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Planning and Effectiveness
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The institution engages in ongoing planning to achieve its mission and goals. It also evaluates how well, and in what ways, it is accomplishing its mission and goals and uses the results for broad-based, continuous planning and evaluation. Through its planning process, the institution asks questions, seeks answers, analyzes itself, and revises its goals, policies, procedures, and resource allocation.
Planning and Effectiveness
Portland State's Office of Institutional Research and Planning (OIRP) conducts information gathering, data analysis, research and reporting for the institution, as well as for the departments and offices that comprise it. OIRP monitors requests for information through a project management system, while the provost reviews its work periodically.
Planning at Portland State is broad-based, relying upon faculty governance committees, including the Faculty Senate Budget Committee, the Educational Policies Committee, and representative bodies like the President's Advisory Council. Schools and colleges conduct planning through their curriculum committees and through department or division chair meetings, which are held regularly during the academic year.
Data Collection
OIRP conducts regular surveys to assess institutional outcomes and student satisfaction with educational experiences. Surveys are administered through the web registration process and by mail to students entering and continuing at the university and to alumni.
Portland State also participates in the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). The student-engagement survey, administered by Indiana University Center for Postsecondary Research in cooperation with the Indiana University Center for Survey Research, asks current freshmen and seniors to report the frequency of their participation in educational practices related to desirable learning outcomes (e.g., participating in class discussions, meeting with instructors outside of class, or hours per week devoted to schoolwork). NSSE survey data allow comparisons with other urban and doctoral research-intensive peer institutions.
Regular institutional surveys of current undergraduate students and entering students provide information about undergraduates at various points in their educational careers. Reports of these surveys are posted on the OIRP website and distributed in printed reports to appropriate offices and individuals on campus.
OIRP also monitors retention and graduation rates for freshmen and transfer students, and conducts tracking studies of these students on an annual basis focusing on such issues as the characteristics of freshmen who stop, drop, or persist; the characteristics, enrollment patterns, and academic progress of students who take Freshman Inquiry classes in sequence; and comparisons of the performance of direct entry and transfer students. The information from these sources is shared with upper administration and the University Studies Program to assist with planning and understanding the unique characteristics of our student population.
Data Translation
OIRP maintains a website of historical and current institutional data. The Fall Term Fact Book and annual Statistical Portrait are complemented by reports on ad hoc requests and data provided through the university's data warehouse and Banner information system.
Departmental Profiles
OIRP maintains a website of departmental profiles that outline unit goals and objectives, program planning, and resource allocation. Data included in the profiles correspond to those required in the university's recommended program review process. The profiles provide a starting point for conversations about planning and management among deans, department chairs, and program directors. Departments and programs may also use information included in the profiles to respond to specialized accreditation requirements, the preparation of grant proposals, or program monitoring and planning.
Enrollment Updates
OIRP produces a weekly enrollment update during the registration period each term. The updates are sent to all upper-level administrators via e-mail, and the data are available on the OIRP Web site. This allows deans and department chairs to monitor enrollments and make adjustments in class availability, size or number of sections as enrollment changes.
Academic Newsletters
The Office of Marketing and Communications (OMC) publishes a weekly campus newsletter, Currently, which communicates recent development activity, research and presentations by faculty members, and current campus events. Currently is published on the web and is sent to all employees via e-mail. OMC also produces "Insights into Your Urban University", which is published on the OMC website and distributed via e-mail. Insights highlights faculty and student research in the urban environment.
Budget and Finance
Budget and financial information is available on the Finance and Administration website. Information includes beginning budgets for current and prior years, and notice of gifts, grants, and contract reports. Additional finance reports include specific unit or program details, harbored on a secure site accessed by passwords assigned to each unit chair.
Data Evaluation
Staff in OIRP ascribe to the philosophy that fulfilling the unit's mission involves more than simply producing data. They believe that their greatest strength is their ability to turn data into meaningful information. In addition, staff strives to anticipate questions and conduct analytical studies proactively to facilitate the upper administration's ability to make sound decisions based on accurate and timely information.
Review and Dissemination
Reports are shared with relevant individuals and groups across the campus. Most data and reports are also posted on the web for ease of access and dissemination to all interested parties. The development of institutional portfolio themes that coincide with major components of the Portland State mission and values has provided a means for both disseminating information and reporting on the progress of multiple entities in achieving the mission. Community and Global Connections, Research and Scholarship, Teaching and Learning, and Institutional Effectiveness document the many ways in which institutional research is used in the activities and projects undertaken to advance the institutional mission.
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