Research and Assessment Opportunities in the Dean of Students Office
Below is a list of potential research and assessment projects in the Dean of Students Office. If you are interested in taking on any of these projects, or have another idea for a research project that involves the Dean of Students Office services, please use the contact information listed above each opportunity area.
Dean of Students Office
Michelle Boettcher
2222 Student Services Building
515-294-1020
mboettch@iastate.edu
A broad survey could be created and sent to all students (could be a survey of the entire Division of Student Affairs, not just DSO). It could assess some of the same things covered on the NSSE or in CIRP data, but with an emphasis specific to Iowa State.
- How are specific offices on campus utilized by students?
- What is the student knowledge about the services provided?
- What sorts of interactions do students have with DSO staff?
- What do non-users know (or what assumptions do they make) about the DSO?
- How did students who have used DSO services get connected with the offices whose services they utilized?
- What demographic information might we collect to make meaning of how students use our services?
Emergency response – student feedback on major incidents on campus (Jon Lacina being a current example).
- What knowledge do students (and faculty and staff) have about the crisis response of the DSO?
- How effectively are resources within the DSO being shared with the rest of the campus community?
- Emergency Dean evaluation
- How are incidents handled?
- How does our implementation compare to what our policies and procedures say?
Special / Marginalized Populations Evaluation
- Needs assessments for areas such as LGBTSS, MSA, international students
- What services are provided and how are the accessed by students?
- What services are not provided that students identify as needed on campus?
- Are our students of color staying at ISU? If so, why? Where do they go for resources?
International Students
- What are different areas of campus providing for this growing student population (International Students and Scholars, DSO, student organizations, etc.)?
- Evaluation of experience of students once they connect with an office on campus – are we approaching things appropriately?
Non-traditional Students
- Does our campus think intentionally of them when planning events?
- Do we provide the services needed for this population on campus?
- How can we integrate support for these students throughout the DSO?
Veterans
- Does our campus think intentionally of them when planning events?
- Do we provide the services needed for this population on campus?
- How can we integrate support for these students throughout the DSO?
DSO Graduate Assistantship Experience
- What are students expecting when they take assistantships in our areas?
- Are students getting what they expect?
- Are faculty members getting experiences for their students relevant to the classroom experience?
- Should there be a unified DSO training for graduate students? If so, what should it include?
- What cross-unit experiences are / can / should be offered to graduate students (examples: a Student Disability Resources / Student Assistance GA? A DoR / Judicial Affairs GA? Etc.)
Steve Moats
1076 Student Services Building
515-294-7220
smoats@iastate.edu
- Faculty Survey – what have the experiences and challenges of faculty been in regard to working with students with disabilities on campus? Are there specific areas related to policies or practices of concern or need clarification for faculty?
- Student Academic Accommodation Request (SAAR) follow-up assessment. Many (80%) of the students who come into Student Disability Resources complete their SAAR forms and need nothing further. A follow-up assessment could not only provide feedback to the staff member with whom the student met, but could also be helpful in identifying other concerns or resources needed by the students served.
Susan Rhoades
1060 Hixson-Lied Student Success Center
515-294-6624
sjwr@iastate.edu
- Revision of a course evaluation / instructor evaluation for Psych 131 (Note: While this could be developed in the spring, data would not be collected until Fall, 2010).
- Qualitative and quantative inquiry into Academic Interventions – full program review of tutoring and its impact on academic achievement
- Post-presentation / event evaluations. ASC coordinates its presentations online. Creation and implementation of an online post-event assessment would be useful in terms of feedback for presenters and identifying next steps for groups in terms of developing academic success skills. (This concept could easily be adapted to and used in any of the DSO areas which provide programming and outreach, not just ASC).
Brad Freihoefer
1034 Student Services Building
515-294-5433
freihb@iastate.edu
- There is a tremendous amount of material available in the LGBTSS Office. Since the staff member there is relatively new, much of it has not yet been able to be compiled and made meaning of from either an historical or current practice standpoint.
Penny Rice
203 Sloss House
515-294-4154
pennyr@iastate.edu
- A review of the needs assessment survey completed recently would be a project to help create an understanding of campus perspectives as well as identifying needs and initiatives for the future.
- A revised needs assessment survey of employees and students could be created based on the successes / challenges of past surveys.
- A satisfaction survey for students, faculty, and staff who participate in MSWC events and services could be developed, implemented, and interpreted.
