NEW DIRECTIONS FOR STUDENT SERVICES, no. 142, Summer 2013 © Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) • DOI: 10.1002/ss.20047 35 4 From Classroom to Practice: A Partnership Approach to Assessment J. Patrick Biddix Assessment training, inclusive of design, methodology, and effective report- ing, has become a topic of increased interest in student affairs, most recently articulated by calls for competency (Bresciani and Todd, 2010) reemphasizing existing curricular standards (Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education [CAS], 2002). Providing applied instruc- tion to graduate students is an essential first step, as new professionals will be expected to plan and integrate assessment and evaluation into their work as practitioners. Further, assignments that connect students to authentic divisional assessment activities can create valuable instructional opportunities to bridge classroom-to-practice efforts. Such partnerships, carefully supported and guided by faculty, can also yield meaningful contri- butions to divisional assessment activities. Creating a “seamless learning environment” (Kuh, 1996) related to assessment not only benefits student learning, but also addresses calls for data in an era characterized by decreasing personnel capacity to generate and use it due to budget cuts, deficiencies in training and professional development, increased job responsibilities, and lack of time (Green, Jones, and Aloi, 2008; Huba and Freed, 2000). Scholars (Kuh and others, 2005; Whitt and others, 2008), largely drawing on recommendations from the Boyer Commission Report (1998), have stressed the importance of creating and sustaining effective partnerships to facilitate effective learning. This chapter relates evidence from a graduate course, taught over three years in two institutional contexts and structured to bridge classroom-to-practice assessment. A detailed course description with three project examples is included. This chapter provides a model for bridging graduate assessment course work and divisional student affairs assessment efforts. Evidence from three years of application is provided along with considerations for implementation.