Assessment Conference
May 20, 2026 | 9am-4:30pm | Student Dining and Residential Programs Building(SDRP)
In a time of increased accountability and limited resources, higher education professionals are expected to demonstrate value and outcomes of services, teaching, and activities designed to improve student performance inside and outside of the classroom. Assessment and evaluation can be used to substantiate the impact of services and improve practice.
The purpose of this conference is to provide participants with strategies that are easy to understand and implement in the assessment, evaluation, and reporting of their work. The conference is designed to help practitioners at all levels learn how to conduct assessment/evaluation and understand the importance of doing so for the purpose of improving practice.
The conference will consist of 50-minute Presentations/Workshops, Lighting Talks, a Poster Session, and a Keynote by Dr. Darby Roberts on "Telling our Story: Assessing Student Success and Impact".
How to Register
Registration for the Student Affairs Assessment Conference is $50 for staff employed by Student Affairs at Illinois, and $100 for staff, faculty outside Student Affairs at Illinois.
Registration for 2026 has now closed.
Who Should Attend
Anyone with an interest in assessment/evaluation in co-curricular settings. Although the conference is geared toward student affairs professionals at all career levels, faculty, academic administrators, and graduate students are also encouraged to attend.
Questions
If you have additional questions about the Student Affairs Assessment Conference, please contact Beth Hoag.
Conference Sessions and Presentations
Keynote Address
2026 - Telling our Story: Assessing Student Success and Impact, Dr. Darby Roberts
Past Keynotes
2024 - You are a Data Person, Dr. Amelia Parnell
2022 - Dr. Gianina Baker, Acting Director, National Institute for Learning Outcomes
Concurrent Breakout Sessions
Designed to teach the audience a specific technique or skill (e.g. writing learning outcomes, designing a survey, etc.) or review current research/literature related to assessment or evaluation.
SESSION 1
- Setting and Assessing Learning Outcomes for Programs and Services
- Designing Assessable Experiential Learning: Practical Strategies for Measuring and Communicating Student Development
- Behind the Intake Form: Using CCAPS and SDS Data to Tell the Story of Student Mental Health
- Design and Accessibility in Adobe InDesign
SESSION 2
- The Adjustment Roadmap: a Deductive and Empirical Approach to Rebuilding a Learning Outcomes Framework
- Taking Tableau to the Next Level: Advanced Skills and Processes to Improve Your Dashboards
- Campus Policies, Ethics, and Privacy in Assessment and Research
- The new CAS Standards Portal. How to make the assessment of your department easier!
SESSION 3
- Telling the Story of Student Wellbeing at Illinois: Leveraging the National College Health Assessment to Assess Need, Surface Disparities, and Drive Action.
- Acting Out Science!
- Good Questions, Good Answers: Creating good survey questions takes time and practice.
- Data You Can Use: How the Illini Success Portal Supports Student Affairs Assessment
Past Sessions Include:
- Illini Success 2022-2023
- Learning Outcome Development and Assessment Planning for Undergraduate Research
- Survey Design & Reporting: Getting and Sharing Valuable Information
- Plan and Manage Your Departments Projects
- Campus Policies, Ethics, and Privacy in Assessment and Research
- Improving Assessment Practices and Promoting a Culture of Assessment Through a Year-long Working Group
- Indigenous Assessment Practices
- Understanding the Student Journey: Engaging Student Panels and Digital Whiteboards to Gain Deeper Insights
Poster Session and Lunch
From various campus units that address any of the following: a description of an innovative assessment program, an analysis of a practical problem-solving effort, or results from an assessment/research project.
- Listening for Assessment: Evaluating Student Survey Results
Presenters: Belinda Bolivar, Jen Yu, University Library - A Holistic, Student-Led Assessment of an Experiential Career Development Program
Presenters: Derek Attig, Jess Holmes, Chloe Parrella, Graduate College - Student Affairs Student Employment Survey
Presenters: Beth Hoag, Alex Koscielski, Student Affairs - Utilizing Assessment and Administrative Data to Understand Your Impact
Presenter: Michael Kang, University Housing
Past Sessions Include:
- Assessing Food Assistance and Well-Being Program Usage by Illinois Community in Champaign
- Sense of Belonging at Illinois
- Assessing Accessibility Within UIUC Campus Recreation Facilities
- Illini Union Assessment Projects
- FYCARE
Lightning Talks
Short presentations that are intended to tell a story about data
- Belonging Across Difference: What Our I-Connect Data Reveals
- From Compliance to Care: Reimagining Suicide Prevention Training for Real Student Lives
- Centering Student Talent in Assessment: Co-Creating the GLOBE Data Dashboard as a Living Learning Lab
- Using Excel to help graduate students excel: Pulling reports to create targeted communications
- Day1 Access Program and Student Watch Study
- Creating an Assessment based on Learning Outcomes
Past Sessions Include:
- Value-added High-Impact Practices (HIPs): Exploring the Impact of HIPs on Students’ Personal and Professional Development
- Assessment Soup: Strategies in a Large, Multi-unit Department
- Day1 Access Program
- Self-Care Stations at McKinley Health Center
- Trends in Academic Misconduct
