Talking Stick - September/October 2011 - 32

EBI Users Reap Awards
At the 2011 ACUHO-I Annual Conference & Exposition, Emory University was named the inaugural recipient of the ACUHO-I/EBI Assessment Award in recognition of their work for continuous improvement in higher education. Emory, and in particular John W. Lynch, area director for the second-year experience, were honored for their commitment to analysisdriven improvement and innovative use of the ACUHO-I/EBI assessments to promote professional development, collaboration, and fact-based decision-making. The ACUHO-I/EBI Assessment Award recognizes an individual or institution that is committed to continuous improvement as evidenced by a clear identiﬁcation of issues and of the measures utilized for change and improvement. In addition to the plaque and recognition at the conference, Emory University will receive an ACUHO-I/EBI Complete Assessment Package for 2011-2012. These awards are an important means of recognizing institutional and individual commitments to improvement, but sometimes the recognition itself is sufﬁcient reward. As Lynch explains, “It’s been terriﬁc! Normally in education we don’t get awards or receive a great deal of recognition. You work hard on improving something and hope that over time it will make a difference.” EBI also awarded the 2011 ACUHO-I/EBI Benchmarking and Continuous Improvement Outstanding Professional Award to Jeff C. Janz, assistant vice president for student affairs at Marquette University, for his distinguished career and longstanding commitment to benchmarking and promotion of assessment. Janz continues to utilize assessment results at Marquette, having recognized their value when, as dean of student life and executive director of residence life at the University of WisconsinWhitewater, he presented the ACUHO-I/EBI survey results to the residence life staff each year, encouraging them to utilize them as the basis for making needed improvements. He also shared the survey results with university police, dining services, the leadership development program, and campus living-learning communities. As a result, the campus police identiﬁed areas where students felt unsafe and adjusted its procedures, dining services successfully changed its hours and improved meal variety, and custodial supervisors adjusted their bathroom cleaning methods and received gratifying feedback for their efforts. ACUHO-I and EBI recognize all those who participated in the application process for this year’s inaugural ACUHO-I/EBI Assessment Award and commend their commitment to continuous improvement: Angelo State University, Central Michigan University, College of William & Mary, Colorado State, Emory University, Gwynned-Mercy College, Marquette University, Medaille College, Mount St. Mary’s College, New York University, Northwest Missouri State, Rutgers University, Ryerson University, Stony Brook University, University of Florida, University of Memphis, University of Northern Colorado, University of Wisconsin Stout, University of Wisconsin Whitewater, and Youngstown State University. If the ACUHO-I/EBI assessments have helped to promote campus initiatives that resulted in measurable improvement in the student learning experience in on-campus housing at your institution, submit your application for the 2012 ACUHO-I/EBI Assessment Award. Watch for more application information later this year.

designed to improve the social experience across residence halls and to provide resources on careers, majors, and other practical matters. Responding directly to survey comments, the team ameliorated the physical aspects of the residence halls to address students’ most pressing concerns. Lynch points to a culture of assessment as the factor that enabled the signiﬁcant increases in satisfaction with the SYE: “Internally, there’s been a lot of support for follow-up assessments. We’re naturally very curious people who see the worth of assessment and its impact on decisions. The higher-ups in our division are very encouraging. They truly recognize the value and the hard work behind these improvements.” The assessment process has continued. In the spirit of maintaining improvement, the SYE team closely monitored trends in the ACUHO-I/EBI results to evaluate the effectiveness of the program changes. They found a close correlation between students’ realistic expectations and their ultimate satisfaction with residential life. While mindful of students’ time, the team conducted further assessments via small focus groups to learn more about what students truly expected and needed from SYE programming. Utilizing the ACUHO-I/EBI Resident Assessment in December and a follow-up survey the following year, the SYE team has committed to an ongoing process of evaluation and advancement. “The way Emory utilized the assessment data is a prime example of how comparative, mission-driven assessment results are essential to the continuous improvement of campus programs,” says Joseph Pica, CEO of EBI. “Emory was able to gain deep, speciﬁc insight to the motivations and opinions that shape student life. As Emory has demonstrated, this insight can translate into signiﬁcant improvements in the quality of the student experience.”

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Talking Stick - September/October 2011

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