Sam Ratcliffe, Emeritus CAS Director, Selected as NACE President-Elect

Sam Ratcliffe, emeritus CAS Director from the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), has been selected as NACE President-Elect. He served as the Director to CAS representing NACE from 2004 until Sept. 2013. In his professional role, Ratcliffe is the Director of Career Services at Virginia Military Institute, a position that he has held since 1991.

“I am delighted that Sam Ratcliffe will be serving as the president of NACE. He is an outstanding leader, and CAS has benefited greatly from Sam's perspective and wisdom,” explained CAS President Laura Dean. “Sam has been instrumental in making sure that CAS and NACE materials remain aligned so that they work together to support good practice in the field. The expertise, dedication, and vision that we have seen from him in CAS will allow him to be an outstanding leader for NACE. CAS extends our congratulations and very best wishes to Sam as he steps into this important role.”

In addition to numerous leadership positions and committee service within NACE, Ratcliffe has been active in regional association work. He previously served terms as President of the Eastern Association of Colleges and Employers and the Virginia Association of Colleges and Employers. Ratcliffe has earned degrees from Virginia Military Institute, James Madison University, and a Ph.D. from Virginia Tech.

About CAS
CAS was established in 1979 to develop standards that enhance college student learning and promote self-assessment for institutional effectiveness. Composed of 39 collaborating professional associations representing over 100,000 professionals in higher education, CAS has developed standards and guidelines for 43 diverse areas of the college student experiences.

The eighth edition of the book, CAS Professional Standards for Higher Education, was released in August 2012. The book of standards is the defining source of professional standards for many of the services provided to students in higher education. Along with the book, CAS released an updated CD of all 43 functional area self-assessment guides (SAGs). The SAGs provide institutions of higher education with strategies for assessing program and service effectiveness based on the evidence a self-study team gathers and evaluates. Information about CAS and its efforts over its more than three decades can be found at https://www.cas.edu.