Non-Academic Effectiveness Process Documentation

Transcription

1 Institutional Assessment 328 Tigert Hall PO Box Gainesville, FL (352) Non-Academic Effectiveness Process Documentation Division of Enrollment Management Mission Statement The Division of Enrollment Management is committed to the development and implementation of data driven strategies and collaborative campus-wide partnerships that optimize university resources to recruit, enroll, support and graduate a community of diverse and talented students. The university s mission is three-fold: teaching, research and scholarship and service. The Division of Enrollment Management s mission supports the university s mission by: Recruiting and enrolling academically talented and motivated students Providing coordinated efforts to maximize support to students in pursuit of their academic goals by ensuring adherence to academic policy and assisting in planning for and meeting education expenses Developing and implementing collaborative data driven strategies that optimize university resources Graduating a diverse community of highly educated and engaged citizens Unit Goals The goals of the Division of Enrollment Management are: Optimize university resources to enroll and support students by implementing best practices and appropriate technological solutions. Develop administrative infrastructure to enhance and support innovative teaching and learning. Work collaboratively to broaden the university s presence nationally and internationally. The goals have been developed collaboratively by staff representing all units within the Enrollment Management division. They are measured through periodic assessment within and across all units. Modifications to unit goals are made based on results from periodic assessments. Institutional Assessment July 2012 Page 1 of 12

2 Service Delivery Goals The Division of Enrollment Management has established the following action items for meeting unit goals. Our unit goals are the same as our service delivery goals. The goals, measurements, and timelines are shown in Table 1. Table 1. Unit/Service Delivery Goals. Goal 1: Optimize university resources to enroll and support students by implementing best practices and appropriate technological solutions. The Office of Admissions management team will create a process for evaluating, assessing, and procuring admissions-related, vendorsupported technical solutions that enhance effectiveness and efficiency in outreach, recruitment, application review and processing and communications with prospective and admitted students. The Office of Admissions management team will produce a working document that outlines the need for technology and guides staff through the evaluation and procurement of vendor supported technical solutions. This document will be completed by December 31, 2013 The Office of the University Registrar management team will meet annually with Enterprise Systems and Student Academic Support System staff to evaluate any need to enhance communication to both the student and the university support community regarding the excess hour requirement and individual students status. The Office of the University Registrar is collaborating with Enterprise Systems and Student Academic Support System staff to create an excess hour tracking system to enhance the student and administrative degree tracking system. This will allow monitoring and communication of students status relative to excess hour requirements. Effectiveness of the system will be measured each term by the number of students assessed the excess hour surcharge and by reports from users regarding their experiences. This enhancement will be implemented by December 31, 2012 Institutional Assessment July 2012 Page 2 of 12

3 Table 1. Unit/Service Delivery Goals, continued. Goal 1, continued: Optimize university resources to enroll and support students by implementing best practices and appropriate technological solutions. Student Financial Affairs will evaluate the effectiveness of aid packages on enrollment and retention by adding financial aid related questions to the Office of Admissions annual survey sent in June 2013 that collects data on students who are offered admission to the university. Members from the Student Financial Affairs management team will develop the questions to be incorporated into the survey and will provide them to the Office of Admissions designee responsible for survey construction by May 1, The Division of Enrollment Management strategic planning team, under the direction of the Vice President, will undertake a comprehensive planning process identifying goals and objectives for the next three years and establishing an ongoing future-planning protocol. Evaluation of the objectives and goals will occur on a yearly basis as part of the development of unit annual reports. This data will be evaluated annually by the Student Financial Affairs management team to determine if aid offers influenced a student s decision to attend the university. The Division of Enrollment Management will produce a strategic plan including goals, objectives and assessment measures. The plan will be communicated to decisionmakers and on the Enrollment Management website. Directors of Admissions, Registrar s office and Student Financial Affairs, and the Associate Vice President will evaluate the goals and objectives in the strategic plan on a yearly basis. In February 2014 the Student Financial Affairs management team along with the packaging committee will recommend modifications to aid packaging policies resulting from the Office of Admissions survey. The target date for this plan is July Objectives that are not completed in the three year strategic plan will be used to build the strategic plan. Institutional Assessment July 2012 Page 3 of 12

