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RAYMOND TH DAWSON TELEPHONE | (919) 96201 908

Bice Presedent— Academic Vary

January 12, 1990

MEMORANDUM

TOs Vice Chancellor Marlene Springer
East Carolina University

FROM: Raymond H. Dawson“ KWD

SUBJECT: Institutional Assessment Plans

During the coming months each institution is required to develop a plan
that will meet the requirements of the new "accountability" legislation. The

legislation provides:

The Board: af Governors of The University of North Carolina shall
require each institution to develop a plan that would exhibit how the
institution will measure its effectiveness, especially in the areas of
student learning and development, faculty development and quality, and
progress toward the institution's missions. Each plan shall include
information concerning the institution's goals to improve and maintain
its quality in these areas. The plans shall provide for annual
assessments and for reporting these assessments to the Board of Governors
and to the General Assembly. The Board shall identify a number of
assessment measures that shall be required on all campuses to insure

system wide assessment.
These plans shall be developed and submitted tc the General Assembly

by January 15, 1991.

It was agreed as a result of our conferences in November and the general

discussion at our meeting in December that the next step is for each
institution to prepare a draft plan that responds to the legislation. This

memorandum gives some guidelines and a schedule for this process.

Some General Principles

The discussion at our December meeting indicated general agreement on a
number of important points.

First, we should not attempt to design a uniform assessment plan to be

followed by all institutions. However, in preparing draft institutional
plans, appropriate University-wide measures and reporting systems will be
utilized. (Current measures and reporting systems are summarized in the

April 12, 1989, paper you have received.)

 
Saye

Second, it is clear that each institution is already engaged in a
Significant amount of assessment activity. One of the first tasks in
preparing institutional plans is to tie together these diverse activities into

a comprehensive program,

Third, while we are required to meke annual reports, we will not attempt
to confine ourselves to short-term measures, nor is it necessary to report on
every measure every year. Some measures may be reported on at two, three, or

-even four-year int«rvals, Plans should generally be phas:id' in over a peribd *
of five years, beginning this year.

Fourth, the major focus of the pla: will be on the undergraduate program.

However, graduate and professional programs ere of central importance in the
mission of several institutions, and the institutional plan should include
effectiveness measures for students and faculty in these programs as well.

Components of the Plans

Each plan needs to be organized arwund the three broad areas outlined in
the legislation.

a. Student learning and development

Xe

For undergraduate students, you will need to address the areas of
basic skills, the general education program, and the academic major.
This will require the inclusiot: of such areas as

~ admissions criteria and practices (freshmen and transfer)

~ testing, placement and remediation
~ evaluation of the general education program
~- analysis of retention, progression and graduation rates

For graduate and professional students, appropriate measures or
indicators should also be developed. For all groups of students the
review and evaluation of degree programs will be needed.

Faculty development and quality

Here you will need to deal with those measures that are to be
employed to evaluate teaching effectiveness, the evaluation of
faculty research and scholarship and public service activities, and
the faculty role in academic advising. Your evaluation measures
should also look at the faculty appointment process, the Operation of
the tenure system, and your affirmative action programs.

Progress toward institutional mission

This should include measures concerning enrollments (and,
specifically, minority presence enrollments), degrees conferred,
graduation rates, sponsored program activity, and public service

programs and activities.

 
-3-

In developing the plan, it is important that faculty be involved in
setting standards of achievement, in selecting measures and in the analysis of
results. The plan should make clear assignments of responsibility for its
development and operation.

Schedule

Please submit your draft institutional plan by April 15, 1990. The pian
should be concise. It must indicate the scope of each annual report and the
proposed intervals of comprehensive analysis and evaluations. These annual
teports will be submitted in December of each year, beginning in December of

1991.

During the spring we will review these plans with you. Thereafter, a
comprehensive draft plan for the entire University will be prepared, and this
draft will be reviewed with each of you. We want to have this final,
University-wide plan and all institutional components teady for presentation

to the Board of Governors by September of 1990.

Thank you for your cooperation and assistance.

cc: President Spangler
Chancellor Eakin
Vice President Carroll