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University Planning and Analysis
2008-09 Annual Report

Programs

Typically, University Planning and Analysis (UPA) undertakes several new and one-time projects each year.  This year, UPA staff focused in particular on four new projects:

  • University budget reduction planning, in partnership with the Provost’s Office and Finance and Business.  With them, we organized January’s University Council retreat and university forum, and developed the overall process.

  • The University’s triennial baccalaureate alumni survey.  This survey helps the colleges and many student support units to measure their accountability to students, their parents, and the general public.

  • A new system for reporting on faculty activities, as required by the General Assembly.  The goal of this Academic Affairs-HR-UPA partnership is to provide a unified repository for faculty publications, presentations, outreach, and other professional activities.

  • An audit of compliance with SACS’ substantive change policies.  We reviewed all new degree programs and consortial arrangements established since fall 2003 and submitted documentation required to ensure NC State’s compliance with accreditation and US Department of Education requirements.

Compact Plan

Since 2007, UPA has been working toward three long-range goals as expressed in its compact plan:

  • Increase substantive contributions to a culture of informed decision making at NC State

  • Help NC State monitor and communicate accountability to various stakeholders and the general public

  • Help NC State improve its efficiency and effectiveness

More specifically, UPA staff are focused on the following objectives, as outlined in its compact plan.

  • ClassEval, the University’s new, online system for student evaluation of instruction.  This year we unveiled a new feature that allows deans, heads, and instructors to add their own questions to the common core questions.  In addition, we are redesigning the reporting system to accommodate expressed needs of department heads.
  • Data Mart is a joint UPA-OIT project launched this spring.  It will provide campus users with more customer-tailored data reports and improve UPA’s efficiency in posting reports and responding to ad hoc data requests.

  • The quality and consistency of data were improved through intensive review of personnel data in partnership with HR and faculty leaders and through implementation of UNC-GA’s new position taxonomy.  In addition, as the University’s new student information system rolled out, UPA staff revised the many programs used to create admissions, course, and student data files.

  • UPA continued to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of campus surveys.  We reduced the scope of this year’s Graduating Senior Survey to allow staff time for other activities.  We began administering the first year student survey online, thereby freeing up  instead of taking up valuable time in the New Student Oorientation schedule and reducing UPA costs.  , and we reduced the scope of this year’s Graduating Senior Survey to free up staff time for other activities.  We also reduced costs by redesigningTo reduce costs, we redesigned the research strategy for the Alumni Survey.  We evaluated the cost-benefit of Qualtrics as a survey tool for the entire campus, which if funded would likely save money, improve quality, reduce over-surveying of students and faculty, and probably improve response rates for all.  The survey team administered many extra surveys this year, including a joint survey for the Bookstore and student government, a self-assessment survey for the Board of Trustees, a parents and families services survey, orientation survey for the Graduate School, the LITRE faculty survey, the Faculty Senate elections, a Centennial Campus conference center survey, and the on-going Suggestion Box for campus budget reductions.  In addition, we coordinated campus efforts for our participation in the national COACHE faculty survey, the National Survey of Student Engagement, and the Chronicle’s Best Colleges to Work For survey., and the Suggestion Box for campus budget reductions.

  • Several new decision-making models and tools were created, including a tool that allows instantaneous evaluation of the effects of various enrollment scenarios on total enrollment and state funding.   We also expanded our retention forecast model to include factors gathered through student surveys; this tool allows colleges to identify and intervene with students at risk.

  • UPA provided a home base for LITRE (NC State’s QEP) and assessment. We led a campus-wide exposition of strategies for using technology to improve student learning in January and posted the LITRE Expo online.  The LITRE Expo was an exciting showcase of the NC State faculty’s innovations in virtual worlds, using laptops and clickers in class, expanding the highly successful SCALE-UP project, and several other new ideas.

  • The University’s foundation for university accountability was strengthened through participation in the national Voluntary System of Accountability (VSA), Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA), and the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE).

  • UPA continued to lead university-level assessment activities. We advised seven major administrative units as they created or improved their assessment plans required for accreditation.  UPA led the University’s Assessment Work Group, where assessment professionals across campus share results and ideas.

  • Finally, UPA seeks to make its services better known and utilized as a way to improve the decision-making climate on campus.  We are working on effectively communicating our reports to our clients through more focused reports, easier navigation on our website, and responsiveness to their needs.

Diversity

UPA contributed substantially to a new, online diversity fact book organized by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion.  The fact book was used to produce the annual diversity report card for the campus, and it will also be used in the evaluation of a University’s NSF-ADVANCE grant promoting careers of women and underrepresented groups on campus.

Melissa House was a facilitator for Study Circles, and Geetanjali Soni was a participant.

Nancy Whelchel and Melissa house serve on the University Diversity Advisory Committee, and Nancy is a member of the Staff Diversity Task Force.

Staff 

UPA welcomed Celeste Drayton as Social/Clinical Research Specialist focusing on interinstitutional comparisons and responding to requests for information from magazines and guidebooks.

We regretted the departure of Dr. Joni Spurlin as a result of budget reductions. As University Director of Assessment, Dr. Spurlin assembled the first campus-wide views of assessment results; tied assessment to planning and other processes, and assisted administrative units with assessment.  She also was a subcontractor for an NSF grant (MIDFIELD), served on an NSF panel to review grant proposals, reviewed articles for the Journal of Engineering Education, and served on an AAC&U task force developing a national rubric to assess problem solving.

Individual UPA staff typically develop their professional perspective and talents not just by attending conferences and taking short courses, but also by taking courses and working on degrees.  We are particularly proud of Dr. Jennifer Marks, who completed her PhD in Sociology.  She also serves as a reviewer for the Journal of Family Issues, a remarkable honor for a new doctorate.  In addition, Jeannette Atkinson completed graduate classes in mathematics and operations research.

Dr. Nancy Whelchel continues to chair the UNC Survey Group, a committee representing all seventeen institutions that advises UNC-General Administration on survey research.  She also serves on the Executive Council for the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR).  In light of her state and national recognition and outstanding accomplishments, Nancy was nominated for the Awards for Excellence.

Melissa House, Jennifer Marks, and Nancy Whelchel developed a presentation on alumni survey research at the request of the NC Association for Institutional Research.  Nancy also presented at AAPOR and PAPAOR (AAPOR’s Pacific conference).  Trey Standish presented at the Association of College and University Housing Officers on the impact of learning communities and a ten-year model for housing.

The Future

Like most offices across the University, UPA faces increasing demands, fewer staff, and non-competitive salaries.  For the next year, we will be called upon to lead development of a mid-term report to SACS about compliance with several standards, a final report on LITRE, and visits to several off-campus sites.  ClassEval continues to require substantial time from four staff members in addition to the one person hired for the project.