Eight advisors across campus are five months into the Advising Council Fellows Program, on their way to being change-agents in developing an assessment culture in advising for the entire campus. The program started off by demystifying the confusion behind the terms assessment and evaluation then has led to the practical application of assessment and evaluation, which will contribute to successful advising in the participants' home departments.
The program has been structured around monthly meetings consisting of introductory framework discussions, workshops facilitated by campus assessment forerunners, and development of individual projects. Facilitated by the Center for Teaching and Learning’s Senior Consultant in Assessment, Yukiko Watanabe, the goal is for this new learning community to acquire the know-hows of assessment and evaluation and generate best practices for other units to adopt. If you are still pondering the connection between assessment and evaluation with student advising, Watanabe offers a simple breakdown of the terms:
- Evaluation is the gathering of information about any of the variety of elements that constitute advising programs (e.g., intake process, technologies, advising policy) to understand, demonstrate, improve, and/or judge program value. Evaluation allows managers and staff the opportunity to identify problems and suggest potential courses of actions and solutions based on evidence, but the nature of that evidence is not restricted to one particular methodology.
- Assessment is the systematic gathering of information about student learning with the intent to enhance student development and success in the advising context. The process of assessment includes identifying expected student learning in advising programs, ensuring learning opportunities for student growth, as well as gathering and utilizing evidence about student experience, perceptions, and performance.
Essentially, evaluation has a holistic focus on a program that includes communication, staff development, advising and outreach activities, and other factors in a given advising unit whereas assessment hones in on what students gain from advising. When evaluation and assessment have occurred, advisors are better able to understand and give clarity to what their respective units are doing, identify strengths and improvement areas, and communicate how your unit contributes to student success.
Many of the participants will be co-presenting on a panel at this year’s NACADA Region 9 Conference and co-facilitating an assessment workshop at the University of California Academic Advising Conference. At the conclusion of the program, all the projects will be showcased on the Center for Teaching and Learning’s website.
Interested advisors will be able to apply for the next cohort in late spring. More information will be available at advisingmatters.berkeley.edu in the near future.