Running Head: FINAL PROJECT: PHASE ONE

Final Project: Phase One

Jessica Turpin
Post University

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Final Project: Phase One

The very first page of the report states that the acceptance rate of the university is 51%
making it neither highly selective nor open. They advertise holistic admissions, taking into
account not just testing scores but also volunteer experience and extracurricular activities. The
Sunshine State University report provides detailed information about the enrollment of students
by year. It further breaks this down into degree seeking or not. Enrollment is broken down into
9 different racial and ethnic categories. Category with the highest enrollment is the White, nonHispanic category that accounts for 5,831 students out of 8,462, or roughly 69%. The graduation
rate at Sunshine State University is broken down into those who complete their degree in 4 years,
5 or less, and 6 or less years with a total graduation rate of 97%.
The report includes a detailed chart of basis for selection that includes both academic and
non-academic criteria and ranks them from very important to not consider. The most important
criteria listed is the rigor of secondary school record. The report lists the faculty according to
level of education and employment status with the university. The ratio of students to teachers is
10:1 respectively. The strategic plan included in the report indicates that the goal is to integrate
and connect curricular and co-curricular experiences to enhance the students knowledge and
success. Success of this goal is defined as the successful production of a diverse student body
that is academically prepared and will graduate with academic, social, spiritual and cultural
competency that will include experiences abroad. Other criteria are listed as well. This will be
measured by the percentage of graduating students who travel abroad or have a meaningful
international experience (Sunshine State University, 2016, p.7).

It will also consider the

percentage of students who participate in research or an internship, students who have had an
alumnae connection or mentor experience, students that develop a leadership plan, those

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participating in a wellness program, and those who have a service learning experience. The goal
is broken down into smaller more detailed goals with strategies specific to each one. These are
the goals the school will aim to meet to the expectations of the strategic plan.
The data that accompanies the strategic plan is relatively insignificant in relation to the
goals of the strategic plan. According to Stiggins (2008), assessment is used to gather evidence
for decisions and encourage students to try to learn. The data collected for this strategic plan
which is usually based on the outcome of an assessment has nothing to do with either of these
reasons. The data is largely demographic in nature which is not something that is measurable by
success or failure. The data shows that the student body is made up of a majority white nonHispanic population but with a rate of over 30% being non-white it is considerably diverse. This
is the only piece of information that is loosely relatable to the strategic plan goal of students
having a meaningful international experience. Some of those students may be from overseas and
have culture to share with the remaining student body as well as be experiencing a meaningful
study abroad trip themselves but this is impossible to tell because the data does not include
information about the origins of the students. The strategic plan seems to include goals that are
unreasonable for a school with such a high graduation rate.
The data provided shows that the school is already operating successfully as far as
success rates go. Furthermore, the goals provided in the strategic plan are not what would be
classified as a SMART goal. They determine the success of a goal based on the percentage of a
student that met the goal but some of the goals are not measurable. For example, how is whether
or not an experience is meaningful measurable to anyone besides the individual that had the
experience? According to Johnson, Moore & Thornton (2014), the first step of five in
establishing a SMART goal would be to make sure the goal is specific. The goals on this plan

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are not. The second step is to make it measurable. As previously mentioned. This goals do not
have measurable criteria. Step three is to make the goal attainable but without clearly defined
measurements this is also impossible. Step four is to make the goal relevant. It can also be
argued that these goals are not relevant because the University already has such a high
graduation rate. The fifth and final step in the creation of a SMART goal is to make the goal
timely. This is the only criteria met in the goals set forth by the strategic plan as they are
supposed to be met by the time of graduation for the student. Although a number of the sub
goals are SMART, they are not relevant to the overall success of the school.
While the report contains a wealth of data, the nature of the data serves no purpose for
improvement. According to Sagebrush Corporation (2004), data can be a very powerful tool to
improve teacher quality, improve development, and find the root cause of problems. The data
shared in the Sunshine University report did not indicate any kind of problem that needed to be
addressed. According to an article by Marr (2016), an important step in data informed decision
making is to identify your unanswered questions before finding the data that will answer them.
This report provides the data but not the question to be answered.
The report published by the Sunshine State University provides the reader and potential
students with plenty of information regarding the demographics and basic expectations of the
student body. It portrays the university as a diverse atmosphere rooted in success that is backed
up by its high graduation rate. The report lacks the indication of any problems to be solved that
would need to be addressed in a strategic plan but provides a strategic plan with goals that are
not measurable or reasonable. A suggestion would be to include data such as the percentage of
students currently studying abroad or a SMART goal to enhance the diversity in the school since
a large amount of demographic information was shared.

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References

Johnson, C., Moore, E., Thornton, M. (2014) A SMART approach to motivating students in
secondary physical education. JOPERD: The Journal of Physical Education, Recreation
& Dance May2014, 85(4), p42 3p
Marr, B. (2016) Data driven decision making: 10 simple steps for any business. Forbes.
Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2016/06/14/data-drivendecision-making-10-simple-steps-for-any-business/#3de02e6c7283
Sagebrush Corporation (2004) Data driven decision making: a powerful tool for school
improvement. Retrieved from
https://www.erdc.k12.mn.us/promo/sage/images/Analytics_WhitePaper.pdf
Stiggins, R. (2008) Assessment Manifesto, A call for the development of balanced assessment
systems. Retrieved from
https://www.pearsonhighered.com/mediaproducts/ati/downloads/DBAS_AssessmentMan
ifesto.pdf