7 Ways to Develop Student Affairs Assessment Competencies as #sagrad

This blog post is in response to a question posted to Twitter, and I felt the need for more than 140 characters to offer my ideas of ways that a graduate student in a student affairs program can develop competencies in assessment.

1. Learn by doing - if you haven't already done so, seek out opportunities to volunteer with offices outside of your assistantship. Express an interest in learning about assessment, and chances are you'll get direct experience. I got into assessment because I mentioned to my supervisor that I wanted to learn about assessment. Guess who became the new assessment guy for our department. Several years later, I teach assessment.
2. Read - of course a faculty member is going to encourage graduate students to read. There are some great books, monographs and articles addressing assessment practice. My next blog post will be a suggested reading list.
3. Check out what student affairs divisions are currently doing. Visit websites to get a feel for the type of work going on in student affairs assessment. Some great examples can be found at Oregon State University, University of Georgia, and North Carolina State University.  There are dozens of other examples I could provide, but that list could be its own blog post (and maybe it will be).
4. Connect with those engaged in assessment work - If you Tweet, follow the #saass hashtag. There are some individuals you should follow, as well: @lmendersby @pglove33 @drbbourke. A lot of great conversations about assessment in student affairs are taking place in that venue. Visit studentaffairsassessment.org to find a group of assessment professionals dedicated to enhancing the conversation about assessment. Their website also has some good examples of student affairs assessment websites.
5. Determine the aspect of assessment where you'd like to begin your competency development. ACPA's Assessment Skills and Knowledge standards break assessment competencies into 13 areas. Most of us have strengths tied to specific competencies areas within assessment.
6. Connect with professional associations.  Participating in NASPA's Assessment, Evaluation and Research Knowledge Community or ACPA's Commission on Assessment and Evaluation can be a great way to get connected with other student affairs educators interested in assessment in our field.
7. Finally, ask questions. Whether it's via Twitter, professional associations, or individual emails, ask questions. There are a lot of people out there who love to share their thoughts on student affairs assessment.