OPA Offline
The newsletter of the Office of Planning and Assessment
Promoting
Institutional Effectiveness
through
Planning and Assessment
Happy New Year!
The Office of Planning and Assessment
wishes you a prosperous and joyful start to 2012
Winter 2011
Strategic Planning and
OPA FAQ
OPA is now supporting
TracDat/SharePoint, the
University’s new platform
for strategic plan reporting.
Here’s a list of Frequently
Asked Questions.
Can I still access my old
SPAR report? Yes, you
can still access your unit’s
archived SPAR reports at
http://techdata.irs.ttu.edu/
stratreport/index.asp
What is the deadline for
2011 strategic plan reporting? The deadline for
all units to submit their
2011 reports is May 1,
2012. College-level reports
will be due on June 1,
2012.
How do I access the new
software platform? The
URL to access the new
site: http://www.depts.ttu.edu/
opa/sacscoc-sharepointLink.php
Do I need to file a strategic plan report? All academic departments and
non-teaching units need to
file a strategic plan report.
What is the difference
between TracDat and
TracDat/SharePoint?
TracDat is used for degreelevel assessment and for
other forms of student
learning outcomes assessment. TracDat/SharePoint
is used for strategic plan
assessment.
Changes at OPA
There have been some recent staff changes in
the Office of Planning and Assessment (OPA), and
we’d like to share these developments with you!
Two beloved colleagues, Dr. Andrea McCourt
and Mr. Sam Oswald, left OPA to pursue other
positions within University College. We wish Sam
and Andrea well in their new positions, and we look
forward to collaborating with them on assessmentrelated projects.
On December 5, 2011, OPA welcomed Dr.
Craig Morton as Associate Director. Dr. Morton
comes to OPA from Student Housing, where he
successfully led many assessment initiatives. Dr.
Morton received his Ph.D. in Higher Education
from Texas Tech in 2010.
The Office of Planning and Assessment: Dr. Craig
Morton, Dr. Valerie Paton, Elaina Cantrell, Devin
DuPree, Sravan Reddipalli, Sabrina Sattler, Lisa James,
Jennifer Hughes, Dianne Reyes
Digital Measures:
HB 2504 and Beyond
Student Assessment is a
Priority at Texas Tech
Keeping the DigitalMeasures account up-todate not only maintains HB 2504 compliance but
also allows faculty members to streamline their
reporting processes. In 2012, DigitalMeasures
will be used in six colleges for Faculty Annual
Reporting. Introduced Fall 2011, the Graduate
School Application can now be printed in DigitalMeasures.
A NSF and NIH Bio-Sketch report is currently in beta testing and will be available in January
2012.
Faculty members can view their public profile at http://www.ttu.edu/courseinfo/
OPA administered the Collegiate Assessment
of Academic Proficiency (CAAP) Science, Mathematics, and Writing Skills modules in September
2010. The samples of TTU students included
juniors and seniors from each college.
On average, TTU juniors scored comparable
to juniors nationally on the Science module, higher on average on the Math Test, and lower on
average on the Writing Skills Test. TTU seniors
scored slightly higher on average compared to
seniors nationally on the Science module, higher
on average on the Math Test, and slightly lower
on average on the Writing Skills Test.
Fall 2010, OPA administered the
For an electronic version of this newsletter, visit the OPA
website: http://www.depts.ttu.edu/opa/
Continued on page 2
OPA Offline
Office of Planning and Assessment
Box 45070 | Lubbock, Texas 79409-5070
UPCOMING
STUDENT
ASSESSMENTS:
Spring 2012
CAAP Math and
Writing Skills Tests
UPCOMING
CONFERENCES:
February 19-21,
2012: 12th Annual
Texas A&M Assessment Conference
February 21-24,
2012: TAIR in Corpus Christi, TX
Winter 2012
OPA
Our Mission
to promote institutional
effectiveness through
planning, assessment,
findings for
improvement, and related
resource issues in
academic, administrative
and institutional
environments.
2011 SACS Conference Attendees—Elaina
Cantrell, OPA, Dr. Justin Louder, Ethics Center,
Jennifer Hughes, OPA, Keisha McKenzie, Ethics
Center, Dr. Sam Bradley, Mass Comm, Dr. Valerie
Paton, Vice Provost, Dr. Kevin Stoker, Mass Comm
Assessment (Continued from page 1)
CAAP Science module and will administer the
Math and Writing Skills modules in Spring 2012.
The Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA)
was administered to 79 freshmen in Fall 2011 and
will be administered to 100 seniors in Spring
2012. The Council for Aid to Education (CAE)
will provide TTU with a report on the progress of
TTU relative to students at other colleges.
During Fall 2011 OPA also facilitated TTU’s
participation in a CAE research project funded by
the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The primary
goal of this project is to improve understanding of
what it means to be “college ready.” TTU is one of
only six 4-year colleges that are participating in
this important project. The Academic Testing Center was crucial in making both CAE assessments a
success.
OPA Offline The newsletter of the Office of Planning and Assessment
Vice Provost for Planning and Assessment
Valerie Paton, Ph.D.
Senior Administrator
Sabrina Sattler, M.S., M.B.A.
Director
Jennifer Hughes, M.S.
Business Manager
Lisa James
Associate Director
Craig Morton, Ph.D.
Senior Business Assistant
Dianne Reyes
Senior Program Administrator
Elaina Cantrell, M.B.A.
Graduate Assistants: Curtis Craig, Devin DuPree
Temp Workers: Xavier De Leon, Sravan Reddipalli