Institutional Effectiveness:

An institutions effectiveness is a measurement of the degree to which that institution is meeting

its mission and goals. This is not simply a theoretical postulation. Institutional effectiveness
means that all employees of Prince Georges Community College (PGCC) hold ourselves
accountable and are responsible for being able to publicly demonstrate, through data, the
attainment of the colleges mission. It is a continuous process of review, measurement and selfassessment aimed at improving institutional programs, procedures, and processes. Becoming an
effective institution is not about doing more, but operating strategically. Through strategic
planning, we identify and address challenges to goal attainment and appropriately allocate
resources to support effective programs and processes, measure the impact of these programs and
processes, and make adjustments to resources given the proven positive impact of the programs
and processes. This cycle of planning, monitoring, measuring, and re-evaluating occurs shortterm, as in the creation and assessment of annual objectives of a unit, which then support and
bring to fruition long-term goals. The long-term goals are of a magnitude such that they cannot
be achieved by any single unit on campus. Thus, these goals are only achieved by the
accomplishments of smaller units working in synchrony for a common purpose. It is only
through the coordinated efforts of all units across the college, contributing their unique expertise
and skills that the college will reach its mission.

Institutional Effectiveness
Assessment Plan

Strategic Planning
At the center of why PGCC exists is the mission and vision of the college. These two statements
define the work of the college and are reviewed
periodically. The progression from the more
RevFall2013
philosophical statements of the mission and vision to the completion of actual initiatives is
accomplished via the creation and realization of a range of goals/objectives which are regularly
monitored, updated, and broadly shared to clearly demonstrate the contribution(s) of each area
and unit across the college. All of these goals/objectives are connected, such that, all Senior
Team Areas of the college are directly working toward the accomplishment of the colleges
mission and vision. Figure 1 displays this structure and the individuals responsible for creating
and regularly updating and assessing goal/objective achievement.

5/14/2014 10:56:00 AM

A primary purpose of strategic planning is to focus the colleges efforts on a small set of specific challenges which hinder the
institutions ability to fully achieve its mission. Figure 1 demonstrates how each units (see glossary for the identified units in your
Senior Team Area) objectives feeds into higher level objective(s) and/or goals and ultimately into the mission and vision of the
college. The strongest strategic planning involves units and Senior Team Areas working collaboratively to establish overlapping
goals/objectives and working together to complete components of strategic priorities.

