The Horizon

     RISE Partnerships
     June 2010

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• Confessions of a Data Junkie
• Interactive Program Guide
• Free! GUIDE Webinar
• Getting the Digits
• Volunteer Training Tips
• Celebrating 10 Years of RISE!

Confessions of a Data Junkie

Dear %%First Name%%,

Hello, my name is Dan, and I am addicted to data.  I count the number of books finished, calories burned, rivers kayaked, races run, emails sent, phone calls returned, projects completed and articles published.  I might have a problem.

Recently, a colleague and I became engrossed in a discussion about everything we do to track our performance, from where we put our effort, to what questions you have when you call us. For a split second, we felt like complete nerds, but we quickly accepted this label when we realized how much it has helped us do our work.  Problem or not, we own it and are proud of it!

Think of the impact data could have on the job you do.  Are you getting lots of phone calls about a specific event detail?  Make a simple change to the Web site and the topic of the calls change. Low on mileage this week?  Sneak in an extra run to bring the numbers up.  Did you have low attendance at the last webinar?  Pool the data: tweets, page hits, click-through rates, registration numbers and evaluations.  Does it show a problem with the topic, timing, registration, media or something else?  With all this information at hand, it's easy to make the right tweaks and boost your results.

For many of you, today marks the transition into a new fiscal year.  What a perfect time to talk about Assessment!  Typically, this word is approached with much confusion and fear, but as we discuss below in Getting the Digits, it can be a lot easier than you think. Try the simple lessons we suggest to do a little assessment each day, and begin building the systems and habits that will demonstrate the impact of your work.

Speaking of paying attention to numbers, RISE is TEN YEARS OLD!  As one of the hundreds of Horizon subscribers, thanks for staying in touch.  Thanks to our colleagues, friends and partners who give us constant inspiration.  Thanks to all of our past clients for the support.  Thanks to some important colleagues: Teena Reasoner, Monica Bebie, Emily Perlow, and Tanner Marcantel who are helping us improve.  And a personal thank you to each member of the RISE staff: Scott, Cassie, Marsha, Chandra, John and Whitney, who bring this thing to life every day.

There are a couple other little 'numbers' that we'd like to share with you in honor of this milestone.  Check out our new Interactive Program Guide, and a FREE webinar that we're offering on how to develop your volunteer advisors.

Happy reading, and enjoy a safe and happy Independence Day!

Interfraternally,

Dan Wrona
CEO & Project Leader
RISE Partnerships, Inc. 

NEW! Interactive Program Guide

A colleague recently expressed his appreciation with RISE's format...that programs are not just canned experiences, but customized to suit each institution.  He was excited to find out how intentional we are about learning outcomes, design and assessment.

We will continue challenging you to think intentionally, but we're also make it easier with a new Interactive Program Guide.  Explore the tutorial to see how each of our programs can be custom-designed to transform your community!

Free! GUIDE Volunteer Development Webinar

GUIDE is the only educational program designed specifically to train front-line advisors, and it has done wonders to help volunteers clarify their role, connect with today's students and build their skills as an advisor.  

Find out what we've learned along the way about how to develop a stronger partnership with your advisors.  Participate in a free webinar on Thursday, July 29 at 1:00 pm EST to review simple techniques for training, engaging and building support among their volunteer advisors.

Getting the Digits

For some reason, we have imbued Assessment with all the same awkward tension as meeting a potential partner for the first time. How do you approach this?  Where do you start?  What do you say?  What if you get it wrong and look foolish?  The objective is apparently to 'get digits.' Many people have a clever and insightful way to do this, but you seem to be lost. Feeling so out of place, it is easy to give up.

The reality is, you don't need to be suave or cool or cute.  You just need to know how to ask questions.  Assessment is similar, and it is just as simple.  It's just a critical thinking skill that requires diving in and getting lots of practice in order to develop.

Here are a few simple one-liners that will get you a few digits to build upon as you tackle assessment in the new fiscal year.

1) Start a Journal

What we really need is hard, fast, scientific data that definitively tells us what's going on inside the big black box. But cold-hard data doesn't start out that way.  It often begins as an intriguing question that identifies itself during a moment of introspection.  Jump start the process by putting time into a journal.

