Integrating Higher Education Planning and Assessment: Concepts and Strategies

1. Integrating Higher Education Planning and Assessment:Concepts and Strategies Michael F. Middaugh Associate Provost for Institutional Effectiveness University of Delaware & Commissioner and Member of Executive Committee Middle States Commission on Higher Education Andrea A. Lex Dean of Planning and Institutional Research Prince George’s Community College

2. “The nicest thing about not planning is that failure comes as a complete surprise and is not preceded by a period of worry and depression.” John Preston, Boston College“A common mistake that people make when trying to design something completely foolproof is to underestimate the ingenuity of complete fools.” Douglas Adams, Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy

3. Our (Flexible) Agenda • Tuesday Morning • Foundation • Accreditation • Characteristics • Standards 14, 7, 2, 1 • Looking Closely at Mission & Goals • Tuesday Afternoon • Linking Planning & Assessment • RECEPTION & DINNER • Wednesday • Recap • Planning to Plan • What Should Be Assessed? • Some Measures • Tying It All Together

4. Who are we? >>> 49 Participants from 30 Institutions >>>13 teams representing a cross section Individuals 41% public 4-year 18% private 4-year 35% two-year 6% specialized • Institutions • 33 % public 4-year • 23% private 4-year • 37% two-year • 7% specialized

5. Components of This Curriculum • An Overview of Accreditation • The Characteristics of Excellence • Closing the Planning & Assessment Loop • Best Practice in Planning • Best Practice in Assessment • Real Life Case Studies

6. Our Lens

7. A Brief Overview of Accreditation &The Characteristics of Excellence

8. What is accreditation? • A means of providing quality assurance in the areas of • Student learning and achievement • Curriculum development and support • Faculty • Facilities and equipment • Finance, administration, and governance • Integrity and compliance

9. Why is it done? • Voluntary self-regulation • Voluntary self-examination • Opportunity for peer review • Quality assurance • Public accountability • And, in the case of regional accreditation • Ability to receive Federal financial aid dollars

10. What is the subject? THE ENTIRE INSTITUTION

11. What “camera” is used? The Characteristics of Excellence

12. What is the focus? The Effectiveness of THE ENTIRE INSTITUTION

13. What lens is used? Institutional Effectiveness (Institutional Assessment) West County Community College Educational Effectiveness (Assessment of Student Learning)

14. Institutional Effectiveness(Standard 7: Institutional Assessment) Standards 1 through 6 • Mission • Planning • Resource Allocation • Leadership • Governance • Administration • Integrity

15. Educational Effectiveness(Standard 14: Assessment of Student Learning) Standards 8 through 13 • Admissions & Retention • Student Support Services • Faculty • Educational Offerings • General Education • Related Educational • Activities

16. Institutional Effectiveness • Mission • Planning • Resource Allocation • Leadership • Governance • Administration • Integrity Educational Effectiveness • Admissions & Retention • Student Support Services • Faculty • Educational Offerings • General Education • Related Educational • Activities

17. Institutional Effectiveness Standard 7: Institutional Assessment The institution has developedand implemented an assessment process that evaluates: • Its overall effectiveness in achieving its mission and goals and • Its compliance with accreditation standards.

18. Educational Effectiveness Standard 14: Assessment of Student Learning Assessment of student learning demonstrates that, at graduation, or other appropriate points, the institution’s students have knowledge, skills, and competencies consistent with: • Institutional and • Appropriate higher education goals.

19. Fundamental Elements Standard 14 Standard 7 Written institutional strategic plan(s) Documented, organized, and sustained assessment processes Evidence that assessment results are shared & used in institutional planning, resource allocation and renewal Evidence that institutional assessment findings are used to improve student success • Articulated expectations for student learning • Documented, organized, and sustained assessment processes • Evidence that student learning assessment information is shared & used to improve teaching and learning • Documented use of student learning assessment information as part of institutional success

