Highlights from the NASPA 2025 Annual Conference: A Community of Practice

Student affairs assessment professionals have a variety of associations and conferences available for professional development, networking, and demonstrating our contribution to the field.  There are assessment-specific opportunities, such as the Assessment Institute in Indianapolis, discussed in a prior blog. Then there are more general opportunities, such as the NASPA Annual Conference, which was recently held March 15 to 19 in New Orleans. It was a gathering of over 6,500 higher education professionals, representing a variety of functional areas within student affairs, as well as positions from students to University Presidents. 

With this number of attendees, and the wealth of opportunities, the NASPA Annual Conference can feel overwhelming. For example, there were 74 preconference workshops. Focusing on areas of interest yields a manageable selection of opportunities. Nine of these preconference sessions were labeled as contributing to the professional competency area of assessment, evaluation, and research. These include two sessions focused on building foundational competency, both created and led by NASPA Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Knowledge Community (AERKC) leaders. The other sessions focused on a variety of assessment-related concepts, including evaluating an institutional wellness model, disability inclusion in student success, assessing student employment experiences, and holistic advising redesign. 

Assessment 101 has become a regular contribution for the AERKC, as a half- or full-day workshop, at the NASPA Annual Conference, as well as NASPA’s Assessment, Planning, & Data Analytics (APDA) conference. It is consistently well attended and received, and it has been a nice opportunity for AERKC leaders to take turns co-presenting. After overviewing many components of assessment, attendees often ask where they can go to learn even more about assessment in student affairs. Several resources are provided, including information about SAAL’s Applying and Leading Assessment in Student Affairs course, as well as ACPA’s Assessment Institute. We also discuss the value of joining the AER KC, for professional development in order to find counterparts to get feedback on projects, commiserate about common struggles, and explore new initiatives.

This Conference was also the first time we offered Introduction to Strategic Planning. The importance of strategic planning is how we successfully pitched to update the ‘A’ in NASPA’s APDA from ‘persistence’ to ‘planning’, and we have proposed several iterations of a workshop to build this competency. This first offering hit capacity at over 50 participants. While also well-received, the 3-hour half-day workshop went quickly, so we hope to add a full-day strategic planning workshop to our regular offerings at national conferences. 

Following the preconference workshops was the opening session. As this was the first NASPA Annual Conference for Dr. Amelia Parnell in her new role as NASPA President and CEO, Dr. Parnell gave the keynote address. Her prior role was NASPA’s Vice President for Research and Policy, and she is the author of You Are a Data Person. So, it was not a surprise that Dr. Parnell talked about the importance of assessment. She offered predictions about the future of student affairs, including that we will thrive through shared stories and community. It was a nice moment of acknowledgement to be gathered as a professional community, talking about the importance of community. 

The general sessions offered many hundreds from which to choose, and even when focusing on assessment, there were typically many offered at the same time, and integrated with other functional areas. To assist with navigating this large menu, the AERKC sponsored three sessions:

• Strategic Leadership in Times of Change: Harnessing Data to Inform Decision-Making

• Championing International Students’ Agency and Voice in Assessment at US Institutions of Higher Education

• Assess and Progress: A Strategy for Building Time and Space for Assessment, Evaluation, and Research in Student Affairs

It was an honor to bring attention to these high-quality sessions, each offering ways for attendees to enact best practices at their institutions. Audiences were enthusiastic and engaged with the material, presenters, and each other as colleagues with shared interests.

This Annual Conference also marked the 20th anniversary of the AERKC. We decided to reflect on this milestone by assembling a panel of current and past AERKC co-chairs to discuss the past, present, and future of the student affairs assessment field. Jeanna Mastrodicasa and Michael Christakis were on the panel as reunited co-chairs from about ten years ago. Michael also happened to be at the conference, starting his role as NASPA Board Chair. Darby Roberts, 2024 NASPA Pillar of the Profession, and two-time AERKC Chair, also served as a panelist. We aimed high and asked Dr. Parnell if she would moderate, and she agreed, so we had a star-studded cast of assessment-minded professionals. I had the (nervous) honor of joining them to represent the present state as an outgoing Co-Chair. It was a well-attended session, and it was a joy to share in the charismatic facilitation from Amelia, lively discussion from the panelists, and engagement from the audience.

Because of the 20th anniversary, we decided to merge our business meeting with a reception. The University of Houston and Rutgers generously contributed towards food in support of the incoming chairs from their institutions. We hosted a hundred participants, where it was standing room only, and friends had to congregate outside the room. Michael Christakis came and spoke about fond memories of his time with the AERKC, as well as how he values our accomplishments and continued work. Sara Finney also came and offered gratitude for receiving our Excellence in Publication Award. 

Whether at a precon, the keynote, a general session, or a reception, the NASPA Annual Conference was a layered community of practice. There was the leadership team of the AERKC, which was a subset of the full-time assessment professionals, which was a subset of student affairs staff with assessment as at least part of their job description. There was also the leadership of NASPA, which is a subset of all 6,500 higher education professionals who attended. The NASPA Annual Conference was an event where we could each select areas of interest and find a small community, as well as zoom out and see that we were each part of a common purpose supporting students. I look forward to next time, and I welcome you to engage with this layered community of practice.

 

Shaun Boren, immediate past AER KC Co-Chair