The Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher EducationThe Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS) is a consortium of professional association, which cooperatively work towards the enhancement of programs and services that promote the quality of student learning and development.
[1]As the need for accountability and institutional effectiveness in higher education grows, the standardization of assessment best practices is in high demand. To meet this growing need, CAS continues to publish a Book of Professional Standards and Guidelines as well as Self-Assessment Guides, geared toward the effective implementation of quality-controlled programs and services.
[2]EditFoundations for CAS Standards
A CAS standard is an essential guideline that must be followed in order for a program to be considered compliant with CAS. Compliance with these standards designates a program as meeting certain criteria and providing tangible evidence about program effectiveness and functioning. CAS has developed functional standards and guidelines in 34 areas as outlined in the 2006 Book of Professional Standards for Higher Education:
[3]- Academic Advising
- Admission Programs
- Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drug Programs
- Campus Activities Programs
- Campus Information and Visitor Services
- Campus Religious and Spiritual Programs
- Career Services
- Clinical Health Programs
- College Honor Societies
- College Unions
- Commuter and Off-Campus Living Programs
- Conference and Events Programs
- Counseling Services
- Disability Support Services
- Distance Education Programs
- Education Abroad Programs and Services
- Financial Aid
- Fraternity and Sorority Advising Programs
- Health Promotion Programs
- Housing and Residential Life Programs
- International Student Programs
- Internship Programs
- Learning Assistance Programs
- Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Programs
- Multicultural Student Programs and Services
- Orientation Programs
- Outcomes Assessment and Program Evaluation
- Recreational Sports Programs
- Registrar Programs and Services
- Service-Learning Programs
- Student Conduct Programs
- Student Leadership Programs
- TRIO and Other Educational Opportunity Programs
- Women Student Programs
- Master's Level Student Affairs Administration Preparation Programs
EditLearning Reconsidered and Learning Reconsidered 2
Learning Reconsidered (LR), published in 2004, and Learning Reconsidered 2 (LR2), published in 2006, are publications of ACPA, ACUHO-I, ACUI, NACA, NACADA, NASPA, and NIRSA. The authors of LR are: Gwendolyn Jordan Dungy, Nancy Evans, Jane Fried, Richard P. Keeling, M.D., Susan Komives, William McDonald, and Susan Salvador. The authors of LR2 are: Robert Bonfiglio, Susan E. Borrego, Gwendolyn Jordan Dungy, Cynthia S. Forrest, Jane Fried, Gail Short Hanson, Richard P. Keeling, M.D., Richard Mullendore, Gregory Roberts, Sarah Schoper, Jacqueline D. Skinner, and Jeanne Steffes.
LR and LR2 are widely used by assessment professionals in student affairs as the guiding documents for their work. The books have changed the landscape of student affairs administration, making student learning outcomes, campus curriculum, and overall learning assessment integral components of the field.
[4] The books are “an argument for the integrated use of all of higher education's resources in the education and preparation of the whole student.” While the earlier volume lays out the theories and principles that should direct the student affairs field, the latter book applies these ideas to the learning environment, providing best practices and examples of models that work.
[5]The books take the focus of higher education to a level that is more student-centric and holistic, broadening the value of a degree to include the student experience overall and across the whole campus. The idea is that the work of student affairs administrators has an effect on the broader campus curriculum, and a restructuring and rethinking of the traditional learning module is necessary in order to maximize student achievement.
[6]EditAssessment Reconsidered
Assessment Reconsidered, published in 2008, is a publication of the International Center for Student Success and Institutional Accountability (ICSSIA). It was written by Richard P. Keeling, Andrew F. Wall, Ric Underhile, and Gwendolyn J. Dungy.
Assessment Reconsidered is a guide to updating the traditional use of assessment (as a means of documenting data supporting student success, needs, and satisfaction) in order to emphasize the ways assessment results are used to improve the learning environment, both inside and especially outside of the classroom.
[7] The focus of the book is on reconsidering assessment practices as a means of not only holding the institution and its programs accountable, but also of using the evidence in order to expand on student learning outcomes. The book promotes the sharing of assessment information among constituents in order to maximize the output of improvement efforts.
[8]EditAAC&U LEAP
Launched in 2005, LEAP challenges the traditional practice of providing liberal education to some students and narrow training to others. LEAP engages the public with core questions about what really matters in college; connects employers and educational leaders as they make the case for the importance of liberal education in the global economy and in our diverse democracy; and helps all students achieve the essential learning outcomes. Through LEAP, AAC&U calls on the United States to “make excellence inclusive” so that all students receive the best and most powerful preparation for work, life, and citizenship
[9].
The LEAP campaign is organized around a robust set of "
Essential Learning Outcomes" -- all of which are best developed by a contemporary liberal education. The learning outcomes include:
- Knowledge of Human Cultures and the Physical and Natural World
- Intellectual and Practical Skills, including
- Inquiry and analysis
- Critical and creative thinking
- Written and oral communication
- Quantitative literacy
- Information literacy
- Teamwork and problem solving
- Personal and Social Responsibility, including
- Civic knowledge and engagement—local and global
- Intercultural knowledge and competence
- Ethical reasoning and action
- Foundations and skills for lifelong learning
- Integrative and Applied Learning, including
- Synthesis and advanced accomplishment across general and specialized studies
Using the LEAP Learning Outcomes is an ideal way for Student Affairs divisions to link their work with the general education efforts of their institution. As part of the LEAP initiative, AAC&U has also developed the
VALUE assessment projects to assist in assessing student learning on campus. Their
rubrics created around the LEAP Learning Outcomes are helpful tools.
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