Standards and Questions for Engagement

Standard 4: Creating an Organization Committed to Learning and Improvement

• Strategic Thinking and Planning
• Commitment to Learning and Improvement

The institution conducts sustained, evidence-based, and participatory discussions about how effectively it is accomplishing its purposes and achieving its educational objectives. These activities inform both institutional planning and systematic evaluations of educational effectiveness.  The results of institutional inquiry, research, and data collection are used to establish priorities at different levels of the institution, and to revise institutional purposes, structures, and approaches to teaching, learning, and scholarly work.

Strategic Thinking and Planning - Standards 4.1, 4.2, 4.3

Questions for Institutional Engagement

1. How effectively does planning and evaluation occur within the institution at multiple levels and across units?  To what extent do planning efforts lead to priorities and clear intuitional implementation activities?
2. How well do planning, evaluation, and institutional research activities fit together, and to what extent are they aligned with the institution's purposes and character?
3. How does the institution ensure that the information it collects and maintains about itself is current, accurate, and of the right kinds? How effectively does it assess its capacity to analyze this information and use the results of such assessments for improvements?

Commitment to Learning and Improvement - Standards 4.4, 4.5, 4.6, 4.7, 4.8

Questions for Institutional Engagement

1. How are stakeholders involved in the assessment of the effectiveness of educational programs?  How is their feedback disseminated and used to inform improvement?
2. In what ways does the institution review the effectiveness of its quality assurance processes to assure its alignment with institutional priorities and educational objectives?
3. To what extent does the institution explore assumptions that shape the design and organization of its educational objectives and programs, and generate new approaches to teaching and learning?
4. In what ways does the institution identify effective approaches to assessing teaching and learning within the institution and at other institutions?  How does it incorporate these practices to increase the institutional capacity to engage issues of educational effectiveness?
5. To what extent does the institution have a collective vision of educational attainment that is clearly stated and widely understood?
6. In what ways does the institution reinforce a culture of evidence throughout the organization?