Assessment Cycle
Division Cycle
The FAU Division of Student Affairs follows the American College Personnel Association (ACPA) model Assessment Cycle which as five Phases: 1) Foundational Documents, 2) Establish Criteria for Success, 3) Provide Programs/Services, 4) Determine Effectiveness, and Use Results to Improve. Our Student Affairs Assessment team has broken the five phases into Functions:
- Planning & Goal Setting
- Programming & Data Collection
- Data Analysis, Evaluation, & Benchmarking
- Reporting
- Presenting Data
View a comprehensive list of programs and service within the Division of Student Affairs
Assessment Timeline and Process Map.
Planning & Goal Setting
The Office of Assessment and Research manages the division’s Assessment Cycle through the Assessment Database. Annual plans are developed by the departmental Directors with their SALT member’s approval and sent to the Assessment team for review and archival for the academic year. During this process, departments will identify their goals and which goals will be entered by the Assessment team into the Institutional Effectiveness and Analysis (IEA) database. The last step in the planning process requires departments to update their Assessment Maps. The Department Goals Template and Assessment Map Template can be found by clicking on the links.
To assist with developing a common language regarding assessment with the Division, the Assessment team has developed a Division Assessment Language document which helps define common terms surrounding student engagement and outcome constructs. This document is a resource when adding to or updating department Assessment Maps.
Programming & Data Collection
One of the most critical pieces of assessment is tracking our programs and services as well as who is engaging in those services. The Division’s Assessment team along with SALT has developed a protocol to address programming and data collection in the Student Engagement and Tracking Policy. As a general standard, FAU Student Affairs utilizes Owl Central to track student engagement and Baseline to deliver both formative and summative assessment. Access to Owl Central can be granted by the Director of Student Activities and Involvement (Donald Van Pelt). If you are not sure how OwlCentral works you can visit here for the Mobile Check-in tutorial or here for the other methods of check-in. Baseline access can be granted by the Assessment team once your department Director emails the Director of Assessment and Cc’s your SALT member. Further details are outlined in the policy.
View a comprehensive list of programs and services with in the Division Student Affairs
Data Analysis
While collecting data is a primary responsibility of departments, the Assessment team supports the Division through varying types of data analyses. Please see the Services section to learn more about how the Assessment team can assist your department.
Department Annual Report
Each department within the Division of Student Affairs is responsible for producing an annual report that is completed in two phases: 1) Part 1- Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), and 2) Goals and Outcomes. Please click to view the Annual Reporting Templates. Click here to view prior Department Annual Reports.
Division Annual Report
The Division of Student Affairs produces an annual report that is published July 1st of each year. Please click to view the Division of Student Affairs Annual Reports.
Annual Assessment Showcase
Each spring semester, the Division of Student Affairs host an Assessment Showcase to display how the work impacts students at FAU while supporting FAU Platforms and serving BOG metrics. To view the 2018 Assessment Showcase presentations.
External Reviews
During the spring of each academic year, a few departments with Division will undergo an External Review that will be facilitated by the Director of the respective department and the Director of Assessment. In the fall semester, the selected departments will conduct an Internal Review utilizing the Council for the Advancement of Standards (CAS) Review Guides. While the Assessment team completes the External Review Process & Schedule please view the External Review Process & Schedule on the Intarnet site which includes; the CAS Program Reveiw Process, Forms and Templates, and CAS Standards.