Richard Ribb
	University of Texas at Austin Austin, TX
	Platform Statement: Highlight your previous involvement within this unit that will help you in leading this unit.  What roles have you played within this particular unit as a member thus far?

I joined the steering committee at this year's Assessment Commission meeting after being a member of the commission since moving from teaching to professional advising four years ago. I believe that the experience from the coming year with representing the interests and ideas of our members, together with the opportunity to implement initiatives, will help prepare me for the chair's duties and responsibilities.

The Assessment Institute is an affiliated program of the commission, with the chair involved in the selection of faculty and curriculum. Last February, during my second institute, I was selected as a featured presenter to the closing plenary session. At the preceding Data-Driven Decision Making Seminar, a program closely related to the commission's goals, I also was selected as a featured presenter. These opportunities reflect leadership qualities based in part on my dedication and productivity regarding assessment both during and before the programs. I trust the same qualities will serve the commission.

What do you believe are the most important goals and initiatives for this unit in meeting the strategic plan for both the unit and the Association? 

GOAL: To reinvigorate the commission. With the largest membership and one of the most critical topics affecting professional advising, a vibrant, progressive commission is absolutely essential for our efforts to be properly acknowledged, defended, and rewarded.

INITIATIVES

1. Create a nationwide data set measuring core responsibilities and outcomes. I suggest that we compose 20 or so survey questions from which an institution could select eight or ten as appropriate. The surveys could be hosted and tabulated on one of the free survey sites (e.g., Survey Monkey) or on a volunteer institution's site (such as UT Austin's Survey on the Spot). Individual institutions would control access to the surveys, such as through targeted or general e-mails. The response rate for the Student Division's survey, sent to each advisee daily, averages 17%. I, as chair, together perhaps with the steering committee, could analyze the data along several dimensions. By establishing a survey of core questions designed by and for advisors, we can pinpoint, after expert consultation, significant findings useful to us all.
2. At the commission meeting, several of us discussed the advisability of collecting or establishing benchmarks for key outcomes. The steering committee intends to begin this process, and I, as chair, would continue that work and expand it by targeting gaps in our outcomes benchmarks. The hope is that the first initiative will provide some baseline benchmarks to augment ones used by individual institutions.
3. Establishing an annotated bibliography has been a much-mentioned, more-neglected goal for several years. I would elevate it to a top priority because we should not spend precious resources covering ground already in the record. Several folks, including myself, have volunteered to read and write short synopses for journal articles and other sources, but no systematic process has emerged to harness this energy. This initiative would help all of us identify relevant sources for our stage of assessing as well as build on the search for benchmarks mentioned above.

Why are you interested in serving in this leadership position or what influenced you to run for this leadership position? 

I volunteered to head our office’s assessment project the fifth week on the job. I believe that assessment is a fundamental part of professional advising, as it is in any other professional enterprise. The disparities of assessment practices within and across institutions foreclose many opportunities to establish our value and leave us vulnerable to “outsiders” establishing metrics for us, to our regret. My commitment to assessment will fire my leadership as chair as it has thus far.

When I was approached by NACADA leadership to stand for nomination, I was honored by the faith they showed in my leadership abilities. I have developed close working relationships across the country that I can bring to our advantage. I firmly believe that the assessment commission has not only the opportunity, but the obligation, to facilitate the production of evidence that will document our effectiveness, identify areas to improve, and fend off the advances of unwelcome suitors.

Provide any additional comments or information (either personal or leadership-related) that you want potential voters to know about you that is not covered elsewhere in your platform information. 

My doctoral training in American studies helped develop my interests and skills in research and presentation. I “measured outcomes” with every assignment. I also saw value in assessment in the form of teaching and peer evaluations. When I moved to professional advising in 2004, I was surprised to find that professional advising , generally speaking, lacked intentional, coherent assessment practices. Since that time, I have focused on developing assessment practices and on becoming better informed about various practices. For example, I have led the efforts of the Student Division of the College of Liberal Arts since my arrival. We have developed multiple measures of key outcomes for students and advisors through a variety of tools. As for personal development, I have taken two graduate-level statistics courses (quite an experience for the dedicated man of letters, whose last quantitative reasoning course was Algebra II as a high school junior!), and intend to continue my formal training in this area. I believe that my abilities to see the “big picture” and to build specific, organic practices to measure outcomes provide a valuable combination of skills that can serve well the interests of the commission.

Past Involvement in NACADA:

Years in NACADA: 4 years

National Offices Held and Accomplishments Achieved While in Office:

Regional Activities/Offices Held, including accomplishments achieved while in office:

• 2007, Region 7 Conference Committee: Proposal Selection subcommittee

Committee/Task Force/Advisory Board Activities and Accomplishments:

Commission/Interest Group Activities and Accomplishments:

• Assessment of Advising Commission — Member, 2004--2008; Steering Committee member, 2007-2008
• Current member — Advising Student Athletes Commission, Theory & Philosophy of Advising Commission, Liberal Arts Advisors Commission

Other:

• University of Texas at Austin —
  • 2004--2008 chair, Assessment Committee, Student Division, College of Liberal Arts
  • 2004--2008 member, campus Academic Counselors' Association (ACA)
  • 2008, co-chair, Ad Hoc Assessment Committee
  • 2007-08 member, Resources for Ongoing Advisor Development (ROAD) Committee
  • 2007-08 member, e-portfolio subcommittee 2006, 2007 presenter, ACA Professional Development Day conference
  • 2005-06 member, Scholarship Committee
• 2006, 2007 presenter, NACADA annual conference
• 2006, 2007 participant, NACADA Assessment Institute
• 2007 participant, NACADA Data-Driven Decision Making Seminar