1. Middle States Commission on Higher Education
Annual Institutional Update
Best Practices in Assessment Group
October 16, 2018

2. Changes to Middle States Accreditation Cycle
Self-Study and Evaluator Team Site Visit – Every 8 years instead of 10
2016 – Self-Study and Evaluator Team Site Visit under the old 14 standards
2024 / 2025 – Next Self-Study Evaluation and Site Visit under the new 7 standards of accreditation and requirements of affiliation
Annual Institutional Update – Replaced Institutional Profile and is submitted every spring, except for first year (due October 2018)
Periodic Review Report – No longer submitted by institutions
Mid-Point Peer Review – Peer review of accumulated student achievement data, financial data and ratios, and responses to Commission recommendations (if requested) submitted by institutions through the Annual Institutional Update
January 2021 – Initial UMB Mid-Point Peer Review 2

3. Annual Institutional Update (AIU)
Goal of AIU is an accurate measurement of institutional health focused on student achievement and financial health
Submission consists of:
Mandatory Metrics
Largely derived from federal IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) data reported annually by every institution
Not entirely relevant to UMB because IPEDS data focuses on students in two and four year institutions. UMB does not have first-time freshmen and only 14% of students are undergraduate.
Financial data for UMB is similar to that for other public institutions
Includes student loan default and repayment rates (UMB has very low default rates)
Selected Metrics for Peer Reviewers to See if Desired by Institution
Optional Performance Context uploads to provide a more meaningful basis for peer reviewers to assess student achievement or financial health 3

4. Scope of AIU Data Reported to Middle States
Initial data collection includes five years of data (2012 – 2016)
Due to federal IPEDS reporting schedule and review period, data is between one and two years old by the time it is retrieved by Middle States
Institutions can upload up to three additional data sets in Performance Context section, for example:
Licensing exam pass rates
Graduate or alumni survey results
Career placement data
Student transfers to other institutions 4

5. AIU Financial Data and Ratios
Financial Data has been imported directly into AIU from IPEDS Financial Surveys spanning Fiscal Years 2012 – 2016
Data and ratios will be used to form an overall opinion of financial health
Ratios are good for comparing to other institutions as they adjust for institution size
Trends are more important than points in time 5

6. AIU Financial Ratios Middle States calculated the following ratios:
Comprehensive Financial Index (FCI) or FCI with Pension
Measures overall institutions financial health in four areas each of which is weighted
Primary Reserve Ratio
Compares expendable net assets to total expenses
Viability Ratio OR Viability Ratio (Pension Removed)
Measures ability of expendable net assets to cover debt
Return on Net Assets Ratio
Determines whether institution is better off than in previous years by measuring total economic return
Operating Revenues Ratio
Measures surplus(deficit) relative to total revenues 6

7. AIU Financial Ratios Net Income Ratio Debt Burden Ratio
Did unrestricted activities result in a surplus or deficit?
Debt Burden Ratio
Looks at institutions dependence on borrowed funds
Tuition Discount Ratio
Measures proportion of tuition offset by institution financial aid
Tuition Dependency Ratio
Looks at an institutions dependence on tuition
Default Rate
Looks at the default rate on financial aid after three years 7

8. UMB Performance Context Data (1 & 2)
Student Achievement data obtained by Middle States from IPEDS is limited to first-time undergraduate retention and graduation.
UMB provider five years of (one-year) retention rate and graduation rate data (150 and 200 percent of time to degree) for entry-level professional programs representing each school:
Bachelor of Science Nursing
Clinical Nurse Leader Master’s
Doctor of Dental Surgery
Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Pharmacy
Doctor of Physical Therapy
Juris Doctor (Day and Evening Programs)
Master of Social Work 8

9. UMB Performance Context Data (3)
UMB provided five years of licensing exam pass rates for first-time test takers to demonstrate that graduates possess a high level of competency before entering their chosen profession
NCLEX - Bachelor of Science Nursing
NCLEX - Clinical Nurse Leader
ADEX - Doctor of Dental Surgery
USMLE Step 2 CK - Doctor of Medicine
NAPLEX - Doctor of Pharmacy
MJPE - Doctor of Pharmacy
NPTE - Doctor of Physical Therapy
Maryland Bar Exam - Juris Doctor (Day and Evening programs)
LGSW - Master of Social Work
LCSW - Master of Social Work 9

10. AIU Data Review by Middle States
Each Year:
Middle States staff will flag unusual variances and provide the opportunity to explain significant changes in trends at time of submission through a “reason for variance” annotation. Otherwise, there is no provision for narrative
Similar to a “Dashboard”, each metric will have an icon indicating direction and health and will include a detailed data definition
Not clear at this time if Dashboard will be public facing or only available to key institutional staff
Mid-Point Peer Review:
Four years before the next site visit, institutions will receive feedback on the five year trend of metrics from evaluators chosen from peer institutions
Composition and selection process for Mid-Point Peer Review evaluators is still to be determined 10

11. Annual Institutional Update Timeline
2018:
Middle States published metrics definition dictionary
AIU Portal opened in late August
UMB staff reviews IPEDS data and ratio calculations for accuracy
Performance Context data identified and uploaded
Required documentation uploaded
Audited Financial Statement
Management Letter
Title IV Audit
Bond Rating
AIU Portal closed October 12
2019 and Beyond:
Middle States transfers next year of IPEDS data into AIU for each institution
AIU data available for review through Portal in Spring (April 1 – April 30)
Performance Context data uploaded by institutions
Data can be edited for only 4-6 weeks annually 11

12. What Else Should We Be Doing?
The Accreditation Coordinating Taskforce considered additional metrics not included in the AIU that should be monitored on a periodic basis:
Academic Progress:
Minority enrollment across all programs and levels
Admissions Yield (depends on accurate and complete data entry)
Off campus programs (Shady Grove, UMCP, Laurel Center etc.)
Online and Hybrid instruction
Post Institutional Academic Achievement
Licensing exam pass rates by segment (Shady Grove, Online etc.)
Program Affordability (HelioCampus Affordability Study Phase I and II)
Career outcomes for students (graduate survey or purchase of salary data)
Other Ideas? 12