Assessment and Planning

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Student Affairs Assessment and Planning leads co-curricular assessment efforts with campus partners, supports data informed decision making, and provides assessment resources and training for Student Affairs departments.

Student Affairs Assessment and Planning offers a variety of services to enhance student learning, development and success at Illinois.  Services include

  • Assessment of co-curricular programs and services including measurement of learning, participation, satisfaction, needs, attitudes, and behaviors
  • Administration of institutional surveys related to the student experiences including the Multi-institutional Study of Leadership, National College Health Assessment, Campus Sexual Misconduct Survey, and COVID-19 Student Experience Surveys
  • Management of the Student Affairs Research Approval (SARA) process and consultation on recruiting students for research/assessment initiatives
  • Strategic planning assistance for division and units
  • Professional development workshops and resources

Student Affairs Research Approval (SARA)

Student Affairs is responsible for reviewing and approving any campus-wide surveys that target students. The Student Affairs Research Approval (SARA) process was put in place to operationalize this policy.

Assessment Resources at Illinois

The Office of the Provost has multiple resources to help you with assessment on campus, including templates, definitions, tools, and contacts.

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Assessment Workshops

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Workshops connect Student Affairs staff with experts from across campus to discuss practices, policies, tools, and resources to support assessment activities across the division.  

Student Affairs Assessment Workshops 

Workshops are held approximately once a month during the academic year RSVP is required.  Learn more about upcoming workshops here: https://studentaffairs.illinois.edu/saacworkshops 

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Assistance with Survey Creation

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All Illinois staff and students have access to Qualtrics to create surveys. Staff in Student Affairs also have access to the Student Affairs Qualtrics Library that contains sample evaluation and demographic questions.  Units in Student Affairs each have a groups set up in Qualtrics to easily share and archive projects.  Student Affairs units can reach out to their unit assessment representative or the Director for Assessment and Planning for assistance with survey creation, distribution, and analysis.  The Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning also have Qualtrics Resources available.

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Assessment Planning and Consultation

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Student Affairs Assessment and Planning provides individualized evaluation consultation to Student Affairs units. Units can contact Dr. Beth Hoag or start by completing the Student Affairs Assessment Project Planning Tool. In addition Student Affairs also has a student learning outcomes assessment planning template that mirrors the process that academic programs have embraced, while being uniquely tailored to the co-curricular experiences that students engage at Illinois.

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Institutional Improvement Student Survey Projects

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In 2023, the Institutional Student Survey Committee identified a need for campus units to conduct assessment/evaluation projects regarding student needs, satisfaction, and evaluation of programs to a samples larger than currently allowed through the DMI/Student Affairs Research Approval (SARA) process (5,000 students, or 60% of a population).  

This process was created to (1) create a pathway for units to distribute student surveys for institutional improvement efforts to more than 5,000 students, (2) encourage collaborative survey projects across units, and (3) provide consultation for units on survey practices and existing campus data to minimize duplication. It will be launched in Summer 2024 and considered a pilot program for 2 years and then evaluated for continuation.

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Next Conference: May 2026

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Bi-Annual Student Affairs Assessment Conference

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Attend to gain strategies that are easy to understand and implement in the assessment, evaluation, and reporting of your work. Plus, learn how to conduct assessment/evaluation and understand the importance of doing so for the purpose of improving practice.