make their educational experience relevant,
  coherent, and meaningful. It is a process that
  assists students in connecting with the
  University of Arkansas, making thoughtful
  decisions related to their academic experiences,
  and maximizing their educational and career
  opportunities. Quality academic advising is
  essential to achieving the Universitys vision
  for a student centered research university
  serving Arkansas and the world.

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The UofA Program Goals

• While procedures may vary among schools and
  colleges, all successful academic advising should
  include the following
• A mutual responsibility between advisor and
  student with the student possessing final
  responsibility for successful completion of a
  degree.
• A developmental and educational process that
  occurs over time.
• Consideration of individual students interests,
  abilities, and needs.
• A collaborative effort to connect students to
  campus resources and services.
• Reasonable availability and accessibility of
  advisors.
• Interpretation of University of Arkansas,
  college, and departmental rules and regulations.
• A students understanding of the purpose and
  nature of the university core courses.
• Recommendation of appropriate courses.
• A students understanding of and progress toward
  academic requirements.
• General information regarding career options and
  opportunities, with appropriate referrals as
  necessary.

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Identify Student Learning Outcomes

• Student Learning Outcomes
• What students are expected to know, do, value
  and appreciate
• NO FEAR develop outcomes without worry about
  how to measure the outcome
• Example
• Students will value and appreciate the value of
  the higher education experience by
• a) Knowing and valuing the breadth and depth of
  the university curriculum
• b) Recognizing the value of the curriculum within
  their college and department
• c) Appreciating the university core and why
  courses must be taken outside their college or
  department

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Identify Advisor Outcomes

• Advisor Outcomes
• What advisors are expected to deliver in terms of
  experience and information
• Example
• Advisors will communicate the value of the higher
  education experience by
• a) Knowing and valuing the breadth and depth of
  the university curriculum
• b) Explaining the significance of the curriculum
  within their college and department
• c) Interpreting the university core and why
  courses must be taken outside the students
  college or department

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Gathering EvidenceCreating Measurement Tools

• Mapping process for each student and advisor
  outcome
• What experiences are we offering?
• What should be learned?
• When should learning occur?
• Where are they going to learn it?
• By when should learning occur?
• What is the expected level of performance?
• How are we going to measure it?
• Where or how should evidence be gathered?
• How often will we gather it?
• Who is responsible?

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Example Worksheet 9 Student Learning Outcome
Mapping Process(Guide to Assessment in Academic
Advising, 2005)

• Outcome Students will value and appreciate the
  value of the higher education experience by
• a) Knowing and valuing the breadth and depth of
  the university curriculum
• b) Recognizing the value of the curriculum
  within their college and department
• c) Appreciating the university core and why
  courses must be taken outside their college or
  department

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Example Worksheet 8 Advisor Outcome Mapping
Process (Guide to Assessment in Academic
Advising, 2005)

• Outcome Advisors will communicate the value of
  the higher education experience by
• a) Knowing and valuing the breadth and depth of
  the university curriculum
• b) Explaining the significance of the curriculum
  within their college and department
• c) Interpreting the university core and why
  courses must be taken outside the students
  college or department
• Note Number of years advising at the UofA A lt 1
  yr B 1-2 yrs C 3-5 yrs Dlt5 yrs

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Buy-in and Next Steps

• College Conversations with Deans
• AAC Presentation to Provost and Deans Council
• Determine methods of assessment based on mapping
  process
• Primary survey
• Focus Groups
• Orientation survey
• Graduation survey
• Advisor survey
• Met with Institutional Research Board (IRB)
  representative

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Buy-in and Next Steps Contd

• Begin technical development of primary survey
• Initial plans to integrate with student
  information system
• University Survey Research Center
• Data collection and analysis
• Cost
• Timeline
• Follow up with Focus Groups
• Demographic based on learning outcomes
• Format
• Moderation
• Timeline
• Orientation survey
• Pre-orientation survey
• Graduation survey EBI
• Advisor survey March 2008
• Collaborate with other institutions
• Complete initial assessments by Summer 2008

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2007 Orientation Data220 Respondents
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Questions?
AAC Web Site aac.uark.edu