Resources
Training & Professional Development Opportunities
Title | Date | Time | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
Qualtrics 101 | 1/21/26 | 9-10:30 AM | Union 263 |
Assessment Consultations | 1/22/26 | 9 AM - 1PM | Virtual, use this Booking Link |
Qualtrics 101 | 1/26/26 | 9-10:30 AM | Cone 111 |
Assessment Consultations | 2/5/26 | 9 AM - 1PM | Virtual, use this Booking Link |
Qualtrics 102 | 2/16/26 | 3-4:30 PM | Cone 111 |
Qualtrics 102 | 2/18/26 | 9-10:30 AM | Union 263 |
Assessment Consultations | 2/19/26 | 9 AM - 1PM | Virtual, use this Booking Link |
Excel: Disaggregate Data with Ease | 3/4/26 | 9-10:30 AM | Union 263 |
Assessment Consultations | 3/5/26 | 9 AM - 1PM | Virtual, use this Booking Link |
Qualitative Assessment | 3/9/26 | 9-10:30 AM | Cone 111 |
Excel: Disaggregate Data with Ease | 3/11/26 | 9-10:30 AM | Union 263 |
Qualtrics 103 | 3/18/26 | 9-10:30 AM | Union 263 |
Assessment Consultations | 3/19/26 | 9 AM - 1PM | Virtual, use this Booking Link |
Qualtrics 103 | 3/23/26 | 2-3:30 PM | Cone 111 |
Assessment Consultations | 4/2/26 | 9 AM - 1PM | Virtual, use this Booking Link |
Project Request Form
If you have any questions as you complete this form or about the approval process, please contact Paul Holliday-Millard via email at paul.holliday-millard@charlotte.edu.
Assessment Toolkit
Assessment is not program review or evaluation. Program review or evaluation uses assessment data as part of a comprehensive evaluation of program or unit.
Assessment is not research. Research seeks to test hypotheses or be generalized to populations outside UNC Charlotte.
So why is assessment important? Upcraft and Schuh (2008) provide us with three essential reasons why assessment is important:
- Quality – assessment helps us improve
- Accountability – assessment helps us document and articulate our value and effectiveness
- Affordability – assessment helps us determine and communicate both our educational and economic value
To facilitate continuous assessment by student affairs educators, we adhere to the Assessment Cycle. This framework guides the development, monitoring, and evaluation of program quality, enabling the identification of strengths and areas for improvement. Ultimately, this process drives program adjustments that enhance student learning.
The Assessment Cycle comprises five distinct phases.
To facilitate effective assessment practices, the Division of Student Affairs provides resources to support staff during each phase of the assessment cycle.
In student affairs, it's crucial to define what we want students to gain from their experiences before we design how we will measure those gains. Clearly written objectives and student learning outcomes act like a roadmap, ensuring our assessments accurately capture the skills, knowledge, and attitudes we aim to develop in students. For example, if we want students to improve their leadership skills, we need to define what "improved leadership" looks like before we try to assess it. This not only helps us create relevant assessments but also guides the design of our programs and services, making sure they are actually helping students achieve those desired outcomes. It keeps everything we do focused and intentional, maximizing our impact on student development.
- Assessment Key Terms and Definitions
- What are Student Learning Outcomes?
- The Need for Program Theory and Implementation Fidelity in Student Affairs Assessment
- Student Learning Outcomes in Student Affairs
- Characteristics of Student Learning Outcomes
- Student-Centered Assessment Checklist
- Writing Student Learning Outcomes via the ABCD method
- Launching and Sustaining Assessment Plans & Projects
- What are Operational Outcomes?
In student affairs assessment, it's essential to carefully align what we want students to learn (outcomes) with how we measure that learning (measures). This ensures the data we collect actually tells us if students are developing the intended skills and behaviors. By directly connecting outcomes to assessment tools, we get a clear picture of our programs' effectiveness, allowing us to make informed decisions about how to improve them and ultimately better support student success.
Before any analysis or interpretation can occur, it is essential to: Gather Evidence of Learning (i.e., data & information). This crucial step involves collecting relevant data and information to understand student outcomes.
- Survey Checklist
- Survey Fatigue
- Focus Groups
- Rubrics Uncovered: Everything You Need to Know
- Advantages & Disadvantages of Rubrics
Analysis and interpretation turn raw data into actionable insights, revealing patterns in student learning and program effectiveness. This allows student affairs professionals to understand why results occur and make data-driven decisions that enhance student success.
- Student Learning Outcomes aligned with Appropriate Analyses
- Inductive vs Deductive Approaches to Qualitative Assessment
- Coding Checklist
Acting on your results or "Closing the loop" is a key concept in student affairs assessment, referring to the process of using data to inform and improve practice. It means that after collecting and analyzing assessment data, the insights gained are used to make informed decisions moving forward. This is crucial because assessment should always be a tool for continuous improvement. By closing the loop, student affairs educators can enhance student learning, strengthen programs and services, inform planning and budgeting, contribute to student and staff success, and ultimately improve retention and graduation rates, while also supporting successful accreditation and program reviews.
Certified Assessment Champions is a professional development program designed to provide foundational assessment skills to staff across the division. This flexible, self-paced hybrid program combines asynchronous Canvas modules with in-person workshops.