4 Table 1. Unit/Service Delivery Goals, continued. Goal 2: Develop administrative infrastructure to enhance and support innovative teaching and learning The Office of Admissions management team will review application workflow procedures and practices and update training manuals to increase application processing efficiency and improve the applicant experience. Management personnel from the Office of the University Registrar will collaborate with personnel selected by the Dean of Students Office and Distance and Continuing Education to create a comprehensive online orientation to be delivered to distance learning and other nontraditional students. Meetings are held monthly until the project is completed. Student Financial Affairs will reevaluate job functions of financial aid staff and design a plan for reorganization to better utilize staff resources in support of teaching and learning. The Student Financial Affairs management team will initiate the review of office functions and organizational structure during fall 2012 and based on the results of the review will implement the reorganization plan by December 31, The Office of Admissions management team will update functional area manuals and will add workflow diagrams. The Office of the University Registrar administrative staff is participating in planning and production sessions to create an electronic orientation for distance education students. Effectiveness will be measured by student feedback regarding the clarity and value of the orientation. The effectiveness of this action will be measured by evaluation of student satisfaction survey results, comparison of delivery time for select office processes, and accuracy in processing and compliance with federal and state regulations as documented by required annual audit reports.. Improvement in delivery time will be measured based on a comparison of aid funds disbursed and the number of students paid as of the fall 2013 fee payment deadline versus that of fall The Office of Admissions management team will update functional area manuals and will add workflow diagrams by September Processes will be redesigned based on this analysis. Changes in processes will be completed by September 2013 for the fall 2014 recruitment and admissions cycle. The target date for implementation is summer Student feedback surveys are sent and reviewed on a monthly basis. Comparison of survey results received beginning January 2013 will be compared to survey results received prior to implementation of the reorganization to measure improvements in student satisfaction. Institutional Assessment July 2012 Page 4 of 12

5 Table 2. Unit/Service Delivery Goals, continued. Goal 2, continued: Develop administrative infrastructure to enhance and support innovative teaching and learning The Division of Enrollment Management will continue to support new initiatives like the Innovation Academy through application processes, admission decisions, course registration for fall pre-enrollment classes and monitoring financial aid eligibility and use of the Bright Futures scholarship. The Division of Enrollment Management will monitor the application review process for Innovation Academy as we seek to fill the 500 slots in the program. Where appropriate, enrollment in fall preenrollment classes will be facilitated. Students will be enrolled in fall classes during the summer Preview session each academic year. Success in these courses will be tracked during the Recruitment Coordinators meeting and information about withdrawals, low grades will be communicated with the Innovation Academy Director. Each October prior to the January start of the new cohort staff in the Registrar s office and in Student Financial Aid will track fall enrollment and financial aid usage at other institutions using information from the National Student Clearinghouse and National Student Loan Data System. This information will be used to inform students of potential financial aid issues for upcoming summer-term enrollment. Patterns of enrollment and financial aid usage will be analyzed and results used to modify communication with Innovation Academy students to prevent these issues for future Innovation Academy students. This evaluation will occur while the application for admission is open from August 1 to November 1 each academic year. Institutional Assessment July 2012 Page 5 of 12

6 Table 1. Unit/Service Delivery Goals, continued. Goal 3: Work Collaboratively to broaden the university s presence nationally and internationally. The Office of Admissions staff will expand and enhance partnerships with student service offices across campus, community-based organizations, and national and international agencies to increase applications from out-of-state and international undergraduate students. Administration and selected staff from the Office of the University Registrar will partner with selected staff from the University of Florida International Center and the Office of Admissions to improve processes for recording international transfer coursework and University of Florida study abroad academic credit. The Office of the Admissions management and assessment team will develop an assessment instrument that provides direct feedback regarding effectiveness from new and existing partners by September The Office of Admissions management team will work with designated staff from University Relations on marketing initiatives to work toward a cohesive message about the University of Florida by December 31, Meetings will be conducted semi-annually to create a regular communication plan to reconcile issues and to continuously review processes for improving service. The plan will include increased , phone, and face to face interactions between the Office of the University Registrar, the Office of Admissions, and the University of Florida International Center staffs. Once implemented, the plan will include new termly reviews of reports by all offices that are designed to assure improved timeliness and accuracy in recording all credits for students who study abroad. The Office of the Admissions management and assessment team will develop an assessment instrument that provides direct feedback regarding effectiveness from new and existing partners by September The Office of Admissions management team will work with designated staff from University Relations on marketing initiatives to work toward a cohesive message about the University of Florida by December 31, The plan is expected to be fully implemented by December 31, Institutional Assessment July 2012 Page 6 of 12

