Using Program Review Recommendations to Improve

DASA Assessment completed its first comprehensive program review in spring 2022. During this time, staff engaged in thoughtful reflection of the programs and services the office provides through the creation of a self-study.

Additionally, we invited internal and external reviewers* to meet with faculty and staff within the Division of Academic & Student Affairs (DASA), partners across campus, and our office staff. In these meetings, reviewers guided conversations about what DASA Assessment is doing well and what we can do to improve. Based on our self study and helpful feedback from staff and partners, the review team provided recommendations for how the DASA Assessment office can better serve the division.

Update

DASA Assessment staff have been working diligently to implement the reviewers’ recommendations. As a result of the program review, the office has made many changes. Selected recommendations and associated actions are provided below:

• Revise outcomes statements – We refined our outcomes statements to be more focused and we updated our assessment plan accordingly.
• Reframe program review response – We updated the “response to the program review” template to be more actionable. We submitted our own response in the new “Action Plan” template.
• Foster assessment leadership opportunities – We identified and invited select DASA units to lead assessment workshops for the purpose of demonstrating and sharing effective methods of data collection and analysis.
• Develop strategies to tell the stories of continuous improvement efforts – We wrote and published an annual division-wide assessment report online, continued to foster and celebrate “Assessment Highlights,” increased the prize for the Excellence in Assessment Award and we introduced “State Stats.”
• Foster partnerships to utilize data to support student success – We facilitated the first division-wide program review to reflect on programs, services and data managed across the division. The “Experiences of First-Year Students” program review took place in spring 2024 with the support and leadership of faculty and staff in DASA.
• Consider new staffing models – We hired two interns to support a variety of work within our office. Our interns engaged in qualitative coding of First Term Survey responses, provided additional leadership for the Pack Assessment Ambassadors and authored two “State Stats,” among other activities.
• Update “Retention Foundations Assessment” – We renamed RFA “Student Success Assessment” to reflect the goals of the program: to better understand factors that support student success (sense of belonging, academic engagement, mental health and wellness, thriving, etc.) and to promote change. In spring 2024 we focused on student employment within DASA.

DASA Assessment staff continue to work towards implementing recommendations. We’re happy to share more about our experiences with program review and the changes we made to our own processes and services! In keeping with the program review guidelines, we provide regular updates on our progress to DASA senior leaders through the annual report process. 

*Special thanks to our review team: Dr. Erin Bentrim (Anthology), Kathleen Hill and Dr. Helen Mulhern Halasz (East Carolina University), and Dr. Traci Temple (NC State – DELTA). Additional appreciation to Kasey Harris (NC State – Advising Technology) who facilitated our review.