601-2 - Institutional Research and Assessment

Title:	Institutional Research and Assessment
Owner:	Office of the Provost
Last Update/Revised:	05/01/2024

This policy documents the responsibilities of the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment (OIRA). OIRA collaborates with the Assessment Committee to maintain a culture of assessment to ensure USU is operating within its mission and is meeting the goals and objectives outlined in the strategic plan.

OIRA is responsible for monitoring, educating, training, and coordinating the University's ongoing planning and assessment to ensure 1) compliance with federal, state, institutional, and program-specific accrediting bodies and 2) documentation of continuous improvement.

OIRA's mission is to create an environment that fosters learning, development, and success for the entire university community: Students, faculty, and staff. This is accomplished through an ongoing process of assessment that allows for making data-driven decisions leading to informed planning that both documents compliance and improves academic programs, educational support services, and administrative departments.

OIRA, in liaison with the Assessment Committee, developed a comprehensive institutional research and assessment process described in the procedures section below.

Ultimate oversight of institutional research and assessment activities resides with the Provost. Responsibility for enforcement of this policy within each department/college resides with the leadership within that unit (e.g., Deans, Directors, etc.).

OIRA has the following responsibilities:

Measure student learning outcomes to determine the quality of its curriculum and educational process in equipping students with each program's learning outcomes;
Determine factors that improve retention and graduation rates;
Measure student satisfaction to determine opportunities for improvement;
Measure faculty engagement to determine strategies for increased satisfaction and performance;
Provide data required for leadership to perform faculty evaluations;
Examine factors related to increased organizational efficiency to improve performance in all areas of the organization;
Provide organizational department, committees, and task forces data requested to assist with meeting accreditation, federal, state, and other external requirements
Assist organizational departments, committees, and task forces with quality improvement projects
Provide the Board of Trustees quarterly reports

Purpose: The purpose of this policy is to affirm the University's responsibility to engage in institution-wide, systematic, and continuous assessment of the institution's effectiveness and to establish clear, consistent, and sustainable processes for doing so. The University's strategic plan generally shapes assessment activities, and assessment results are used to inform programmatic and administrative decisions, strategic planning, budget requests, and resource allocations.

Procedures:

Departmental Assessment

Departmental assessment at USU determines how well and in what ways departments meet their individual and university-wide goals and how they can improve their performance. Responsibility for evaluation rests within each department.
1. Departments requiring data or assistance with projects to assess and improve processes request assistance from OIRA via the online data request form.

Assessment of Academic Programs, Student Satisfaction, and Faculty Engagement

Evaluation and decisions related to academic programs and student satisfaction are the faculty's responsibility and overseen by school leadership (e.g., learning outcomes).
1. OIRA provides data to assist in annual (or more frequent) data dialogues for each college
2. At the end of each term, OIRA provides data from faculty and students via end-of-course surveys, as well as data from graduating students via end-of-program surveys
Evaluation and decision related to faculty engagement is a shared responsibility between leadership in each college and Faculty Services
1. Annually, OIRA provides data to both stakeholders via a Faculty Engagement Survey

Assessment of Faculty

The evaluation of faculty is the responsibility of the leadership in each college in collaboration with Faculty Services
1. Annually (or more frequently, upon request), OIRA provides the data required to evaluate faculty

Assessment of Additional Outcomes for External Requirements (not listed above)

The assessment of additional outcomes required for accreditation, federal, state, and other external requirements is typically a shared responsibility between all departments/colleges involved in supporting the outcomes.
1. Departments/colleges requiring data or assistance with projects related to external requirements request assistance from OIRA via the online data request form.

Policy Review

This policy is reviewed annually each January and updated to reflect changes in University staffing or structure, revision of accreditation standards, or continual improvement of the processes outlined above.

Scope: This policy applies to all academic and administrative units within USU.

Documents and Forms:

OIRA Data Request Form