Institutional Effectiveness Guide

Overview

Institutional Effectiveness is ETAMU's institution-wide process of ongoing, data-driven continuous improvement occurring at the program and unit level. Every year, each academic program and divisional support unit engages in ongoing efforts of continuous improvement by identifying expected student learning outcomes and goals, assessing the extent to which these outcomes and goals are achieved, and providing evidence of seeking improvement based on analysis of these results. East Texas A&M University utilizes the Nuventive Improvement Platform to facilitate the collection of annual assessment results.

• Institutional Effectiveness Plans articulate desired student learning outcomes and goals, describe the methods by which they will be assessed, and set appropriate standards of performance for the coming year.
• Institutional Effectiveness Results report and analyze the assessment results of the prior year and describe how the program/unit is using the results to seek improvement in the desired outcomes.

IE Submission, Review and Approval Process

One IE Author is designated per academic program or support unit to document annual assessment results and assessment plan information on behalf of their program or unit. IE Results are due annually each year in the fall for results collected during the prior academic year. IE Plan updates are made at the same time for the coming academic year. IE Plans and Results are entered directly into the university's assessment management system, the Nuventive Improvement Platform.

The submission, review and approval process proceeds as follows:

1. IE Author enters IE Results and updates IE Plan information annually in Nuventive
2. Reviewed by the Office of Institutional Effectiveness
3. Approved by Direct Supervisor/Department Head for each program/unit

Institutional Effectiveness Leadership Team

Each college and division is represented by at least one IE Representative on the IE Leadership Team. Members of the IE Leadership Team are appointed by the Deans of the Colleges and Vice Presidents of the Divisions. The IE Leadership Team members support the assessment of student learning outcomes and goals within their colleges and divisions and serve in an advisory capacity regarding institutional effectiveness planning and reporting. The IE Leadership Team is overseen by the Director of Institutional Effectiveness under the leadership of the Senior Vice Provost and SACSCOC Accreditation Liaison.

Assessment FAQs

Who participates in assessment at East Texas A&M?

At ETAMU, each educational program and certificate program, both graduate and undergraduate, as well as the General Education Core Curriculum participates in Institutional Effectiveness (IE) through the assessment of student learning outcomes. Each divisional support unit, including academic and student support services such as Student Career Preparedness, Residential Living & Learning, and Student Health Services, as well as administrative support services such as the Budget Office and Center for IT Excellence, participate in IE through the assessment of goals and student learning outcomes, where applicable. One designated faculty or staff member IE Author is charged with documenting the assessment plan and annual results for each academic program and support unit.

What is the difference between academic program assessment and support unit assessment?

Academic programs assess student learning outcomes, which represent what students are able to demonstrate in terms of knowledge, skills, and attitude upon completion of an educational program. Support units are classified in two types – either administrative support services or academic and student support services. Administrative support services provide operational support for the university. They assess quality of service targets such as efficiency, response rates, usage, and monetary targets. Academic and student support services provide services to support students and faculty. They assess expected outcomes such as quality of service targets and, when applicable, student learning outcomes.

What are the steps in the assessment process?

Assessment occurs in an active, ongoing, and integrated cycle. The cycle begins with identifying expected outcomes and appropriate measures by which to assess those outcomes. Next, methods of assessment are conducted to assess the achievement of the identified outcomes. Once data is collected, the results are analyzed and used to seek improvements. Finally, we repeat this cycle of assessment to measure again and determine if the implemented changes have had a positive impact on the achievement of the identified outcomes. This is known as “closing the loop.”

How do I come up with goals or student learning outcomes?

Goals and student learning outcomes should be chosen to reflect the mission of the unit or program, in alignment with the mission of the respective division or college and with the mission of the university. For helpful tips on writing goals and student learning outcomes, please see the resources on the Office of Institutional Effectiveness Internal Resources site.

What assessment methods should we use?

Assessment methods should align with and directly measure the outcome you are trying to assess. Best practices recommend a combination of direct and indirect methods. For helpful tips on selecting assessment methods, please see the resources on the Office of Institutional Effectiveness Internal Resources site.

Why can't we use grades for assessment?

The program assessment conducted as a part of the university's institutional effectiveness processes is intended to assess the performance of an academic program rather than the performance of individual students. Specifically, the program is inquiring to see if its identified student learning outcomes have been achieved by a cohort of students. To that end, assessment methods should precisely target those learning outcomes while grades often will incorporate other factors (participation, effort, extra credit, etc).

Any assignment grades that are used for program assessment should be tied to a clearly articulated learning outcome, supported by a common rubric or consistent grading criteria, and analyzed beyond pass/fail to reveal patterns of learning.

Assignments can be used to assess multiple learning outcomes by mapping specific item scores to individual SLOs or by evaluating the assignment on a rubric with multiple dimensions that map to individual SLOs. SLO-specific results can then be individually reported.

Course grades would not often meet the criteria for assessment evidence if they cannot be clearly tied to a specific learning outcome, cannot be disaggregated by outcome, and reflect effort, attendance, or other factors.

What is an annual assessment (IE) report?

An annual assessment (IE) report documents information about the program or unit's assessment plan, including identified goals or student learning outcomes and their associated assessment methods, as well as the results of those assessments for a given IE cycle (year). It documents action plans describing how those results will be used to seek continued improvements in the desired outcomes and provides follow-up information on the implementation and effects of any actions taken based on previous year results. Assessment reports are submitted annually within the Nuventive Improvement Platform, reviewed by the Office of Institutional Effectiveness, and approved by Department Heads/Direct Supervisors.

What should I report if results for my assessment methods are not collected until after the IE results submission due date?

In some cases, assessment results may only be available following a certain date such as the close of the fiscal year, the 20^th class day, etc. In most cases it is not recommended to report partial data in your assessment results for IE but rather data from the most recently ended period prior to the results submission due date. For example, if your report includes fall enrollment data that is finalized as of October 2022 but the 21-22 results submission due date is in September 2022, you should plan to submit results for enrollment data finalized in the prior period – Fall 2021.

Where can I find my program/unit's archived Assessment Plans and Reports?

Assessment reports beginning with 2018-19 Results and 2019-20 Plans are available within the Nuventive Improvement Platform to IE Authors or other IE participants with access. To receive copies of historical reports dated further back, please contact [email protected].

What resources and support are available to help me with assessment?

The Office of Institutional Effectiveness offers many helpful resources to support you in your assessment efforts. Resource guides with information about assessment as well as instructions for the use of the Nuventive Improvement Platform can be located on the Office of Institutional Effectiveness Internal Resources site. Workshops and trainings are offered by IE staff throughout the year. Information about these offerings can be located on the IE Events webpage. For direct assistance with your assessment plan, please contact [email protected] to request an individual meeting or a training session tailored to your department.