As one of the few student affairs assessment offices in the country, Student Affairs Planning, Assessment & Research (SAPAR) is in a unique position to support Division of Student Affairs departments and student organizations with their assessment needs. Staff who come to the Division of Student Affairs at Texas A&M University from another institution may not know that something like SAPAR exists. The department is the only one in the country that directly serves student organizations.    

When I describe our department to people not familiar with it, I say we are a consulting service to the departments in the division and to student organizations,” says Director of SAPAR Darby Roberts. “We help them find answers to the big questions they have about how they can serve students better.”  

 The department also has access to data, such as demographics or student engagement, which makes it easy expand analysis capabilities and give departments a comprehensive picture fo student needs and experiences.   

No assessment experience? No problem. SAPAR services take clients through the entire process, from idea generation to data collection, analysis, and reporting. The department uses Qualtrics for online data collection, and they also have a paper-based platform that works well to collect data in person. They also have skill in conducting focus groups, building rubrics, and using reflective photography.   

“We use a partnership model where our clients are the content experts, and we are the process experts. Our goal is to take some of the load off already busy division staff so they have more time to do what they do best,” Roberts said.   

  It’s quick and easy to start a project with SAPAR by filling out an intake form. After that, a SAPAR staff member will be assigned to the project and will work with the staff member or student to meet their needs.  

The six full-time staff in the department have expertise is assessment and research methods, student learning, quantitative and qualitative analysis, and building interactive dashboards. That experience allows them to be efficient and effective in the assessment process and gives DSA staff confidence that the project will be done well and on time.   

SAPAR works on about 250 projects per year, some of which are simple, and some that are much more complex. The department also coordinates the comprehensive program review process, which occurs in each DSA department approximately every five years. This process is a great opportunity for departments to reflect on their current situation, strengths, opportunities for improvement and their plan for the future. These efforts, as well as departmental assessment plans, support the institution’s accreditation requirements. 

 The department is also committed to skill development for all DSA staff. In the past, the department has offered an assessment boot camp, but they also provide shorter sessions on survey design, implementing focus groups, writing learning outcomes and using Excel for data analysis. This year, SAPAR is planning sessions on data visualization, strategic and assessment planning, assessment myth busting and demystifying research articles.   

In addition, they have a variety of resources on their website, including podcasts, blogs, training videos and suggested readings. All of this information is available to anyone to digest in short periods of time by visiting sapar.tamu.edu.