Figure 1. Strategic Planning at PGCC

Campus Community

Mission / Vision of the College

Campus Community

Institutional Goals

Senior Team Members and

direct reports

Senior Team Member

direct reports and unit
personnel

Senior Team
Area

Uni

Senior Team
Area

Senior Team
Area

Uni

Uni
Uni

Uni

Uni

Senior Team
Area

Uni

Senior Team
Area

Uni

Uni
Uni

Uni

Senior Team
Area

Uni

Uni

Sub-unit personnel

Sub-

SubSub-

Sub-

SubSub-

Sub-

SubSub2

Uni

Unit Objectives
Strategic planning requires all units across the institution to work in a coordinated effort to
achieve the institutions mission and goals. Many times this requires the building of
infrastructure which does not exist e.g., purchasing new equipment, conducting professional
development training, documentation and bookkeeping, etc. These accomplishments bolster the
foundation of the unit and of the college as a whole. These contributions, and what they are
intended to improve, fix, and/or supplement can simply be assessed as complete, inprogress, or completed. The accomplishment of these completed objectives should position
the unit to be able to measure the impact of future objectives such that evidence can be provided
demonstrating an improvement. For example, once a new method of processing students
applications has been completed, then the unit could measure the effeteness of the new method to
determine that indeed more applications are processed weekly.
Student Success Objectives
The completion of unit objectives should contribute to the mission of the college by bringing
forth unit goals, Senior Team Area goals, and ultimately when combined in concert with other
units the mission of the college. At the heart of the mission is always the goal of improving
student success. Therefore, one enduring goal at the college is the expectation that each unit
strive to impact students. Student success objectives are considered the highest priority for
each academic year, and therefore obtain the highest level of consideration when allocating
limited resources. The question to consider for these goals/objectives is, How are the students at
PGCC impacted? Therefore, completion of a student success objective should yield direct
measures of improved student perceptions about the campus, improved institutional processes
affecting students (e.g., registration, applying for financial aid, etc.) and improved academic
success (e.g., course performance, retention, and graduation).
Resource Allocation
The implementation of a continuous cycle of strategic planning and improvement is key to
institutional effectiveness and thus institutional success which in turn means student success. It
cannot be overstated that the foundation of successful planning at the strategic level is efficient
and responsive planning at the operational level. An institution must have a clear idea of the
effectiveness of its current resources (e.g., individuals, policies, procedures) at the unit level
in order to construct and carry forward a dynamic strategic plan that will improve
effectiveness at the institutional level. Thus, an effective institution must be vigilant in
reviewing progress at both unit and higher levels if it wishes to achieve its mission and goals.
Furthermore, the institution must make resource allocation decisions to support programs and
services most likely to positively impact students (achieve a high return on investment (ROI).
Therefore, contributions which can directly demonstrate an impact on student success will
receive priority consideration for strategic funding and other resource allocations.

Steps to becoming an Effective Institution

Institutional effectiveness (IE) is an ongoing process used to determine how well an institution is achieving its
mission, goals, and objectives. In order to become an effective institution, all levels of the college must have:
1. Clearly stated and widely publicized mission, vision, goals, and objectives for the institution and
every unit within the institution.
Therefore, every unit at the college is expected to have a mission, vision, goals, and objectives which are
reviewed annually. All of these components should be well known to personnel within the area/unit and
recorded such that they are available to all areas on campus. The objectives of the unit should directly connect
to the goals of the Senior Team Area, and the goals of the Senior Team Area should directly connect to the
Strategic priorities and so on (Figure 1). In this manner the institution ensures that it is working to achieve the
mission of the college.
2. A resource allocation plan that provides a realistic opportunity to achieve these mission, goals, and
objectives
Part of being strategic in planning is recognizing that there are not endless resources, either monetary or
human. Therefore a serious consideration of available resources must be part of the discussion to determine the
feasibility of every goal/objective. At times this work can be absorbed into or substituted for an already-existing
process or responsibility. However there will also be objectives which may require new funds, which will
have to be reallocated from other sources.
3. A record of continuous improvement evidenced by completion / attainment of the mission, goals
and objectives.
Through completing #1 and #2 above, all units of the college should be able to point to goals/objectives which
have been completed and are directly contributing to the mission of the unit and/or indirectly connecting to the
mission of the college through other higher order goals (e.g., Senior Team Area Goals). Furthermore, in order to
demonstrate a record of continuous improvement it is necessary to measure the impact of completed objectives.
These measures might include any range of improvements within the unit or Senior Team Area (e.g., increased
capacity, decreased time to complete tasks, improved perception of the unit/Senior Team Area, etc.)
4. A record of continuous improvement evidenced by directly impacting students perceptions and
accomplishments.
Each unit is expected to focus annually on improvement. Beyond improvements to internal processes and
infrastructure within a unit, all units at the college are expected to strive to directly improve the learning
environment of our students. Depending on the Senior Team Area or unit, this impact may be direct or indirect,
but either way it should result in a measureable impact, demonstrating that students have been positively
impacted (e.g., improved academic performance, improved perception of the college, etc.). A direct impact
means working directly with students and is measured by direct measurement of student performance (e.g.,
improved student performance in class, student improved course success rate, graduation rate, etc.). An indirect
impact means changes to the learning environment like changes to campus grounds, website, and other spaces
students frequent. These indirect impacts are typically measured through student surveys in which students
report on their perceptions of the learning environment.
5. A commitment to continuous improvement by the entire college community evidenced by an ongoing data-informed process of self-examination.
In many ways items 1-4 above are tasks to be completed. But beyond the above 4 items, item 5 asks all college
employees to be committed to the mission of the college. Not just through the completion of tasks, but through
engaging in this process by considering available data, examining ones own practices, and looking for ways to
contribute to activities leading to the college attaining its mission
4

