10 This chapter provides pragmatic suggestions for designing assessment projects focused on commuter students. Strategies for Assessing Commuter Students J. Patrick Biddix Assessment has become an essential practice in student affairs. It seems that nearly every recent job description includes a strong preference for assessment experience or skills. Schuh, Biddix, Dean, and Kinzie (in press) note that assessment should not be limited simply to demonstrating value or worth, but instead should be regarded as an opportunity to improve. A well- designed and well-implemented assessment study can uncover limitations in current services as well as suggest opportunities and areas for growth. Commuter students represent a unique and often underassessed popu- lation of students, despite representing a majority on most campuses. Stud- ies involving students who reside on campus generally are conducted using e-mail lists of residents or are paper administered during meetings on res- idence hall foors or in fraternity/sorority houses. Even on campuses with a robust student affairs assessment program, few resources are dedicated to understanding the differences in student needs, satisfaction, or services based on living arrangement. This chapter offers considerations for assessing commuter student ex- periences. It begins with an overview of problems associated with assessing commuter students before outlining various pragmatic models for assessing this population. The last part of the chapter is a case study demonstrating steps that can be followed for accomplishing an assessment project. Problems With Assessing Commuter Students As Burlison (Chapter 3) and Newbold (Chapter 8) have noted in this volume, commuter students face a number of challenges impeding their academic achievement. These include family obligations, work, personal relationships, time management, and acclimation to the university. Several of these characteristics can make assessing commuter students challenging. For example, not only do commuters tend to work more hours for pay than noncommuters, but they also are more likely to work off campus, which NEW DIRECTIONS FOR STUDENT SERVICES, no. 150, Summer 2015  2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) • DOI: 10.1002/ss.20131 97