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ASSIGNMENT #2: ASSESSMENT PROGRAM INTERVENTION PLAN

Assessment Program Intervention Plan: College of Social Sciences Academic Advising

Ashley Alba, Celeste Hernandez, Markeshia Iverson, and Brandi Loera-Mendiola

California State University, Fresno

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ASSIGNMENT #2: ASSESSMENT PROGRAM INTERVENTION PLAN
Program Overview

Aligning with the purpose and goals of academic advising programs, COSSAC holds a

vision that “strives to empower students to be active, responsible learners by fostering lifelong

learning and student development through a holistic advising approach” (Fresno State, n.d.).

COSSAC provides individualized academic advising to students majoring in one of the eleven

departments within the College of Social Sciences. According to the CAS standards, an AAP

program must create a mission that is consistent and appropriate with multiple entities of the

university such as the department and institution. The mission must also reflect student learning,

and development, hence, also being an advocate for persistence, student success (CAS, 2019).

The mission of the College of Social Sciences Advising Center (COSSAC) clearly indicates

holistic student success through academic advising (Henning & Roberts, 2016). Furthermore,

COSSAC developed a vision and values statements in which they describe their commitment to

student success and a large set of values informed by best practices (see appendix A). When

developing the mission statement of COSSAC, leaders were firm on ensuring that their mission

statement was not only crafted with professional guidance, but that it also aligned with the

mission of the institution at large (R. Whitton, personal communication, September 25, 2020).

The mission, vision, and values of COSSAC align with the mission of the College of

Social Sciences and Fresno State at large. They each center student success and empowerment

through education. By centering their focus on student success through engaging in relationships

with students through academic advising, they are not only engaging in academic success

(retention efforts), but are also contributing to holistic development and experiences that enrich

and empower students to take responsibility for their careers.

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The COSSAC team was able to write an exemplary mission statement that connects to

the institutional and departmental mission statements. They even went above and beyond with

creating vision and values statements, each centering student success. There are no

recommendations to offer that would improve the alignment of the COSSAC mission with CAS

standards even more. However, due to the fact that COSSAC has not yet developed program

learning outcomes, we are concerned for how assessment processes will be implemented and

practiced. Dean (2013) reminds us of the important role that outcomes play in assessing the

“mechanisms and environments'' that affect students (p. 28). The development of outcomes is not

only fundamental to assessing practices (Gardner et al., 2010), but also for accountability to

student learning (Dean, 2013). If COSSAC engages in creating program learning outcomes, they

should indeed take into account the fact that Fresno State is a Minority Serving Institution (MSI)

and even more, a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). Franco and Hernández (2018) not only

champion for data informed change, but also urge institutions to disaggregate student data. As a

result, assessing the hypothetical COSSAC outcomes would not only serve as an opportunity to

improve services, but to also implement equity minded practices for LatinX students (Franco &

Hernández, 2018). We will be assessing the individualized academic advising sessions that

COSSAC professionals facilitate utilizing assessment tools, theories, and practices guided by

CAS Standards and scholars leading in the assessment field.

 Assessment Methods and Processes 

Learning outcomes play a large role in how programs can assess their effectiveness on

student learning. Henning et al., (2020) explain the importance of holistic meaning and outcome

measurement. Their work indicates that “learning outcomes provide direction for the

implementation and assessment of student learning” (Henning et al., 2020, p. 7). Today,
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ASSIGNMENT #2: ASSESSMENT PROGRAM INTERVENTION PLAN
COSSAC programming does not have student and program learning outcomes. The guiding

principles of CAS provide a general set of standards that can be considered when implementing

and creating learning outcomes (Henning et al., 2020). Furthermore, the work of Grant (2016)

demonstrates the important role that Divisional Learning Outcomes (DLOs) play in unifying

Institutional and Program Learning Outcomes. However, because COSS does not have program

learning outcomes, the last portion of the model that Grant (2016) presents, would not be able to

function or be complete since Activity/Assignment Outcomes will also be nonexistent.  One of

the recommendations we offer includes creating Program Learning Outcomes guided by the

work of Henning and Roberts (2016). Their work reminds us that “outcomes also help staff to

communicate to stakeholders what they are doing and the impact they are having” (Henning &

Roberts, 2016, p. 87). We offer the following example as a possible Program learning outcome;

“One Hundred students will sign up for virtual academic advising appointments”. 