What an Effective Institution Looks Like

At the highest level the institutional mission and vision defines what it means for that institution to be effective. An effective institution first and foremost
focuses on improving the success of its students through the path of the mission and vision. The path to becoming and remaining an effective institution means
that all stakeholders are willing and able to engage in a cycle of continuous improvement.
Students will be able to:

Faculty will be able to:

Staff will be able to:

Achieve their educational

goals

Develop curricula that

align with expected
outcomes for graduates

Engage in a more rigorous

and coordinated learning
experience

Determine student or
program areas of strength
and weakness

Move through the

curriculum in a more
streamlined manner

Provide evidence-based
feedback to colleagues,
administrators, students,
and the community

Create learning
opportunities for students
with expected outcomes and
engagements that contribute
to student success
Identify the factors that
facilitate a positive learning
environment and be able to
demonstrate a direct impact
on improving those factors
Provide evidence-based
feedback to colleagues,
administrators, students, and
the community

Contribute to creating a
culture of evidence-based
excellence

Contribute to creating a
culture of evidence-based
excellence

Administrators will be able

to:
Create cohesive and
meaningful strategic plans

Prince Georges Community

College will be able to:
Increase the number of
academically successful students

Allocate resources using data

provided through regular
documentation and review of
data

Draw on evidence to make

changes

Evaluate the return on

investment and make
adjustments to programs
and/or resource allocation as
necessary
Track and demonstrate
progress and contribution to
the college
Align curricula and services
across campus

Improve communication with

stakeholders

Demonstrate how the

institution is making a
difference
Obtain better information
to evaluate policies and
practices

Contribute to creating a
culture of excellence

Cycle of Strategic Planning, Measurement, and Review

The timeline for refreshing the institutions goals and objectives is displayed below. Mirroring this timeline are also a set of campus wide measures which feed
data into decision making annually, as well as at key points, to guide revisions of the institutions mission, vision, goals and objectives.
2013
Mission & Vision
Strategic Plan
Area Objectives
Unit Objectives
Regular Measures
Academic Program Reviews
CCSSE / Diversity
Graduate Follow-up
HESEE / Diversity
IE-Unit Reviews
MHEC-SLOAR
Non-Returner
PAR
PGCC-SLOAR
SENSE

20132014

20142015

Reviewed and Approved

FY2013-FY2017 Created
Identified with Metrics

20152016

20162017

20172018

Reviewed and Approved

FY2018-FY2022 Created
Identified with Metrics

Reviewed
Annual
Objectives

Annual
Objectives

Annual
Objectives

Annual
Objectives

Annual
Objectives

X
X
X
X
X

X
X
X
X
X

X
X
X

X
X

X
X
X
X
X
X
X

2018

X
X
X

X
X
X

Evaluation of Institutional Effectiveness Plan

Every three years as part of the strategic planning cycle a review of the Institutional Effectiveness
process is performed by the College-Wide Forum Institutional Effectiveness Committee. The following
rubric is used to evaluate progress toward becoming an effective institution. Because units and
personnel must work in concert to bring about campus-wide change, the components of the rubric are
grouped and can only score as high as the lowest performing group. As an example if faculty are
regularly communicating annual assessment plans and staff are rarely doing so, the score is a rarely.
Only when all units are performing at level are we effective in impacting the learning environment
of our students.
Component

Not yet

Rarely

Sometimes

Consistently

The Institutional Effectiveness processes (Student

Learning Outcomes Assessment, Program Review, and
Unit Review) collect evidence which demonstrates how a
program/unit is accomplishing its mission.
The Institutional Effectiveness process is documented in a
way that contributes to institutional intelligence.
Results obtained through the Institutional Effectiveness
process are primarily used to enhance student learning
outcomes and success but also contribute to the students
perceptions about the college, its programs, and its
services.
Numerous faculty and staff reliably collaborate to
establish and communicate annual assessment plans
Faculty and staff closely follow the plan including the
regular collection and analysis of relevant data on
significant student learning outcomes or unit objectives
Faculty and staff regularly and thoroughly review data
gathered through the IE processes for planning and
refinement of current policies and processes.
Results are disseminated widely, regularly, and are known
by campus personnel. Furthermore, this knowledge is
used across campus to guide decision making and
resource allocation.

