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TEMPLATE FOR ASSESSMENT PLAN AND REPORT

Contact person:

Contact for this program (e.g., coordinator of program, assessment person for the program)

Dr. Daniel Murphy and Ms. Anna Colby

Year:

Year in which you anticipate implementation of this assessment plan.

Fall 2006-Spring 2006

Program:

Name of the program being discussed in this assessment plan.

SIM Fit! Mind, Body, Spirit.

Student Affairs Department or Sub Unit:

Judicial Affairs, University Recreation, Residence Life, etc.

University Health and Wellness Center & University Counseling Center

Program Description:

This should include a summary of the program that is being assessed (a paragraph or two). This section should provide the audience with a general understanding of the program (e.g., program presents strategies to strengthen self-advocacy skills, program presents drug and alcohol laws and JMU policies, program places students with the same interest into same living quarters), and how it is implemented.

“SIMfit: Mind, Body, and Spirit” is a holistic wellness fair, designed to counteract the threats on college students’ mental, physical, and psychological health. Scheduled for the Friday before fall exam week, “SIMfit” specifically equips students for one of the most challenging periods of the academic year while preparing them to maintain healthy living throughout a lifetime of challenges. A collaborative effort of Simulation University’s Health and Wellness Center, the Counseling Center and SIMGym, “SIMfit” reinforces SimU’s initiative to develop and maintain wellness within the whole person.

Description of Target Population:

Describe the general population that participates in the program (e.g., students involved with alternative spring break, students with disabilities, students living on campus) and why they are taking part in it (e.g., voluntary, mandatory, part of disciplinary action). Of this population, how many are anticipated to take part in the assessment? Provide any relevant information regarding this population that may influence assessment results.

All SIM U Students are invited but Goal 1 outlines the target population, within the student body size, in order to consider the program successful. Program attendance will be entirely voluntary, affecting the attendance rate and the type of students attending.

Program Outcomes:

All of the outcomes (objectives) of the program should be listed in this section. The stakeholders of the program should agree upon these outcomes. These outcomes provide a more detailed description of the particular goals of the program than the previous section entitled Program Description.

Goal 1: To provide an appealing opportunity for students to relieve stress.
Objective 1: To have 25% of the student body in attendance.
Objective 2: To have 80% of attendees stay for over an hour.
Goal 2: To demonstrate collaborationbetween Simulation University’s Health and Wellness Center, the Counseling Center and SIMGym
Objective 1: To have at least two staff members from each office in attendance at all times.
Objective 2: To publicize through multiple venues and multiple offices.
Goal 3: To equip students with skills and resources necessary to cope with stress
Objective 1: To assess students’ coping mechanisms before and after attending SIMfit
Objective 2: To educate students on various coping mechanisms through department specific resources.
Goal 4: To help students gage their current health level and design a response plan to most effectively cater to personal and typical college age stressors
Objective 1: To administer several health screenings.
Objective 2: To provide staff, trained to decipher screening results and design needs based response plans with students.

Which Outcomes are to be Assessed This Year and Why:

Typically, programs have several outcomes. It is not necessary to assess each outcome every year. In fact, it is best to prioritize the outcomes and assess only a few each year. Given that, provide a brief explanation of why particular outcomes are being assessed this year. For example, it may be that you assessed the same outcomes last year, made informed changes to the program based upon the results, and now want to assess the effects of those changes. It may be that some outcomes are simply more important or that some are more feasible this year. In addition, provide information regarding when outcomes not being assessed this year will be evaluated.

Goals 1-3 and their related outcomes will be assessed this year. These three goals are begin assessed this year for a variety of reason. The first and second goals relate to the implementation of the program and are easily assessed through attendance figures, SIMgym’s computer software and participation by the two campus departments. The third goal addresses the primary function of SIMfit, to address stress experienced during exam season. We are assessing this goal in the first year of the program to see if the programming and activities that we are providing are targeting stress relief and teaching coping strategies. If the program is successful, we plan to implement the full assessment plan in next year’s program.
  1. What is Being Measured:This section includes operational definitions of the outcome measure(s). Remember that the measure(s) should be aligned with the outcome(s) being assessed. The actual measurement of an outcome is the operational definition of the outcome. This could be scores on a knowledge-based test (e.g., knowledge of drinking laws), scores from a developmental/attitudinal measure (e.g., attitudes about diversity), counts of a behavior (e.g., number of violations), or performance of a skill (e.g., production of a resume or conducting an interview), among other things. Again, the most important characteristic of the outcome measure is that it is aligned with the outcome it is designed to measure.

