From Classroom to Practice: A Partnership Approach to Assessment (original) (raw)

2013, New Directions for Student Services

Assessment training, inclusive of design, methodology, and effective reporting, has become a topic of increased interest in student affairs, most recently articulated by calls for competency (Bresciani and Todd, 2010) reemphasizing existing curricular standards (Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education [CAS], 2002). Providing applied instruction to graduate students is an essential fi rst step, as new professionals will be expected to plan and integrate assessment and evaluation into their work as practitioners. Further, assignments that connect students to authentic divisional assessment activities can create valuable instructional opportunities to bridge classroom-to-practice efforts. Such partnerships, carefully supported and guided by faculty, can also yield meaningful contributions to divisional assessment activities. Creating a "seamless learning environment" (Kuh, 1996) related to assessment not only benefi ts student learning, but also addresses calls for data in an era characterized by decreasing personnel capacity to generate and use it due to budget cuts, defi ciencies in training and professional development, increased job responsibilities, and lack of time (Green, Jones,