© 1999 by Dr. Thomas W. MacFarland -- All Rights Reserved
General format for an Institutional Effectiveness (IE) report
1 Goal and context
(A) What is the primary goal for participants in this major
and is this goal articulated in the catalog and other
public documents?
(B) What is the target population for participants in this
major, specifically in terms of age, employment and/or
other prior expectations, proximity to campus, etc?
(C) Are GPA, SAT or GRE scores, or portfolio submissions used
in the admission review process? Are there other admission
requirements for participants in this major and do these
processes allow for consideration of applicants who do not
meet these requirements?
(D) Is it possible to identify tracking information on
inquiries and applicants?
2. Expected results of core topics to address for each major
Graduation Rates and Persistence
(A) What are the overall graduation rates for students in
this major?
Additionally, what are the graduation rates for breakout
subpopulations in this major:
(1) Graduation rates by race/ethnicity.
(2) Graduation rates by gender.
(3) For majors that offer instruction through distance
education modalities, it is also useful to examine:
graduation rates by place of class attendance (i.e.,
campus-based students v. their distance education
counterparts), graduation rates by teaching modality
(i.e., students who generally attend courses offered
by lecture v. students who generally attend courses
offered by compressed video v. students who generally
attend courses offered through Internet-based
utilities).
(B) Related to graduation rates, what are the rates of
persistence for students in this major, overall and by
breakout groups? If you use a cohort methodology to track
students from program entry to graduation, it is
important to note students who are still persistent but
not yet graduated.
Learning Outcomes
(A) Does the major have a declared terminal knowledge base,
set of competencies, and skills for its graduates and
did students gain these constructs by graduation?
(B) What evidence will you use to demonstrate these outcomes?
(C) If you use a survey or some other similar instrument,
what is the composition of the sample and is the sample
representative of the overall population? Sample size (N)
is important, but it is also important to consider sample
representation.
(D) Is it possible to identify tracking information on other
indicators of student success that relate to demonstrated
learning outcomes: results of standardized tests
administered by professional associations and other
external constituencies, results of government and other
licensing examinations, employer evaluations, alumni
evaluations, evaluations by students engaged in practica
and/or internships at external institutions.
Continuation After Graduation
(A) What happens to students in the major after they graduate
and do administrators have an adequate tracking system to
maintain occasional communication with graduates?
(B) What number and percent of total of all graduates gain
"in-field" employment within a reasonable period of time
after graduation?
(C) What number and percent of total of all graduates go on
to advanced study within a reasonable period of time
after graduation?
(D) Is there evidence that the major is structured so that
students have the professional and other competencies
needed for career success and advancement?
Note: For each expected result, there should be a formal
statement of assessment method and the results of
this research-based assessment activity. The
assessment method(s) and subsequent result(s) should
follow standard practice in terms of social research
in terms of sample size and representation.
#1 Expected Result
#1 Assessment Method
#1 Data Resource
#1 Result of Assessment
#2 Expected Result
#2 Assessment Method
#2 Data Resource
#2 Result of Assessment
#3 Expected Result
#3 Assessment Method
#3 Data Resource
#3 Result of Assessment
3. How assessment results were used to structure changes that
provide improvements to the major
(A) What is the outcome of the findings gained from the above
section?
Did you determine that the overall graduation rate is
acceptable, but that there are breakout groups (such
as distance education students, minority students,
etc.) who are not in parity with summative results? If
so, how can you work with other administrative departments,
faculty, and students to restructure the major and remedy
this concern?
(B) Did the assessment process identify strengths and
weaknesses in how the major is structured? If so, what
can you do to build on the strengths and minimize the
weaknesses?
(C) Did you determine that external factors, such as
professional accrediting associations, have an increasing
impact on students as they matriculate through the major?
Discuss the impact of external influences and how the
curriculum is changed, or needs to be changed, to reflect
these external groups.
(D) Is it possible that you found that changes are not needed?
If so, be sure to highlight assessment findings that
support this position.