Executive Policy 5.210 Executive Policy 5.210



Title

Institutional Accountability and Performance

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Executive Policy Chapter 5. Academic Affairs
Executive Policy EP 5.210, Institutional Accountability and Performance
Effective Date:  October 2014
Dates Amended:  June 1999, July 1989
Responsible Office: Office of the Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs
Governing Board of Regents Policy:  RP 4.205, Institutional Accountability
Review Date:  August 2018

I. Purpose

A. To implement RP 4.205, Institutional Accountability and Performance of the Board of Regents’ Bylaws and Policies.

B. To provide for the ongoing assessment by faculty, staff, and administrators of  the degree to which mission and strategic plan goals and objectives are accomplished, and to review and clarify goals and objectives as appropriate.

C. To demonstrate how assessment outcomes are used to:

    1. Take regular readings on how well the University is doing;

    2. Guide educational decision-making, improve programs/services, further accountability, and demonstrate institutional quality and responsiveness;

    3. Justify policy, procedural, and organizational changes;

    4. Influence the delivery of student services; and

    5. Establish the information base needed to respond to accountability concerns.

D. To establish policy statements and guidelines for implementing assessment activities and integrating them into existing program review, accreditation, planning, budgeting, and tuition-setting processes.

E. To demonstrate the University’s continued commitment to public accountability and satisfy mandatory federal, state, and University reporting requirements.

II. Definitions

No policy specific or unique definitions apply.

III. Executive Policy

A. INTRODUCTION

Assessment and accountability are central to the University of Hawai‘i’s agenda and shared responsibilities of system/campus administrators and the faculty.  The University seeks to gather and produce evidence, from a variety of sources, about the University’s effectiveness in meeting its mission and Strategic Plan goals and objectives.  Benchmarks and performance indicators and a variety of assessment activities are vehicles for quality improvement and accountability.  They can serve as catalysts for change and as instruments for institutional self-reflection and planning.  These activities are not ends but rather means to achieving learning outcomes, discovering new knowledge, and to serving the community.

This policy provides for the regular and systematic assessment of programs, campuses, and the University of Hawai‘i System as a whole.  The University has purposely decentralized assessment activities, while maintaining an overall policy framework appropriate for a heterogeneous statewide public higher education system.  The fact that different University campuses, colleges, departments, and programs pursue separate assessment agendas is consistent with this policy.

B. The University of Hawai‘i will:

    1. Gather evidence about the degree to which the University of Hawai‘i is effectively accomplishing its mission and Strategic Plan goals/objectives, and use this information to guide decision-making and improve University programs and services.

    2. Integrate assessment activities into the institution’s ongoing planning, program review, accreditation, student services, administration, budgeting, tuition-setting, and other processes.

    3. Systematically aggregate information from a variety of sources into comprehensive and meaningful information about patterns of achievement.

    4. Give priority to the assessment of undergraduate education.

    5. Address public accountability concerns and strengthen the interrelationships between K-12 and postsecondary education in the State.

C. The University of Hawai‘i’s assessment and accountability activities will:

    1. Focus on overall program and institutional effectiveness and not individual achievement.

    2. Span instructional, research, and service missions.

    3. Vary across program/units with differing missions, goals, and objectives.

    4. Be collaborative and involve appropriate faculty and staff input.

    5. Draw on existing data when possible.

D. GUIDELINES

Assessment and accountability programs/activities are designed in accordance with the following guidelines

    1. Assessment requires and takes place in the context of the mission, goal, and objective statements that established the program or activity.  In the case of undergraduate instruction, student learning objectives describe the general skills and abilities students are expected to acquire.  Assessment focuses on those outcomes deemed to be the most important.

    2. Undergraduate education is a major element of the University's mission and a shared responsibility among all campuses.  Each campus gives high priority to the collection of information that includes:

        a. Descriptive profiles of entering students, including demographic data, prior academic achievement, results of placement testing in key basic skills, and student educational expectations.

        b. Student achievement in general education, including acquired proficiency in key competencies such as writing and computation skills.

        c. Student accomplishment in the major field of study.

        d. Student satisfaction with educational programs and services.

        e. Alumni demographic and employment data, including long-term satisfaction with educational programs and services.

    3. The scholarly reputations of the UH-Manoa and UH-Hilo campuses are greatly enhanced by the accomplishments of their graduate and post-baccalaureate professional students.  Therefore, the assessment of graduate and professional programs includes student profiles that address admission patterns, student achievement and satisfaction, and alumni accomplishments.

    4. The University's research function is strengthened by a clear understanding of its goals and accomplishments.  Each campus, but especially UH Manoa, collects information relating to:

        a. The effectiveness of organized research units in meeting their goals and objectives.

        b. The role and accomplishments of instructional and service units in furthering the University's overall research mission.