Other questions for consideration:

1. How well-informed are faculty and staff about their units mission, annual goals, and purpose
in the grand scheme of contributing to the institution and to student success?
2. How well-informed are stakeholders (students, staff, faculty, administrators, advisors, alumni,
etc.) about the data on campus and what improvements have been made and which benchmarks
are yet to be achieved?
3. How close to 100% compliance is the college in terms of all personnel contributing and being a
regular participant in a cycle of data-driven continuous improvement.
4. Has the IE process brought data forward which has demonstrated that modifications to
processes, policies, etc. have directly impacted students and their success?
a. Are campus personnel regularly aware of the impact that their work has on the students?
5. How has information gathered through the Institutional Effectiveness process provided
administrators with useful information that contributes to future planning and resource
allocation?
7

The Unit Review

Accountability through Unit Review

The process of regularly conducting unit reviews is a central component of ensuring all parts of
the institution are appropriately focused on achieving our mission. The focus of the review
process is at the unit level since this is the level at which the majority of the work to accomplish
the colleges mission and vision is most directly being completed. There are three main reasons
for conducting a unit review:
1. This process requires each unit to allocate time to complete a self-evaluation to
systematically and honestly reflect on the last four years of work the unit has
accomplished and consider strengths, resource needs, and areas to improve. Then, based
on this reflection of the past, the unit will engage in some planning for the future of the
unit.
2. This process ensures that the strategic planning process is being conducted with fidelity
in all units.
3. This process provides an external review of the unit by the Institutional Effectiveness
Committee.
Although the review process uses rubrics and is considered an evaluation, the process is not
summative and is not punitive. The process is designed to encourage units to examine
themselves, receive feedback on their strategic planning practices, and focus on establishing,
recording, and assessing meaningful objectives for future years. Thus, the review is meant to be
an honest and objective review of the units practices and accomplishments.

Series of Events for the Unit Review:

1. Training
a. October: there will be an open session for all units going through review in the
Spring. All units are always welcome to attend and ask questions about any
updates or changes to the review process.
2. Selecting Reviewers
a. November 1: Send unit selected reviewers to the Secretary of the IE committee.
As part of the review process each unit can identify up to two additional reviewers
to collaborate with the two committee reviewers. All reviewers must be outside of
the Senior Team Area in which the unit is housed.
3. Unit personnel:
a. complete the Unit Review document
b. perform a self-evaluation of the unit with the three rubrics contained in the Unit
Review
c. Submit the Unit Review to the secretary of the CWF-Institutional Effectiveness
Committee
4. Document is due April 1.

The Unit Review

5. CWF-Institutional Effectiveness Committee

a. Up to four reviewers (two from committee and up to two additional reviewers
selected by the unit) will review the units documentation. These reviewers will
collaborate to produce a single document of written feedback that will be sent to
the unit head approximately one week before the meeting with the committee.
6. Meeting with Unit and Committee (May/June)
a. The unit head and Senior Team Member will meet with the CWF committee to
discuss the overall assessment of the unit. Unit heads may also invite the unit
personnel to hear and/or contribute to the discussion.
b. During this 1 hour meeting the following will be accomplished:
i. Unit personnel can provide an overview of the unit to the committee
(approx. 5-10 minutes), highlighting the major points in the document and
focusing on the actions planned for the next four years.
ii. Lead reviewers will be allowed to ask questions and/or clarification about
the document with a particular focus on overcoming hurdles through the
actions planned. (Approx. 20 minutes).
iii. All committee members will be allowed to ask further questions; again the
focus will be on where the unit is headed in improving its effectiveness
(approx. 20 minutes).
iv. Unit personnel will have an opportunity to ask questions about reviewer
feedback or address anything which has not been already discussed
(approx. 10 minutes).
v. At the conclusion of the meeting the CWF-IE committee will by
consensus score the Unit Evaluation Rubric (Table 4)
7. Outcome (July)
a. Committee feedback: a final version of the unit review document will be
produced. It will be provided to the unit head, Area Senior Team Member, and
posted to myPGCC.
b. Unit Review document posted to MyPGCC: the committee as a whole will
come to consensus on the content of the unit review document. Based on feedback
from reviewers and the committee as a whole, some changes to the document may
be requested before the final version is considered ready for posting to MyPGCC.
8. Two Year Follow-up
i. Two years after the initial meeting the unit provides a brief follow-up
report on progress in achieving the Action Plan.
9. The unit review is repeated every four years.

