In order to design effective interventions for working with graduate and professional students, educators must first assess students' needs and experiences. This chapter highlights the importance of assessment in graduate and professional education and offers insights gained from three studies.

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Members of a residential leadership community reported whether they had practiced specific leadership skills in the preceding semester and, if so, how well they believed they had performed on that skill. Results were compared with the responses of peer observers. Self-reports of leadership practices were confirmed by peer reports in 72% of cases. Self-assessments of the quality of performance were confirmed by peer assessments in 83% of cases.

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This study investigated the demographic diversity of the labor pool for entry-level professional positions in student affairs. Two sources were used: the data maintained by the National Center for Education Statistics on degrees conferred in fields related to student affairs, and an e-mail survey of preparation programs listed in the NASPA and ACPA on-line directories. Overall, women were found to comprise 67%–68% of the labor pool for entry-level positions; African Americans: 12%–15%; Hispanics: 4%–5%; Asian Americans: 2%–3%; and American Indians: 0%–1%. Data were also analyzed by geographic region.