CAS 51 After 16 Years of Publishing Standards, Do CAS Standards Make a Difference?

Using mem bers of professiona l associations who are a 1)(111 o] the Council for the Advancement cfStandards in Higher Education (G4S) consortia as a sample, this study investigated who uses G4S Standard " how and why they are used, and whether CAS Standard, are associated untb enhanced student learning. Using a quan titative analysis, this study f ound that 61 % of the sample had heard q! (,.AS, vice p residents were significantiy more like{y to have heard ofCAS than those with other job titles, and CASmaterials are used more as guides than for sel! assessment. Only 24%of the sample indicated that they measure learn ing outcomes, and q! those 41% stated that there is a connection between student learning and G4S Standards. The Co unc il fo r th e Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS) published its firs t set o f s ta ndards in 1986. The cred ibility of these standards was based on inte r-association con sensu s for the purp ose of esta b lis h ing professional sta ndards fo r studen t development/services and program s and fo r graduate school preparati on of p ro fessionals entering the fie ld of studen t affairs (CAS, 1980). Since 1986 subsequent sta ndards have been published in 1997