How are you operationally defining the outcome(s)? / Types of “stress” measured:
  1. Type “A” Controller Personality
  2. Anger-In Personality
  3. Situational Stress and Life Readjustments
  4. Corollary Health Habits
  5. Low Accountability-Victim Syndrome
  6. Interpersonal Stress

Is an instrument being used to measure the outcome?
(If NO, proceed to sub-section 2) / Yes No
Double click on either “yes” or “no”

If an instrument is given, a detailed description of it should be provided, including:

  1. What is the name of the instrument (e.g., Self-Advocacy Scale, Scale of Intellectual Development)?
  2. Is the instrument commercially or non-commercially available (i.e., pay for it or free)?
  3. Will the students take a paper-and-pencil version or a computer-based version?
  4. What is the instrument measuring (e.g., drinking behavior, drug use, self advocacy, service-learning)? Reading literature describing the scale (e.g., manual, published articles) directly informs this section.
  5. How many items are on the instrument?
  6. How is the instrument scored (e.g., total score, subscales)? Are you interested in all subscales or just selected ones?
  7. What type(s) of items compose the instrument (e.g., multiple choice, matching, true/false, open-ended, essay, attitudinal, opinion)?
  8. What is a desirable score, as agreed upon by the program coordinators (e.g., student completing the program should attain a score of 50 or above on the XZY subscale, students completing the program should show a 10 point increase from pre-test to post-test on the ZXY subscale)?

What is the name of the instrument? / Stress Analysis System developed by Nelson P. B.; Schmidt, K.M.; and Nelson, Noel in 1998
Is the instrument commercially or non-commercially available? / Commercially available
Not commercially available
Will the students take a paper-and-pencil version or a computer-based version? / Paper-and-pencil version
Computer-based version
Other, please explain:
What is the instrument measuring? / Sources of negative stress in ones life while discussing the nature and types of stress and describing various interventions for alleviating specific types of stress and the ability to recognize the symptoms of stress, while providing techniques for modifying ones reactions to stress.
How many items are on the instrument? / 114 (6 sections)
How is the instrument scored? / Self-scored by plotting true/false responses on a profile that indicates the degree to which a given score reflects low or high stress levels
What type(s) of items compose the instrument? / True/False Statements, regarding six areas of stress:
  1. Type “A” Controller Personality
  2. Anger-In Personality
  3. Situational Stress and Life Readjustments
  4. Corollary Health Habits
  5. Low Accountability-Victim Syndrome
  6. Interpersonal Stress

What is a desirable score, as agreed upon by the program coordinators? / The test taker plots his/her own score in each area and the given graph designates where high scores denote potentially harmful stress levels

Note: This table should be copied, pasted and completed for EACH instrument that is being used for this

Assessment endeavor.

  1. When is it Being Measured: What is the time frame? A tentative schedule of events should be devised so that all involved are aware of deadlines. When will the outcome be measured? Will it be measured on multiple occasions? Will it be measured at the beginning of the program or at the end or both?

DATE / ACTION
Fall 2006 / Online pre-test
Spring 2007 / Online post-test
  1. Where and How is it Being Measured: This part of the plan should describe where and how the data will be collected from the desired population. Will data be collected from material already in existence (e.g. database, questionnaires, surveys)? Where will the data be collected? Will it be collected at the respondents’ convenience or at a scheduled time? Details surrounding the environment in which the data will be collected should be included here.

Will data be collected from material already in existence? / No
Where will the data be collected? / Through an online assessment
Will data be collected at the respondents’ convenience or at a scheduled time? / At the students’ convenience, through online pre and post tests
Other details: / The online post test will be distributed to all students in order to compare results of those who attended SIMfit to those who did not, both before and after SIMfit. Students will enter their student ID numbers on both the pre and post tests. Students will also be able to signify, on the post test, whether or not they attended the program which leads to a built in control group.
  1. Who is Involved in Collecting the Measurements: This section should include a preliminary list of everyone who needs to be involved in the assessment process. Who will help plan and organize the gathering of the data? Who will analyze and write up the results for the assessment? Who will be in charge of writing up the final report? This section will help to reveal the scope of the assessment and facilitate realistic expectations.

Who will help plan and organize the gathering of the data? / Graduate students in both offices
Who will analyze the data? / Graduate students in both offices and a CARS doctoral intern
If CARS is involved in the data analysis, what role would you like them to take? Specifically, how would you prefer to work with CARS regarding the analysis? / CARS does analysis and sends us results
CARS and someone from our
program analyzes the data together
We do analysis and call CARS when we
need assistance.
Who will write up the results of the data analysis? / CARS Doctoral Intern
Who will be in charge of writing up the final report? / Graduate students in both offices and a CARS doctoral intern

Plan for Reporting Results: How soon after data collection does the report need to be completed? How and to whom are the results being disseminated?

