Introduction to Educational Effectiveness Report

INTRODUCTION TO EDUCATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS REPORT

Relationship of Themes Chosen to the Campus Strategic Plan. The three themes selected for our Educational Effectiveness Report are based on the three goals of our campus Strategic Plan. [See http://www.csusb.edu/president/strategicplan.html ] All the goals and themes are focused on aspects of the issue of "Community."

While the objectives of the Strategic Plan focus on specific initiatives and strategies, the three Themes are focused on broader topics that cut across the objectives to provide an emphasis on critical issues that were identified in the self-study proposal. (See: http://thewasc.csusb.edu/ssplan/Self-study%20Plan%20for%202003%20WASC%20Visit.htm )
It should be noted that the Strategic Plan goals and objectives are forward-looking and may remain valid for some time. The issues raised by the self-study themes, on the other hand, examine a number of current topics that are very important for the campus and in meeting the WASC standards. Selecting a few key issues allowed us to focus on assessment of how far the campus has come in addressing these critical aspects of our strategic plan and to comment on the current status of our efforts.

A much more detailed and specific report on our progress toward meeting the Strategic Plan goals and objectives also was undertaken by the campus' Long-Range Planning Council, which issued a report and assessment in December 2003 that was shared with the campus community. See:
Planning Council Strategic Plan Assessment for Goals 1, 2, 3
http://thewasc.csusb.edu/edueffrev/thm1/appendix/i6/AssessStratPlan.pdf

Complete Progress Report on Strategic Plan Goals and Objective
http://thewasc.csusb.edu/repository/StratPlanProgRep.pdf

The extensive listing of initiatives, activities, projects, and accomplishments found in this full Strategic Plan progress report thus informed the work of theme committees and provided the background and context for their analysis and further investigation.

Format and Structure of the Reflective Essays and Reports.

The Educational Effectiveness Report sections for each Theme are comprised of three layers of information, analysis, and abstraction: At the top level are the brief Reflective Essays, which were written by large committees for each of the themes identified in our Self-Study Proposal. Each theme has several issues and questions that the committee attempted to research and answer, and each issue essay has a brief summary, analysis, and conclusions for that particular topic.

A second level of information can be found in the detailed Full Report for many of the primary issues which form the basis of the conclusions in the essay and which analyze in more depth the findings by the theme's subcommittee from their investigation. The collected data and topical reports supporting and essay or report are found in an Appendix, which constitutes the third level of information.
Within the Reflective Essays, the evidence from other reports and supporting data is shown with a "hot linked" URL in the Appendix and evidence found on the CSUSB WASC Self-study Home Page. (http://thewasc.csusb.edu) Likewise, the Full Reports on the issues contain many links to more detailed reports, additional sources of evidence examined, and supplemental material found in the Appendix for that issue.

Relationship of the Themes and Issues to Our Core Commitment to Educational Effectiveness. The current Educational Effectiveness report is based on our analysis of on-going practices and processes for assuring the quality of academic programs and the operational support activities of the university. CSUSB has long had 1) a process of systematic program review, 2) procedures for annual evaluations of administrators and staff based on objectives rooted in institutional and individual improvement, 3) regular evaluation of offices and educational support programs, and 4) an open and responsive system of budgeting that is based on the Strategic Plan Goals and Objectives. Likewise, the faculty and staff evaluation system is well established and guided by both contractual agreements with the collective bargaining units as well as the Faculty Senate's policies and procedures for retention, promotion and tenure of faculty, which are carried out by departmental, college, and university-level evaluation committees.