    5. Public confidence and internal morale are enhanced by assessment of the University's internal organization and administrative functions along the following lines:

        a. Collective efforts that assess the effectiveness of academic program articulation and collect data on the long-term performance of students who transfer among campuses of the University system.

        b. Campus assessment of the effectiveness of student service programs in supporting student educational goals.

        c. Campus assessment of instructional support units.

        d. Assessment of faculty and staff morale.

        e. Assessment of the effectiveness of organizational structures and administrative procedures in supporting clear and timely decision- making.

    6. Ongoing University assessment activities address the University's effectiveness in meeting state objectives and satisfying state needs. Examples include:

        a. The University periodically ensures that campus role and mission responsibilities reflect state needs.

        b. The Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation tracks, assesses, and reports on the level of research and training activity focused on state needs.

        c. Each campus assesses the level of community service activity focused on state and local needs.

        d. The Office of the Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs coordinates the preparation of system-wide benchmark/performance indicators responsive to higher education needs of the state.

        e. The Office of th Vice President for Administration assesses the University's stewardship of its resources, including real property, equipment, and personnel.

E. ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

    1. Leadership and Coordination

        a. Overall policy direction is provided by the Board of Regents and the Office of the President.

        b. System-wide coordination and reporting are the responsibility of the UH Officers and the Office of the Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs.

        c. Campus/unit assessment implementation and reporting are the responsibility of the senior vice president/chancellors.

    2. Reporting Accountability and Performance Information

        a. The Chancellors for Mānoa, Hilo and West O‘ahu and the Vice President for Community Colleges shall describe and update their Units’ assessment activities and outcomes as part of their Unit Academic Plans (commonly referred to as strategic plans and required by Executive Policy EP 4.201).  Campuses are encouraged to seek or reallocate appropriate resources in order to implement planned assessment activities in a timely fashion.
The Vice Presidents and Chancellors designate campus administrators who have responsibility for coordinating campus assessment activities.  Additionally, they actively encourage professional development activities designed to acquaint faculty and staff with assessment approaches and increase their effectiveness in setting appropriate objectives, administering assessment activities, and analyzing and interpreting assessment information.

        b. Each campus reports assessment information in accordance with the following guidelines:

            (1) All reports give special attention to the difference that assessment activities make by describing impacts on: student learning, curriculum/program change, delivery of student services, research, service, policy, procedural and organizational change, planning and budgeting, accountability, information exchange, resource acquisition, and others.

            (2) Assessment information collected by instructional departments and programs is reported as part of the program review process mandated by Executive Policy EP 5.202 (Review of Established Programs).  Program and departmental information may also be reported for use in planning and budgeting.  Programs and departments seeking specialized accreditation report assessment information as required by the accrediting body.

            (3) Assessment/performance information is reported in accordance with the accreditation requirements of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.  Additionally, each campus incorporates applicable assessment information as a part of University planning and Level IV budgeting.

            (4) Baccalaureate campuses are encouraged to report to the Office of the Vice President for Community Colleges information on performance in upper division course work of UH Community College transfer students.

            (5) Each University campus provides the Department of Education with data on the initial placement and first-year academic performance of recent public high school graduates in Hawai‘i.

            (6) Units prepare special reports on assessment and accountability as required.

            (7) Hawai‘i Revised Statutes (HRS) 304.4-5 (Act 161) required the Board of Regents to adopt benchmarks tied to Master Plan goals (BOR action taken 09/13/96), to use these benchmarks in the development of budget and tuition schedules for the periodic review of programs, and to submit a report to the Legislature in the second year of each fiscal biennium.  This reporting requirement is also cited in the preamble to Act 115 as an accountability measure important to greater University autonomy.

            Therefore, the Office of the Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs with guidance from the UH Officers coordinates, consolidates, and prepares a system-wide benchmarks/performance indicators report in the second year of each fiscal biennium.  The University reports on assessment results that demonstrate performance relative to strategic plan goals and provide evidence of the institution’s commitment to public accountability.

IV. Delegation of Authority

There is no policy specific delegation of authority.

V. Contact Information

Office of the Vice President for Academic Planning and Policy
Telephone: (808) 956-6897
Email: ovpaa@hawaii.edu

VI. References

    A. Link to superseded Executive Policies in old format https://www.hawaii.edu/policy/archives/ep/

    B. Link to Administrative Procedures in old format https://www.hawaii.edu/policy/archives/apm/sysap.php

VII. Exhibits and Appendices

No Exhibits and Appendices found

Approved

    Signed    
    David Lassner    
    October 31, 2014    
    Date    
    President

Topics

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