We will be utilizing the learning outcomes that we have crafted below to engage in

assessment processes;

Learning Outcomes:

1. Outcome 1:

a.  After meeting with an academic advisor, students will be able to describe the

degree requirements of their major.

2. Outcome 2:

a. After meeting with an academic advisor, students will be able to seek and utilize

campus support services and resources to enhance their educational experience. 

3. Outcome 3:
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a. After completing three academic advising sessions, students will be able to

develop a career plan that will aid in guiding course selection for the next

semester. 

Each learning outcome will be assessed according to the results of the survey and the pre/post

assessment. The results of the survey and pre/post assessment will reveal if the student outcomes

were fulfilled and to what measures (See Appendix for survey questions). Henning and Roberts

(2016) explain that direct assessment is the actual demonstration of knowledge or skill that can

be observed or measured. As a direct measurement, a pre-assessment will be administered to

each student before the start of the advising session in order to determine the student’s current

knowledge about their major, course requirements, and career objectives. After the advising

session, a post-assessment will be administered to determine the amount of knowledge the

student has gained which will ultimately allow the program to determine if the student learning

outcomes are achieved. The pre-and-post-assessment will be the same set of questions and they

will be administered via a Qualtrics survey form.  

An additional assessment method that COSSAC might consider is conducting a focus

group study with students that have participated in academic advising sessions. Qualitative

measures such as a focus group are ideal for open ended questions to be asked. Equally

important, a focus group is an ideal way to engage in a needs assessment and evaluate whether

the needs of students are being met during academic advising sessions (Gardener et al., 2010).

As Henning and Roberts (2016) remind us, the needs assessment can also “identify gaps, the

causes of those gaps, potential solutions, and implementation plan, and evaluation of the change”

(p. 70). 
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In the following section the protocol we have designed will be discussed. The work of

Henning and Roberts (2016) served as a guiding tool in designing the survey. We used open-

ended questions, indirect and direct, rating scale, and, yes/no to compose the survey (Henning &

Roberts, 2016).  

Stakeholders and Audience

Since COSSAC has not developed specific student learning outcomes, we cannot

honestly speak on the extent to which the programming done by COSSAC is meeting the needs

of the students. Without student learning outcomes, there is no way to measure the effectiveness

of COSSAC. Moreover, there currently is no evidence that can be used to justify any claims that

students are meeting the goals that COSSAC strives for. This significant disconnect

demonstrates the urgent need for assessment within COSSAC. Recognizing this need for

assessment, we have proposed three possible outcomes that can be used when COSSAC is ready

to conduct internal assessments. We recommend that COSSAC engages in assessment practices,

not necessarily for compliance reasons, but to promote intentional improvement within COSSAC

with the interest of students at heart. 

The mission and vision of COSSAC strives to highly center themselves around student

success. Through the department’s own academic advising. The students are the main focus in

regards to their development and guiding force of their functional area’s mission. COSSAC’s

mission statement compliments the institution's mission, given that both mission statements,

COSSAC and Fresno State, center the empowerment of students through education. Henning and

Roberts (2016) suggest that effective and enriching student affairs policies and programs should

stem from research on student learning and institutional assessment data. When student learning

research data is gathered it can provide general knowledge on drawing conclusions on areas that
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need work and provide insight on decision making towards the development of the functional

area’s mission and goals. 

