The Office of Planning and Institutional Performance (PIP) is the focal point for FGCU’s institutional effectiveness efforts and accreditation. It gathers, analyzes, and uses data to inform institutional planning and effectiveness processes, policy development, and decision-making; facilitates program review; and coordinates and supports university-wide strategic planning efforts.   In fostering accountability and excellence, PIP provides guidance and mechanisms for assessment in such areas as educational outcomes, effectiveness in teaching and learning, distance learning and faculty productivity.  The Office of Planning and Institutional Performance uses planning strategies and assessment to do the following: assist the University to improve its programs and services, including international dimensions and community outreach for adult learners; and to achieve regional and specialized accreditation.

The Office of Planning and Institutional Performance  will be the principal source for information on the status and performance of the university and the office of first choice for assistance in the pursuit of institutional effectiveness and continuous improvement in all its myriad forms.

The office conducts strategic planning for the university and oversees institutional effectiveness efforts including maintenance of unit assessment plans and annual reports.  Consequently, this includes overseeing the preparation and submission of all reports and information requests associated with the university’s regional accreditation by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The Office has worked to establish a system of peer program review that is in compliance with the state-mandated seven-year program review cycle. The office coordinates a systematic process of external student surveys including participation in CIRP, NSSE, FSSE, and Noel-Levitz student satisfaction to gauge student involvement that is complemented by its own studies of such issues as retention, staff climate, and residential life. Federal IPEDS reporting and media requests for data are completed by the office.  The office also serves as the data administrator for the Board of Governors and is responsible for overseeing the preparation and submission of all state-mandated reports and files. The Board of Trustees Information System is also maintained and updated quarterly to provide the university with essential facts concerning student enrollment, financial aid, faculty and staff, budget, and campus crime. The Student Assessment of Instruction, a survey of student satisfaction with their instructors, is administered throughout the year to virtually every class section, whether online or in the traditional classroom setting. The Office also coordinates faculty surveys/evaluations of academic deans, associate/assistant deans, and chair persons, and coordinates faculty voting with regard to in-unit faculty promotions. In addition, the office provides ready assistance to any unit within the university seeking survey support or specific information.