res liFe The Six Degrees of Separation by Rachel A. Smith By using social network analysis for assessment, practitioners are literally able to connect the dots and visualize the connections students make academically and socially. UNiversity of KeNtUCKy Students enjoy the campus indoors and outdoors at the University of Kentucky in Lexington. Talk of networks is everywhere. Professionals network with colleagues to find jobs, and students network with each other to socialize and learn. Networks are a key part of social support and information sharing, and they provide today’s students with an array of opportunities to learn, grow, work, and have fun. Higher education professionals can capitalize on this fact whenever they assess residential communities, an analysis that can go far beyond simply examining the influence of Facebook. soCial network analYsis The specific connections between students are sometimes hard to capture with standard assessment tools such as engagement surveys. What does a community actually look like? Who do students interact with socially and academically, and what value do they gain from these interactions? Social network analysis can be used to help answer these questions by providing information about the relational structure of a community and each student’s place in it. 1 Talking STick