Accountability + Assessment = A Formula for Success in Student Affairs
June 18-21, 2008
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

Call for Programs | Pre-Conference Workshops | Schedule At-A-Glance
Registration Information | Register Online | Download the registration form: Adobe PDF | Microsoft Word

Overview of Conference

In the last two decades, legislative bodies, students and parents have demanded greater accountability from education. Colleges, community colleges, and universities are being asked to provide evidence that students are reaching the outcomes promised by the institution.

Student affairs is not exempt from this challenge. We, too, are called upon to assess the impact our programs and services have on students' development in areas such as leadership development, critical thinking, ethical development, and interpersonal relations. And while student affairs professionals often learn basic research and assessment skills in their graduate programs, many find themselves looking to publications and organizations such as ACPA for guidance in further developing the skills and knowledge necessary to do assessment. By combining assessment with accountability, student affairs can be successful in improving students' education.

The 2008 ACPA Student Affairs Assessment Conference has been designed to meet these critical continuing education needs to promote the success of student affairs professionals. The three-day conference is organized around the ASK (Assessment Skills and Knowledge) Standards developed by ACPA and endorsed by Peggy Maki and other assessment experts on staff at the Association of American College and Universities, the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association, and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges. As a common professional foundation for the assessment skills and knowledge expected of student affairs professionals, the thirteen standards and three thematic clusters offer a roadmap for professional development.

ASK Standards Needs Assessment

Perhaps you are asking yourself this question, which sessions should I attend? To help you answer that question, you may want to take the ASK Standards Needs Assessment. This brief assessment will ask you about your skill level in each the standards. Using this information you can easily identify which standards you may want to address during your time in Indianapolis. The program booklet will clearly identify sessions by the ASK standard to be addressed. Consider inviting members of your student affairs division or work group to complete the ASK Standards Needs Assessment and then attend the ACPA Student Affairs Assessment Conference as a group or with one representative knowledgeable about the needs of your group.

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Team Consultations

This will be the third year in which ACPA will offer the pioneering opportunity for Student Affairs Assessment Conference participants to consult with an assessment professional for 30 minutes one on one. Several other organizations are now offering this, a testament to the value of the opportunity. Bring an assessment plan for feedback, share outcomes you have developed for your department, or simply ask a few questions regarding how to get started with assessment on your campus. It is up to you how you want to use the 30 minutes. You will be able to sign up for times at the conference.

Intended Outcomes - 2008 ACPA Assessment Conferences

The primary purpose of this conference is to build our individual and collective capacity to conduct assessment in student affairs. This skill and knowledge allows us to hold ourselves and our colleagues accountable for impact we have on students.

Toward that end, the conference will bring together scholars, nationally-known assessment experts, and student affairs practitioners at all career levels, institutional types and functional areas within student affairs. After participating in this conference you will be able to:

• Articulate the thirteen ASK Standards;
• Implement an assessment plan from start to finish;
• Develop new assessment skills that you will use when conducting student affairs assessment projects on their home campus;
• Increase your confidence in assessment;
• Describe other student affairs assessment projects conducted in a variety of institutional types and functional areas that will help you in your own assessment work;
• Develop relationships with student affairs professionals from a variety of institution types; and
• Address assessment issues specific to your institution.
• Develop contacts with student affairs professionals from a variety of institutional types who are committed to learning about and implementing assessment projects; and
• Be able to address specific institution-based assessment issues by consulting 1-on-1 with an assessment professional.

Intended Audience

The conference welcomes practicing student affairs professionals from regionally or nationally accredited institutions only. This conference is designed for a diverse audience:

• Student affairs professionals at all levels  - entry, mid-level and senior student affairs officers
• Graduate faculty
• Academic administrators
• Graduate students in student affairs, higher administration, or other related programs

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Keynote Speakers

ACPA is pleased and fortunate to have excellent keynote speakers for the 2008 conference. All have expertise in assessment and have written numerous publications and conducted national and international presentations on this topic.

	Jan Arminio Professor and Chair of the Department of Counseling and College Student Personnel at Shippensburg University
	George Kuh Chancellor’s Professor of Higher Education at Indiana University Bloomington where he directs the Center for Postsecondary Research.
	Peggy Maki National assessment expert and author of Assessing for Learning (2004)
	Karen Solomon Assistant Director for Accreditation Services, Higher Learning Commission at the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCACS)
	Terrell Strayhorn Assistant Professor, University of Tennessee-Knoxville, and primary author of Frameworks for Assessing Learning and Development Outcomes (2006)

ASK Standards Booklet

The ASK Standards serve as a foundation to the ACPA Student Affairs Assessment Conference. You may wish to obtain a copy of the standards to bring with you to the conference. Copies of the ASK Standards are free to ACPA members. You can obtain your version by going to http://www.myacpa.org/pub/pub_books_assessment.cfm.

Lodging and Travel Information

The conference will be held at the Embassy Suites Indianapolis Downtown. ACPA has acquired a special room rate of $169 for king suites. To make your reservation, please call 1 800-EMBASSY and reference ACPA Student Affairs. The hotel is located at 110 West Washington Street, Indianapolis, Indiana USA 46204. The deadline date to receive the special rate is May 27, 2008.

City Attractions

Transportation

• At the Indianapolis International Airport, visit the Ground Transportation Center which is centrally located in the lower level of the parking garage directly across from the passenger terminal. There you can obtain connection for a shuttle bus, limousine, taxi, and other forms of ground transportation. For more information, please call 317.487.5217 from 8am to 10pm M-F, and 4pm – 10pm on Sundays.
• Taxis are available for an average cost of $20-$25.
• Participants who plan to drive can call the hotel at 1 317.236.1800, extension 1041 for directions.
  Additional driving directions can be found from Embassy Suites Indianapolis Downtown
• Hotel self-parking is available at a daily rate of $20.00 USD.

Meals

Continental breakfasts, refreshment breaks, and a special networking reception are provided as part of your registration fee. Lunch and dinner are on your own.

Conference Attire

The attire for this conference is business casual.

2007 ACPA Student Affairs Assessment Conference

Contact Information

For questions, contact Mariama Boney, Director of Member Initiatives - State and International, at 1 202 835 2272.

Call for Programs | Pre-Conference Workshops
Registration Information | Download the registration form: Adobe PDF | Microsoft Word