The Assessment in Practice Certificate is designed to build confidence and capacity in assessment practices that support meaningful, data-informed decision making. The certificate provides staff with a structured pathway to develop practical skills, apply assessment concepts to their work, and strengthen programs and services. While particularly relevant for staff in student affairs–related roles, the certificate is open to all University of Iowa faculty and staff interested in advancing their assessment practice. Staff members interested in completing the Assessment in Practice Certificate can sign-up via Employee Self-Service.
Participation and Commitment
The program is intentionally structured to be flexible—allowing participants to complete requirements over two years—while emphasizing meaningful engagement through full participation, preparation, and reflection. At the same time, the inclusion of evolving elective topics supports a culture of continued learning and professional growth beyond the certificate itself.
Program Outcomes
By completing the certificate, participants will be able to:
Apply the full assessment cycle to their work
Develop clear, measurable goals and learning outcomes
Select appropriate assessment methods
Analyze both quantitative and qualitative data
Use evidence to inform decisions and improvements
Communicate assessment results effectively to key stakeholders
Certificate Requirements
Participants engage in a sequenced set of workshops aligned to the assessment cycle, gaining knowledge, skills, and tools to make informed decisions in their areas of work. To earn the Assessment in Practice Certificate, participants must:
Complete all six (6) foundational workshops within a two-year period
Complete at least one (1) elective workshop from the Special Topics Series
Attend each selected session in full
Complete any required pre-session materials
Complete post-session assessments
Foundational Series (Required)
The certificate is anchored in the assessment cycle, which reflects core components of effective assessment practice:
Crafting Impact: Writing Goals, Objectives, & Outcomes
Choosing the Right Tool: Assessment Methods That Work
Making Sense of the Numbers: Quantitative Data Analysis Made Simple
From Text to Insight: Qualitative Data Analysis Made Simple
From Data to Decisions: Using Evidence to Drive Change
Telling Your Story: Sharing Assessment Results with Impact
Elective Workshops (Choose One)
Participants will complete at least one elective from the Special Topics Series, with topics that may evolve each year to reflect emerging needs and interests. Current examples include:
Ask Better Questions: Survey Design That Delivers
Better Surveys for Everyone: Qualtrics & Accessibility in Practice
Built In, Not Bolted On: Embedded Assessment Techniques That Work
Workshops
Session 1: "Crafting Impact: Writing Goals, Objectives, & Outcomes"
Strong assessment begins with a clear understanding of what your program or service is trying to accomplish. In this interactive workshop, participants will learn how to differentiate between goals, objectives, learning outcomes, program outcomes, and metrics, and explore how these elements work together to tell the story of program impact. Through examples, discussion, and hands-on practice, participants will draft measurable learning outcomes for their own program, service, or unit and leave with tools to strengthen their assessment planning.
As a result of this workshop, participants will be able to:
Differentiate between goals, objectives, and outcomes.
Explain the purpose of program goals, objectives, and outcomes as part of effective assessment.
Write a measurable learning outcome specific to your program/service/unit.
Describe how goals, objectives, outcomes, and metrics connect to support assessment and demonstrate program impact.
Session 2: "Choosing the Right Tool: Assessment Methods That Work"
Planning assessment strategies that fit your assessment needs is an important part of effective assessment. In this interactive workshop, participants will learn about different assessment strategies, including their strengths and weaknesses, and how to implement assessment that best gathers the feedback needed to assess their programs and services. Participants will have the opportunity to practice applying what they’ve learned to real world examples.
As a result of this workshop, participants will be able to:
Explain the purpose and use cases of different assessment methods
Identify the best assessment methods for different assessment needs
Incorporate different assessment methods into program plannign and implementation.
Session 3: "Making Sense of the Numbers: Quantitative Data Analysis Made Simple"
Data collection is a key step in the assessment process, and collecting quantitative data is one way to measure outcomes. Once the data is collected, steps are required to clean, prepare, and analyze the data. In this interactive workshop, participants will practice reviewing a data set, examples of analysis options, and preparing data for next steps in decision making and storytelling.
As a result of this workshop, participants will be able to:
Review examples of when quantitative data analysis should be utilized in assessment settings
Explain the steps in cleaning, coding and analyzing quantitative data
Differentiate between different basic statistical methods
Practice coding sample data from a case example
Session 4: “From Text to Insight: Qualitative Data Analysis Made Simple"
Collecting and analyzing qualitative data is an important dimension of the assessment process. Qualitative data analysis helps practitioners gain deeper context and understanding about a process, program, or problem. It complements quantitative data and helps understand complex problems. In this interactive workshop, participants will interact with qualitative data to practice coding themes.
As a result of this workshop, participants will be able to:
Review examples of how qualitative data analysis complements quantitative data.
Explain the steps in cleaning, coding and analyzing qualitative data
Differentiate between qualitative coding methods
Practice coding themes from sample qualitative data
Session 5: "From Data to Decisions: Using Evidence to Drive Change"
Collecting data is only the first step. The real value of assessment comes from using evidence to make informed decisions and improve programs, services, and experiences. In this interactive workshop, participants will learn how to determine when they have enough evidence to act, interpret findings from multiple sources, navigate conflicting results, and make thoughtful, evidence-informed decisions. Through a case study and hands-on activities, participants will practice moving from data to dialogue, decisions, action, and learning while developing practical strategies for assessing the impact of change over time.
As a result of this workshop, participants will be able to:
Identify meaningful findings from quantitative, qualitative, and contextual evidence sources.
Evaluate whether available evidence is sufficient to support action, additional inquiry, or a small pilot.
Use triangulation and structured dialogue to interpret assessment findings, including mixed results.
Select an appropriate evidence-informed decision based on the findings.
Develop a feasible action step and follow-up plan to assess whether the decision made a difference.
Session 6: "Telling Your Story: Sharing Assessment Results with Impact"
Telling our assessment stories effectively, in multiple ways, to a variety of audiences, can be the most impactful part of the assessment sharing process. An impactful and memorable story can lead to a better understanding of the problem or program and action to be taken. In this interactive workshop, participants will learn how to craft data examples into a story and how the story arc can be changed, depending on the audience. Through a case study example, participants will practice crafting a story arc, plan a graphic or illustration, and discern how their own data can be shared through storytelling.
As a result of this workshop, participants will be able to:
Identify the steps involved in developing a story about data from a case example
Evaluate effective visuals for story telling
Identify how stories should be modified for different audiences
Practice writing a story outline using data examples
Please contact Teri Schnelle (teri-schnelle@uiowa.edu) with any questions.