Transcript AHEAD

A-B-C’s
Assessment, Budget and Communication
AHEAD 2010
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Karen Pettus, University of South Carolina
Tom Thompson, William R. Harper College
Emily Singer, The Catholic University of America
PROGRAM GOALS
 to provide newcomers a foundation of
information and best practices in managing a
disability services program
 to provide an orientation to AHEAD’s program
standards
 to provide participants with information about
how to plan & budget for the future while
maintaining the office and services on a day to
day basis.
Outline
 Introduction to the three campuses
 AHEAD Program Standards
 CAS Standards
 Strategic Planning & Learning Outcomes
 A is for assessment: data collection impacting DSS
policy development, service delivery and overall program
evaluation
 B is for budget: what resources already exist, what is
needed, where are the sources of funds, who are the
gatekeepers
 C is for communication: build genuine relationships with
colleagues, gatekeepers, allies; get to know them and
share about your work and interface with their work.
AHEAD Program Standards and
Performance Indicators
 The standards present a consensus among
experts in the field regarding minimum essential
services.
 These standards are intended to enhance
service provision for college students with
disabilities by
directing program evaluation and development
efforts,
improving personnel preparation and staff
development,
expanding the vision of disability services at the
postsecondary level.
AHEAD Program Standards and
Performance Indicators
1. Consultation / Collaboration
2. Information Dissemination
3. Faculty / Staff Awareness
4. Academic Adjustments
5. Counseling and Self-Determination
6. Policies and Procedures
7. Program Administration and Evaluation
8. Training and Professional Development
CAS Standards
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Mission
Program
Leadership
Organization and management
Human Resources
Financial Resources
Facilities, Technology, and Equipment
Legal Responsibilities
Equity and Access
Campus and External Relations
Diversity
Ethics
Assessment and Evaluation
Planning to Plan
 What is Strategic Planning?
Proactive problem solving done in advance of
taking action; is ongoing
 Why Do Strategic Planning?
 Provides a framework for action
 Provides development and organization
 Provides better understanding of environment
 Provides focus on needs served versus services
offered
Strategic Planning Steps
 Step I: Planning for Strategic Planning
 Determine readiness for strategic planning
 Identify members of the planning team
 Develop commitment
 Step II A: Develop Values Statement
 Decisions are values based (Personal values, Team
values, Departmental values, Organizational values)
 What do we value? (Performance, People, Process)
Strategic Planning Steps
 Step II B: Develop Mission Statement
 Answers four questions
 What function(s) are performed
 For whom are these functions performed
 How are these functions fulfilled
 Why is the group (organization) in existence
 Step II C: Develop Vision Statement
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Idealized self-image
Forward looking
View of the future
Provides sense of pride and purpose
Instills sense of uniqueness and teamwork
Promotes growth
Strategic Planning Steps
 Step III Performance Review
 Identify services provided
 Identify stakeholders
 Analyze internal strengths and weaknesses and external
opportunities and threats (SWOT)
 What is the reality of today
 STEP IV: Gap Analysis
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Compare the reality of today with the vision
Can the gap(s) be closed?
What is needed to close the gap(s)?
Establish goals
Consider impact to stakeholders
Develop initiatives or strategies to meet goals
Strategic Planning Steps
 STEP V: Action Planning
 Prioritize goals
 Develop timelines for goals and initiatives
 Make assignments
 Educate entire group
 Encourage participation
 STEP VI: Implementation
 Present and market plan with due respect of its importance
 Anticipate potential reactions and prepare responses
 Establish monitoring or tracking of progress
 Keep plan in the forefront with scheduled progress reports
 Review regularly and adjust as needed
How Do I Use Strategic Planning
to Implement Best Practices
on my Campus?
LEARNING OUTCOMES
 What does assessment do for us?
 Defining Assessment and Evaluation
 Assessment Process
 Identify Mission/Objectives/Outcomes
 List Activities/Programs/Services (Strategic Plan)
 Measuring Impact
 Interpretation of Data/Evaluation
 Decision Making/Implementation
 Reassessment
(Brescianti,Zelna and Anderson 2004)
LEARNING OUTCOMES
 Type of Data: Defining Indicators
 Strategic Indicators
 Dashboard Indicators
 Program Indicators
 Articulation of Purpose (Objectives and Outcomes)
 Creating Objectives and Outcomes
A is for Assessment
“As resources decline and the
competition for resources within
institutions increases, every
program and service must
demonstrate its importance and
worth.”
Upcraft and Schuh
A is for Assessment
Assessment – any effort to gather, analyze, and
interpret evidence which describes institutional,
departmental, divisional, or agency effectiveness
in the aggregate
Evaluation- any effort to use assessment
evidence to improve institutional, departmental
divisional or agency effectiveness
Effectiveness – includes student learning
outcomes, cost-effectiveness, and clientele
satisfaction(both internal and external to the
institution)
Assessment in Student Affairs – Upcraft and Shuh
A is for Assessment
Basic questions to Guide Assessment
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What’s the problem?
