Voluntary System of Accountability (VSA)/College Portrait Initiative

The 2006 report issued by the U.S. Department of Education’s Spellings Commission brought a heightened awareness of the issues of access, affordability, and accountability to the higher education community. The National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC) and American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) responded to the report by creating a Voluntary System of Accountability (VSA) that incorporates the development of web-based information that outlines an institutional profile and data on student engagement and core educational outcomes in the form of a College Portrait http://www.voluntarysystem.org/index.cfm

In spring 2008, the Task Force on Student Success explored the need for increased transparency in and accountability of student learning as it relates to student success at NIU. The task force recommended that NIU participate in the VSA initiative

Related to Strategic Planning Imperatives

• To preserve, strengthen, and extend NIU’s teaching and learning environment.
• To make NIU an institution of “first choice” for faculty, students, and staff

Anticipated Outcomes

• Serve as a source of institutional data for prospective students and their families
• Give faculty, staff, students, administrators, and other constituencies a means of comparing NIU to other NASULGC colleges and universities
• Offer an additional means of reporting effective NIU educational practices, strengths, and outcomes
• Contribute to NIU’s evidentiary portfolio for Higher Learning Commission (HLC) reaccreditation

Progress on the Initiative

• Created College Portrait Advisory Committee, which met seven (7) times between August 2009 and April 2010
• Hired research associate to coordinate the VSA/College Portrait project in summer 2009
• Launched NIU College Portrait - http://www.collegeportraits.org/IL/NIU - in summer 2009; posted 2008 data in July 2009 and posted 2009 data in April 2010
• Identified descriptive titles and content links for the institutional “buttons;” held session with prospective students to validate titles and content
• Posted 2009 NSSE data - http://www.collegeportraits.org/IL/NIU/student_experiences in spring 2010
• Initiated data collection for “post-graduation plans” question on the undergraduate graduation application in spring 2010
• Transitioned oversight of the VSA/College Portrait to the University Assessment Panel in April 2010
• Paid first installment of VSA/College Portrait dues ($2,500 for 2009-2010)

External Review of Doctoral Departments

In spring 2009, in conjunction with its ongoing program review processes, NIU initiated external reviews for departments that offer doctoral degree programs. The evidence gained from these reviews is expected to augment the information assembled and evaluated in the NIU review of academic degree programs conducted over an eight-year cycle. On average, three external reviews will be conducted each year. A team of two reviewers per program will visit campus for approximately two days; meet with faculty, staff, students, and administrative constituencies; and tour facilities. Materials related to departmental resources; faculty and student achievements; program curriculum, enrollments, degrees awarded, and costs; program assessment; peer comparisons; and future plans will be sent to the reviewers in preparation for the campus visit. Reviewers will submit reports of their visit to the dean and provost.

Related to Strategic Planning Imperatives

• To preserve, strengthen, and extend NIU’s teaching and learning environment.
• To make NIU an institution of “first choice” for faculty, students, and staff

Anticipated Outcomes

• Provide external validation of program quality
• Enhance decision making and short- and long-range planning
• Foster program improvement
• Improve the program review process

Progress on the Initiative

• Developed criteria for the selection of external reviewers
• Established processes and schedules for conducting the reviews
• Developed format for supplementary information
• Created format for external reviewer reports
• Scheduled and conducted four (4) external reviews in spring 2009: Departments of Economics, Biological Sciences, Chemistry and Biochemistry, and Physics Scheduled two (2) external reviews in fall 2009: conducted external review for Department of Geography (in anticipation of implementation of the Ph.D. degree); the review of Department of Geology and Environmental Geosciences was deferred to fall 2010
• Conducted external review to evaluate the feasibility of converting the Ed.D. program in educational psychology to the Ph.D.
• Initiated plans to conduct external reviews of Departments of Geology and Environmental Geosciences, English, and Counseling, Adult, and Higher Education in fall 2010.