Division of Student Life Executive Summary

Introduction

The mission of the Division of Student Life is to facilitate student learning at the University of Toledo through the provision of high quality services and developmental opportunities while fostering an inclusive, culturally diverse environment.

The Division of Student Life promotes the development of, and enhances the educational experience for students through intentionally designed co-curricular opportunities and through institutional policy development on students' behalf.

Assessment Infrastructure

The DSL assessment infrastructure consists of three elements, i.e., institutional assessment initiatives, departmental accreditation initiatives, and departmental assessment initiatives.

The Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS) provides the standards that several DSL departments utilize for internal assessment. The standards covered include:

• Program and service effectiveness

§ Designs for program and service development and assessment

§ Criteria for institutional self-studies and preparation for accreditation

§ Opportunities for staff development

§ Directions for student learning

§ Frameworks for accountability and quality assurance

The Divisional assessment infrastructure is supported by the Student Life Assessment Team that was formed in 2002-2003 to provide ongoing and coordinated direction for assessment initiatives.

Departments Involved in Assessment

The Division of Student Life is comprised of the fourteen distinct functional areas: Career Services, Dean of Students, International Student Services, Judicial Affairs and Greek Life, Multicultural Student Services, Office of Accessibility, Office of Recreation, Office of the Vice President, Residence Life, Student Activities and Leadership, Student Medical Center, Office of the Student Ombuds, the Student Union, and the University Counseling Center. All functional areas are involved in various assessment efforts.

Institutional and Division-Wide Assessment Activities

The DSL utilizes a wide range of assessment instruments and analyses including, nationally recognized surveys and standardized national accreditation.

Surveys. The Student Satisfaction Inventory (SSI) and the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) represent two surveys that the DSL has used to measure student satisfaction with an array of college experiences, student behaviors, values, and attitudes. The Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) will be administered in the fall of 2004 along with Your First College Year (YFCY) in the spring of 2005.

Departmental Accreditation Highlights

The University Counseling Center, the Student Medical Center, Student Medical Center Clinical Laboratory Services, and Apple Tree Nursery each met the requirements of their respective accreditation boards listed below:

• International Association of Counseling Services (IACS)
• Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Centers (AAAHC)
• Commission of Office Laboratory Accreditation (COLA)
• Apple Tree Nursery (NAEYC)

Departmental Assessment Highlights

A host of departmental assessment activities have emerged, including national and local surveys for benchmarking and research programs. These assessment practices focus on:

• Demographic studies – to profile and monitor service population(s)
• Needs assessment – to determine needs of students for departmental services and programs
• Customer satisfaction – to evaluate opinions and satisfaction of consumers who currently use departmental services and programs
• External Comparisons (benchmarks) – to compare programs and services provided by 16 comparison institutions
• Impact Assessment – to determine the impact of services or programs provided to students

Surveys. The Career Services office collects job satisfaction and job placement data from graduates including position relevance to major, salary information, and the duration of unemployment for recent graduates. This data is obtained from electronic surveys and personal interactions. Residence Life utilizes the EBI survey developed by the ACUHO-I that assesses student satisfaction with the residence hall environment and provides benchmarking data with other institutions. The EBI Greek Life survey was administered to assess the program effectiveness in this area.

Retention Analysis. Collaborative studies between Career Services and the QUEST program identify characteristics of direct from high school undecided students and develop programming to assist these students’ persistence to graduation.

Research Programs. The research program of the DSL measures values, attitudes, and goals of first-year students. Additionally, research studies gather data on demographics, student needs and customer satisfaction. Finally, external comparison studies with (benchmark institutions) are ongoing initiatives.

Changes to Programming and Services

Assessment results have been utilized in all areas to determine and implement positive programmatic and policy changes within the Division of Student Life. Some highlights of changes to programs and services in departments include:

Dean of Students - developed the Division of Student Life Assessment Plan for presentation to the divisional directors, the Board of Trustees Committee on Student Life, and the University Assessment Committee. Chaired the Divisional Assessment Committee during the year, which created the assessment connection between the Desired Student Experience and the standardized assessment tools that the University has adopted for use in assessing student outcomes.

Student Union - developed and implemented assessment tools to measure facility use, facility support services, and responsiveness to customer needs.

Office of Recreation - explored department staff restructuring for FY05 Process Reengineering to achieve effectiveness and efficiencies in programs and services.

Judicial Affairs - updated and redesigned training programs for Residence Life staff and Student Judicial Board to allow for more effective caseload processing.

Student Medical Center - completed CORE survey to assess the perception, attitudes, and prevalence of alcohol and drug usage. Approved and reviewed more than 160 policies and conducted 13 QI studies.

University Counseling Center - designed and implemented walk-in service program at the Student Medical Center site to provide immediate access to counseling services for initial client visit and to handle faculty and staff referrals.

Summary

The DSL is utilizing national-level assessment tools to measure a large number of variables within the departments, including student self-reports of satisfaction, values and attitudes, and behavior. These quantifiable measurements assist the University as a whole to greater understanding on how to retain students and to further develop their talents.