Creating a Culture of Assessment: Cascadia Community College Student and Faculty Focus Groups

This paper describes how two Reference & Instruction Librarians at the University of Washington Bothell/Cascadia Community College Campus Library furthered their institution's assessment goals by conducting human subjects research approved focus groups with Cascadia Community College students and faculty. As co-chairs of the User Needs Committee, the librarians lead the effort to research, plan, and implement focus groups with Cascadia students and faculty, which resulted in a model for staff to follow in conducting future focus groups. This paper will describe the focus group research project, how it contributed to an institutional culture of assessment, the pros and cons of the focus group method, and strategies and recommendations for running sustainable and effective focus groups.