Strategic Plan Report

Measuring Our Success

KEY STRATEGY: The University System of Ohio Accountability Measures will track progress toward meeting our goals as a system. By December 31, 2008, the presidents of each institution, with the approval of their Board of Trustees, will submit to the Chancellor a document indicating how the institution will contribute to meeting the system-wide accountability measures.

This plan sets a clear goal - raising educational attainment - and describes a number of strategies that are designed to move us toward that goal. It is, of course, possible that we have not selected the correct strategies. That is why this plan establishes 20 accountability measures by which progress can be monitored. If the strategies described in this plan are working, then the accountability measures will reflect that fact. If, however, these accountability measures are not being achieved, then the strategies must be re-examined. Accountability is the path to change. These measures are calculated so that meeting the ten-year goals should translate into meeting the overall educational attainment goals of this plan. The accountability measures are the “report card” of the University System of Ohio. They will be posted on the website and updated as frequently as data is available.

Alignment between the goals of the University System of Ohio and individual institutions will form the basis for a constructive working relationship between institutions and the state. It will be on this basis that funds will be allocated, and that the success of the system as a whole can be demonstrated to the Governor, the General Assembly and the public. The accountability metrics measure the performance of the system as a whole. Each institution contributes differently to these measurements - some will grow in enrollment, others will attract more research dollars, and so on. To make certain that the collective actions of the institutions are helping the state meet its overall goals, each institution, through its president and with the approval of the Board of Trustees, will submit to the Chancellor, by December 31, 2008, a document setting out the contribution that the institution will make to the achievement of the state’s overall accountability measures. In consultation with the institutions, the Chancellor will develop and distribute a template for this submission. The initial report should cover a six-year period. The Chancellor will review all the submissions together, and in consultation with the institutions, seek any changes necessary to ensure that all the goals of the University System of Ohio are met. The Chancellor will then use the individual submissions to measure the contributions of each institution to the fulfillment of the University System of Ohio goals.

Access

The University System of Ohio will be a flexible, integrated higher education provider, making the widest range of educational opportunities available to, and raising the educational aspirations of, all Ohioans.

Ohio's Black and Hispanic population percentage is estimated from percent that are Black or African American Alone and percent that are of Hispanic origin but not Black or African American Alone.

Quality

The University System of Ohio will be known for the excellence of the teaching and learning of its faculty and students and the reputation of its institutions.

Affordability and Efficiency

The University System of Ohio will enable all Ohioans to afford the education and training they need to succeed.

Economic Leadership

The University System of Ohio will provide the intellectual and organizational infrastructure to measurably improve the economic outlook for all Ohioans.

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The Ohio College Portrait

Universities

KEY STRATEGY: KEY STRATEGY: All universities will join the Voluntary System of Accountability, making data available regarding price, financial aid, degree programs, retention and graduation rates, campus safety, student satisfaction, and student learning outcomes. All universities will administer and report on the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE).

In addition to the specific accountability measures that reflect Ohio’s goals, there is a need for schools to provide the public with information to review the universities’ performance on a wide range of measures and to compare that data to other schools across Ohio and the nation. While schools have expressed a willingness to measure and report such results, there has been little agreement over the years on the best method for doing so, and outright hostility to some of the ranking systems available from private vendors. Recognizing this problem, a consortium of public universities across the country joined together to develop the Voluntary System of Accountability (VSA). The VSA allows participating schools to report relevant information about their costs and performance in a standardized format that enables valid comparisons to be made between schools.

Schools participating in the VSA agree to administer two important assessments, one that measures the quality of student engagement (or satisfaction) at the school, and one that measures learning outcomes. Schools are given a choice of assessment tools to use in each area. In the area of student satisfaction, the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) has received wide acceptance, and should therefore be used by all schools in the University System of Ohio. The measurements of learning outcomes, which focus on critical thinking, communication and problem-solving skills, are still under development. Schools have requested continued flexibility in working with these tools, and, in the near term, this is appropriate. The chancellor will work with the institutions to review the state of knowledge of these assessments and to move towards a common assessment of learning outcomes across the system.

The results of these assessments will be incorporated with the other financial and student data called for by the VSA into an Ohio College Portrait, which will be available for every University System of Ohio school. This Portrait will include a six-page, web-based template organized into three areas:

The Ohio College Portrait will provide easily accessible and understandable information for prospective students about the qualities and outcomes of the participating campuses, allowing users to compare apples to apples. Through standardized graphs, pie charts and hyperlinks in a common format, students and parents can browse the site for information regarding price, financial aid, degree programs, success, retention, campus safety, future plans of graduates, student satisfaction, student learning outcomes and community engagement.

The Ohio College Portrait will serve not only students and parents, but also policymakers, faculty and staff. The program responds to requests often made by policymakers for accessible, transparent, and comparable data by requiring each institution to collect and present the data in a way that will demonstrate the impact of the state’s investment on student learning and higher education. In addition, the section of the Ohio College Portrait on student engagement and learning outcomes will allow faculty and staff to gain additional knowledge about how students are learning by measuring progress in the key cognitive skill areas of critical thinking, analytic reasoning, and written communication.

The Ohio College Portrait requires measurement of community engagement, an important dimension of university activity. Community engagement is the practice of collaborating with the larger community for the mutual benefit of the citizens and the university. Faculty and student engagement in community-based service or research creates educationally enriching experiences for students and helps communities address problems and improve the quality of life of their citizens by utilizing the university’s intellectual and human resources.

Adopting the Ohio College Portrait will allow University System of Ohio member institutions to:

Community Colleges

KEY STRATEGY: All community colleges will adopt a nationally benchmarked, transparent system of accountability similar to the Voluntary System of Accountability. All community colleges will administer the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE).

Ohio’s network of community colleges is committed to implementing an accountability system parallel to the version being adopted by Ohio’s public universities. The community colleges’ accountability system will:

  1. Measure and report student engagement by utilizing the CCSSE as its survey tool.
  2. Assess general education outcomes through the development of a common template, which will be used to report general education outcomes, measurements used and results, and share information on how the results will be used to make improvements.
  3. Assess learning outcomes within technical programs by developing a similar template for the reporting of technical program outcomes, measurements used and results, and how the results will be used to make improvements.

The accountability metrics will be periodically reviewed for their appropriateness to encourage a continuous improvement process.

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