Swing, R.L. & Coogan, C.S. (2010, May). Valuing Assessment: Cost-Benefit Considerations. (NILOA Occasional Paper No. 5). University of Illinois and Indiana University, National Institute of Learning Outcomes Assessment.

Nearly every U.S. accredited college and university allocates resources to support assessment of student learning outcomes, satisfaction, and other measures of institutional effectiveness. But with only limited data about best practices in budgeting for assessment, colleges are left guessing how much they should spend on assessment to achieve the best return on their investment. So how can a campus know when enough spending is really enough? Randy Swing, Executive Director of the Association of Institutional Research (AIR), and Christopher Coogan, AIR Chief of Staff and Director of the Data and Decisions® Academy, examine the "what should assessment cost" question. The authors systematically unpack what needs to be taken into account when allocating resources to the assessment of student learning outcomes.

View the paper

Staci Provezis, Project Manager
National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA)
Sprovez2@ad.uiuc.edu

May/June 2010 Issue of Data Notes Available

Data Notes is a bimonthly newsletter that presents data from the national Achieving the Dream database. Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count, is a multiyear national initiative to help more community college students succeed. The initiative focuses particularly on student groups that traditionally have faced significant barriers to success, including students of color and low-income students.

The May/June 2010 issue of Data Notes has just been released, and can be viewed on the Achieving the Dream website.

May/June 2010: Returning Students

This issue of Data Notes looks at students who returned to their original Achieving the Dream institution after completing credentials or transferring to another institution. Forty-two percent of students who either received a degree or certificate or transferred from an Achieving the Dream college within three years of initial enrollment returned within six years of initial enrollment. More than 80 percent of students who returned after credential completion or transfer returned on a part-time basis; 17 percent returned full-time. Nearly two-thirds, 65 percent, of returning students who initially attained certificates in transfer majors persisted to complete associate degrees. Interestingly, 62 percent of the students who initially transferred and then returned transferred again. The findings highlight the variability of institutional enrollment and the fact that despite completing credentials or transferring to other institutions, a significant portion of Achieving the Dream students who returned to their original institution continued their coursework or earned additional credentials.

Colleges, Data Facilitators and Coaches - Your individual college's companion figures to this issue of Data Notes will soon be released on the Achieving the Dream Web Submission site. You will receive an email notification when they are available.

WWC Quick Review of H&R Block Financial Aid Study

The latest quick review released by the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) examines the report The Role of Simplification and Information in College Decisions: Results from the H&R Block FAFSA Experiment. This study examined whether assistance in filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) increases the likelihood of filing the FAFSA, college enrollment, and financial aid receipt. The study authors conducted a randomized controlled trial, analyzing data on about 15,000 individuals in 156 H&R Block tax preparation offices in Ohio and North Carolina. See the results of this WWC quick review.