The NASPA Assessment & Persistence Conference is designed to help all campus educators promote student learning and success by strengthening assessment, quality improvement, and intentional persistence and retention programs.  Institutional leadership must create an environment which builds capacity, as well as encourages an organizational culture that includes a comprehensive assessment, persistence, and completion program as part of strategic planning.  

Visit the Session Types page to learn about the types of sessions you can submit.

• Pre-Conference Workshops
• General Interest Sessions
• Roundtable
• Poster Sessions

Program Themes and Tracks

The conference planning committee is seeking proposals under both the assessment theme and the persistence theme.  Presenters for both the assessment and retention theme will be asked to identify the intended audience for their session; beginner, intermediate and advanced. In addition, given the strong practical connection between assessment and persistence, the conference planning committee selected programs that demonstrate the integration of assessment and persistence. Finally, the promising practice theme will allow presenters to demonstrate how they have implemented assessment and persistence programs on their campus.

Assessment Theme

The NASPA Assessment & Persistence Conference has been designed to address emerging issues in assessment, as well as to provide a forum for experienced assessment professionals to advance their skills by discussing assessment with practitioners and policy-makers.  Finally, those who are new to assessment will find the fundamentals they need to begin the assessment process. 

Assessment Theme #1 - Fundamentals of Assessment

Effective assessment becomes easier to understand and manage when it is based on a solid foundation of knowledge.  Sessions in this learning theme provide "primer" sessions that teach basic concepts of outcomes assessment.  Practitioners are often charged with the task of assessing and developing outcomes without being provided with the foundational understanding that is necessary to engage in a meaningful process.  Sessions in this thread may include the following topics:

• What is the philosophical purpose of assessment and common terms used in assessment practice?
• How does one write institutional, departmental and activity level learning outcomes?
• What are the ethical, institutional, and political issues in assessment method implementation, analysis and reporting?
• How does a student affairs division begin an assessment process?
• What can be done to engage and train staff in quality assessment implementation?

For an example outline for a program that would likely be included in the fundamentals learning theme, please see the Assessment, Research and Evaluation Knowledge Community Assessment Framework sessions 100, 110, 120, 200, 140 and 150. 

Assessment Theme # 2 - Assessment Methods and Measurements

Determining the mode or method appropriate for the assessment process depends on purposes, the intended use of the results, the relative importance and sensitivity of the learning experience being assessed, and the resources available. Once practitioners have an understanding of what assessment is about and how it is applied to their work, the next step is to engage in the measurement of one or more outcomes.  Proper implementation of the method chosen to measure an outcome is of vital importance.  The sessions in this learning track should focus on the following topics:

• How do to create and design institution-specific surveys?
• How to use different methods to measure outcomes including:
  • Case studies
  • Reflection sessions
  • Portfolios
  • Interviews/Focus Groups
  • National Data / Institutional Research Data
• How do use different data analysis techniques, including:
  • Quantitative
  • Qualitative
  • Content Analysis
  • Rubrics

For an example outline for a program that would likely be included in the assessment methods and measurements learning theme, please see the AERKC Assessment Framework sessions 301, 302, 303, 304, 305, 306, 307, 309, 310, 311, 312.

Assessment Theme # 3 - Using Data to Support Improvement, Reporting, and Accountability

The assessment cycle far too often ends at the point of collection or analysis of data. The purpose of the process is to make decisions based on data collected. The sessions in this learning track are advanced concepts that will focus on the following topics:

• How does data change decisions on policy, procedures and staffing?
• How does the assessment process change the way faculty and student affairs educators document learning?
• What are the best and most effective ways to develop, collect, analyze and act upon evidence of student learning?
• How do faculty and student affairs administrators develop information about the achievement of learning outcomes? How it is communicated to internal and external stakeholders?

For an example outline for a program that would likely be included in the using data to support improvement learning theme, please see the Assessment Frameworksession number 400.

