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Section III: Mission, Governance,
and Institutional Effectiveness
Comprehensive Standard for Institutional Effectiveness
III-13. The institution identifies expected outcomes
for its educational programs and its administrative and educational support
services; assesses whether it achieves these outcomes; and provides evidence
of improvement based on analyses of those results.
JUDGMENT OF COMPLIANCE
Yes, East Tennessee State University
is able to provide a portfolio of evidence supporting compliance.
STATEMENT OF RATIONALE FOR JUDGMENT OF COMPLIANCE
East Tennessee State University identifies learning
outcomes for every course and degree program and a diversity of service-oriented
outcomes for support and administrative units. Historically, ETSU has
engaged in a variety of assessments designed to facilitate improvements,
external reporting, and accountability requirements (SACS Standard
II-5). For the past two years, the university has been implementing
an integrated, comprehensive assessment plan that engages every level
of the university (ETSU Comprehensive Assessment Program). The
implementation of this comprehensive program is, in itself, an example
of a major institutional improvement based on self-assessment. The institution
has a strong history of use of the continuous improvement concept in assessing
and advancing processes and procedures that promote institutional effectiveness.
A comprehensive summary of improvements in every academic, administrative,
and support unit at the institution is available (University Profile
System).
Expected Outcomes
The ETSU faculty are responsible for identifying expected
learning outcomes for individual courses (ETSU Course Information System;
SACS Standard IV-1, IV-11). For advanced courses, these outcomes
typically are identified by individual instructors. In the cases of lower
division, general education, and beginning graduate courses, learning
outcomes often are developed by groups of faculty involved in teaching
sections of the same course, by departments as a whole, or by university-level
committees charged with oversight of the general education program (SACS
Standard IV-15). Learning outcomes for each of ETSU's 108 degree
programs are developed and reported by the appropriate academic department
or college (University Profile System). The university recently
implemented reporting devices for learning outcomes that are easily accessible
both internally across campus and externally to all publics (University
Profile System; ETSU Course Information System).
Expected outcomes for student and administrative services
are very diverse and correspond with the mission and purpose of the specific
unit (University Profile System). Included in these outcomes are
the goals of academic departments for other aspects of their missions,
including research and public service. The mission, goals, and accomplishments
of every unit are reported in the University Profile System. In the past,
the university employed a variety of procedures for identifying and reporting
of unit-specific goals and outcomes. Currently, every academic, administrative,
and support unit on campus develops specific strategic goals that are
aligned with the ETSU Mission and Strategic Plan 2000-2005
and its' expected outcomes. Those goals and strategies for pursuing them
are documented topics of discussion and planning in the annual budget
cycle. Because expected outcomes of every university unit are tied directly
to the institution's mission and strategic plan, they merge and collectively
represent and support the core commitments of the institution.
Assessments
Diverse outcomes require diverse assessment tools, processes,
and analyses. At ETSU, units use the assessments appropriate to their
goals and expected outcomes, often based on best practices for the particular
service or student population (ETSU Assessment Strategies). In
recognition of this diversity, ETSU considers both quantitative and qualitative
assessment methods for analyses of expected outcomes (SACS Standard
II-5). Historically, the university did not have a procedure for
standardized reporting of assessment strategies or for the broad dissemination
of this information. The university has identified and approached this
problem as an opportunity for improvement. The president charged the
ETSU Strategic Planning and Institutional Effectiveness Committee with
the directive to develop an integrated comprehensive assessment plan that
would bring together all assessment activities of the university in a
centralized reporting system under a common calendar. The current ETSU
Comprehensive Assessment Program has been developed under the direction
of this committee and the ETSU Office of Institutional Effectiveness
and Planning.
The institution's commitment to the successful implementation
of the ETSU Comprehensive Assessment Program (SACS Standard
II-5) is demonstrated by its recognition that the campus community
would need a broad-based educational program to ensure a smooth transition
to a common assessment scheme. This university-wide educational effort
was begun in 1999 and continues (ETSU President's Council Retreat;
ETSU Chairs Retreat). An additional demonstration of commitment is
represented by the creation of a new position in a time of decreased state
funding (SACS Standard V-1). The assessment coordinator is charged
with the responsibility of assisting the campus community in communicating
assessment strategies and using a common reporting tool.
The ETSU Comprehensive Assessment Program involves
every academic and administrative unit on campus and builds on existing
ETSU policies and procedures. The foundation for declared goals and objectives
still rests on the ETSU Mission and Strategic Plan 2000-2005.
Steps identified in this new model program have been described in SACS
Standard II-5. Units are asked to identify outcomes-oriented objectives
and specific assessment strategies for each goal. The reporting of objectives
and assessments, along with supporting data and the analyses of achievement
and progress toward improvement outcomes, now takes place using a common
relational database system (TracDat™) as an assessment management
tool. In the past, the correspondence of objectives with assessment methods,
analysis, and improvement outcomes was available only in the records of
each academic and administrative unit at ETSU. The use of a common, shared
database provides quick assess to information and historical records,
and thus, facilitates reference to the entire assessment scheme for every
unit across campus.
Assessment and use of data for improvements have been
standard practice at ETSU, as can be documented, for example, in our procedures
and calendars for peer and accreditation review of degree programs (SACS
Standard IV-1). However, some components or phases of the process
have been informal and without adequate reporting procedures. The institution
is in a transition period in the implementation of procedures for the
capture of all information in a standard, formalized manner that can be
integrated across the university (ETSU Comprehensive Assessment Program).
