Continuous Institutional Assessment

Coordinating the Planning Function

The University has reaffirmed its commitment to a regular, data-based process of self assessment and improvement, through the coordination of internal planning processes including academic planning, enrollment management, space and capital planning, and budget and resource planning. For example, planning for the Student Success Center/Learning Commons involved a broadly based planning group and culminated in a significant, highly functional redesign of facilities. The Enrollment Management process, coupled with the Strategic Planning process, regularly brought faculty and staff into discussions regarding the future of the University, including recommendations for resource allocation.

Assessment Plans

Regular assessment of the University's performance relative to its documented plans will be incorporated into the 2009-2014 planning and budgeting processes. All programs of the University will have assessment plans with measures to determine success over the first and subsequent years of implementation, the results of which will be used in documented improvements and to inform future budget decisions. The effectiveness of each program will be summarized and annually disseminated and best practices in each area will be used in
documented improvements. Existing programs that are shown to be ineffective by institutional effectiveness measures will be discontinued, in accordance with SACS and SCHEV procedures for program discontinuance to ensure that already enrolled students are give the opportunity to complete their declared program of study in a reasonable timeframe.