On-Demand How has COVID impacted our understanding of student belonging? The ongoing pandemic and various pivots have taught us many things about college students and belonging. What does this mean for our work and the future? Our presenters discuss what they’ve learned (including insights from both recent research and campus practices) and what it means for the future of our work and our profession. View the Recording Here! View Recording ... View more

Friday, April 1, 2022, at 1:00 PM ET Because every student matters, every moment and engagement counts. When implemented with intentionality, instructional technology and short retention surveys can be used to support first-year student engagement, retention, and help support your institution’s equity and inclusion initiatives in meaningful ways. This session will demonstrate how first-year experience programs can pair brief retention surveys that offer early alerts for better, more targeted interventions, with student response systems to engage all students in meaningful ways inside and outside of the classroom, including creating safe spaces and encouraging participation and event attendance, which can create community and foster a sense of belonging. Register for the Webinar Here! Register ... View more

On-Demand With the events that we've collectively experienced, we all deserve a win. This webinar featuring lessons and tips gleaned from the 2021 winners of Skyfactor's Assessment and Impact Award for Nursing will deliver exactly that. Register today to hear directly from nursing programs who are effectively utilizing assessment data to improve their services and programming. This year's winners have amazing tales of success and resiliency and exactly how they used assessment findings to inform program improvement. View the Recording Here! View the Recording ... View more

On-Demand In this session, delivered by Tarleton State University’s (TX) Director of Student Affairs Assessment & Strategic Initiatives, Dr. Elizabeth Wallace, participants explored how orientation program assessments aligned to NODA standards and competencies provided TSU’s orientation department to take an immediate deep dive into their online and hybrid orientation experiences to examine by session and population, how well their quick program pivots were meeting the needs of their students and families. Watch to explore how to use easily-delivered analytics to manage and evaluate your orientation program amid significant changes in the future whether it’s massive enrollment growth, NCAA division changes, or yes, a global pandemic. View the Recording Here! View the Recording ... View more

Texas Christian University school logo   Texas Christian University's (TCU) School of Nursing has been awarded the 2021 Assessment and Impact Award for Nursing Education for significant improvement in their survey scores related to overall student satisfaction. Their program has implemented several initiatives driven by student feedback, including a connection culture student mentoring program, a health & wellness initiative to support self-care habits, and high-touch weekly interactions by faculty with students who are struggling academically. ... View more

University of South Florida school seal   The University of South Florida's (USF) School of Nursing has been awarded the 2021 Assessment and Impact Award for Nursing Education for high performance in learning outcomes related to professional values. Their nursing program recently made data-informed changes to their nursing curriculum to better mirror core competencies in the profession. They also added a new professional nursing course to emphasize professional values and introduced civility training into their program based on student feedback.  ... View more

Southern Utah University school seal   Southern Utah University's (SUU) School of Nursing has been awarded the 2021 Assessment and Impact Award for Nursing Education for high survey scores related to overall student satisfaction. Their program recently made improvements to their advising experience by including open advising meetings. Their program also implemented a portfolio initiative prior to graduation that not only helps students reflect on their educational experiences but also helps them get jobs before graduation and they also recently acquired new technology to support student learning.  ... View more

For the third year, Skyfactor Benchworks is recognizing nursing programs that foster data-driven cultures for  continuous improvement, with the Assessment and Impact Award for Nursing Education.  The Assessment and Impact Award for Nursing Education was established three years ago to recognize colleges that have successfully used data to analyze and make changes to better their undergraduate nursing programs. Previous winners were Bloomfield College, Colorado Technical University, Montclair State University, Roman University, Seton Hall University, and University of Scranton. Even amid massive educational changes due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year's award winners delivered exceptional educational experiences. For example:   Southern Utah University for High Performance: Overall Satisfaction Texas Christian University for Improvement: Overall Satisfaction University of South Florida for High Performance: Learning, Professional Values  As in prior years, award winners are selected through a careful analysis of multiple years of data from the AACN/Benchworks Undergraduate Nursing Exit Assessment. The Skyfactor Benchworks Analytics and Research Team first conducts a quantitative analysis and review of applications, followed by interviews with finalists to learn about improvements in their nursing programs. Those applications and interview notes are then blind reviewed and evaluated on a rubric by an external panel of experts in the nursing education profession.  Please drop a comment below to congratulate this year's Assessment & Impact Award Winners! ## Benchworks assessments are the most widely used programs in nursing education. Benchworks has partnered with the Association of American Colleges of Nursing (AACN) for two decades to offer benchmarking assessments that empower nursing administrators to better understand the program components that most significantly impact these important stakeholders. The various AACN/Benchworks Nursing assessments are used by more than 250 nursing programs each year, and is one of more than 50 different assessments from Benchworks on topics important to college success, including housing, orientation, and student affairs and service. The survey includes questions about student happiness, safety, diversity and inclusion, facilities, costs, sense of community, and time management, among others. ... View more

Tuesday, October 26, 2021, at 2:00 PM ET For many student affairs and housing professionals, assessment took a back seat beginning in spring 2020. Yet, there was an increased demand for data and opportunities to rethink our assessment activities. In this conversation, we’ll share the biggest lessons we’ve learned since spring 2020 related to student affairs assessment and highlight concrete strategies for improving our assessment work that are applicable both during and after the pandemic. Register for the Webinar Here! Register ... View more