According to Henning and Roberts (2016), a crucial component of the assessment cycle

is the process of sharing results. A common mistake made in assessment practices is ending the

assessment cycle at the collection of results. It is important to use the final findings as a means to

encourage change by reporting the results to stakeholders (Henning & Roberts, 2016). Before the

assessment process is initiated, it is important for individuals conducting assessments to consider

how the results are going to be communicated and with whom (Henning & Roberts, 2016). As

COSSAC begins to conceptualize how they can begin to assess their programming, we

recommend that they identify the relevant audiences they should share results with. 

Considering the context of COSSAC, we have identified the general public, faculty, and

policymakers as three main stakeholders that should be included in the sharing of results.

Although the identification of potential stakeholders is a necessary step, determining how

information will be shared with each constituent is equally important. When presenting the final

results of any assessment, information should be presented in a way that is clear and easily

understood by the audience (Henning & Roberts, 2016). Therefore, we will discuss each

stakeholder separately and how findings can be shared to foster meaningful improvement

(Henning & Roberts, 2016). 

The general public, including students and parents, is the first audience that COSSAC

should consider sharing findings with. Since the data will mostly likely be collected from

students, it would be wise to prioritize sharing the results to students. Henning and Roberts

(2016) state that “good practice suggests sharing results with the participants who provided the

data” (p. 205). Moreover, as members of the campus community, students deserve to be
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informed on the quality of experiences provided by COSSAC (Kuh et al., 2015). When

presenting the findings to students, COSSAC needs to ensure that the method of communication

and language used is relevant to students (Henning & Roberts, 2016). 

Faculty within the COSS is another audience that assessment data should be shared with.

Although COSSAC may not always work directly with faculty members, COSSAC should

demonstrate how students are experiencing courses held within the COSS. Faculty might be

more interested in learning about the fulfillment of degree requirements and the career objectives

of students. Additionally, efforts to include faculty members in the assessment process should be

considered. More specifically, assessment results can be presented to faculty in a manner that

promotes collaboration and recenters the focus on the student learning (Henning & Roberts,

2016). The presentation of results to faculty is more than simply sharing the findings.

Information shared should be relevant to faculty and seeks to engage them in the assessment

process (Kuh et al., 2015).

Conclusion

COSSAC has proven to fulfill some CAS standards of the AAP programming. For

example, they have executed and maintained an exemplary mission statement that falls well

under the College of Social Sciences and university at large. On the other hand, COSSAC still

has a lot of room for improvements. As a fairly young program, about five years, there is

significant room to establish a culture of assessment within programming and professional staff.

As COSSAC continues to move forward in program development, we recommend that they lean

in and engage in conducting a CAS self-assessment guide to hone in on areas of improvement.

The areas of improvement we recommend that COSSAC pay attention to are; (1) creating

student learning outcomes, (2) create program learning outcomes, (3) create assessment methods,
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(4) begin data collection processes, (5) implement assessment cycle methods of closing the loop

(4 year assessment cycle) (Grant, 2016). 

Following the recommendation of Henning and Roberts (2016), COSSAC must consider

the needs of each audience when producing and sharing data. For example, if COSSAC wanted

to share qualitative testimonies on their website, they would need to consider timing, methods of

sharing, and how they will be portraying the data (Henning & Roberts, 2016). Furthermore, if the

constituents that they are presenting data to changes, COSSAC must be able to adapt and

translate gathered information in an appropriate manner. We recommend that they utilize the

tools for sharing assessment results that Henning and Roberts (2016) share.

COSSAC should also consider how they will use the data collected from assessments to

improve their programming and services. Grant (2016) describes closing the loop as an imminent

part of any assessment cycle. For example, assessment results should be used as evidence for

decision making within COSSAC. Henning and Roberts (2016) state that assessment findings

can inform decisions regarding the continuance of programs, strategies implemented to achieve

program goals, resource allocation, and future planning. Therefore, when COSSAC has data

collected from assessments, they can make more informed decisions about the information

presented to students within an academic advising appointments, how to disburse resources to

bring the most benefit to the office, and ultimately, how they can ensure the goals and objective

they hold align with the college and university they operate within. 

