Southeast Technical Institute Systems Portfolio November 2010

Apr 18, 2024

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Southeast Technical Institute Systems Portfolio November 2010 [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Category Seven: Measuring Effectiveness

Processes

7P1 Data Management to Support Programs and Services

Data Selection

STI established Key Performance Indicators and targets, as well as strategic goals, action projects and action project measures to directly reflect the institute’s mission and vision. STI believes that each indicator and action project is critical to the institute’s ability to meet its mission.

Key Performance Indicators and targets are developed by the STI Administrative Team with input from faculty, staff and the STI Council. An AQIP Information and Analysis Team developed the initial draft of the indicators. The STI Council made recommendations to the indicators. Finally, the Sioux Falls School Board granted official approval. Action projects and measures supporting the Key Performance Indicators and strategic plan are developed by departments, programs, and STI committees and teams.

Where specific data is needed, such as for individual program accreditation, faculty and staff work directly with the Vice President of Student Affairs and Institutional Research to select and collect data.

Data Management

The Key Performance Indicators and other institutional data are managed by the Vice President of Student Affairs and Institutional Research who works with the appropriate administrators, faculty and staff to collect and analyze the data. Data is stored in STI’s administrative software system, various Access databases and Excel spreadsheets, and on the STI datacluster and STInet websites.

Data Distribution

Once collected, data is shared with the appropriate stakeholders through a variety of methods, including the STI and STInet web sites, publications, team and committee meetings, and in-service and monthly staff meetings.

Table 7.1 lists STI’s Key Performance Indicators, why STI believes the indicators are important to the mission and vision, and how the indicators are communicated to stakeholders:

Table 7.1 STI Key Performance Indicators, Connection to Mission, and Communication Method

Category	Performance Indicator	Importance to Mission	Communication
Student Learning	% of eligible programs maintaining accreditations/program certifications	Provides outside verification that STI is educating individuals for employment opportunities	STInet STI Catalog Newsletters Celebrating Learning
	% of eligible programs at or above national licensure or certification pass rates	Provides benchmark data on educating for employment	STInet Newsletters
	% of programs with identified program learning outcomes	Provides evidence that STI is committed to the verification and improvement of student learning	STInet program pages STI Databases Newsletters
	% of students meeting Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) workplace standards	Provides evidence that STI is committed to the verification and improvement of general education student learning	STInet Newsletters STI Monthly Meeting WAC Report
Graduate Employment	% of graduates employed; % of graduates employed in field	Maintaining high employment rates directly shows that STI is meeting its mission.	STInet State Reports
Student Enrollment	Total fall program enrollments (new students); Total fall STI enrollments; and Unduplicated yearly STI headcount	In order to achieve the mission of educating for employment, it is vital that STI maintain the appropriate enrollment numbers	STInet Internal reports Newsletters IPEDS State Reports
Student Retention	% retention first fall to first spring; first year to second year; and graduating in 3 years	Retention and graduate measures help STI maintain a focus on the mission.	STInet IPEDS State Reports
Employer Satisfaction	% of categories with ratings at or above 3; % of categories at or above 4	Assures that STI is meeting the needs of its employer stakeholders	STInet
Student Satisfaction	% of categories with ratings at or above 5; % of categories at or above the national mean	Assures that STI is meeting the needs of its student stakeholders	STInet
Employee Satisfaction	% of questions with ratings at or above 70% agreement (faculty and staff)	Assures that STI is meeting the needs of its employee stakeholders	STInet

STI’s Key Performance Indicator chart includes STI target ranges and results information and is available for viewing by the public on the STInet Continuous Quality tab (see 8R 2 ).

7P2 Data Management to Support Planning and Improvement

Data Selection

Key Performance Indicators and targets are developed by the STI Administrative Team with input from faculty, staff and the STI Council. An AQIP Information and Analysis Team developed the initial draft of the indicators. The STI Council made recommendations to the indicators. Finally, the Sioux Falls School Board granted official approval. Action Projects and measures supporting the Key Performance Indicators and strategic plan are developed by departments, programs, and STI committees and teams.

