I recently returned from the A&M Assessment Conference and I was pleased at the offerings for both academic and student affairs. The 10th annual conference, held in College Station, Texas from February 21-23, was attended by roughly 500 practitioners. The headlining speaker was Dr. Belle Whelan, president of SACS Commission on Colleges and Schools, one of those presenters who is both witty and knowledgeable.
There were 5 program tracks, one of which was Assessing Student Affairs and Student Development. I like that the conference posts the handouts from the workshops and presentations. Some presentations of interest to the Student Affairs community might be:
- Assessing Outcomes in Student Affairs by John Cissik of Texas Woman’s University
- Begin with the End in Mind: Effective Dimensions of Assessment in Academic and Student Affairs by Ge Chen, Glen Baumgart, and R. Joseph Rodriquez of UT Austin
- Examples of Good Practice in Assessment of Academic Advising by Farris, Gaede, Harper, Hull, and Street of Texas A&M
I recommend this conference if you are just getting your feet wet in assessment or if you have been in the game for a while. The A&M Assessment Conference is a friendly, approachable setting to develop your knowledge of higher education and assessment.