Lastly, Henning and Roberts (2016) remind us that “if results are not used, assessment is

really not done, since assessment is contingent upon closing the loop, not simply collecting the

data'' (p. 230). The proposed recommendations are to ensure there is long term engagement in

assessment. It is important that COSSAC understands that assessment is an ongoing process and
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does not end with closing the loop. Instead, COSSAC must be aware of the imperative need to

use data to create action. One of our recommendations to COSSAC is that they commit to a four-

year assessment cycle to ensure the continuous improvement of practice. Grant (2016), provides

a simple, yet effective, cycle that demonstrates how intentional assessment planning can ensure

constant improvement within a program over the course of four years. The adoption of a long-

term assessment cycle is not only beneficial to the program conducting the assessment. This type

of commitment to assessment contributes to a positive culture of assessment in general. 

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ASSIGNMENT #2: ASSESSMENT PROGRAM INTERVENTION PLAN
References

Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education. (2019). CAS self-

assessment guide for Academic Advising Programs. Washington, DC: Author.

Dean, L. A. (2013). Using the CAS Standards in Assessment Projects. New Directions

for Student Services, 2013(142), 25-33.

Franco, M. A., & Hernández, S. (2018). Assessing the Capacity of Hispanic Serving

Institutions to Serve Latinx Students: Moving Beyond Compositional Diversity.

New Directions for Institutional Research, 2018(177), 57–71. https://doi-

org.hmlproxy.lib.csufresno.edu/10.1002/ir.20256

Fresno State. (n.d.). College of Social Science Advising Center. Retrieved October 24,

2020, from https://www.fresnostate.edu/socialsciences/advising/index.html 

Gardner, M. M., Hickmott, J., & Bresciani, L. M. J. (2010). Demonstrating student

success : A practical guide to outcomes-based assessment of learning and

development in student affairs. ProQuest Ebook Central

https://ebookcentral.proquest.com

Grant, K. (2016). The development of a student affairs assessment structure. Urbana, IL:

University of Illinois and Indiana University, National Institute for Learning

Outcomes Assessment (NILOA).

Henning, G. W., Robbins, R., & Andes, S. (2020). Using CAS as a framework to assess

holistic learning (Occasional Paper No. 43). Urbana, IL: University of Illinois and

Indiana University, National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment

(NILOA).
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Henning, G. W., & Roberts, D. (2016). Student affairs assessment : Theory to practice.

ProQuest Ebook Central <a

onclick=window.open('http://ebookcentral.proquest.com','_blank')

href='http://ebookcentral.proquest.com' target='_blank' style='cursor:

pointer;'>http://eboo

Created from csufresno on 2020-09-22 15:43:46.

Kuh, G., Ikenberry, S., George, K., Jankowski, N.m Cain, T., Ewell, P., Hutchings, P., &

Kinzie, J. (2015). Using evidence of student learning to improve higher

education. San Francisco: CA: Jossey-Bass

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Appendix

Survey Questions  

1. I understand the degree requirements of my major (closed → yes, no) 

1. Can you identify which courses will contribute to your career development?

2. I have created my personal degree roadmap to ensure I fulfill my educational goals

(Yes/no)

3. Have you utilized a campus service or resource as a Fresno State student? (Yes/no)

4. Identify at least two campus support services and resources you are aware of. (Direct)

(open-ended)

5. How would you describe the service you received from the campus support services you

have utilized? (Indirect) (open-ended)

6. The resources recommended by COSSAC have been accurate and information is up to

date (Yes/No)

7. I feel more confident in my career goals after meeting with my academic advisor

(Strongly agree, agree, disagree, strongly disagree) 

8. How would you describe the role that COSSAC played in developing your career plans? 

9. Overall, how satisfied were you with the services provided by COSSAC? (scale→ Very

satisfied, satisfied, dissatisfied, very dissatisfied, not applicable)