The politics, practice, value of assessing Women's Centers.(IN THEIR OWN WORDS)

Now that women are almost 60% of college students, what's the value of a campus Women's Center? To answer that question, four experienced Women's Center directors shared their expertise on assessing the value of Women's Centers through formal program reviews, at the National Women's Studies Association conference in Cincinnati in June.

The panel focused on providing information and resources for administrators of Women's Centers and Women's Studies programs who were anticipating program reviews, interested in becoming external reviewers or simply wishing to assess and improve the quality of their centers and/or programs.

Presenters were Jane Goettsch, director of the Miami University Women's Center; Kathleen Hologerson, director of the University of Connecticut Women's Center; Beth Rietveld, director of the Penn Women's Center, University of Pennsylvania (1985-2006). They shared their extensive and varied experiences as external reviewers and as Women's Center administrators requesting and/or hosting such as review.

Topics covered in the session included elements of a successful program review, how to prepare for a program review, and what external reviewers are looking for. Panelists discussed the politics of program review, including factors to consider in identifying peer and aspirational institutions and potential internal and external reviewers.

They also examined the new CAS (Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education) Standards and Guidelines for Women Student Programs and Services as a program review tool.

The politics

"In recent decades, institutions of higher education (IHEs) have responded to demands for fiscal restraint and greater accountability by placing increasing emphasis on student retention and assessment of student learning outcomes," noted Jane Goettsch, director of the Miami University Women's Center and panel moderator.