Assessing and Planning for Institutional Effectiveness

Jasmine R. Ray AVP for Planning and Effectiveness 8/26/15

Exercise I Purpose:

It will help us understand and define Institutional Effectiveness for PTC.

IRPE

Exercise I:

What is PTC’s Mission?

IRPE

PTC provides high quality university transfer, career and technical, and workforce education that promotes student learning, success, and the economic development of the state.

IRPE

The Mission Statement:

is the foundation of any strategic plan. delineates, in concise language, why the

institution exists and what its operations are

intended to achieve. serves as the explanation for the existence

of the organization.

SCUP

Criterion One. Mission

The institution’s mission is clear and articulated publicly; it guides the institution’s operations.

The Higher Learning Commission

Exercise II Purpose:

To define Institutional Effectiveness for PTC.

IRPE

Exercise II:

What does Institutional Effectiveness mean?

IRPE

Institutional Effectiveness

Bridging Research, Information, and Culture (BRIC)An Initiative of the Research & Planning Group for California Community Colleges

Inquiry Guide - p. 5

Institutional effectiveness is the extent to which a college achieves its mission, as expressed through the goals and objectives developed in a strategic or master plan.

Includes student and institutional data on major college milestones and indicators.

Program review, planning and SLO assessment are all part of institutional effectiveness.

Institutional Effectiveness

Institutional effectiveness is when achievements and outcomes indicate how well the College’s mission is being fulfilled. The purpose of the institutional effectiveness process at VHCC is to demonstrate continuous improvement in student learning, educational programs and administrative and educational support services.

Virginia Highlands Community College

Institutional Effectiveness

Institutional effectiveness = the results of operational processes, policies, duties and sites—and their success in working together—to support the management of the institution

Student learning = the results of curricular and co-curricular experiences designed to provide students with knowledge and skills

Wiedner Univeristy. SCUP Presentation

Institutional Effectiveness

PTC Institutional Research, Planning and Effectiveness Unit

Institutional Effectiveness consists of a set of ongoing and systematic institutional processes and practices that include:

planning, implementation, evaluating programs and services (including administrative and student support)

identification and measurement of outcomes across all institutional units (including learning outcomes in instructional programs), and

the use of data and assessment results to inform decision-making and resource allocation

The purpose of the IE process is to demonstrate continuous improvement in student learning , educational programs, and administrative and student support services. In short, IE tells us how well we are fulfilling our mission.

Institutional Effectiveness

The Higher Learning Commission

Criterion Five. Resources, Planning, and Institutional EffectivenessThe institution’s resources, structures, and processes are sufficient to fulfill its mission, improve the quality of its educational offerings, and respond to future challenges and opportunities. The institution plans for the future.

Core Components5.A. The institution’s resource base supports its current educational programs and its plans for maintaining and strengthening their quality in the future.

1. The institution has the fiscal and human resources and physical and technological infrastructure sufficient to support its operations wherever and however programs are delivered.2. The institution’s resource allocation process ensures that its educational purposes are not adversely affected by elective resource allocations to other areas or disbursement of revenue to a superordinate entity.3. The goals incorporated into mission statements or elaborations of mission statements are realistic in light of the institution’s organization, resources, and opportunities.4. The institution’s staff in all areas are appropriately qualified and trained.5. The institution has a well-developed process in place for budgeting and for monitoring expense.

Institutional Effectiveness

The Higher Learning Commission

5.B. The institution’s governance and administrative structures promote effective leadership and support collaborative processes that enable the institution to fulfill its mission.

1. The governing board is knowledgeable about the institution; it provides oversight of the institution’s financial and academic policies and practices and meets its legal and fiduciary responsibilities.2. The institution has and employs policies and procedures to engage its internal constituencies—including its governing board, administration, faculty, staff, and students—in the institution’s governance.3. Administration, faculty, staff, and students are involved in setting academic requirements, policy, and processes through effective structures for contribution and collaborative effort.

Institutional Effectiveness

The Higher Learning Commission

5.C. The institution engages in systematic and integrated planning.

1. The institution allocates its resources in alignment with its mission and priorities.2. The institution links its processes for assessment of student learning, evaluation of operations, planning, and budgeting.3. The planning process encompasses the institution as a whole and considers the perspectives of internal and external constituent groups.4. The institution plans on the basis of a sound understanding of its current capacity. Institutional plans anticipate the possible impact of fluctuations in the institution’s sources of revenue, such as enrollment, the economy, and state support.5. Institutional planning anticipates emerging factors, such as technology, demographic shifts, and globalization.

5.D. The institution works systematically to improve its performance.

1. The institution develops and documents evidence of performance in its operations.2. The institution learns from its operational experience and applies that learning to improve its institutional effectiveness, capabilities, and sustainability, overall and in its component parts

Institutional Effectiveness Components

Planning Strategies

Outcomes Reporting

Dialogue & Information Sharing

Institutional Effectiveness

Bridging Research, Information, and Culture (BRIC)An Initiative of the Research & Planning Group for California Community Colleges

Inquiry Guide - p. 7

Exercise III Purpose:

To understand why we participate in planning processes.

IRPE

Exercise III:

What is planning and why is it important?