Take 5 minutes per day or 20 minutes each week to jot down your observations.  Think about unique situations, common concerns, student behaviors or the challenges in your office. After a month, look back through and answer these questions: What patterns do you see? What questions does this raise?  Why might this pattern exist?  What additional information should you look for?

Using a journaling process like this creates data from thin air, and provides a different perspective that can help you think more critically about community dynamics.

2) Rack Up the Points

What information are you most curious about?  What if you were to track some of the most obvious but important statistics?

• How many phone calls, emails, walk-ins are coming in to your office? How many are going out?
• How many meetings are you attending?
• What are the most frequent questions and how often do you hear them?
• How many times did you hear the word "legit" or "...uum..." during a meeting?
• How many 'values-driven conversations' are you having?
• Is the nature of each interaction excited, happy, sad, angry, or indifferent?

Pick the statistics that you find most meaningful and interesting.  Create a simple tally sheet and draw a check mark each time you see these things happening. Aggregate the data over time, and you'll learn a lot. Are students engaging with your resources? Are you doing the right work?  Do you need to improve training?  On what topics? What is the mood of the community?  Who needs a large-scale assessment tool, anyway?!

3) Track Hits

Contact your IT people or your webmaster and ask them for a report of page hits on your Web site.  They should be able to tell you how long people stay on the site, where they enter and leave, and how many are new or returning.  You'll learn what people are most interested in, when they view the site, what they overlook, and what they actually read.  While you're at it, count your blog subscribers, blog posts, tweets, retweets, facebook followers, 'likes' and event attendees at regular intervals.
 

4) Tap into the Institutional Research Office

Set up a 30 minute meeting with your IR people and ask the following questions:

• What data do we have already?
• How might I get information about [insert topic here]?
• What else do you suggest we track?
• What other departments should we contact?

I did this with a client who is using our Prove It! program.  After 30 minutes and an exchange of rosters, we walked away with mounds of data about student engagement, retention / persistence / graduation rates, and instructions about where and how to get even more information.  It was that easy.

5) Take a Straw Poll

Use the facebook poll app or twtpoll, create a survey using Wufoo or a Form in Google docs, or use institutional tools like StudentVoice to get basic information about what's going on in your community.  Ask about satisfaction with programs, power of their experience, or personal habits and beliefs.  It doesn't need to be formal or elaborate; it needs to be informative.  The science will come as the instrument evolves and becomes more refined over time.  One last reminder: you'll get more responses from fewer, more intentional questions.

6) Start Forming Questions

Take all the statistics you have right now and lay it out in front of you.  Start asking questions. The best ones should sound something like this:

• Where is this number coming from?
• What if we were to change...
• How does this number affect that one? 
• What causes this number to change? 
• Is this really telling me what I want to know? 

You can also take the opposite approach.  List all of your major initiatives.  Specify the intended learning outcomes for each one.  Start identifying metrics that would indicate whether you're meeting these outcomes. Ask yourself, "Is all this work really accomplishing [insert learning outcome]?" These questions will tell you which numbers mater so you can hone in on the right data.

7) Set Targets  

Even if you have no idea what the numbers will be, set a target.  Pick a number, put a date on it and write down your rationale.  Jot down the basic steps you plan to take to get there.  Now get to work.

When the date arrives, take a look at your results and at what you've done.  Did you come within 10% of your target?  Were you in a completely different ballpark?  Where did you experience challenges, and how could you address them to get better numbers? Refine your target and start again.  Be sure to track improvements in conjunction with the changes you make.

Just like 'getting digits' from a potential partner, these first steps only get you in the door.  From there, you'll need to focus on cultivating your relationship with assessment in order to experience its true potential. Whatever system of measurement you use should evolve slowly over time as you naturally develop more sophisticated and relevant tools for your community.  

This is one situation where waiting around for the right moment won't work.  It's better to dive in and start practicing now.  If you start to struggle, contact us with your questions and we'll be glad to help.  If you need more intensive assistance developing your department's assessment strategy, check out our Prove It! program for campus professionals.