The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 19

PAR as Assessment Framework

PAR remains underutilized in higher education settings (Levin & Greenwood, 2008). This
article sheds light on the value of PAR as an
assessment tool in a higher education context.
The following section describes and analyzes
a case study at the University of San Francisco
in which PAR directed the development and
implementation of assessment within student
housing, starting in Spring 2014 and continuing through the following year.

APPLYING PAR AS A
FRAMEWORK FOR ASSESSMENT
IN STUDENT AFFAIRS
The University of San Francisco (USF) is a
mid-sized, Jesuit university with an explicit
social justice mission that is shared across all
campus departments. About three-quarters of
the undergraduate student body is non-white,
just over a third is first in their family to attend
college, and over one-quarter are from lowincome backgrounds. Approximately 2,000
students live within seven residence halls
across the urban campus. The department of
Student Housing and Residential Education
(SHaRE) oversees the housing and development of these residents through a structure
that includes a diverse staff of resident directors (RDs), assistant resident directors (ARDs),
and resident assistants (RAs). In addition to
providing support to student residents, RDs
and ARDs work together to plan, implement,
and evaluate a comprehensive community and
student development curriculum. As student
staff, RAs constantly interact with students
and play an important role within the resident halls. Under the supervision of RDs and
ARDs , RAs develop and conduct a combination of activities throughout the academic year.

These activities include one-on-one and group
meetings, passive programming (e.g., bulletin
boards and campaigns), and community-development activities (e.g., attending university
programs and student-driven programs).
The SHaRE residential curriculum emphasizes social justice outcomes centered within
three pillar areas: individual development (e.g.,
value and leadership development, healthy behaviors), community engagement (e.g., social
responsibility, appreciating diversity), and
academic/career support (e.g., personal and
educational goals). This emphasis is aligned
with USF's broader Jesuit university values.
Two in particular uphold a commitment to
social justice: cura personalis ("care of the whole
person"), which sees intellect as just one part of
an individual's development, and the development of "men and women for others," which
is an explicit focus on fostering a commitment within individuals to work in the service
of others, particularly those marginalized in
society (University of San Francisco, 2015).

Building up to a PAR Assessment
SHaRE's assessment efforts had been minimal
prior to the development of the PAR-directed
assessment. Prompted by an upcoming accreditation review, SHaRE leadership issued a
call in the spring of 2014 for a staff committee that would oversee the implementation of
an assessment process for the department.
Three RDs who shared a commitment to social
justice and assessment volunteered and joined
the department director to comprise the assessment team. The first undertaking of the
group was to evaluate the assessment efforts
in place.

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The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3

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