The Unit Review

Unit Name:

Division:

Prepared by: (List team member names)

Submitted to the Senior Team Member/Dean:

on

(insert date)

10

The Unit Review

Directions: Unit leaders and unit members should work together to complete this document and grade the
rubrics. This process includes the expectation that this document and grading of the rubrics will bring
forth unit discussions for future improvements.

Overview of the Unit

Unit Mission
Directions: Insert the units mission
Unit Vision
Directions: Insert the units vision
Relation to College Mission & Vision
Directions: Describe how the Mission / Vision of the unit are connected to the current college mission
and vision.

Unit Structure
Directions: Either with an organization chart and/or in a short paragraph describe the unit placement in
the Senior Team Area and general structure of the unit (e.g., sub-units, number of personnel, etc.)

Significant Changes
Directions: Describe any significant changes the unit has undergone in the last four years in structure or
mission.

11

The Unit Review

Unit Goals
Directions: Provide the current goals of the unit.

Unit Objectives
Directions: Complete Table 1 for the last four years. Table 1 will include objectives for the current fiscal
year and these may be in progress at the time of the review. If these objectives are not complete by the
time of the review but will be completed by the end of the fiscal year, indicate these as completed on
time for this review.

Table 1: List of Objectives for Last Four Years

Academic
Year

Unit Objective
Create an institutional
assessment plan.

Completio
n Date
12/1/2011

Complete
d on time?
Y

Dept.
impact data
attached
Yes

Student
impact
data
attached
?
No

2012-2013

12

The Unit Review

Units Objective Creation Process

Directions: Describe the process for establishing unit objectives (or goals) for your unit. That is: How
were the objectives listed in Table 1 derived? Who created these objectives? How are the objectives
publicized internally and externally? What happens when an objective has been completed?

Units Objective Connections

Directions: From Table 1 select 2-3 objectives which the unit would like to highlight as strong evidence
of a significant impact the unit has made which has improved the colleges effectiveness and moved the
college toward achieving its mission. For each of these provide:
1. Brief description of the objective
2. Why was it created?
3. How was it directly supporting an Senior Team Area goal and/or
strategic priority?
4. An appendix, link, or other materials should be added to provide
evidence that each objective was completed and completed on time.
5. If the objective has data proving its impact, a full or summary report
for the data must be attached to this document.

Unit Budget
Budget Questions
Directions: Please respond to each question below.
1. How are budgeting and resource allocation decisions made within this unit?
2. Provide examples of how your resources have been efficiently leveraged to accomplish some
of the objectives accomplished in Table 1 above.
3. Provide examples, if any, of how insufficient resources have limited the ability of the unit to
move forward with unit objectives (these could be those listed in Table 1 or other objectives
which were not undertaken due to budget constraints).
4. Is the unit able to engage in a regular cycle of continuous improvement given the units
current budget?

13

The Unit Review

Unit Self-Evaluation
Directions: Based on the above information, primarily from Table 1, rate your unit for Rubrics 1-3 below.
These rubrics are based on a 4-year period and should be based on actual objectives being set and used as
have been outlined above. For each Rubric if you are not at Target you must include information in
your action plan describing what actions will be taken to move the unit towards target levels of
performance in the next 4 years.