As with any major operational change, varied expertise impacts the pace
of implementation. If the criterion of reporting and use of the TracDat™
database is applied at this time, one-third of the approximately 150 academic
and administrative units on campus have systematically progressed through
one cycle of the new scheme. The university expects a mature system with
100% reporting within three years (ETSU Comprehensive Assessment Program
Implementation Schedule). The implementation schedule is based on
ETSU's existing calendar for academic degree program accreditation or
peer evaluation (Accreditation Schedule; Program Review Schedule),
which is consistent with the state-mandated calendar for program review
(Tennessee Higher Education Commission Performance Funding Program).
The schedule also includes the cyclic addition of all administrative and
support units and any auxiliary assessments these units undertake.
Improvements
A diversity of institution-wide and unit-specific processes
and procedures set the framework for the use of assessment data to design
and implement improvements in educational programs and services at ETSU
(SACS Standard II-5; IV-1). These same procedures are themselves
subject to assessment, and many have undergone major improvements based
on those assessments in the past 10 years (e.g., ETSU Curriculum Process,
SACS Standard IV-1, IV-11; faculty evaluation process, SACS Standard
IV-24). The application of the continuous improvement concept and
Baldrige processes to improvements in administrative functions and educational
opportunities has been on-going at ETSU since 1994 (ETSU Continuous
Improvement Inventory and Reports). The cyclic and systematic evaluation
of academic degree programs, whether by accreditation or peer review,
has occurred for the past 15 years (SACS Standard II-5, IV-1, IV-11,
IV-17, VI-1). A broad range of university-wide programs (e.g., general
education, SACS Standard IV-15) and services (e.g., student support,
SACS Standard II-10; student advising, SACS Standard IV-9;
library and other learning resources, SACS Standard IV-32) undertake
regular, periodic assessments that have served, and will continue to serve,
as the basis for an equally broad range of improvements. The recently
reported findings of the ETSU Cultural Diversity Task Force provide
yet another example where assessments leading to the development of improvement
plans have been completed on other aspects of ETSU's values (ETSU Mission)
and strategic goals (ETSU Strategic Plan 2000-2005). Collectively,
the numerous and diverse improvements that have resulted from these on-going
and periodic evaluations highlight the importance of the continuing use
of assessment data at ETSU.
The web-based University Profile System provides
every unit at ETSU the opportunity to report their missions, goals, and
improvement summaries in a fashion that is broadly accessible to other
units, students, and the general public. The same system offers academic
units a method to identify and distribute the expected learning outcomes
for every degree program at ETSU, and acts to tie the diverse goals of
academic programs to their educational missions. The web-based ETSU
Course Information System provides the same opportunity for reporting
of course-specific learning outcomes. The University Profile System
clearly documents that every unit at every level of the university is
involved in assessment and improvement as a dynamic process integral to
the health and the mission of ETSU. The specific use of assessment data
for analysis and development of outcomes-based improvements in academic
programs has also been documented in a recent Report to the Provost
(SACS Standard IV-1).
The use of a common assessment management database (TracDat™)
for complete reporting of assessments and improvement actions provides
the internal documentation for the publicly accessible summaries and outcomes
reported in the University Profile and ETSU Course Information
systems. In addition, the web-based ETSU Faculty Teaching Credentials
System provides the university and the public with documentation and
immediate access to the credentials of individual faculty in relation
to the courses they teach. Thus, use of these four database systems are
complementary and form the tools for documentation of institutional effectiveness
at ETSU. These four database management tools represent a current improvement
outcome at ETSU, based on assessment, and with numerous expected outcomes,
including:
-
standardization
of reporting records, formalization of assessment processes, and clear
emphasis on our philosophy of continuous improvement;
-
enhanced
internal communication to promote discussion and sharing of data,
efforts, and ideas;
-
integration
of unit-specific assessment and improvement areas at multiple levels
within administrative divisions and across the university;
-
improved
access to current and historical records for accreditation and peer
review of academic degree programs, and for annual public accountability
reports required of administrative divisions and the entire university
to state and federal agencies; and
-
enhanced
communication of our expectations, goals, and progress to students,
potential students, donors, and other groups of our general public.
In summary, the ETSU Comprehensive Assessment Program
and the tools provided by our four database systems will support the institution
in continuous improvement, ensuring accountability, and achieving its
mission and vision.
DOCUMENTATION
SOURCE
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LOCATION
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SACS Standard II-5
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ETSU Comprehensive Assessment Program
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University Profile System
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ETSU Course Information System
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SACS Standard IV-1
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SACS Standard IV-11
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SACS Standard IV-15
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ETSU Mission
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ETSU Strategic Plan 2000-2005
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ETSU Assessment Strategies
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ETSU Strategic Planning and Institutional Effectiveness
Committee
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ETSU Office of Institutional Effectiveness
and Planning
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ETSU President's Council Retreat, 1999 Agenda
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SACS Documentation File
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ETSU Chair's Retreat, 1999
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SACS Documentation File
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SACS Standard V-1
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ETSU Comprehensive Assessment Program Implementation
Schedule
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Accreditation Schedule, ETSU Office of Outcomes
Assessment
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Program Review Schedule, ETSU Office of Outcomes
Assessment
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Tennessee Higher Education Commission Performance
Funding Program
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ETSU Curriculum Process
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SACS Standard IV-24
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ETSU Continuous Improvement Inventory and Reports
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Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic
Affairs, 206 Dossett Hall
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SACS Standard IV-17
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SACS Standard VI-1
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SACS Standard II-10
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SACS Standard IV-9
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SACS Standard IV-32
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ETSU Cultural Diversity Task Force
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Report to the Provost
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Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic
Affairs, 206 Dossett Hall
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ETSU Faculty Teaching Credentials System
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