What’s the purpose?
Who will be studied?
What’s the best assessment method?
How do we decide who to study?
How should the data be collected?
What instrument(s) should be used?
Who should collect the data?
How should we record the data?
How do we analyze the data?
How do we report the results?
How do we use the results?
Upcraft and Shuh
A is for Assessment
The Assessment Model
1. Keep track of who uses your services, programs,
and facilities
2. Assess the needs of your students and other
clientele
3. Clientele satisfaction
4. Assess campus environments and student cultures
5. Assess outcomes- effect on learning, development,
and academic success, compare to non-users
6. Compare to similar institutions
7. Use nationally accepted standards to assess
A is for Assessment
The Assessment Cycle
Define
Outcomes
Implement
change or
maintain
Mission
Goals
Objectives
Interpret
evidence
Assess
gather
data
A is for Assessment
Principles of Good Practice for Assessment
1.Assessment begins with what we value
2. Assessment is most effective when it reflects an
understanding of organizational outcomes as
multidimensional, integrated, and revealed in
performance over time.
3. Assessment works best when it has clear, explicitly
stated goals.
4. Assessment requires attention to outcomes but also, and
just as important, to the processes that lead to them.
5. Assessment works best when it is ongoing, not episodic.
A is for Assessment
Principles of Good Practice for Assessment
6. Assessment is most effective when representatives from
across student affairs and the institution are involved.
7. Assessment makes a difference when it begins with
issues of use and illuminates questions that people really
care about.
8. Assessment should be part of a larger set of conditions
that promote change.
9. Through assessment, student affairs professionals meet
responsibilities of students, the institution, and the public.
Upcraft and Schuh
How Do I Use Assessment and Evaluation
to manage financial resources
on my Campus?
B is for Budget
Basics of budgeting and resource development
– Basic data collection on students using
accommodations, delivery of
accommodations, related costs
– Methods used by colleagues: what is
expected in terms of reporting
– Annual reporting, trend data, episodic updates
and reports on needs
Budget and Resources
Learn about and tap into assessment and
evaluation processes in your college
– Student achievement, engagement, progress
What is your budget development process, who
are the gatekeepers
Mandated accommodations: fixed and variable
costs (pre-warn of cost overruns)
People, capital, equipment, contractual
How Do I Track Costs
for Direct Services?
Fixed Costs vs Variable Costs
– Fixed Costs: Salaries for professional
positions, student help, supplies and
expenses, capital equipment.
– Variable Costs: Mandated direct services:
interpreting, captioning, notetaking, document
conversion, test accommodations.
* Adapted from presentation by Trey Duff at AHEAD 2004
Deaf Services Costs
– Figure out the total budget line for Deaf Services.
You can do this for an individual service as well (i.e.
Interpreting only)
Sample:
– Student 1: 24 Credits in one year
– Student 2: 9 Credits in one year
– Student 3: 6 Credits in one year
Total credits: 39
Total costs: $41, 733
Total costs per student: $14,000 ($41,733/3)
Total costs per credit: $1,070 ( $41,733/39)
* Adapted from presentation by Trey Duff at AHEAD 2004
Budget and Resources…
Develop a data base for tracking students
and services
– Work with I.R. and I.T. on your campus
Create an annual report, fact sheets on
populations, services provided
– Tell your ‘story’ in multiple ways
– Can you do comparisons: internally or
externally?
Resource Development
Leveraging support from others
– Foundation support and contact with
corporations; grant internal, state, external
Careful accumulation and presentation of
data: prepare before you present
Examples:
– Corporate support of AT and UDI
– Internal IT support of AT, Text Conversion and Captioning
– Generating increases for interpreting and assistive tech
Resource Development…
Ultimately about demonstrating need,
emphasizing the mandate for
accommodations, making connections
with donors
Build ongoing relationships and show
donors the impact of their contributions
Keep proposals simple, short, need and
outcome oriented
C is for Communication
Who is your audience
Communication is key to this process
Build genuine relationships with colleagues,
gatekeepers and allies
Get to know them
Share about your work and interface with their
work
Communicate about the importance of students
with disabilities being integrated and involved in
all aspects of campus life
Contact Information
Karen Pettus, The University of South Carolina
Student Disability Services, Rm 112 A LeConte College,
Columbia, SC 29208
Phone: 803-777-6142
[email protected]
Emily Singer, The Catholic University of America
Disability Support Services
620 Michigan Ave, 207 Pryzbyla Center
Washington, DC 20064
Phone: 202-319-5211
[email protected]
Tom Thompson, William R. Harper College
Disability Services, 1200 West Algonquin Road
Palatine, IL 60067-7398
Phone: 847-925-6266
[email protected]