OIRA impacts the university’s VolVision strategic plan by helping lead the shift to a culture of assessment and accountability, and by providing reliable data systems and reporting for evidence-based decision-making.
Building on the recommendations from the 2010 self study and external review, and subsequent office planning meetings, OIRA has focused our five-year strategic plan on three priority areas:
- Impacting campus culture,
- Data and reporting, and
- Office procedures.
OIRA impacts campus culture through our relationships with other units and key administrators, our knowledge of campus data needs, and our role in establishing common terminology and data definitions. Our responsibilities in ensuring accurate and timely data for decision-making are broad in scope and rely on partnerships across campus, accessible and complete data sources, and a full and well-trained staff.
While OIRA reports directly to the Provost, we are charged with meeting the information needs first for government-mandated projects (IPEDS, THEC Performance Funding, etc.), the University of Tennessee System, and the Chancellor and Provost. Secondly, we provide data to campus administrators and external agencies such as college guides, CSRDE, VSA, etc.
Three Strategic Priorities
Impacting Campus Culture
Goals
- Support campus culture of evidence-based decision-making
- Continue to work closely with data owners/custodians, for both student and HR data, to ensure completeness and accuracy and help them understand how data is used in reporting
- Maintain the assessment partnership with Teaching and Learning Innovation and the Office of Accreditation, and continue to make progress in ensuring a culture of assessment
- Help the university ensure a successful SACSCOC reaffirmation of accreditation
- Support for VolVision Strategic Plan and Top 25 Initiative
Data and Reporting
Goals
- Partnership with the Office of Information Technology (OIT) and campus data owners (student data) to build a new Institutional Data System for reporting
- Recreate and expand the OIRA databases (student and faculty/staff)
- Revise and expand the Fact Book, including online reports
- Expand online reports for Academic Unit Statistics and Academic Program Review
- Begin to conduct analytical studies to assist decision-makers (IR and Assessment)
- Partnerships to collect additional student data (NSSE surveys, Career Services, Student Life, etc.)
- Data Administrator for the Planning/Assessment module in Compliance Assist
- Support for Performance Funding requirements
Office Procedures
Goals
- Conduct periodic OIRA retreat
- Create project tracking system and master calendar
- Work with OIT and SERA on a university-wide request form for reports and data, and work on methodology and distribution of requests
- Implement an assessment plan
- Staff cross-training and professional development