Office of Institutional Effectiveness

Office of Institutional Effectiveness

Annual Action Report & Plan

Overview

Annual reports should serve as a process of regular goal setting and reflection of the fulfillment of institutional mission and priorities. By completing the Annual Action Report & Plan annually, departments, institutes, and centers have the opportunity to identify & develop ways in which they can evolve to address demands and improve effectiveness. The assessment and reflection portion of the process encourages and supports these organizational units in identifying actionable items for achieving goals and improvement. Lastly, collecting and reflecting on this information allows the institution to incorporate goals and achievement into institutional planning, resourcing, research, and prioritization.

Timeline

    • Revisit organizational unit goals, actions, and accomplishments from the past year.
    • Ideate goals for the coming academic year.
    • Institutional Effectiveness works to sort, theme, and share goals.
    • IE produces reports and memos for a variety of audiences.
    • Share department goals with Dean/leadership.
    • Discuss Dean/leadership ideas and recommendations.
    • Provide any feedback generated to AAR&P submitters.
    • Revisit goals with chairs and directors as needed.
    • Check in with a subset of chairs and directors on progress.
    • Provide support where necessary.

Goal Setting & Articulation

For the purposes of the Annual Action Report & Plan process, there are different types of goals that units can consider articulating. Below are some such types of goals and some examples to assist in your articulation process. Pick the goal types that are most useful for your unit’s operations. In the Resources section is a list of verbs to also spark ideas. 

NOTE: Goals should be general statements but not too abstract that objectives, outcomes, and measures cannot be written. Objectives, outcomes, and measures are used to describe how to achieve the goal, to evaluate whether or not progress is being made, and when success is attained.

  • Long-term goals here at SJU may be multi-year goals like the Campus Master Plan or creating and growing a new academic program. A long-term goal will be a piece of that multi-year goal that can be achieved within a fiscal/academic year, e.g.:

    • Continue advancement of the University’s Campus Master Plan
    • Continue Workday Phase 1 rollout
    • Develop a strategic plan/case to address faculty staffing concerns

    Short-term goals may be goals worked toward over several months or up to a year. A short-term goal may be appropriate if an immediate need arises (such as filling a job vacancy or seeking funding for a pressing initiative), e.g.:

    • Reflect on chair pipeline and leadership succession planning
    • Work toward successful integration of departments post-merger
    • Evaluate if departmental VAP is still needed

  • Operational goals focus on actions to be taken in a deliberate path forward. Operational goals serve to improve workflow and increase efficiency, e.g.:

    • Develop a centralized compliance infrastructure
    • Evaluate the viability of the ________ program
    • Manage the presidential transition effectively

  • Financial goals center around money such as campaigning or ensuring fiscal responsibility, e.g.:

    • Strengthen our University balance sheet
    • Stabilize the operating budget
    • Have 5 endowed funds

  • Performance-based goals articulate specific tasks which can be clearly defined and used to measure organizational performance, e.g.:

    • Lead the institutional self-study process
    • Reactivate the advisory board
    • Foster a 4+1 Program with Lasalle University

  • Quantitative goals incorporate metrics, e.g.:

    • Recruit 1200 traditional undergraduate students and 100 transfers
    • Engage with 20k alums
    • Increase enrollment in _______ major

    Qualitative goals are slightly abstract and generally based on feelings that can be later clarified and articulated, e.g.:

    • Build reputation through media, publications, crisis planning
    • Support the professional development of Administrative Services staff
    • Enrich the academic experience of learners

Report Outcomes

In addition to collecting the goals, the Office of Institutional Effectiveness wants units to share what results have come from goal achievement. 

Outcomes

Outcomes are concise statements of what changes, benefits, learning, or other effects resulted from the achievement of the goal., e.g.:

  • Improvement of full-time faculty coverage ratios in support of student learning
  • Increased revenue and decreased expenses that ensure financial viability and stability for the next year
  • % reduction in the number of tickets generated for OIT support and assistance

Objectives & Measurements

When writing and sharing your goals, you should be able to explain why the goal is essential/significant (what is the objective/purpose of the goal) as well as how you intend to measure or have measured the achievement of the goal.

Objectives 

Objectives are specific statements of activity or practical steps undertaken to accomplish the goal. As a helpful exercise, these statements should address why the goal was selected and its importance, e.g.:

  • To deliver an integrated and developmentally sequenced range of enriching experiential, leadership, spiritual and service opportunities to all students, the department of _______ will….
  • To diversify and expand revenue streams through the implementation of leading practices, the Office of Information Technology will…
  • To empower students and alumni to lead successful, purpose-driven lives, the Office of Mission and Ministry will…

NOTE: Strategic Plan objectives or those of departmental/unit strategic plans can be easily used to seed/start the objective statements.

Measures

What would be the results to see/measure to determine if the goal has been achieved? (Also consider if a target is specified, why that target?) E.g.:

  • Commitments Goal: $17.5M ($4.5M generated from planned gifts, $7M generated from major gifts, and $6M generated from gifts <$50k)
  • 1200 traditional undergraduate students and 100 transfer students will enroll at SJU for AY23 to ensure financial security
  • Complete social channel and audience analysis to ensure the right messaging is reaching the right audiences