2016_SUNY_Optometry_PRR

5. Institutional Effectiveness and Student Learning Overview

Planning and assessment are woven into the fabric of College operations. On a five ‐ year cycle, the entire College community participates in a year ‐ long strategic planning process that uses a faculty retreat to communicate broadly and acquire feedback and culminates in the publication of a five ‐ year strategic plan. Organizational priorities and resource allocation are driven by the mission, goals and objectives included in this plan. Several assessment strategies have been designed and implemented to track implementation of the strategic plan and monitor College operations. The primary purpose is to identify, obtain, analyze and utilize outcomes data for meaningful programmatic improvement. When available and appropriate, national data serve as benchmarks for assessing performance. Key performance indicator metrics are widely distributed and generally published on the College’s webpage. Analysis of data may lead to corrective actions when they are not consistent with expected outcomes. SUNY College of Optometry is committed to planning and assessment in all of its programs. It accomplishes this through:  An organizational structure that supports planning and assessment  Utilization of strategic planning as the foundation for decision making and resource allocation  A detailed published assessment plan that address all College operations, both academic (student learning) and non ‐ academic (institutional)  Extensive dissemination of outcomes data, including publication on a webpage dedicated to this purpose

 Utilization of outcomes data for institutional improvement  Utilization of outcomes data to improve student learning

The remainder of this section (Section 5) of the Periodic Review Report provides details on the elements listed above. A separate heading has been created for each of these.

Organizational Structure Supporting Planning and Assessment Planning and assessment are the primary responsibility of the Office of Institutional Research and Planning, which is charged with supporting institutional decision ‐ making and planning through the collection and analysis of data. As part of its responsibilities, the office:  Produces Factbook , an online compendium of College key indicators ( Appendix 5.1 )  Oversees the reporting of data to external agencies  Serves as the College liaison to regional and professional accrediting bodies  Oversees institutional accreditation processes  Facilitates the strategic planning process  Monitors the implementation of the College’s strategic plan  Facilitates the administration of alumni, faculty and student surveys

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