7 Table 1. Unit/Service Delivery Goals, continued. Goal 3, continued: Work Collaboratively to broaden the university s presence nationally and internationally. Student Financial Affairs will partner with Distance and Continuing Education to create an infrastructure that will accommodate tracking for financial aid and academic processing. Representatives from all units within the Division of Enrollment Management and Distance and Continuing Education began meeting during the fall 2012 semester to discuss plans for enhancing current services provided and are ongoing in nature. While no target date for implementing enhancements has been established, the Division of Enrollment Management is tentatively planning for the enhancements to be in place prior to The Division of Enrollment Management leadership staff will develop a long-range recruitment strategy to attract students from key international markets. This strategy will include identification of target markets, designating staff to complete these strategies, evaluation of the numbers of applications and enrollments of students from these target markets. Effectiveness will be measured through evaluation of monthly student satisfaction ratings and through annual collection of statistical data regarding the number of students receiving financial aid to complete a distance education program once the necessary enhancements to enrollment tracking and required financial aid processing systems necessary for meeting federal regulations are implemented. A list of strategies including target numbers, communication plans, and budget will be developed for recruiting the Fall 2014 class. Monthly evaluation of student satisfaction ratings and through annual collection of statistical data. Assessment of these strategies will occur at each stage of the process and will be used to modify actions for the next recruitment cycle to reach enrollment goals. Institutional Assessment July 2012 Page 7 of 12

8 Administrative Support Services The Division of Enrollment Management's budget is created annually using the guidelines provided in the Responsibility Centered Management model. Each unit provides a monthly budget utilization report to the Vice President for Enrollment Management and Associate Provost. The vice president evaluates the results to ensure the effective use of resources and modifications to the operating budget are made based on that assessment. In addition, periodic reviews of human resource and facility needs are conducted and changes are made where appropriate. Our Administrative Services action items, measurements, and timeline are show in Table 2. Table 2. Administrative Support Services Action Items for Administrative Support Services Enrollment Management Administrative leadership in the Division of Enrollment Management will prepare the Zero-Based Budget Review as part of the budget review process in the fall of The report is submitted to the University of Florida budget review committee during the annual budget review and will be presented in the spring 2013 term. Internal review by the University Budget Committee. Based on the outcome and feedback from the budget review committee, the Division of Enrollment Management will adjust budget expenditures and priorities. This budget review will also provide data for the Division of Enrollment Management Strategic Plan. The Zero-Based Budget Review is repeated every four years, beginning 2013 and continuing in 2017, 2021, etc. The Division of Enrollment Management leadership team will prepare a plan by March of 2013 for shared services among the three units and the Office of the Vice President in the area of human resource processing. The plan will be presented to the Provost for adoption or modification in June of Internal Review by the Provost. If implemented, the effectiveness of the shared services model will be evaluated on a semiannual basis to determine if costs were lowered and efficiencies gained. Institutional Assessment July 2012 Page 8 of 12

9 Academic and Student Support Services The Office of the University Registrar is a core student support organization serving every campus department and all students to assist with guidance through the curriculum and the university s administrative functions. An example of a student support service is the Office of the University Registrar s partnership with the Division of Student Affairs to provide veterans advocacy services to more than 900 current veterans, dependents and active duty, National Guard, and reserve members who attend UF. This support includes: assistance with admissions issues, health benefits, and evaluation of military credit. The Office of the University Registrar also acts as the university liaison between the student, the Veteran s Administration, and other university service providers. Our staff members certified approximately $14M in VA educational benefits for UF students this year. Annual audits are used to measure program compliance and improve services through increased understanding of program requirements. Assessment and evaluation of these services is ongoing and responses are continual. The Office of the University Registrar surveys students, faculty, support staff, administrators, alumni and the general public regarding the services provided. Survey responses are reviewed and acted upon promptly. As part of Student Financial Affairs mission to prepare students for financial success, Student Financial Affairs presents a series of workshops (visited with 8,800 high school students at high schools and college fairs in 50 locations during the Fall 2011 term and FAFSA completion workshops with 79 attendees in the Spring 2012 term) throughout the year highlighting best practices in the area of personal finance. The Student Financial Affairs outreach coordinator maintains statistics regarding presentations provided and number of students attending these activities and provides a yearly report to the Director of Student Financial Affairs for inclusion in the annual Florida Educational Equity Act report. Student Financial Affairs also hosts a page on its website that provides information about identification and prevention of identity theft. Student Financial Affairs created the Student Financial Management Center with the primary purpose of providing a financial planning resource for students. Both Student Financial Management Center staff and Student Financial Affairs outreach staff are available to provide presentations to student groups and for one-on-one information sessions. During the spring 2013 semester, the student staff employed in the Student Financial Management Center will begin maintaining statistics on the number of students utilizing services in the center. The results of the data collected will be compiled and provided to the Student Financial Affairs management team in August In addition, Student Financial Affairs presents a library of financial literacy tools on its website that includes financial calculators, checklists, and worksheets. Through a partnership with CashCourse, an independent, nonprofit foundation, Student Financial Affairs educates students on a broad range of financial topics while empowering them to make positive and sound decisions to manage their financial resources. Institutional Assessment July 2012 Page 9 of 12

