Institutional effectiveness is a systematic and ongoing process of planning, evaluation, and improvement. An institutional effectiveness program aids in decision-making and improvement of an institution by collecting, analyzing, and acting upon data and information related to the goals and outcomes developed to support the university mission and purpose. According to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, institutional effectiveness is central to its philosophy of accreditation and is a core component of its Criteria for Accreditation. While engaged in its pursuit of quality, an institution is expected to document quality and effectiveness by employing a comprehensive system of planning and evaluation in all aspects of the institution.
As
stated above, there are three constituent elements essential to
institutional effectiveness: planning, evaluation, and improvement.
These three components make up the circle of institutional effectiveness
in which continuous improvement and refinements on goals and methods are
undertaken to ensure that the needs, purpose, and mission of an
institution are being met. Therefore, it has become a great necessity to
develop a broad-based system to determine institutional effectiveness
appropriate to the needs, purpose, and mission of an institution in its
peculiar context by employing a variety of assessment methods and
demonstrating the use of the results of planning and evaluation process
for the improvement of educational programs, student services, and
administrative processes.
Purposes:
Thus
the guidelines for the assessment and evaluation of the institutional
effectiveness of the University have been developed.
Focuses:
TROY-Dothan
institutional effectiveness assessment and evaluation focuses on five
major areas of organizational functions:
1.
Instructional/student learning outcomes;
2.
Student services outcomes;
3.
Outcomes of administrative processes;
4.
Public service outcomes;
5.
Research productivity.
The assessment of the outcomes of student
services and administrative processes is closely related to the program
effectiveness and hence to the success of student learning. The quality
and effectiveness of student services and administrative processes of TROY-Dothan
ensure a high student retention rate and the full completion of student
programs of study. Regular evaluation of the outcomes of student
services and administrative processes will enable different offices and
departments to function effectively to their full capacity and to
provide compatible academic environment for TROY-Dothan students to achieve their goals as a
result of their TROY-Dothan educational experiences.
To
provide services to the community and aid in the economic and social
development of the Wiregrass Region is one of the major goals of TROY-Dothan.
In addition to offering various degree and non-degree programs to serve
the needs of the community, an important indicator of TROY-Dothan’s
satisfactory public services and its capacity to meet the growing market
needs of the community is that organizations of the region are satisfied
with the employment preparation of our graduates and keep hiring our
students when they graduate. To assess the outcomes of our public
services will make us aware of our graduates’ work performance and of
the needs to improve and upgrade our educational programs to meet the
needs of the region.
Research productivity reflects the academic level of a higher education institution. Increased research productivity will not only improve teaching performance and enhance student learning outcomes, but will also improve the image of a university and raise its reputation. Regular assessment and evaluation of research productivity is a good way to identify the academic level of our university and determine how research can help improve teaching and learning outcomes at our university.
All
these assessments and evaluations will be of significance to the
fulfillment of TROY-Dothan’s mission and the
achievement of its Strategic Objectives in the TROY-Dothan Strategic Plan.
Principles
of Good Evaluation Practice:
The American Association for Higher Education (AAHE) has developed the following nine “Principles of Good Practice for Assessing Student Learning”:
1. The assessment of student learning begins with educational values.
2.
Assessment is most effective when it reflects an understanding of
learning as multidimensional, integrated, and revealed in performance
over time.
3.
Assessment works best when the programs it seeks to improve have
clear, explicitly stated purposes.
4.
Assessment requires attention to outcomes but also and equally to
the experiences that lead to those outcomes.
5.
Assessment works best when it is ongoing, not episodic.
6.
Assessment fosters wider improvement when representatives from
across the educational community are involved.
7.
Assessment makes a difference when it begins with issues of use
and illuminates questions that people really care about.
8.
Assessment is most likely to lead to improvement when it is part
of a larger set of conditions that promote change.
9.
Through assessment, educators meet responsibilities to students
and to the public.
All these principles will
be used as the foundation for the development and maintenance of the
effectiveness of educational programs, student services, and
administrative processes at TROY-Dothan.
General
Procedures for Assessment and Evaluation of Institutional effectiveness:
1. Assessment Contact Person:
The dean, director, or manager will be the person responsible for institutional effectiveness within each division. He/she will serve as the division’s liaison for assessment and evaluation and coordinate the assessment projects for the division. The Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness will be in close contact with him/her and check on the implementation of the evaluation plan.2. Evaluation Committee:
The TROY-Dothan Institutional Effectiveness Committee will be responsible for institutional effectiveness within the whole university. The committee will plan broadly and coordinate all activities of institutional effectiveness assessment and evaluation across divisions. The committee will also assist and provide input to the deans, directors and managers and work with them to complete the assessment and evaluation process.
