1. Committee on University Effectiveness Working Group on Institutional Assessment April 8, 2011

2. Middle States Accreditation  Recent milestones: 1. Self-Study, Spring 2007 2. Follow-up Progress Letter, Spring 2009  “Next year’s agenda extends beyond assessment of student learning to include other dimensions of institutional effectiveness. In particular, the university is in the midst of developing a strategic plan with a scheduled completion date of Fall 2009. In addition to overseeing the implementation of the assessment plans that are discussed below, TAUE will guide all units on campus to develop meaningful, measureable goals consistent with the university’s new strategy and implementation plans to achieve these goals.”  Upcoming key dates: 1. Periodic Review Report (PRR)1, Spring 2012 2. Self-Study, Spring 2017

3. Middle States Accreditation  Standard 7: Institutional Assessment  Montclair State University must demonstrate that “The institution has developed and implemented an assessment process that evaluates its overall effectiveness in achieving its mission and goals and its compliance with accreditation standards.” Characteristics of Excellence in Higher Education, p. 25

4. Fundamental Elements of Standard 7  Documented, organized, and sustained assessment process to evaluate and improve the total range of programs and services…  Evidence that assessment results are shared and discussed with appropriate constituents and used in institutional planning, resource allocation, and renewal…  Written institutional (strategic) plan(s) that reflect(s) consideration of assessment results…

5. Typical Steps at the Unit Level  Units articulate their goals and objectives  Units define how they plan to measure progress, and identify data collection methods (ideally, more than one)  Units collect and analyze data, identifying areas of success (for possible expansion), and areas needing improvement (with action plans)  Units “close the loop” by reporting on changes they made based on the data, and the impact of those changes

6. Proposed “Next Steps” for the Team  Develop formal guidelines for Institutional Assessment  Develop required templates and instructions, and/or recommend software solutions (e.g. TracDat)  Meet with units to explain procedures, and provide continuing advice on an “as needed” basis  Monitor unit activities, and prepare an annual report on Institutional Assessment

7. Questions? Suggestions?