20. Fundamental Elements Standard 14 Standard 7 Written institutional strategic plan(s) Documented, organized, and sustained assessment processes Evidence that assessment results are shared&used in institutional planning, resource allocation and renewal Evidence that institutional assessment findings are used to improve student success • Articulated expectations for student learning • Documented, organized, and sustained assessment processes • Evidence that student learning assessment information is shared&used to improve teaching and learning • Documented use of student learning assessment information as part of institutional success

21. What has Accreditation Review Revealed? • The quality of an institution’s accreditation self study hinges on how it addresses the standards related to • assessing institutional effectiveness (Standard 7) • assessing student learning outcomes (Standard 14) • And

22. Closing the Loop • implementing a vital and comprehensive strategic planning process (Standard 2).

23. The Loop

24. Closing the Loop Standard 14 Standard 7 Written institutional strategic plan(s) Documented, organized, and sustained assessment processes Evidence that assessment results are shared & used in institutional planning, resource allocation and renewal Evidence that institutional assessment findings are used to improve student success • Articulated expectations for student learning • Documented, organized, and sustained assessment processes • Evidence that student learning assessment information is shared & used to improve teaching and learning • Documented use of student learning assessment information as part of institutional success

25. Closing the Loop Standard 2: Planning, Resource Allocationand Institutional Renewal • An institution conducts ongoing planning and resource allocationbased on its mission and goals, • develops objectives to achieve them, • and utilizes the results of its assessment activities for institutional renewal. • Implementationand subsequent evaluation of the success of the strategic plan and resource allocation • support the development and change necessary to improve and to maintain quality.

26. Selected Fundamental Elements forMSCHE Standard 2 • Clearly stated goals and objectives, at both the institutional and unit levels, that reflect conclusions drawn from assessments that are used for planning and resource allocation at those levels • Planning and improvement processes that are clearly communicated, provide for constituent participation, and incorporate the use of assessment results • Well-defined decision-making processes and authority that facilitates planning and renewal and the assignment of responsibility for improvement and assurance of accountability • Periodic assessment of the effectiveness of planning, resource allocation, and institutional renewal processes

27. The Closed Loop • Institutions must plan effectively in order to be effective. • Where that is the case, the accreditation process is an affirmation of the evidence of that effectiveness.

28. The Loop “Institutional planning is a disciplined, coordinated, systematic, and sustained effort . . ..”

29. Wants Plan Assessment Pressures Goals Terrific Ideas Resource Allocation Strategies

30. The Hub Mission

31. The Hub • Standard 1: Mission and Goals • The institution’s mission clearly defines its purpose within the context of higher education • And indicates who the institution serves • And what it intends to accomplish.

32. The Hub • Standard 1: Mission and Goals • The stated goals, consistent with the aspiration and expectations of higher education, clearly specify how the institution will fulfill its mission.

33. The Hub • Standard 1: Mission and Goals • The mission and goals are developed and recognized by the institution with the participation of its members and its governing body • and are utilized to develop and shape its programs and practices • and to evaluate its effectiveness.

34. Mission Statement • A good mission statement is a carefully reasoned analysis of what an institution aspires to be, and the core values that it embraces. • It avoids cliché language, e.g., “Students and faculty will interact in a rich intellectual environment in which each individual has the opportunity to achieve their full potential.” Noble sentiment, but says nothing about the institution’s purposes and priorities. • Mission must speak to central institutional issues, e.g., desired balance between undergraduate and graduate education; relative emphasis on teaching, research, and service, respectively; and so on.

35. Mission Statement • Mission statements are characterized by a sense of vision that, while not immutable, nonetheless represents a long-term statement of institutional values and direction around which human and fiscal resource allocation decisions can be made. • While cognizant of the institution’s ever changing external environment, mission statements are not whimsical, morphing with each new market trend that emerges. • The mission statement provides a clear sense of direction around which action-oriented goal statements and measurable planning objectives can be developed.

36. How will we actualize our mission?

37. Planning Goals • Goal statements are derived from the institutional mission, and help to define policy. • They describe how to achieve the mission. • The “how” are specific, action-oriented planning goals aimed at moving the institution toward a fuller realization of its mission.

