Application and Perceived Effectiveness of the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Community Colleges.

This study examined the use and perceived effectiveness of standards published by the Council foe the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education in student affairs units at a community college in the Southwest The available literature mainly addresses use of the CAS standards at four-year rather than two-year colleges. The study investigated whether the standards are being used, how they are being used, and whether they are perceived to be effective. Background The need for standards in higher education has been a topic of discussion since at least the 1950s (Wellman, 2006). Public demand for accountability has forced higher education entities to develop standards, benchmarks, and assessments for their programs and services. In 2005, then Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings assembled a task force to talk about the issues of accountability, access, quality, and affordability in higher education. This task force suggested that higher education should strive for a culture of accountability and transparency (National Commission on the Future of Higher Education, 2006). Mallory and Clement (2009) have suggested that this call from the task force prompted student affairs organizations to focus on accountability, and that although a few have accreditation processes, other initiatives and measures are needed, such as those developed by the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS) and the International Center for Student Success and Institutional Accountability. The CAS has been the leading entity in the advancement of standards in the field of student affairs and student development. It was set up by a group of student affairs professionals to assist their departments in establishing professional standards and accreditation programs. According to Mable (1991), this was "indeed a milestone as it evidenced the need for an inter-association approach to addressing standards in student services and development programs, as well as an interest in accreditation initiatives" (p. 9). The CAS has responded to the call for greater accountability with self-assessment guides and frameworks related to student learning and development; these assessments are successfully being used as tools for accountability (Dean, 2006; Mallory & Clement, 2009; Strayhorn, 2006). The CAS was established in 1979; the standards were first published in 1986, and they have been updated regularly since then. The standards have two components: one concerns the practice of student affairs, and the other concerns preparation for professional practice. One advantage of using CAS is that all higher education associations and institutions can be perceived as speaking with one voice relative to standards, which enhances the credibility of student affairs (CAS, 2006). The use of standards also gives student affairs professionals a mechanism by which to judge their work, providing a form of self-regulation to guide and facilitate improvement in student affairs practices (Arminio, 2009; Arminio & Gochenauer, 2004). The CAS standards have the support of 36 member organizations affiliated with student affairs and higher education. At a time when community colleges are experiencing dramatic growth, prompting concerns over quality, questions about how success is measured, and maintenance of a high-quality instructional workforce (Levinson, 2005), these colleges have to provide evidence of increased productivity and program outcomes (Cohen & Brawer, 2008). The American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) has seized this opportunity to launch their "Voluntary Framework of Accountability for Community Colleges." Student affairs practitioners should be in a position to effectively evaluate their programs and to maintain standards. This study therefore examined the use and perceived effectiveness of the CAS standards in student affairs units at a community college in the Southwest. …