Data Management

Data Distribution

Table 7.1 lists STI’s Key Performance Indicators, why STI believes the indicators are important to the mission and vision, and how the indicators are communicated to stakeholders:

Table 7.1 STI Key Performance Indicators, Connection to Mission, and Communication Method

Category	Performance Indicator	Importance to Mission	Communication
Student Learning	% of eligible programs maintaining accreditations/program certifications	Provides outside verification that STI is educating individuals for employment opportunities	STInet STI Catalog Newsletters Celebrating Learning
	% of eligible programs at or above national licensure or certification pass rates	Provides benchmark data on educating for employment	STInet Newsletters
	% of programs with identified program learning outcomes	Provides evidence that STI is committed to the verification and improvement of student learning	STInet program pages STI Databases Newsletters
	% of students meeting Writing Across the Curriculum (WAC) workplace standards	Provides evidence that STI is committed to the verification and improvement of general education student learning	STInet Newsletters STI Monthly Meeting WAC Report
Graduate Employment	% of graduates employed; % of graduates employed in field	Maintaining high employment rates directly shows that STI is meeting its mission.	STInet State Reports
Student Enrollment	Total fall program enrollments (new students); Total fall STI enrollments; and Unduplicated yearly STI headcount	In order to achieve the mission of educating for employment, it is vital that STI maintain the appropriate enrollment numbers	STInet Internal reports Newsletters IPEDS State Reports
Student Retention	% retention first fall to first spring; first year to second year; and graduating in 3 years	Retention and graduate measures help STI maintain a focus on the mission.	STInet IPEDS State Reports
Employer Satisfaction	% of categories with ratings at or above 3; % of categories at or above 4	Assures that STI is meeting the needs of its employer stakeholders	STInet
Student Satisfaction	% of categories with ratings at or above 5; % of categories at or above the national mean	Assures that STI is meeting the needs of its student stakeholders	STInet
Employee Satisfaction	% of questions with ratings at or above 70% agreement (faculty and staff)	Assures that STI is meeting the needs of its employee stakeholders	STInet

STI’s Key Performance Indicator chart includes STI target ranges and results information and is available for viewing by the public on the STInet Continuous Quality tab (see 8R 2 ).

7P3 Department Data Management Needs

Data and information needs are developed to meet the needs of the institute and help the institute meet its mission and vision. The Vice President of Student Affairs and Institutional Research works directly with the various departments, committees and program areas to determine their specific data and information needs. These needs vary by program and department, but they are all connected to the mission and vision of the institute.

To make data more accessible to all faculty and staff, STI developed specific locations on the STInet website for data dissemination. Generally, these are pdf files that include data such as enrollment, retention and graduation rates, employer, student and employee satisfaction survey results, and placement data. In most situations, this data is open for viewing by any STI employee; however, only certain employees have the right to add or delete material from the website.

External data requests are handled by the Vice President of Student Affairs and Institutional Research, who works directly with program faculty or department staff to complete the data request. These requests may come from IPEDS, South Dakota State Board of Nursing, HLC, South Dakota State Board of Education, etc.

7P4 Data Analysis and Communication

Table 7.2 shows the analysis process for STI data. Data is shared through the STInet website and is provided for each program.

Table 7.4 Data Analysis

Data Element	Groups Involved	Frequency
Student Learning	Administrators and Faculty	Two or more times a year. Occurs during program planning sessions in the fall and during completion of program student learning assessments (month varies by program).
Student Enrollment	Administrators, Staff and Faculty	Reviewed monthly by the Administrative Team, who discuss with program faculty as needed. Reviewed monthly by the Admissions Team. Data is also shared during the monthly Academic/Student Support monthly meeting.
Student Retention	Administrators, Staff and Faculty	Reviewed every semester by the Administrative Team. Programs and departments review the data during program team meetings.
Graduate Employment	Administrators and Faculty	Reviewed once a year by the Administrative Team in the spring semester when results are available. Program faculty review data within their program meetings.
Employer Satisfaction	Administrators and Faculty	Reviewed once every two years by the Administrative Team when results are available. Program faculty review data within their program meetings.
Student Satisfaction	Administrators, Faculty, AQIP Student Success Team, various STI support services	Reviewed once every three years by the Administrative Team when results are available. STI support services and the AQIP Student Success Committee review the results within their department and committee meetings.
Employee Satisfaction	Administrators, Faculty, AQIP Campus Climate Team	Reviewed once every two years by the Administrative Team when results are available. The STI AQIP Campus Climate Team reviews the results in committee meetings.

7P5 Determining Comparative Data

STI determines the need for comparative data according to its mission and vision. STI searches for comparative data to see if it exists and if it would help further STI’s mission and vision. If the data meets these criteria, then STI will establish a comparative process.

For example, STI has found it valuable to use comparison data for student satisfaction. The Noel-Levitz Student Satisfaction Inventory provides STI with national mean satisfaction scores, both at the institutional and program levels, thereby allowing STI the opportunity to set goals and action plans that will significantly improve student satisfaction levels. STI is also able to do internal yearly comparisons with the data.

