Assessment Disposition: Qualities and Strategies for Development in Student Affairs Professionals
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Abstract
Because accountability in higher education has increased significantly, the need for effective assessment practice has also increased. Higher-education personnel, including student-affairs professionals, must be prepared to effectively incorporate assessment with their daily work, not only to address the accountability demands, but also to continue improving efforts that facilitate student growth and learning. While the student-affairs profession has placed assessment and assessment practice as a central issue by prioritizing resources towards professional development in this area, student-affairs professionals are falling short in their ability to integrate assessment into practice. This Delphi study explored the student-affairs assessment disposition, its characteristics, and the ways it can be developed. A small panel of student-affairs assessment experts were interviewed to develop a Delphi survey that was facilitated with a larger panel of assessment experts from institutions across the United States. Consensus of agreement was reached after three survey iterations on 41 qualities that define the qualities of a student-affairs professional with an assessment disposition and 40 actions or conditions that could contribute to the development of an assessment disposition.