Periodic Review Report to the Commission on Higher Education Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools June 1, 2005 Bernard M
Chapter Four: Assessment of Institutional Effectiveness and Student Learning
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- CUNY Performance Management Process (PMP)
Chapter Four: Assessment of Institutional Effectiveness and Student LearningInstitutional AssessmentThe College actively uses a variety of tools to assess institutional performance and effectiveness. Some of these are driven by the University’s need to monitor progress toward meeting the goals of the CUNY Master Plan. Others are provided through external agencies as a means of determining comparative analysis with our peer institutions. These include NSSE, CSRDE, AACSB International, and CIRP. In addition, we utilize internally developed assessment measures, relying on our Office of Institutional Research and Program Assessment. This chapter will focus on a few of these assessment tools and how they are used to foster change. Others will be found throughout the document. CUNY Performance Management Process (PMP)In late spring of each year, the Colleges are asked to prepare a set of goals for the coming year that are consistent with the goals, objectives, and targets of the University. The CUNY goals are largely derived from the Master Plan and are fairly consistent from year to year, though the targets may change. At the end of the academic year, each College reports what progress was made in achieving these goals. This effort is assisted by the University providing key indicator data for many of the targets, including the results of a CUNY-wide student survey. This data is useful both for tracking progress and for providing a comparison with other CUNY colleges. The College’s performance is reviewed and rated by a committee of senior officials at CUNY Central and the results are used to determine the amount of money authorized for salary increases for the senior administration at each college, including the President. Up until last year the funding for these raises was provided centrally. CUNY’s budget difficulties caused a change last year, when only the raise for the President was so funded. The College was required to provide the funding for the other senior salary adjustments. As a result, given our own budget situation, we were unable to fully utilize the authorized amount. The following table summarizes the CUNY PMP goals and objectives.
The full report of the College’s PMP performance will be found in Appendix G. Of particular interest, however, are those CUNY targets that have specific measurable indicators, which permit comparison with other CUNY institutions. These will be summarized below in several tables. Table 14 summarizes information provided by the CUNY-wide student survey, conducted bi-annually (data shown here are from the 2002 and 2004 surveys. Data is captured using a five-point scale, with 5 being the most favorable response. In addition to Baruch’s performance, we have provided the CUNY Senior College averages as a benchmark.
As can be seen from this table, the College increased student satisfaction on all these measures, and with the exception of administrative services, we exceeded the senior college averages, as well. We continue to seek improvements in all areas, as will be described later in the chapter. The second table provides data collected centrally regarding student retention and graduation rates.
A similar pattern is seen here, in that Baruch exceeds the senior college averages across the board, with particularly significant differences in almost all categories. Continued improvement in these areas is a priority for the College. While some of the success we have shown results from the improving characteristics of the student population, many of the activities described earlier are directed toward improving performance. These include the expansion of the learning communities, early intervention by the Center for Advisement and Orientation, the increasing professionalism of the tutoring center, and controlling enrollment growth so that students can get the classes they need in order to graduate. The third table provides information on a variety of miscellaneous indicators, relating to admissions, quality of students, and the College’s work on improving college readiness.
A few comments on these items may be useful. The decline in the percent of admitted students who enroll was not unexpected. As the College competes for better-prepared students (note the 15 point increase in admitted SAT scores), these students have more options, so the yield will decline. The proportion of classes taught by full time faculty continues to be a problem for the College. Although CUNY continues to push for increases on this measure, the resources have not been provided to add faculty to address this need. Baruch fares less well on this indicator, largely due to the fact that we have been historically underfunded relative to most other senior colleges and the tax levy budget allocations have not reflected enrollment changes. An additional factor to consider is that the indicator only measures undergraduate teaching. The College’s percentage for full time faculty teaching graduate students is much higher, exceeding 80%. CUNY continues to push increasing the proportion of instruction offered on Fridays, weekends, and evenings, as a way of increasing course availability for students. Unfortunately the indicator currently used only measures undergraduate offerings. For a school such as Baruch, with a large part time master’s level population, many of the graduate courses need to be offered in the evenings and on weekends. Our evening schedule of classes is quite full and effectively limited by the availability of classrooms. Those students who are admitted to the College but fail to pass one or more of the skills tests (reading, writing, and mathematics) are required to attend an immersion program, offered in the summer and in the January intersession. In addition to the classroom instruction, all the students in the writing and math programs receive tutoring and supplemental instruction. Two peer tutors are assigned to all writing and reading classes. Similarly, math students have access to undergraduate tutors, hired by the math department and available during set hours in a designated location. Math students are also required to do practice tests and problem sets in the computer lab outside of regular class hours. The decline in pass rates is of concern. We are currently undertaking several steps to address this. We are now working with a New York City high school teacher to evaluate and redesign the curriculum in order for students to make a more effective transition from high school to college. In addition, we are in the process of analyzing student performance as it relates to their background and which immersion courses they are placed in. This will result in a better matching of student capabilities to the level of instruction provided. Directory: facultyhandbook -> documents documents -> Joe Collison documents -> Baruch College Strategic Plan 2005-2010 documents -> Summary of cue, 2006-2007 Download 1.07 Mb. Share with your friends:
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