4 or less

4 or less

0-10%

5-7

5-7

11-25%

8-11

8-11

26-49%

Acceptable

12-15

12-15

50-75%

16+

16+

76-100%

[insert score]

[insert score]

[insert score]

Unacceptable

Target

Rubric #1: Unit Objectives. Annual Objectives completed over the last 4 years which were
accomplished to support the unit, a strategic goal, and/or impact one of the institutional
measures.
% of objectives
# of objectives
connected to
Possibl
connected to
# of objectives connected institutional strategic
e
institutional strategic
to institutional strategic
goals completed on
Scores:
goals
goals completed on time
time

Points for
each column:

Total Score from Rubric 1: ____[insert score]_____

(10-12=Target; 8-10
Acceptable)

14

The Unit Review

0-10%

11-25%

2-3

2-3

26-49%

4-7

4-7

50-75%

8+

8+

76-100%

[insert score]

[insert score]

[insert score]

Unacceptable

Acceptable

Percentage of
documented
initiatives which
were proven to be
effective.

Target

Rubric #2 Units Annual Objective Effectiveness

# Of Annual Objectives
which have data
# of Annual Objectives
demonstrating their
aligned with institutional
effectiveness contributing
strategic goals in which data to the attainment of at least
Scor was collected on the impact
one of the colleges
e
of the objective.
strategic goals.

Points for
each
column:

Total Score from Rubric 2: ____[insert score]_____

(10-12=Target; 8-10
Acceptable)

15

The Unit Review

Directions: There are two Rubric threes, each appropriate for different Senior Team Areas. Please only
complete the rubric which pertains to your Senior Team Area. The reason for these two rubrics is that
Student Success contributions require units to have a direct impact on students. Senior Team Areas like
Academic Affairs (AA), Student Services (SS), and Workforce Development and Continuing Education
(WDCE) have a greater opportunity to directly impact students and measure this impact. Therefore the
number of contributions expected on Rubric 3a for these Senior Team Areas is higher than for other
Senior Team Areas on Rubric 3b like Administrative Services (AS) which are afforded fewer
opportunities to directly impact and measure an impact on students.

ONLY FOR Direct Impact Senior Team Areas (AA, SS, and WDCE)

0-10%

11-25%

26-49%

3-5

3-5

50-75%

6+

6+

76-100%

[insert score]

[insert score]

[insert score]

Unacceptable

Acceptable

Percentage of Student Success

Contributions with data
providing evidence of the
contributions effectiveness

Target

Rubric 3a: Unit Contributions to Student Success

# of Student
# of Student Success
Success
Contribution with data
Contributions
providing evidence of the
Score attempted
contributions effectiveness

Points for
each
column:

Total Score from Rubric 3a: ____[insert score]____

(10-12=Target; 8-10 Acceptable)

16

The Unit Review

ONLY FOR Support Senior Team Areas (Pres. Off., AS, TS)
Rubric 3b: Unit Contributions to Student Success

Target

Acceptable

Unacceptable

Scor
e

# of Student
Success
Contributions
attempted

# of Student Success
Contributions with data
providing evidence of the
contributions effectiveness

Percentage of Student
Success Contributions
with data providing
evidence of the
contributions
effectiveness

0-10%

11-25%

26-49%

3-5

50-75%

4+

4+

76-100%

[insert score]

[insert score]

[insert score]

Points for
each
column:

Total Score from Rubric 3b: ____[insert score]____

(10-12=Target; 6-10 Acceptable)

17

The Unit Review

Action Plans
Rubric Action Plans
Directions:
1. For each Rubric which the unit did not score Target complete the corresponding action plan below (see following tables)
providing:
a. Goal a general statement of the planned goal for the unit over the next four years
b. Annual Objectives for the next four years what steps will be taken each year to move the unit towards Target levels
c. Metric how will completion / attainment of this objective be measured
d. Action Steps specifics of the steps involved in completing the annual objective
e. Completion Date for the objective
f. Individual(s) who will be responsible for ensuring this is completed and completed on time

18

The Unit Review

Directions: The action items set here should focus on refining the establishment and use of objectives in the unit. This includes but is
not limited to action items aimed at ensuring that the unit has an appropriate mission, vision, goals and objectives; ensuring that the
unit regularly reviews these items; ensuring that the unit shares these objectives broadly with unit personnel; that the unit has set
objectives and goals which are strongly connected to the Senior Team Area goals and/or the mission and vision of the college.

