The Department of Institutional Research & Effectiveness has not been reviewed since the current Director of IE has been in this position, thus no review has taken place in the last two years.  The following paragraphs outline the changes that have taken place since the director position was filled in July of 2016.  Roles and duties of all personnel will also be provided.

Changes to Institutional Research & Effectiveness

Starting with the name of the department, "Effectiveness" was added to "Institutional Research" as a way to note the expansion of service and fulfill specific needs of Patrick Henry Community College.  While Institutional Research (IR) encapsulates most data requests, processing, and reporting, consistent progress tracking related to the strategic plan, along with routine processes to monitor and gather information for accreditation were also needed.  Given the planning component from the strategic plan and departmental/unit goals as well as the addition of accreditation, IR did not fit the breadth of this service, thus the Department of Institutional Research & Effectiveness (IRE) was created. 

Catalog Changes

At this time, there is not a section of the catalog pertaining to IRE.  This service primarily supports functions at the faculty, staff, and administrator level.  As future changes and modifications occur, the director of IRE will inquire as to whether information regarding this department is warranted in the catalog.

Personnel & Location

Currently, the Department of IRE has two positions, a Director of Institutional Research & Effectiveness (Chris Wikstrom), and a Research Analyst (Lisa Finley).  The director is located in West 225 and the research analyst in West Hall 228.  The following delineates primary roles for each position:

Director - Assessment (goals and outcomes reporting), strategic plan monitoring and reporting, accreditation (maintaining active documentation and adherence), data support to ELT and administrators, intake and uploading of institutional data

Research Analyst - Query creation, PeopleSoft data upkeep, data support for faculty/staff, grant reporting, application creation, IRE website maintenance, program review data processing  

Service Modifications     

The Department of IRE is charged with completing all data requests, whether it be local, state, regional, or federal.  This includes IPEDS reporting, grant (e.g. ATD IPASS) reporting, faculty/staff & administrator requests, SCHEV reporting, survey and goals tracking, and VCCS submissions, as typical outputs.  As noted above, IRE also ensures accreditation is an active component to the everyday happenings within the institution.  To this end, monitoring and reporting strategic plan progress is a critical piece to the duties of the department.  

IRE is primarily geared toward employees of PHCC, thus marketing materials and events are not evident for students.  IRE produces an Annual Report for the strategic plan that is emailed to employees and kept current on the PHCC IRE website.  As part of the continuous improvement cycle, the director meets with faculty for outcomes reporting and administrators for goals reporting each August to goal set for the year and ensure appropriate tracking.  Starting in the 2018-19 academic year and each year thereafter, a campus-wide meeting will consist of a half-day showcase of all things data related to PHCC.  This interactive event provides opportunity to present the many areas of which data are a foundational piece.  The primary objectives for the 2018-19 event are the strategic plan and QEP.  In addition, IRE has a standing committee (Assessment Committee) comprised of faculty, staff, and administrators for which decisions regarding program outcomes and general education core competencies are made. 

IE Goals 

As evidenced in the 2016-17 goals, IRE created a system for which outcomes for academic programs and goals for institutional units can be tracked and continuously improved.  This process is an essential function for the institutional, for which, accreditation if built upon.  These processes also align with the need for systematic evaluation of all areas associated with the student experience.  The routine tracking of progress and noting of changes based on prior year data is a core function of IRE and is a yearly goal to maintain and improve these processes. 

Another area which IRE focuses is data dissemination.  One example is the use of dashboards to convey data to all stakeholders.  This reduces the wait time on data requests as employees can view data at-will.  It also reduces the time IRE is processing data requests.  The overarching goal is to be as proactive as possible in identifying common data requests and providing them through an appropriate portal capable of disseminating relevant data to support decision-making for all stakeholders.

The documentation and upkeep of all review areas is also an area of increased efficiency.  Prior to AY19, no standardized service review system existed.  Consistency was found in the academic programs, but was out of date.  Starting AY19, both program and service areas have digital portals to house all review information, creating efficiencies for those reviewing and for those being reviewed. 

One strength would be the creation of a cycle of continuous improvement based upon academic outcomes and service area goals.  Due to personnel changes and additions, IRE has the capability to now dedicate more time to assessment.  Given the direct link to accreditation, it is an area that needed more attention.  Service area and program heads have been exceptional during this culture shift, as they have done a remarkable job of reporting results in a timely fashion.  A cycle of reporting has been established and an increased awareness of the strategic plan and overall direction of the college is evident.

Weakness:  Little progress has been made on the institutional policy manual.  This has been a lower priority than other areas such as assessment and program/service reviews.  AY19 will be dedicated to the amending and consolidation of the VCCS and PHCC policy manuals, as well as many of the institutional unit handbooks.

Currently, students are not asked about IRE as many of the core functions of the office do not directly relate to students.  From an employee standpoint, the last survey was given in the fall term of 2016, for which, IRE ranked highest in being approachable and lowest in website content applicability. 

IRE strives to be as approachable as possible.  Understanding data can be difficult and a negative attitude will only complicate requests.  It is the job of IRE to ensure employees are comfortable asking for data and understand the data they receive.  This is the only way we can truly support decision-making campus wide.

Since the fall of 2016, IRE has worked to improve the requirements from federal, regional, and state authorities to provide relevant and mandated data.  During this process, a new website has been created, with the hopes of meeting mandates and being user-friendly.  A new employee survey is ready for dissemination starting fall of 2018.  It is the hope of IRE the changes will be well received by employees.

The director of IRE will dedicate more time to the completion of the PHCC policy manual for AY19.  There will be less accreditation requirements for this coming academic year, therefore the time spent preparing for the on-site visit in AY18 will be spent preparing the policy manual for AY19.  To address the weakness from the survey, IRE will work to communicate the new website to employees (via email and in-service activities) as well as get feedback from them regarding continual improvements (from the new employee survey).

No changes are currently planned for IRE.  There is a good balance of work requests and personnel to turn these around in an appropriate amount of time.  IRE has worked very hard to reduce costs by finding alternative assessment strategies and utilizing personnel from other areas such as IT to stay within budget.  Currently, in-house systems have been developed for all surveys, program and service reviews, and outcomes assessment.  Out-sourcing these systems can cost as much as $20,000 per system annually, in addition to training, maintenance, and updates.

IRE has gone through a lot of change over the past five years.  Personnel and roles have experienced tremendous change and is on the right track heading into AY19.  This is largely due to the commitment made by the institution to separate the PeopleSoft Security Administrator role and the Research Analyst role.  Previously, when these two roles were merged, turn-around time for data requests, as well as routine system maintenance was slowed.  Given the grant reporting requirements over the past two years, accreditation needs, and other required items such as IPEDS, Gainful Employment, SCHEV reporting, and routine local requests, there is no way the combined role could have worked.  Separating the roles has allowed PHCC to focus on accurate data reporting, all the while keeping PeopleSoft up to date and secure for all employees.  In addition, the Research Analyst role has allowed the director the opportunity to focus on accreditation and assessment, along with other VCCS initiatives for which IRE is an integral component.  The Research Analyst role at PHCC is an essential component to institutional effectiveness and efficiency.