Participants will learn essential assessment concepts, including:
- Writing effective objectives and learning outcomes
- Choosing the right methodology
- Basics of survey design and building them in Qualtrics
- A primer on qualitative assessment
- Using results to inform programs and services
- Leveraging Qualtrics for data analysis
Upon completion of the program, you will be able to confidently measure and evaluate the success of programs and services in your department.
To gain access to the Canvas modules, please complete the registration form linked below. For the in-person workshops, you can register for them via Niner Engage. In-person workshops are offered year-round.
Asynchronous
- What is Assessment?
- Objectives and Outomces
- Planning and Data Collection
- Analyzing Data and Sharing Results
In-Person
- Qualtrics I (Getting Started in Qualtrics & Basic Surveys)
- Qualtrics II (Basic Analysis)
- Qualtrics III (Results Dashboard & Reports)
- Excel: Disaggregate Data with Ease
- Qualitative Assessment
- "Closing the Loop" in Assessment
If you have any questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact Paul Holliday-Millard at paul.holliday-millard@charlotte.edu.
To enhance assessment efforts within the Division of Student Affairs, we support Qualtrics, a sophisticated survey tool designed to improve the efficiency, accuracy, and utility of program assessment. Qualtrics offers robust data collection and analysis features, enabling you to gather valuable insights and streamline your assessment processes. To access your Qualtrics account, go to qualtrics.charlotte.edu. Feel free to review OneIT's FAQs on how to log into Qualtrics. If you are experiencing any issues, you will need to submit a help ticket to OneIT.
To support departments in survey creation, SARA offers three workshops: Qualtrics 101, Qualtrics 102, and Qualtrics 103. Qualtrics 101 is an introductory workshop that instructs participants on how to effectively construct and organize surveys, create questions, publish, and administer surveys. Qualtrics 102 shows users how they can use the data and analysis tools to perform basic quantitative and qualitative analysis. Qualtrics 103 helps to guide users in to how to effectively use results dashboards and reports to communicate their data. These workshops are offered year-round and we also provide you with PDF copies of the presentations and handouts below. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to paul.holliday-millard@charlotte.edu.
To register for one of these workshops, please follow this link. Once there, sign in by selecting the Sign In icon located at the top right corner of the website. To log in to Niner Engage, you only need access to NinerNet credentials, as the platform uses our University’s SSO.
Complementing Qualtrics, UNC Charlotte utilizes Anthology’s Engage product (known on campus as Niner Engage). Niner Engage serves as a comprehensive hub for campus events, resources, departments, programs, and student organizations. Beyond its general functionality, which allows students to discover organizations and programming aligned with their interests, and enables faculty and staff to promote offerings and gather data like service hours and event attendance via the forms tool, Niner Engage also provides a suite of tools that can further refine and enrich your assessment strategies.
This platform offers additional capabilities to support your assessment work. Please take a moment to review the video resources below and learn how to effectively utilize Niner Engage for both general campus engagement and targeted assessment initiatives.
The Student Leader Initiative provides a universal method and tool for staff throughout the UNC Charlotte Division of Student Affairs to use with student leaders in student organizations, programs, or activities to help in the assessment and documentation of enhanced learning and skill development in relation to the students' leadership experiences. The method and tool to inform this initiative was designed for broad participation of student affairs organization advisors, mentors, supervisors and others who work closely with student leaders.
The Student Leader Initiative provides a direct alignment with the Division of Student Affairs Strategic Plan 2022-2027: Part A: Expand high-impact learning practices to strengthen academic and co-curricular development through access to mentoring, developing career competencies, and engaged learning. Using the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) competencies and connecting to the Council for the Advancement of Standards (CAS) Learning and Developmental outcome domains and dimensions as a guide, the following learning outcomes were developed to inform this Divisional Student Leader Initiative. Student leaders engaged with the UNC Charlotte Division of Student Affairs organizations, programs, and/or activities will hold these qualities:
Problem Solving:
- Demonstrate effective critical thinking, reflective thinking, and effective reasoning skills as they work through important problems, questions, and issues.
Career Management:
- Demonstrate realistic self-appraisal, self-understanding, and self-respect through the exhibition of personal growth and development.
- Ability to articulate relevant skills, strengths, knowledge and experiences to potential employers.
Teamwork/Collaboration:
- Establish meaningful relationships, work cooperatively with others, and demonstrate skills in guiding and assisting groups in meeting common goals.
Professionalism/Work Ethic:
- Show professionalism through the demonstration of effective communication, initiative and continuous improvement of one's work and one's work environment.
Wellness:
- Engagement in and maintenance of a healthy relationship between health and wellness in accomplishing goals.
STUDENT LEADERS: IN THEIR OWN WORDS
In order to assess the achievement of these learning outcomes identified above, the Division of Student Affairs Student Leader Rubric was developed. The rubric is intended to be used as a direct assessment method in which the student leader and at least one observer who works closely with the student leader (e.g., advisor, mentor, supervisor, etc.) completes the rubric on the student's behalf. It is recommended that the rubric be completed using a pre-post method and utilized as a formative assessment type in order to ensure the most meaningful assessment of leadership skill development of student leaders.
Results from this assessment should be used to guide mentoring/advising/supervision related activities with student leaders. Results will be aggregated and analyzed on an annual schedule by Student Affairs Research & Assessment (SARA) to inform the above referenced SLOs at the divisional level. If you have any questions about this initiative, please contact Dr. Jordan Bullington-Miller or Dr. Ellissa Brooks Nelson.