Assessment is a continuous improvement process of identifying outcomes and gathering information about factors that contribute to those outcomes and indicators of progress toward them. The Student Life Office of Assessment and Research is committed to demonstrating the impact and value of Student Life programming and guiding data-driven decisions that contribute to student success.

Vision

Nurturing culturally responsive assessment and research practice in the Division of Student Life to provide an equitable student experience.

Mission

Embodying culturally responsive and equity-minded use of information about the student experience to support colleagues in adapting their practices, policies, procedures, etc., to best meet the needs of students today.

Strategic Goals 

• Shares contextual resources, strategies, and tools to implement successful assessment and research projects at the program, unit, and division levels of Student Life and beyond
• Advocates for culturally responsive and equity-minded use of information
• Creates an environment in which transparent sharing of information for mutual benefit is valued
• Holds ourselves and our colleagues accountable to living our shared values 
• Guides data-driven decisions
• Leads educational opportunities to develop assessment strategies for and with colleagues
• Sponsors timely inquiry to inform and improve student success practices and outcomes
• Facilitates the exploration of students’, colleagues’, and own human needs with respect to well-being

Core Values

• Integrity: honest, transparent, and principled handling of information
• Interdependence: developing mutually beneficial connections in the Division of Student Life and beyond
• Learning: using data to continuously update what we think we know and challenge our assumptions
• Equity: supporting fair processes and outcomes and deconstructing unfair ones
• Well-being: prioritizing students’, colleagues’, and our own human needs, conserving the mental and material resources it takes to meet them, and recognizing that meeting them has and adds value

Selected Office of Assessment and Research Projects

Student Well-Being and Success Initiative

A tailored, multi-cohort, longitudinal assessment measuring various aspects of belonging and several psychosocial factors that may contribute to student success. Has the capacity to assess various institutional inputs from advisement, high-impact practices and other programmatic experiences, and prevention/intervention efforts in terms of well-being and success outcomes.

First Destination Survey Post-Graduation Outcomes

The First Destination Survey is focused on collecting employment information about recent graduates’ first destination (employment, graduate school, etc.). This provides information to UO students to benchmark how their education and career information relates to past cohorts of UO graduates. It also provides outcomes data for UO programs and colleges to report their impact on post-graduate engagement and career outcomes of their recent graduates.

Career Development Experiences Research

A mixed-method, multi-study project used to document the value added of career development experiences and understand the impact of student employment (and other employment-like experiences) on student success, engagement, and co-curricular outcomes.

UO Dreamers Student Success

An examining differences and similarities among Dreamers and PathwayOregon students along educational and various self-report well-being measures. The project primarily explored opportunities to enact structures to holistically support Dreamers and eliminate barriers to their success through understanding academic student success and well-being experiences by this student population.

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