While these broad quality assurance measures and procedures were noted and described in the earlier Preparatory/Capacity Report, our many evaluative and quality control programs are analyzed in much greater detail in the essays and special reports that follow in this Educational Effectiveness Report. In particular, the evaluation of student learning outcomes and student achievement is addressed by the Essay for Issue No. 5 of Theme I and with a series of special reports on how we encourage, support, and evaluate student learning. In the past ten years, CSUSB has implemented a highly structured and rigorous process of student learning assessment, which is outlined and evaluated in our reports. Many of the departmental assessments focus on individual student achievement levels and the demonstrated accomplishment of established objectives and criteria, though most departments use assessment of students primarily as a way of determining the overall effectiveness of the degree program and use the findings for changes in curriculum, modifying methods of instruction, and improving the operation of the program. Theme I also probes and analyzes our attempts to encourage student and faculty engagement in the teaching and learning process through the building of community and support systems both in and outside the classroom. We also attempted to inventory and evaluate the many good educational practices and examples of learning communities found in the academic departments as well as in course syllabi and evidence of student work and achievement.

The institution also has a tradition of carrying out regular evaluations, surveys, and indirect measures of the success of programs, offices, and practices. Theme II in particular analyzes our many efforts to determine the level of student satisfaction, student achievement, and student involvement along with consideration of faculty and staff evaluations of support, quality of assistance and operations, and areas needing improvement. Many examples are provided of quality assurance measures, attempts at "benchmarking" comparisons, and our overall quality improvement initiatives in areas such as diversity, student life and development, technology, safety and physical aspects of the campus, operational procedures and practices, and planning.

Because of the size, characteristics, demographics, and the special needs of our two-county service area, our campus is increasingly involved with linking the university to its constituents and stakeholders. As a result, Theme III is an essential element for our campus; and this emphasis on outreach and involvement evolved directly from our mission statement and our Strategic Plan's commitment to engagement with the community and region that we serve. Our campus image and visibility, our leadership role in community affairs, our growing community-university partnerships and efforts to improve living conditions in region, our attempts to serve outlying portions of our service area through off-campus programs and distance education, our objective of providing training and life-long learning that sustains and develops the economy, and our need for external fundraising to assist our efforts at outreach, access, and quality improvement are all vitally important to the long-term health and development of the people we serve and the success of our future students.

Theme III is reflexive and feeds back into the topics laid out in Goals 1 and 2 of our long-range plan and the self-imposed topics and questions addressed in Themes I and II of this report. The evaluative aspects of Theme III are not yet as complete as the other issues that the campus has focused on for this review cycle. Our current evaluation for this theme is still formative and the outcomes will not be fully realized for some time. The real proof of our success with community and K-12 partnerships will be seen in the college-going rates, academic preparation, and achievement and skill level of the next generation of CSUSB students. We believe a loop eventually will be made back to the themes of improving student learning, ensuring faculty development and program improvement, and engagement of the campus and the surrounding community to solidify the connection of these three related and interactive themes.

To summarize: This Educational Effectiveness Report is a direct outgrowth of our Strategic Plan and our self-study proposal. The Educational Effectiveness Report is multi-layered and contains an organic synthesis of the interlocking strands that make up our self-study. Here is a graphic representation of the elements involved:

Strategic Plan and WASC Report Relationships

The Preparatory Report that was done last year as part of our "capacity" review dealt with establishing how CSUSB meets all of the four WASC Standards, while our Educational Effectiveness Report is focused on a more limited set of issues and topics. Nonetheless, the Educational Effectiveness Report is directly related to the WASC Standards. We have not addressed each of the criteria for review in this report but have in total provided evidence of our core commitment to educational effectiveness and how we have approached the interlocking aspects of Articulating an Collective Vision of Educational Attainment, Organizing for Learning, and Becoming a Learning Organization that framed the development of the new WASC standards and which are outlined in the WASC handbook. The table below organizes the WASC Standards and criteria for review according to these three overarching ways of looking at the standards and guides the reader to the sections in our report that are most directly related to and address these issues, standards and criteria.

EDUCATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS INVENTORY

WASC Standards and Criteria for Review	Where Addressed in CSUSB Report
ARTICULATED a Collective Version of Educational Attainment
1. Mission and Purpose: A published mission statement with clearly described purposes that define institutional values and character as they relate to students learning. (1.1, 1.5)	Theme I, Issue 6
2. Educational Objectives: Clearly-defined and appropriate educational objectives at the institutional and program levels related to institutional mission and purpose and indicators and evidence to ascertain level of achievement. (1.1, 1.2)	Theme I, Issue 6 Theme I, Issue 5
3. Effective Leadership: Leadership and governance publicly committed to student learning and educational effectiveness, including accountability for improvement based on the processes of inquiry, evaluation, and assessment. (1.3, 3.9, 3.10, 3.11, 4.5, 4.6)	Theme I, Issues 5, 6 Theme II, Issues 2, 3, 4
4. Integrity and Autonomy: Truthful and widespread representation of academic goals and results related to student learning through all programs and services. (1.3, 1.4, 1.6, 1.7, 1.8, 1.9, 2.4, 2.10, 2.12, 2.14)	Theme I, Issues 1, 2, 5, 6 Theme II, Issues 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Theme III, Issue 1, 2, 3, 4
ORGANIZED for Learning
1. Learning Outcomes: Clear determination of learning outcomes and publication and dissemination at course, program, and institutional levels. Faculty take responsibility for demonstrating attainment of expectations, and competencies required for graduation are embedded and known. (2.1, 2.3, 2.4, 2.6)	Theme I, Issues 3, 5, 6 Theme II, Issue 3
2. Alignment of Support Systems: Reward and evaluation systems that promote effective teaching, creative activity, instructional innovation, and scholarship of curriculum and pedagogy. Library; information resources; and student services; and recruitment, workload, incentive, and evaluation practices support and are aligned with the institution's educational purposes and goals. (2.2, 2.8, 2.9,3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 3.8, 3.11)	Theme I, Issues 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 Theme II, Issues 2, 3, 4, 5 Theme III, Issue 4
3. Program Review: Systems that include analyses of the achievement of all academic and co-curricular programs' learning objectives and outcomes. (2.7)	Theme I, Issue 5, Reports 1,2 3, 4 Theme II, Issue 3
4. Learning Assessment: Developed and implemented ongoing measurements of student needs, experiences, and learning at all levels of the institution and consistently across the institution. Assessment makes use of direct results of student learning and authentic student work. It includes evidence that graduates consistently achieve academic goals and stated levels of attainment. Appropriate stakeholders (employers, community members, alumni, practitioners) are involved in the assessment of educational programs. (2.6, 2.10, 4.8)	Theme I, Issue 1, Report 4 Theme I, Issue 5, Reports 1, 2, 3 Theme II, Issues 1, 2, 3, and 4 Theme III, Issues 1, 2, 3
BECOME a Learning Organization
1. Learning-centered Programs: Programs where students are actively involved in learning, challenged to achieve high expectations, and provided with feedback about their performance and how it can be improved. (2.5, 2.11)	Theme I, Issue 1, Reports 1, 2, 3, 4 Theme II, Issue 3
2. Planning Linked to Learning: Planning and decision making that is informed by evidence and that identifies priorities for improving educational effectiveness and students learning. (4.1, 4.3)	Theme I, Issue 6 Theme II, Issues 2, 3, 5
3. Resource Alignment: Planning processes that define and align academic, personnel, physical and technological needs with strategic and educational objectives and priorities through a sound budgetary process. (3.5, 3.7, 4.2)	Theme I, Issue 6 Theme II, Issues 2, 4, 5 Theme III, Issue 5
4. Quality Assurance and Institutional Research: Systems of verification that assure student learning and other key activities are actually happening according to stated goals at all levels in the institution. Research addresses strategic data needs for decision makers throughout the institution. (2.13, 3.6, 4.4, 4.5)	Theme I, Issues 1, 5 Theme II, Issue 3 Theme III, Issues 1, 4
5. Inquiry into the Processes of Teaching and Learning: Ongoing inquiry into the improvement of teaching and learning built on evidence and used to engage the community in reflection on the effectiveness of curricular design and pedagogy. (4.4, 4.7)	Theme I, Issue 1, Reports 1, 2, 3, 4 Theme I, Issue 3 Theme I, Issue 5