3. Evaluation Plans:
In the Spring of each year, each division will be required to develop an evaluation plan and have the plan on file with OIRE. Based on the Strategic Plan of the University, the plan should include:a. Objective statements;
b. A statement linking the objectives to the TROY-Dothan Strategic Plan for Mission
Statement;
c. Expected outcomes;
d. Assessment procedures and criteria;
e. Follow-up procedures for using assessment results;
f. Procedures for reporting assessment and follow-up results.
Note: These objectives will be
used in the budget allocation process.
1. Review of Evaluation Plans:
Once the evaluation plan is made, each division will be required to review its evaluation plan at the beginning of each quarter. If the plan needs to be updated in order to ensure that objectives and outcomes are still relevant and that all necessary areas are addressed, a memo needs to be forwarded to OIRE, stating the reasons for changing the evaluation plan.2. Role of the Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness in the AAssessment and Evaluation of Institutional Effectiveness:
a. Coordinate the efforts of assessment and evaluation of institutional effectiveness in each division;
b. Check with each division regularly on the progress of the implementation of their plans and see to it that the evaluation plan of each program and office is carried out to the letter;c. Provide technical expertise for the assessment and evaluation activities of each division;
d. Provide resources and references on assessment and evaluation; (A library of assessment and evaluation resources and references needs to be established in the Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness)
e.
Compile results of assessment and evaluation of institutional
effectiveness from each program and office and report to the leadership
of the University for decision making and improvement.
3. The Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness’ Routine Efforts in Assessment and Evaluation of Institutional Effectiveness:
The Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness will provide each program and office with the information collected through the routine assessments and evaluations it conducts for institutional effectiveness. Based on the Focuses of assessment and evaluation, the surveys to be conducted by the Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness are:
a. TROY-Dothan Graduate Follow-up Surveys;
b. TROY-Dothan Employer Satisfaction Surveys;
c. TROY-Dothan Continuing Student Satisfaction and Priority Survey;
In addition, the Office will conduct ad hoc research to collect necessary information for the institutional effectiveness of the University. In the year of 1998-1999, the Office will conduct TROY-Dothan Undergraduate/Graduate Retention and Graduation Rates Study, TROY-Dothan Non-Returning Student Survey, and Wiregrass Region Educational Needs Analysis.
Review
of Assessment and Evaluation Results:
According to SACS, it is extremely important to document all assessment and evaluation activities, results, and uses for institutional effectiveness. Once assessment and evaluation activities have been conducted, resultant data must be synthesized and analyzed, and then documented. For this effort, the following steps must be taken:
First, the evaluation committee will need to develop and determine levels of performance for each expected outcome, based on the evaluation plan. These expected levels will then be used to evaluate the outcomes of performance. Through these processes, areas of weakness will be addressed and areas of strength can then be identified.
Second, assessment and evaluation results used will be documented. For this purpose, each division must provide a yearly report to the Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness, stating in detail how assessment and evaluation results are used for improvement and/or for decision making and planning for the next academic year. This report should include any changes made on the basis of the assessments and evaluations and how the program or office responded to the previous changes.
Finally, the Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness will produce a comprehensive annual report, based on the reports from each division, and submit the report to leadership of the University.
Final
Remarks--Closing the Loop of Institutional Effectiveness:
As stated in the Introduction of the Guidelines, the institutional effectiveness process is an ongoing planning-assessment-improvement circle, in which continuous improvement and refinement on goals and methods of an institution are undertaken. In order to ensure the completion of this process, or close this circle, all the three basic functions of the process must be completed. This is called “to close the loop” of institutional effectiveness as a special term of SACS. Again, to close the loop, the following essentials are to be taken completely:
1. Planning and stating central expectations of program or performance outcomes;
2. Identifying and/or developing appropriate assessment and evaluation procedures;
3. Conducting assessment and evaluation activities as planned;
4. Using the resultant assessment data to evaluate the extent of outcome accomplishment;
5. Based on the findings of assessment and evaluation, developing and implementing specific strategies for improvement and enhancement;
6. Modifying program and performance expected outcomes based on the enhancements and starting the circle over.
Institutional effectiveness concerns everyone working with the University and therefore it is everyone’s duty to care about and make efforts to help ensure the institutional effectiveness of the University. With collective efforts of all faculty and staff, TROY-Dothan will fulfill its missions and achieve its goals for educational excellence.