IRPE

Planning

PTC Institutional Research, Planning and Effectiveness Unit

Planning is means/process oriented, meaning it focuses on actions to improve processes or make a unit operate more efficiently.

Levels of Institutional Planning

SCUP

Strategic or Master Planning

Scan Environment

Establish Core Tenets

Develop Strategic Actions

Implement Action Plans

Evaluate Actions

Bridging Research, Information, and Culture (BRIC)An Initiative of the Research & Planning Group for California Community Colleges

Inquiry Guide - p. 8

Strategic or Master Planning• Collect and analyze trends in six key areas:

economic, social, demographic, technological, political and educational.

Phase 1-Scan theEnvironment

• Define/redefine vision, mission, and values.

Phase 2- Establish Core Tenets

• Establish a set of goals, objectives and strategic directions or priorities, as well as indicators and measures.

Phase 3- Develop Strategic Directions

• Develop and implement operational plans.Phase 4- Implement

Action Plans

• Review the results of the measuredindicators and evaluate actions.

Phase 5-Evaluate Actions

Bridging Research, Information, and Culture (BRIC)An Initiative of the Research & Planning Group for California Community Colleges

Inquiry Guide - p. 8-9

Exercise IV Purpose:

To bring it all together...

IRPE

Exercise IV:

How do we plan for Institutional Effectiveness at PTC?

IRPE

Planning for Institutional Effectiveness Institutional Effectiveness planning focuses on the end result to determine how well the institutional mission is being fulfilled.

IE planning is outcomes oriented, meaning it focuses on: measuring how well students are learning in

programs and measuring how well administrative units are

operating.

IRPE

Planning for Institutional Effectiveness requires:

Core Tenets: Mission, Vision, and Values Strategic Plan Key Performance Indicators Annual College Plan Annual Unit Plans Program review and assessment (academic and

administrative)

IRPE

Planning for Institutional Effectiveness means:

We review our Mission, Vision, and Values for currency and relevancy *look at HLC language.

We work our strategic plan. We establish annual college goals that align with our strategic

objectives. We monitor Key Performance Indicators and devise strategies

for closing any gaps discovered. We engage in cyclical program review (both academic and

administrative). We evaluate (from the institutional level to employee level).

IRPE

Before we break…

Don’t let perfection be the enemy of good. Remember to review the strategic planning

process as well as the outcomes Implementation is the hardest part. Tie the annual strategic priorities with the

budget process.

IRPE

Exercise V Purpose:

To guide development of targets for Key Performance Indicators.

IRPE

Exercise V:

Data Review

IRPE

Key Performance Indicators

The Higher Learning Commission

Criterion Four. Teaching and Learning: Evaluation and ImprovementThe institution demonstrates responsibility for the quality of its educational programs, learning environments, and support services, and it evaluates their effectiveness for student learning through processes designed to promote continuous improvement.

Core Component 4.A. The institution demonstrates responsibility for the quality of its educational programs.

The institution evaluates the success of its graduates. The institution assures that the degree or certificate programs it represents as preparation for advanced study or employment accomplish these purposes. For all programs, the institution looks to indicators it deems appropriate to its mission, such as employment rates, admission rates to advanced degree programs, and participation rates in fellowships, internships, and special programs (e.g., Peace Corps and Americorps)

4.B. The institution demonstrates a commitment to educational achievement and improvement through ongoing assessment of student learning.

Key Performance Indicators 4.C. The institution demonstrates a commitment to educational improvement through ongoing attention to retention, persistence, and completion rates in its degree and certificate programs.

1. The institution has defined goals for student retention, persistence, and completion that are ambitious but attainable and appropriate to its mission, student populations, and educational offerings.2. The institution collects and analyzes information on student retention, persistence, and completion of its programs.3. The institution uses information on student retention, persistence, and completion of programs to make improvements as warranted by the data.4. The institution’s processes and methodologies for collecting and analyzing information on student retention, persistence, and completion of programs reflect good practice. (Institutions are not required to use IPEDS definitions in their determination of persistence or completion rates. Institutions are encouraged to choose measures that are suitable to their student populations, but institutions are accountable for the validity of their measures.)

The Higher Learning Commission

Key Performance Indicators

AIR Professional File, Number 126

Setting key performance indicators (KPIs) is necessary in order to measure institutional effectiveness.

KPIs should be tied to existing plan goals in order to ensure relevancy.

A balanced scorecard is a helpful took to create a balanced set of indicators that recognizes the many dimensions that contribute to the success of the organization.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

KPIs are used to see if we (the institution) is successful at moving the needle on short-term goals.

About tracking the data: Historical data for baselines

Either create targets or trend line (Results-Based Accountability)

Use historical and national benchmarks

Assign a single point of contact / lead, who is in charge of moving the needle.

No more than one or two KPIs per short-term goals.

IRPE

Strategies Strategies should be developed with a KPI lead

A single strategy may address multiple KPIs

Develop timelines with milestones, and if possible, use a project management approach

Remember the guiding principles!

1. Keep it relevant

2. Keep it simple

3. Keep it useful

IRPE

Balanced Scorecard

AIR Professional File, Number 126

Identifies four perspectives that an institution should consider in planning and assessing performance:

Financial Customer Business processes Learning and growth