The Credibility of Inferences from Program Effectiveness Studies Published in Student Affairs Journals: Potential Impact on Programming and Assessment

S. Jeanne Horst, Sara J. Finney, Caroline O. Prendergast, Andrea Pope, & Morgan E. Crewe   |    Volume 16 Issue 2  |   

Professional standards related to outcomes assessment call for student affairs professionals to use research to inform programming. If professionals are to rely on research to build programs that positively impact student learning outcomes, the research should be credible. We examined the quality of program effectiveness research available for programming decisions. We reviewed five years of quantitative and mixed methods program effectiveness studies published in four student affairs journals. Despite frequent assertions of program effectiveness, the research designs and analyses did not often support such claims due to plausible threats to the validity of those claims. Articles claiming that programming is effective without credible evidence to support such a claim can result in professionals offering ineffective programming and engaging in inefficient assessment efforts. To address the credibility of effectiveness claims, we call for increased training in research methods, careful review of authors’ claims by editors, and assistance from assessment practitioners.

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