Assessment in Higher Education and Student Affairs Graduate Education

Professionalization and Its Implications

Abstract

Courses focused on assessment within higher education have proliferated across Higher Education and Student Affairs (HESA) graduate programs, tied to an emphasis on using data and evidence in decision making in the field. The intended outcomes and curriculum of these courses vary widely between institutions, at times producing confusion over the competencies needed in student affairs assessment. This project evaluated syllabi from over 100 HESA graduate assessment and evaluation courses to develop a more robust understanding of the skill sets of entry-level student affairs practitioners entering the field from HESA graduate programs and the core outcomes and texts of student affairs assessment education. We describe student affairs as a field engaged in the process of professionalization (Perozzi & Shea, 2023, McGill et al., 2021) through the development of standardized knowledge and the ongoing integration of community-driven standards. Study findings illustrate that courses tended to focus on technical knowledge, such as data collection methods and analysis, over the political and contextual dimensions of assessment. Extant standards and competencies, as well as emerging topics and methods, were also incorporated inconsistently. Implications for faculty, practitioners, early career professionals, and professional associations are discussed.