Institutional Effectiveness FAQ
Why is IE important?
Institutional Effectiveness (IE) allows the university to gauge how well it is accomplishing its mission and provides a sound foundation for informed decision-making. It also allows the university to share its performance story with its accreditors, regulators, and its constituents to assure them it is effectively accomplishing its purposes.
How is IE being carried out at FGCU?
FGCU has created an organizational framework (functions diagram, structure diagram) for IE that includes its Board of Trustees, the President and his Executive Group, the colleges, the administrative units , the administrative services directors, the Deans Council, the Faculty Senate, the Staff Advisory Council , and Student Government .
IE work is carried out through the Long Range Planning and Institutional Effectiveness Committee (LRPIEC) that is co-chaired by the VP for Admin Services and the Provost and VP for Academic Affairs. LRPIEC includes representation from all of the aforementioned groups. LRPIEC meets periodically throughout the year. It has established a series of Institutional Effectiveness Directives that guide institutional performance and continuous improvement. Its work is supported by the Office of Planning and Institutional Performance.
What does LRPIEC do exactly?
LRPIEC is responsible for linking planning, assessment, and budgeting to foster continuous improvement that leads to goal attainment. Having coordinated completion of the university's strategic plan for 2005-2010, LRPIEC is now responsible for overseeing the implementation of the university strategic plan and reporting on its progress. LRPIEC creates guidelines for the establishment of assessment plans and guidelines for annual reports. The annual reports are used to inform planning priorities. LRPIEC updates the strategic plan based upon the review of the annual reports through the BOT's formal annual setting of Presidential (Institutional) goals in June.
(back to top)
How does this work in practice?
Assessment Plans
The university adopted a model of IE that is based on its strategic plan. There are 8 key goals of the strategic plan covering the following: high-quality education, student life, co-curricular and athletic programming, faculty and staff, infrastructure, research and sponsored programs, community leadership, and ongoing quality improvement. The assessment plan sets longer-term overarching goals for each major organizational unit both academic and administrative within the university in line with that unit’s purpose. Every major organizational unit within the university has an assessment plan that ties its mission and overarching goals to the university’s strategic plan goals. The assessment plan includes assessment methods and indicates when assessments should occur and how the results of the assessment will be used to effect continuous improvement.
Annual Reports
Progress on the implementation of the assessment plans is reported through annual reports. While the assessment plans are long-term in nature, the annual reports are focused on operational or short-term objectives to attain the larger overarching goals of the organizational unit. These annual reports are both retrospective and prospective in nature. They look at goals from the current year and the strategies used for their attainment, then focus on an assessment of whether or not the goal was achieved and/or led to improvement. At the same time, this analysis of the assessment results informs the establishment of operational goals/priorities for the coming year and associated measures of performance.
LRPIEC, reviews the annual reports and makes recommendations on strategic plan funding priorities to the President’s executive group. The Executive Group and the President in turn make budget and planning recommendations to the Board of Trustees as described in the planning cycle diagram.
Are academic degree programs included in the unit level assessment plans?
No, each academic program produces an Integrative program matrix (IPM) that relates university student learning goals to specific academic program goals with associated student outcomes assessment methods and then describes how and when assessment of those student outcomes will be used to improve the program overall.
How are academic programs assessed?
Academic programs are assessed through the university’s program review process. The program review is intended to look at student outcomes and how data concerning student attainment of those outcomes are used to improve the program itself, either through changes in curriculum or delivery method, additional faculty, upgraded facilities, etc. When applicable, the results of professional program accreditation can be used to address the university’s academic program review process. The Program Review Team academic program review process is coordinated by a Faculty Senate committee and supported by the Office of Planning and Institutional Performance.
How do the results of program review get addressed?
The results of the reviews are to be formally discussed by the program and college leadership and the Provost. Results of program reviews are shared with the state and reported on in college annual reports.
What about Academic Learning Compacts?
These are now being required by the Board of Governors for each baccalaureate degree program only. Each describes student outcomes in three domains: effective communication, critical thinking, and content knowledge. The Compacts are shared with students to inform them of expectations and assessment methods to be used in each baccalaureate program. Graduating students are able to state they successfully completed a program with outcomes in each of the three domains. The ALCs are in part derived from the IPMs. A university policy guides development, modification, and evaluation of the efficacy of the ALC's.
(back to top)
Who is responsible for developing the assessment plans at the organizational unit level?
Reporting to one of the vice presidents, each college dean or administrative unit supervisor is ultimately responsible for the creation of unit assessment plans. the faculty in each college is responsible for coordinating implementation of both the unit-level assessment plan and program-specific assessment plans (through the IPMs) and working with the college dean and program faculty to accomplish these purposes. (The administrative units may or may not have an assessment committee depending on their size and the preference of the unit supervisor. Direct reports to the president work with the Office of Planning and Institutional Performance in the development of assessment plans and annual reports).
What is the current status of implementation of the new I.E. Model at FGCU?
Unit-level Assessment Plans
Each major organizational unit has drafted an assessment plan. That assessment plan has been reviewed by LRPIEC and the Office of Planning and Institutional Performance. OPIP on behalf of LRPIEC oversees the annual updating of the unit-level assessment plans. The plans are reviewed by the Deans Council and by Administrative Services Directors prior to being finalized by the ACI of LRPIEC.
Annual Reports
Annual reports for 2007-2008 will be due no later than the end of March 2008.
What will happen next?
Unit-level Assessment Plans
Annually, each unit should strive to implement at least one aspect of its assessment plan, gather evidence, analyze results, and effect positive change as a result.
Academic Program Assessment Integrative Program Matrices (IPMS)
Each college should identify, for each academic degree program it offers, an assessment method to be implemented during the coming year that will provide evidence based on student outcomes that can then be used to effect a program enhancement.
Annual Reports
Annual Reports for each academic year will be used to confirm priorities for coming academic year and to identify potential priorities. In May, LRPIEC forwards recommendations to the President’s Cabinet. The Cabinet will make decisions concerning priorities for next academic year based on LRPIEC recommendations and financial circumstances as they are known at the time. The university budget for next academic year will be voted on by the Board of Trustees when it meets in June.
Where can I access more information on Institutional Effectiveness at FGCU?
Currently we have two websites with links to each other that provide a wealth of information on IE. Both can be easily accessed from the Planning and Institutional Performance Website: http://www.fgcu.edu/planning/
The LRPIEC Website: http://www.fgcu.edu/planning/LRPIE/ has information on the committee, its purposes, and the strategic planning process at FGCU.
The Assessment Website: http://www.fgcu.edu/planning/Assessment/ contains information on assessment at FGCU, including links to assessment plans and IPMs, and resources to assist in the assessment process.
(back to top)