How soon after the data collection does the report need to be completed? / By the end of summer 2007
How is the report being disseminated? / Via email, between offices
To whom will you submit the final report? / The Directors of the Counseling Center and Health and Wellness Center and the VP of Student Affairs

The following questions are to be used for reporting assessment results.

Actual Outcome Measurement:

How did the actual outcome measurement differ from that which was proposed in the Assessment Plan above? For example, of the target population, how many students actually participated in data collection? Which outcomes were actually assessed? Did the methodology (i.e. Proposed Outcome Measurement section) change from what was originally planned? Any information that can be provided concerning the details of both the group and setting involved in the assessment should be reported here. In addition, any errors or problems that occurred during administration should be described in this section.

Results:

This is the section that the Center for Assessment and Research Studies can provide if needed (you select their involvement in this section). This section will contain all tables, figures, and interpretation of statistical analyses and therefore can be quite lengthy.

Action to be Taken Based on Results:

This is where the test results are translated into action. In this section, the results above are used to make informed decisions regarding the program. These informed decisions should be clearly stated.

If the goals of the program are not met, the question to be asked is why. Therefore, it is in this section that the following issues are often discussed: 1) whether the outcomes are well-matched to the program; 2) whether the measures are aligned with the outcomes; and 3) whether changes or improvements need to be made to the program in order to reach the goals of the program. The findings in the Results section should be used to inform and justify changes that are being planned or implemented (e.g., focusing more closely on an outcome, changing course material, eliminating program). If modifications have already been made as a result of the findings, they should also be discussed in this section.

Ultimately, this part of the report illustrates how the assessment process was used to make program changes that aim to assist participants in the attainment of desired objectives.

If we meet the objectives outlined in Goals 1-3, we would feel comfortable in the effectiveness of our program. Finding Goals 1-3 to be effective we would begin plans to incorporate the remaining goal and objectives into our assessment activities for the next year. Depending on feedback provided from the event, the University Health and Wellness Center and the Counseling Center would explore offering the program twice a year. One time right before Fall Semester Finals and again in the Spring.
Failing to meet the objectives in Goals 1-3 may indicate any number of problems. Failure to reach Goal 1 would lead us to investigate our methods of advertising and recruitment for the event. We would look at our advertisements for the previous year and attempt more inclusive/inviting marketing techniques. We may also need to perform a needs assessment on the most effective form of advertising on a college campus. We would also need to look at satisfaction survey results form the program to determine which activities/programs the students enjoyed. If students were not getting anything out of the program, then we may need to look at the programming line up or which activities we are organizing during the event. If we do not meet Goal 2, the Director’s of each department will work together on a cross-departmental plan to bring together the campus health care professionals. They will implement joint professional development sessions or staff meetings to keep each of the departments aware of actions being taken or current trends being discovered. Finally, if we fail to meet our third goal we will need to look at our stress resources. It may be necessary for us to review the handout materials provided to students and their effectiveness. We may also need to look at the reason for the program. Currently, we are looking to provide an outlet for stress relief. Perhaps the outcomes will demonstrate that students are attending the event for reasons other than reducing stress. Most likely we will incorporate more direct Stress Relief programming in upcoming events.

Future Assessment:

Using the “Action to Be Taken Based on Results” section, one should include a preliminary plan for assessing any changes made to the program. For example, will scores from previous years be compared with scores following program changes to determine if these adjustments were effective in attaining the outcomes that were previously deficient? What tentative method will be used to address the impact of implemented or planned changes? In other words, provide information regarding how you plan to assess alterations to the program to determine if they were effective.

Ideally, if Goals 1-3 are met, we can incorporate the two remaining objectives for the next program. These will include assessments of the medical and physical well being of our students. Ultimately, it would be the goal of the University Health and Wellness Center and the Counseling Center to see a decrease in the number of students visiting their offices due to stress-related illnesses during the examination season. As the program becomes more popular, it might be beneficial to institute a more holistic assessment procedure. For example, the Wellness Wheel allows us to assess a student’s holistic health. This would also provide them with positive tools to handle difficult situations, while remaining safe and healthy. We might also be able to incorporate health screenings both at the SIMfit program as well as throughout the semester to see if students are maintaining the healthy habits that they learned about through participation in the program.