Thursday, October 7, 2021, at 2:00 PM ET Decades of research confirm that non-academic factors like students’ sense of belonging, financial concerns, and engagement are critical to student retention and program success. This session will demonstrate how institutional outcomes can be improved by pairing brief retention surveys that offer early alerts, with program assessment and benchmarking that measure the impact of your team’s interventions. Register for the Webinar Here! Register ... View more

On-Demand We know from research and practice that our students’ perceptions of belonging are related to their persistence and academic success. But, the COVID-19 pandemic has created challenges for building connections and community with students both inside and outside the classroom. In this webinar, we’ll use an existing framework of four key elements of belonging to frame a conversation on the challenges and lessons learned related to building community and belonging during the pandemic. The conversation will include results from a national study on the impact of the pandemic to add additional context. View the Recording Here! View the Recording! ... View more

On-Demand When implemented with intentionality, instructional technology can be used to support your institution’s equity and inclusion initiatives in meaningful ways. This webinar, co-presented by an educator and instructional technologist, explored pandemic-era lessons that can help you create and deliver more inclusive and equitable learning experiences for every student. View the Recording Here! View the Recording ... View more

On-Demand For many student advocates, preparing for a post-pandemic fall requires taking a different approach to student success. Honing in on key issues beyond grades and attendance is imperative. Discovering students’ perceptions on topics such as sense of belonging, financial issues, and intent to return allows for super-charging interventions and speeding up conversations in order to get to those hidden issues that will affect their decision to stay with or leave your institution. Join this webinar for tips and tools to maximize student interventions beyond what you may already be doing. View the Recording Here! View the recording! ... View more

In an academic year defined by social distancing and virtual learning, it was more important and difficult than ever to keep students connected and engaged. Despite these challenges, we saw many institutions, especially their housing and residence life departments, rise to the occasion. Skyfactor Benchworks recognizes seven colleges with an Assessment and Impact Award for Housing and Residence Life.  The Assessment and Impact Award for Residence Life was established in 2019 to recognize colleges that have successfully used data to analyze and make changes to better their residence life programs. Please join me in congratulating this year’s winners:  Miles Community College (MT) was recognized for high performance on survey scores related to sustainability. MCC encouraged students to volunteer in a campus service initiative that connected students with their environment as well as their local community, bringing food-related efforts with community-building efforts together.  Millersville University (PA) was recognized for significant improvements to survey scores related to personal interactions, diverse interactions, and satisfaction with student staff. MU used data to determine the success of their new resident engagement model which included adjustments to student-staff training and an increased focus on living-learning communities.  The Oxford College of Emory University (GA) was recognized for high performance on survey scores related to diverse interactions and satisfaction with student staff. Using mindful messaging, diversity-focused training, and dynamic programming, Oxford worked to embed values of diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout their department.  The University of Alaska Southeast (AK) was recognized for their significant improvement in survey scores related to residence hall environment satisfaction. UAS saw improvements to their housing and residence life department after making adjustments to their staff training, implementing a requirement for roommate agreements, and prioritizing community-building values.  The University of Central Florida (FL) was recognized for significant improvement to survey scores related to sense of community. As a result of feedback during COVID-19, UCF made modifications and changes to their residential curriculum and their system for creating student connections.   University of Northern Colorado (CO) was recognized for significant improvement to survey scores related to community environment satisfaction. UNC transitioned from a traditional programming model to one focused on one-on-one conversations that prioritize first-year residents.  The University of Tampa (FL) was recognized for significant improvement in survey scores related to academic initiatives and personal interactions. UT’s increase stems from the implementation of a new residential education model, an increase in staff engagement, and intentional conversations between residents and student staff.  The 2021 winners were chosen this spring through a careful analysis of multiple years of data from the ACUHO-I/Benchworks Resident Assessment. The Skyfactor Benchworks Analytics and Research Team first conducted a quantitative analysis and review of applications and then interviewed finalists to learn about improvements in residence life.  Send a Kudo or drop a comment below to congratulate our 2021 Assessment & Impact Award Winners!  ## Benchworks assessments are the most widely used programs in higher education housing and have been available for nearly 20 years. The ACUHO-I/Benchworks Residents Assessment is used by nearly 300 institutions each year, and is one of more than 50 different assessments from Benchworks on topics important to college success, including housing, orientation, and student affairs and service. The survey includes questions about student satisfaction with facilities, programs, dining, safety, room assignment, and roommates, as well as learning related to personal interactions, diversity, sense of community, academic success, transferable skills, sustainability, and healthy habits. ... View more

The University of Northern Colorado (UNCO) was awarded the 2021 Assessment & Impact Award in Housing and Residence Life for significant improvement to survey scores related to community environment satisfaction. Their efforts to support first-year students have transitioned from a traditional programming model to one that fosters deeper connections. Over the past three years, UNCO has focused its new model on conversations between residents and student staff that are more frequent, meaningful, and open-ended. View the overview of UNCO’s use of data for student development and retention in the attached Assessment & Impact Award winner profile below. 2021 Housing and Residential Life Award Winner Profile - University of Northern Colorado   ... View more