38. Planning Goals • Mission Statement Segment: The University reaffirms its historic mission to provide the highest quality education for its undergraduate students, while maintaining excellence in selected graduate programs. • Possible related goal: “The University will continue to attract and retain the most academically talented and diverse undergraduate students, and support their intellectual, cultural, and ethical development as citizens and scholars.” • Action verbs such as “attract,” “retain,” and “support” elevate the goal statement to policy level. How do we know that policy is being carried out? Measurable planning objectives.

39. Planning Objectives • What will we look like when we get there?

40. Planning Objectives Planning objectives provide empirical evidence of the extent to which planning goals are being achieved. Planning Goal: to attract, retain, and support academically talented and diverse students. Related Objectives: • Retain a freshman admissions target of 3,200 to 3,400 students annually, with an admissions profile for academic year 2007 of 23,000 applications, a 40 percent admit rate,&a yield rate in excess of 35 percent. • Maintain a freshman-to-sophomore retention rate above the national average for highly selective institutions, and seek to achieve a consistent rate of 90 percent or higher. • Increase minority and international enrollment, with retention and graduation rates for those populations consistent with the university-wide averages for all students.

41. Planning Objectives • The defining characteristic for any good planning objective is that it must be measurable. In other words, assessable. • What does this mean operationally? • Colleges or universities embarking on any planning process – long range, strategic, tactical – require a systematic institutional research capability. • While smaller institutions may not have an office of institutional research, per se, they must nonetheless have the capability of quantitatively and qualitatively assessing the extent to which planning objectives are being implemented, planning goals are being achieved, and the institutions mission is being realized.

42. Central Threads Running Through All Accreditation Requirements: • Planning must be systematic • Planning must be rooted in an institution’s mission • Planning must be predicated on analytical and evaluative information • Planning must be used for institutional decisions, including resource allocation

44. Breakout Session To what degree do YOUR mission and goal statements and the samples provided meet the characteristics described in MSCHE’s fundamental elements for developing a mission and goals?

45. Our Lens

46. Linking Planning and Assessment Two Case Studies at The Same Institution

47. The First Cut: Creating a Culture of Planning

48. University of DelawareStrategic Planning: 1990 - 2000

49. University of Delaware Mission Statement “The University reaffirms its historic mission to provide the highest quality education for its undergraduate students, while maintaining excellence in selected graduate programs. The faculty are responsible for helping students learn to reason critically and independently, gain knowledge of the diverse culture and environment in which they live, and develop into well-informed citizens and leaders. To accomplish these goals, the University provides a learning setting enriched by undergraduate student research, experiential learning, and study-abroad programs. The University places high priority on the education of qualified Delaware residents and provides opportunity for a diverse group of citizens to participate in postsecondary education. Since the University is located in a state with a small population, providing programs of quality and diversity requires a community of student-scholars that reaches beyond the boundaries of the state, one that reflects the nation’s racial and cultural diversity. “The University of Delaware also aspires to excellence in graduate education, the heart of which is scholarship and research. The creation, application, and communication of knowledge is a primary goal of the institution and of every faculty member, providing the substance for creative, informed teaching. Research is typically based on cooperation between faculty and students, whereby faculty mentors teach students to conduct independent research and to master problem-solving techniques. Through involvement of undergraduates in faculty research, the University creates a special bond between its undergraduate and graduate programs. “The University is also committed to providing service to society, especially in Delaware and the neighboring region. Public service is a responsibility of every academic unit. In addition, each faculty member is responsible for service to the University community and to his or her profession. The University emphasizes practical research, provides extension services, and works to solve problems confronting the community. (University of Delaware, Middle States Self-Study Report, April 2001)

50. Case Study – University of Delaware • In 1987, the University embarked on a comprehensive, long-range planning process, termed Project Vision. Over a period of 18 months, the campus developed a planning document with a broad spectrum of planning goals and measurable objectives embracing all aspects of University operations. • In Fall of 1988, the President who initiated Project Vision suddenly resigned. At the same time, the Delaware economy along with that of the entire mid-Atlantic region was plunging into deep recession