and Health Needs of Your Students
November 30 - December 2, 2006 • Las Vegas, NV
Workshop Overview
The ACHA Professional Development Program, "Using the ACHA-National College Health Assessment To Examine the Health Status and Health Needs of Your Students," gave participants the opportunity to explore issues related to data collection using the ACHA-NCHA, as well as how to use the data to develop and enhance the health and academic success of college students. The "back by popular demand" workshop, held in Las Vegas November 30 - December 2, was well-attended, with approximately 120 people coming from across the United States and Canada to learn more about applying ACHA-NCHA in policy and programming at their schools.
Participants of the 2005 workshop commented that the workshop offered: "practical information about how to conduct the survey," "concrete examples of how the data has been used," "a very good mix of professionals from varying areas," and "an opportunity to meet colleagues who are using the instrument." After receiving these highly favorable responses, ACHA decided to offer the workshop again in 2006. The workshop provided continuing education credits and networking opportunities for those who attended.
This year’s keynote address came from George D. Kuh, PhD, Chancellor’s Professor and Director of the Center for Postsecondary Research, Indiana University-Bloomington, who was invited to speak because of his extensive background, experience, and leadership in the Student Affairs field, including student development, assessment strategies, and campus cultures. Dr. Kuh presented "Data Informed Perspectives on the Undergraduate Student Experience," in which he noted that colleges and universities are increasingly expected to provide evidence of the quality of the student experience and therefore must learn how to use assessment tools and approaches appropriate for estimating the impact of campus programs and practices on desired student development outcomes.
"The overall tone of the workshop was one of great enthusiasm, as attendees were excited to learn how to use NCHA data effectively," said Mary Hoban, director of the ACHA-NCHA program. "They were also keenly interested in learning how the revisions to 2007 survey will increase the accuracy of the data being collected."
ACHA plans to develop additional professional development programming and continuing education opportunities in the coming year.