Rubric #1: Unit Goals and Objectives

Goal:
Objective(s)

Metric

Action Steps

Completion
Date

Individual(s)
Responsible

19

The Unit Review

Directions: The action items set here should focus on the establishment and improvement of measures of effectiveness. This includes
but is not limited to regularly planning to measure, completing measurements, providing appropriate resources to measurement
practices, ensuring that measurements demonstrate the objective and the effectiveness of the objective in a meaningful manner.

Rubric #2: Units Effectiveness

Goal:
Objective(s)

Metric

Action Steps

Completion
Date

Individual(s)
Responsible

20

The Unit Review

Directions: The action items set here should focus on the improvements to unit process to ensure that an appropriate amount of
objectives (see Rubric 3a and 3b) focus on directly impacting student success. This includes but is not limited to regularly setting
goals aimed at impacting students or the learning environment, regularly measuring the impact of on students, and establishing
appropriate resources to ensure the unit is focused appropriately on the goal of improving student success.

Rubric #3: Unit Contributions to Student Success

Goal:
Objective(s)

Metric

Action Steps

Completion
Date

Individual(s)
Responsible

21

The Unit Review

Additional Action Plan Items (to be completed at end of review process)

Directions:
1. Part of the unit review process is to have campus personnel who are not directly involved in the operations of the unit provide
an outsiders critique of the units overall operation and effectiveness. Based on the feedback received from the IE
committee and in conjunction with the Senior Team Member, goals/objectives should be established to move the unit forward
to higher levels of effectiveness and better overall operations.
2. For the action items here which have been indicated by the IE Committee and are agreed upon by the Area Senior Team
Member provide:
a. Context what is the goal and a sentence or two about issue is being corrected or solved by accomplishing this goal
b. Goal a general statement of the planned goal for the unit over the next four years
c. Annual Objectives for the next four years what steps will be taken each year to move the unit towards this goal
d. Metric how will completion / attainment of this objective be measured
e. Action Steps specifics of the steps involved in completing the annual objective
f. Completion Date for the objective
g. Individual(s) who will be responsible for ensuring this is completed and completed on time

Additional Action Plan Goals: [context]

Goal:
Objective(s)

Metric

Action Steps

Completion
Date

Individual(s)
Responsible

22

The Unit Review

Additional Action Plan Goals: [context]

Goal:
Objective(s)

Metric

Action Steps

Completion
Date

Rubric 4: Unit Evaluation (to be completed by CWF Institutional Effectiveness Committee)

Scor Table 1:
Table 2:
Table 3:
e
Fundamental Contributions
Effectiveness and Data
Impact on Students
0

Unit is not regularly engaged in the

strategic planning process and has
not regularly set goals and put
resources into completion of these
goals.

Unit is not regularly engaged in the

strategic planning process and has not
regularly attempted to measure the
impact of its objectives.

Unit is not regularly engaged in the

strategic planning process and thus is
not regularly measuring its impact on
student success**.

Individual(s)
Responsible

Overall
There is not enough strategic
planning evidence to support
whether the unit is having an
effective impact on the college or
not.

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Unacceptable

The Unit Review

Target

Acceptable

Unit sets fundamental objectives,

but they are not appropriate* and/or
the majority of objectives were not
completed on time.

Unit sets objectives but has only

demonstrated the impact of these through
showing that the objective is completed.

Unit sets objectives aimed at impacting

students but has not yet measured the
impact of any objective on students or
the learning environment.

The unit has begun to engage the

strategic planning and institutional
effectiveness process but has not yet
completed a single cycle of
objectives.

The unit sets appropriate objectives;

completes 50-100% of them on
time. The unit is not regularly
sharing these objectives within the
unit or across the Senior Team
Area.