Assessment Theme # 4 - Integrated Assessment, Persistence & Retention Practices 

Higher education leaders must create an infrastructure that can support an integrated assessment and persistence practices. 

• How have assessment efforts improved student learning, persistence and completion?
• What are the best and most effective ways to develop, collect, analyze and act upon evidence of student learning and persistence?
• How do educators document learning in curricular and co-curricular areas?
• How can assessment data be used as a means of improving student retention and persistence?

Assessment Theme # 5 - Promising Practices in Assessment

The promising practices learning theme is intended to be an opportunity for those engaged in quality assessment of a program, unit, department or division to share their successes.  Sessions should include information regarding the outcomes being assessed, how methods were chosen and subsequently implemented, and the way the data was used for decisions and further assessment.  

• What processes are in place to implement capacity building, professional development and training across academic departments and institutional divisions?
• How is the culture and language of assessment infused into daily activities?
• How does the program connect to an integrated assessment and retention process?

As much as possible, sessions should also provide some instruction as to how attendee's may be able to adapt what they learn to their own assessment processes.

Persistence Theme

The NASPA Assessment & Persistence Conference has been designed to address current issues in student persistence in higher education and make the connection to assessment of student learning as it relates to persistence and completion.  The conference planning committee chose program proposals from various institutional types from community colleges to small colleges and large universities that provide institution-wide, proven interventions that connect student learning to persistence.

Retention Theme #1 – Institutional Persistence & Retention Initiatives, Financial Aid, & Enrollment Management
 

• How do programs and services improve student retention/persistence?
• Orientation – First year and transfer students
• Advising/Academic Support Programs
• Honors programs for high achieving students
• What early alert/early intervention programs have proven successful in student persistence?
• How does strategic enrollment management affect or influence student persistence and completion?
• How do faculty and student affairs educators provide engaging experiences for all students in order to improve persistence and completion?
• What are the ethical, political and institutional challenges of managing a culture that encourages an institution-wide focus on persistence?

Retention Theme # 2 – Persistence of Special Student Populations
 

• What programs/services have demonstrated improvement in persistence for diverse student populations?
• What collaborations exist with athletics, Greek life, international students, or other special student populations?
• How do collaborations between administrative functions support institution-wide persistence and completion efforts? (Examples might include TRIO, NCAA, Student-at-Risk programs and other administrative units.)
• What programs or services are in place for assisting the completion rate for students with disabilities? 

Retention Theme # 3 – Transfer Students and Persistence

Transfer students are no longer a minority group on a college campus. Experiences for transfer students are unique and must extend beyond the articulation agreement between two and four-year institutions.  Student affairs educators must enhance orientation, advising processes, and co-curricular experiences which improve a student's connection to the new institution.

• How do articulation agreements and enrollment management strategies improve student persistence?
• How are transfer students integrated into campus life?
• What assessment and research practices have documented transfer student learning and success?

Retention Theme # 4 – Integrated Assessment & Persistence Practices

Higher education leaders must create an infrastructure that can support an integrated assessment and persistence practices. 

• How have assessment efforts improved student learning, persistence and completion?
• What are the best and most effective ways to develop, collect, analyze and act upon evidence of student learning and persistence?
• How do educators document learning in curricular and co-curricular areas?
• How can assessment data be used as a means of improving student retention and persistence?

Retention Theme # 5 - Promising Practices in Retention & Persistence

The promising practices learning theme is intended to be an opportunity for those engaged in persistence and retention initiatives to share their successes.  Sessions should focus on evidence-based, data-driven programs and highlight how  the program was developed and implemented, and the way the data was used for decisions and further assessment.  

• What processes are in place to implement capacity building, professional development and training across academic departments and institutional divisions?
• How is the culture and language of retention and persistence infused into daily activities?
• How does the program connect to an integrated assessment, persistence and completion process?

As much as possible, sessions should also provide some instruction as to how attendee's may be able to adapt what they learn to their own persistence and processes.

Thank you to everyone who submitted program proposals this year!