Accountability
Review of Doctoral Programs
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Goals |
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Performance Indicators |
Progress/Results |
Individuals Impacted |
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The broad goal for conducting evaluations of doctoral departments by external reviewers is to implement an ongoing process of review and feedback by disciplinary experts. Specifically to: - Provide external validation of program quality, |
The outcomes for this initiative are primarily qualitative indicators of quality such as the changes that may result in curricula, services to students, and/or other dimensions of the department and program. Indicators that are quantifiable could include, for example, the number of external reviews conducted, the number of reports submitted by the deadline, the increase in the amount of external funding, or an increase in the number of majors, among others. |
Three doctoral programs were reviewed in FY12: - Ed.D. in Instructional Technology - Ph.D. in Mathematical Sciences - Ed.D. in Educational Administration |
Implementation of recommendations from external review reports is ongoing. |
Students: 152 Faculty: 99 |
Voluntary System of Accountability
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Goals |
Milestones |
Performance Indicators |
Progress/Results |
Individuals Impacted |
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Increase accountability by participating in a national project that uses a standardized format to track and report profiles of student characteristics, measures of student engagement with learning, and measures of academic achievement at NIU. |
The VSA Advisory Committee was established (milestone 1) prior to NIU’s participation in VSA and was comprised of faculty, staff, and students representing a wide variety of academic departments and support units. A full-time supportive professional staff member was hired (milestone 2) to maintain the College Portrait including data posting, data collection, the website, and database; conduct data analysis; coordinate standardized assessment of student learning outcomes; prepare and present updates and reports, among others. A longitudinal plan for securing required data elements, the source for the data, and the timeline for data collection and updates was developed (milestone 3) The VSA timetable for data collection and reporting was implemented (milestone 4). The VSA website was created (milestone 5) and populated with data on student characteristics, undergraduate success and progress rates, costs of attendance and financial aid, campus life, undergraduate admissions, and degrees, areas of study, and future plans. Institutional “buttons” that provide one of the few options for customizing the College Portrait were developed in consultation with the advisory committee, which recommended the creation of nine landing pages on which multiple resources and links associated with each button are displayed. Landing pages were created for: Why NIU?, Academic Life, Athletics, Getting Started, Hands-on Learning, Parents, Student Life, Support Services, and Money Matters. Oversight for the VSA was transferred to the University Assessment Panel (UAP) in 2010 (milestone 6). The evaluation process has included regular reports to the UAP about the College Portrait data and the VSA initiative as a whole. The administration of the CLA was implemented with freshmen (milestone 7) in fall 2011 and with seniors in spring 2012. |
Completed. VSA Advisory Committee was comprised of faculty, staff, and students representing a wide variety of academic departments and support units. VSA coordinator was hired in July 2009 and trained. He implemented all aspects of the College Portrait. Since his departure in May 2012, a new VSA coordinator was hired as of August 1, 2012. She is currently undergoing training. A longitudinal plan and associated timeline for securing all data elements was created in fall 2009. VSA timeline was implemented. The VSA website was up and running in spring 2010 and has been monitored and updated since that time. Completed in fall 2010. In FY12, the final component of the VSA, the administration of the Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA) was implemented. A total of 260 students (100 freshmen and 160 seniors) were tested with the assistance of 14 faculty members who embedded the test within their courses. |
VSA Advisory Committee completed their work per milestone 5 below. VSA Coordinator was hired and trained and completed milestones 3, 4, 5, and 7 below. The VSA longitudinal plan and associated timeline was put into place and all data were collected per the plan/timeline from spring 2010 to summer 2012. The VSA longitudinal plan and associated timeline was put into place and all data were collected per the plan/timeline from spring 2010 to summer 2012. There have been standardized accountability data posted for NIU on our College Portrait since spring 2010. The UAP has taken an active and ongoing advisory role for the VSA project at NIU. Results are currently being analyzed. |
Students: 260 Faculty: 14 |