In the 1996 Student Learning Imperative: Implications for Student Affairs, the American College Personnel Association listed five key characteristics that exemplify a student affairs division committed to student learning. The fifth characteristic is: "Student affairs policies and programs are based on promising practices from the research on student learning and institution-specific assessment data." To that end, this office reviews daily and quarterly periodicals as well as a variety of literature on student development theory and best practices in higher education. Institution specific assessment is accomplished through collaborative efforts with colleagues and student leaders across the Division of Student Affairs.

Overall, strategic planning relies on determining the most relevant "Best Practices" to the University of California, Berkeley student population, while also being informed by data gathered directly from that population. Lee Upcraft & George Schuh in Assessment in Student Affairs: A Guide for Practitioners (1996), tell us that assessment should be thoughtful and proactive. In partnership with the Office of Student Research, our five-year study of the relationship between departmental programs & services and the psycho-social development of undergraduate residents is an example of an endeavor to use assessment in a thoughtful manner.