In the last four years, the unit has set a

few objectives which were measured for
impact. The data collected does not align
well with the objectives purpose, or may
not demonstrate a clear improvement.

In the last four years, the unit has set at

least two objectives aimed at impacting
student success and measured the
impact of that objective on students.
The data collected from students does
not align well with the objectives
purpose, or may not demonstrate a clear
improvement.
In the last four years, the unit has set 34 objectives aimed at impacting student
success and measured them. For 50100% of the cases the data collected
from students aligns well with the
objectives purpose and clearly
demonstrates a student success impact.

It is evident that this unit is working

to improve itself. However, the
strategic plans that are present do not
provide evidence proving its
effectiveness.

The unit sets appropriate objectives; In the last four years the unit has set
It is absolutely evident that the unit
completes 80-100% of them on
several objectives which were measured
is working to improve itself and its
time; shares these objectives within for impact. The majority of these (50Senior Team Area. Also, there are
the unit and/or across the Senior
100%) aligned well with the objectives
some direct measures which provide
3
Team Area. However, these
purpose, and demonstrated a clear
evidence clearly showing the impact
successes are not connected, in
improvement for the unit or Senior Team
the unit has had.
obvious ways, to building a more
Area.
effective unit.
The unit sets appropriate objectives; In the last four years, the unit has
In the last four years, the unit has set 4
It is absolutely evident that this unit
completes 90-100% of them on
demonstrated the highest commitment to
or more objectives aimed at impacting
has accepted a culture of continuous
time; shares these objectives
improving its operations by setting
student success and measured them. For improvement and is regularly
4
broadly within the unit and across
multiple objectives per year which were
80-100% of these objectives the data
engaged on establishing objectives,
the Senior Team Area; and has
measured for impact. The majority of
collected from students aligns well with measuring, and monitoring these for
demonstrated how these objectives
these (80-100%) aligned well with the
the objectives purpose and clearly
continuous improvement of the unit,
*Appropriate objectives: Objectives should be within the scope of the unit given the mission, vision, and organizational structure of the Senior Team Area. Objectives
should be no too large or too small in scale for the unit to accomplish. Objectives must receive sufficient resources to have a chance to be completed. Objectives must be a
meaningful focus of the unit, and not a tangent process performed strictly for the fulfillment of IE process requirements.
**Student Success Impact: Impacts on student success include direct impacts on students such as improving academic performance, study skills, or development of Student
Core Competencies. Additionally, impacts on student success include improvements to the learning environment which indirectly impact students by improvements in
students opinion of the campus and/or feelings about their ability to learn. Such examples may be improving students real or perceived safety while on campus, improving

24

Glossary
Unit: Because the organizational structure of each Senior Team Area is slightly different the definition of a unit
is decided upon by the each area Vice President. As a general guideline, the IE Committee has recommended
that direct reports to Vice Presidents be considered first as Unit-heads as these Deans and Managers oversee a
meaningful portion of the organizational structure in the Senior Team Area. Multiple units which are part of the
IE process are defined based on direct reports to Senior Team Members. However, some Senior Team Areas
used other criteria to define meaningful units in their Senior Team Area. There are currently 27 units across the
campus:

Presidents Office

Academic Affairs

Administrative Services

Student Services

Technology Services

WDCE

Community & Government Affairs (inclusive of CMBD and

Institutional Initiatives)
Institutional Advancement
Ancillary Programs
Health Sciences
Learning Foundations
Liberal Arts
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
Social Science and Business
Campus Police
Facilities
Financial Affairs
Human Resources
Planning, Assessment, and Institutional Research
Professional Development and Governance
College Life Services (inclusive of Athletics)
Enrollment Services
Marketing & Creative Services (inclusive of Information Center
Operations)
Student Development Services
Student Services Operations
Administrative Information Systems (inclusive of Infrastructure
Planning, IT Security Services, and IT Technology Acquisition
Services)
eLearning
Instructional Technologies and Support Services
Adult Education
Community Partnerships
Continuing Education Open Enrollment
Workforce Development/CBIT

25