SAIRO is the research and assessment office within UCLA’s Student Affairs organization. The purpose of our office is to keep Student Affairs staff and other UCLA constituents up to date about the backgrounds, experiences, and needs of students; assist Student Affairs departments in assessing their services; and contribute to campus- and UC system-wide research and assessment efforts.
SAIRO aims to foster a culture of critical, equity oriented assessment, wherein departments utilize student-centered data to drive transformative change on individual, organizational, and institutional levels. We work to empower and educate institutional leadership and staff to transform student voices into practice in order to meet the evolving needs of students.
Student Affairs Information & Research Office
Sarah Pham
Senior Analyst
Research, Assessment, and Planning
spham@saonet.ucla.edu
Vanessa Escobar
Senior Analyst
Research, Assessment, and Planning
vescobar@saonet.ucla.edu
Elizabeth Martin
Senior Analyst
Research, Assessment, and Planning
emartin@saonet.ucla.edu
More About our Work
Assessment Support and Capacity Building
Activities within this area of our work are designed to better improve the experience of UCLA students by providing consultation and support to Student Affairs departments as they examine their practices and strive to improve them. Assessment support and capacity building activities include assessment training (e.g. annual Assessment Curriculum, quarterly Assessment Forum trainings, ad-hoc training) departmental presentations and consultation regarding departmental assessment projects, divisional assessment coordination for Student Affairs, providing departmental access to data collected and/or stored by the SAIRO office, and oversight and coordination of the Student Affairs Program Review Process. This support and consultation is provided with the understanding the Student Affairs offices are using the data to improve the services and experiences offered to students.
Student Research and Surveys
Activities in this area of work include administering and reporting results from student surveys – which survey direct-entry and transfer undergraduate students as well as graduate students and other specific populations. Further, we collect qualitative data from a number of sources, utilizing both staff and student researchers. For example, we created the Undergraduate Research Partnership Initiative (URPI) to provide undergraduate students an opportunity to gain assessment and research skills while participating as researchers on a project studying experiences of different students on campus. The results from these efforts are communicated to UCLA students, staff, and other stakeholders through our website, research briefs and topical reports, and presentations.