Similarly, STI has found that comparisons to other institutes, either nationally or regionally, have been valuable in the areas of employee compensation packages, graduate job placement and salaries, overall enrollment figures, etc. The IPEDS data allows STI to benchmark on important measures such as enrollment, retention and graduation rates, which are directly related to STI’s strategic goals. In spring 2009 STI joined the National Community College Benchmarking Project (NCCBP) and believes the project will provide STI with additional higher education benchmarking opportunities. NCCBP information was not yet available for this portfolio.

However, in other areas, such as the Campus Climate Survey, STI has elected to use internal data and compare that data to previous year results. STI’s Campus Climate Survey, which measures the employee climate at STI, is more directed to the specific STI employee’s satisfaction. The goal is to improve the satisfaction of STI employees, not to reach a specific standard set outside of the organization.

7P6 Data Alignment to Institutional Goals

Because STI’s data and information requests flow through a single office, the Vice President of Student Affairs and Institutional Research is able to ensure that department and unit analysis of data aligns with the institute’s goals. In addition, every program and department has meetings with the appropriate administrators regarding strategic planning, budget, institutional processes, and program and department reviews. During these meetings, the need for and use of data is discussed. Any issues concerning the type of data being collected or the use of data is brought to the attention of the STI Administrative Team, which determines if this data collection or use is appropriate or necessary.

7P7 Information System Timeliness, Accuracy, Reliability, and Security

As soon as new data is collected and available, it is shared with the appropriate stakeholders. Information is posted on the STInet website page or is sent to the appropriate sources either in hard copy or as an email attachment.

Data is frequently checked for accuracy by using various data integrity reports, comparisons of data using separate reports, review of data by different individuals, etc.

Data is stored on the STInet website and STI datacluster. All data storage is password protected as well as permission sensitive. Therefore, individuals must first be given a login and password to get into specific areas of these storage locations, and then must also be given permission to view and/or edit the information located on a specific part of that site.

Results

7R1 Measures of System Performance and Effectiveness

STI does not currently have a method for measuring the performance and effectiveness of our information and knowledge management system.

7R2 Evidence that the System for Measuring Effectiveness Meets Institute’s Needs

STI has been able to use its data effectively in the following ways:

Provide data to the South Dakota Department of Education to support the continued approval and expansion of all STI programs. (1P 13 )
Demonstrate the movement of the institute toward the goals developed with the STI Council. (8R 2 )
Provide proof that the changes STI has made to improve student satisfaction are working.
Assist STI in meeting various program accreditation requirements and receive new and continued accreditations (1R 6 ).
Consistently show that STI’s graduates gain employment (1R 3 ).
Consistently show that employers of STI’s graduates are satisfied with these employees. (1R 3 )
Show that STI has made gains in improving the campus climate for all STI employees. (4R 1 )

7R3 Comparative Results

STI is very proud of its comparisons to other higher education organizations.

Student satisfaction is statistically above the national mean in 8 of the12 broad categories of the Noel-Levitz Student Satisfaction Inventory .
STI’s graduate placement rates are consistent with the other technical institutes in South Dakota and have been 90% or higher for the past 5 years.
STI’s enrollment growth has also been consistent with the other area technical institutes.
Although STI has no direct comparison in terms of its Campus Climate Survey, STI’s retention rate for staff and faculty is higher than the national average.

STI, however, has a student retention rate that is below the retention rate of the other technical institutes in South Dakota as well as some of the comparison institutes through IPEDS. Therefore, STI has set as one of its goals to improve its retention rates.

Improvements

7I1 Improvements

STI has made the following improvements in measuring effectiveness:

STI updated and posted its Key Performance Indicators on the STInet site.
STI consistently posts program data on enrollments, graduation and retention rates, graduation numbers, employment and student surveys, etc. on the STInet site.
STI has developed a survey and performance measure schedule to assure that the measures are all updated on a consistent basis.
The Vice President of Student Affairs and Institutional Research, along with the HLC/Assessment Coordinator, regularly conducts training sessions for faculty and staff on how to find and use the various data elements for the improvement of programs and student support services.
The HLC/Assessment Coordinator worked with faculty members to add STInet shortcuts to help faculty find program data elements more quickly and easily.

7I2 Culture and Infrastructure Role in Setting Targets and Selecting Processes for Improvement

The STI Council and Administrative teams determine the key performance indicators and other institutional-level measures; however, the AQIP Futures Team develops and recommends strategies related to institutional effectiveness, and all STI employees play a key role in developing and executing these measures. All performance indicators are tied to the mission and vision of the institute. Because STI’s culture is solid around its mission, all employees understand the need to improve chosen target areas. The Vice President of Student Affairs and Institutional Research oversees STI’s measurement processes.