10 In conjunction with the Florida Opportunity Scholarship Program, Student Financial Affairs conducts group financial literacy workshops each semester to educate students on topics such as budgeting, preventing identity theft, and responsible credit card use. Attendance is mandatory for these workshops and attendance is monitored and recorded by the Student Financial Affairs Florida Opportunity financial aid coordinator. Participants of these workshops (600 new Florida Opportunity Scholars each academic year) participate orally by answering questions that demonstrate an acceptable level of understanding the presentation material. Based on oral responses from students during the workshop presentations, modifications to future sessions are made to clarify and improve program content and delivery. Student Financial Affairs provides resources to encourage informed and responsible student loan borrowing (19,307 total loan recipients borrowed a total of $264M in the academic year). This is accomplished though printed and online publications and by providing students with aggregate loan totals from the National Student Loan Data System on the Institutional Student Information System Awards and Disbursement page. Students are required to provide an active confirmation of loan acceptance to be eligible to receive loans as part of the financial aid award. Based on annual collection of statistical information for the Student Financial Affairs Annual Report and Fact Book, University of Florida student loan indebtedness is well below the national average. This data indicates that the university s efforts are effective in promoting manageable student loan borrowing. The default rate for UF students who had student loans was 2.2% which is far below the national average of 9.1%. This is evidence of the effectiveness of the loan counseling that is provided by Student Financial Affairs and a commitment on the part of the students to repay their loans. Research All units within the Division of Enrollment Management create and maintain data used to support research and decision making for a variety of reports requested by such entities as Institutional Planning and Research, the Board of Trustees, Board of Governors, state legislature, federal regulatory bodies, faculty, departmental and college projects. Some reports are ad hoc and requested on demand while others have annual or quarterly submission deadlines. All are reviewed and monitored at the unit director level. Assessment and evaluation is ongoing and responses to feedback is continual. Community and Public Service The Office of Admissions provides community service outreach to underrepresented students and families across the state of Florida. This community outreach includes workshops and campus visits to help create a college-going culture in students as young as 7 th grade. These workshops help families to understand what it takes to attend college. Students from these groups are often the first in their families to consider attending a post-secondary institution. These efforts are critical in building the pipeline to higher education in general, not just to the University of Florida. Institutional Assessment July 2012 Page 10 of 12

11 In addition to the Outreach service opportunities, the Division of Enrollment Management has identified seven values that guide our organization. Service was one of the values identified for the division. A committee was constituted to develop activities that would emphasize our values. The committee has outlined a series of community and public service activities for participation by the division as a whole and at the unit-level. There is an expectation that individuals in all units will participate in service as their time and finances permit. All units within the division participate in the university s annual Campaign for Charities through the Criser-Peabody Office Olympics event. The division contributes to the yearly Toys for Tots collection activities and food drives for local charities. Two local community service projects that are supported by the division are the Veteran Welcome Home Basket program and the Gainesville Fisher House program. Special projects are also supported by the individual units within the division and include the activities as described in the following sections. The Office of Admissions has a long history of community involvement including support of the Thanksgiving Basket program and the Bread of the Mighty Food Bank. Admission Office Ambassadors conduct hospital visitations to the Shands Pediatric Wing and promote college readiness through outreach and ambassador programs. The Office of the University Registrar supports the community by sponsoring book drives benefiting children s clinics and by creating Valentine s Day bags for children staying at the local Ronald McDonald House. Student Financial Affairs selects a non-profit community agency to be the recipient of an annual office holiday donation drive. Student Financial Affairs also partners with Santa Fe College financial aid staff to provide assistance to the community in completing the federal student aid application at the annual College Goal Sunday event. The Values committee will review the service activities to determine participation in service activities. The committee will seek suggestions from staff members in the division to improve and vary future service activities. Institutional Assessment July 2012 Page 11 of 12

12 Effectiveness Oversight The following individuals have responsibility for the oversight of the division s institutional effectiveness process: Dr. Zina L. Evans, Vice President for Enrollment Management and Associate Provost zevans@ufl.edu Dr. Tammy L. Aagard, Associate Vice President for Enrollment Management taagard@ufl.edu Stephen J. Pritz, Jr., Assistant Vice President for Enrollment Management and University Registrar spritz@ufl.edu Patrick Herring, Director of Admissions pherring@ufl.edu Richard D. Wilder, Director of Student Financial Affairs rwilder@ufl.edu Institutional Assessment July 2012 Page 12 of 12