Texas Tech University
Outreach and Engagement Initiatives
Three Year Institutional Summary
November 2015
Introduction
In 2009, Texas Tech University (TTU) implemented a version of the Michigan State
University Outreach and Engagement Measurement Instrument (OEMI) that was adapted to meet
TTU’s specific needs. Since then, the OEMI has continued to be administered annually at TTU and
has undergone various modifications to improve reporting methods. In 2013, the Office of Planning
and Assessment (OPA) and the Office of Engaged Research and Partnerships (ER&P) collaborated to
further refine the instrument, making it more user-friendly and streamlined. The revised TTU
Outreach and Engagement Inventory (TTU-OEI) had a more user-friendly format for ease of data
entry while retaining the consistency of survey questions from previous versions of the OEMI.
TTU administered the TTU-OEI in 2014 in the same format but under a new title, Raiders
Engaged. For the 2015 administration of Raiders Engaged, OPA, the Office of Academic Engagement
and Outreach, and IT’s Application and Development Team collaborated to further refine and
improve the survey. As the survey continues to improve, the ability to gather reliable data is also
improving. This report summarizes data on outreach and engagement activities as reported by TTU
faculty and staff from academic and administrative units via the OEI and Raiders Engaged for
academic years 2012, 2013, and 2014.
Methodology
TTU has adopted the Carnegie Foundation’s definition of outreach and engagement:
“Community Engagement describes the collaboration between institutions of higher
education and their larger communities (local, regional/state, national, global) for the
mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources in a context of partnerships
and reciprocity.”
At the end of each calendar year, e-mail invitations were sent by the TTU Provost to all fulltime faculty and administrative staff requesting their participation in the annual assessment of
campus-wide outreach and engagement programs and activities. Data submitted by faculty and
staff was then compiled and analyzed by OPA to help ensure validity and non-duplication of
information. Data was self-reported and, therefore, a subjective measurement of outreach and
engagement activity. However, even though participation has been voluntary and sporadic, faculty
and staff continue to be encouraged to report on their initiatives to increase awareness and
promote outreach and engagement across campus. Additionally, TTU revised its Promotion and
Tenure Guidelines (O.P. 32.01) in 2010 to include outreach and engagement in its faculty evaluation
and annual review process.
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To help address faculty annual reporting needs, data gathered during the 2015
administration of Raiders Engaged will be preloaded into faculty DigitalMeasures accounts prior to
annual reporting deadlines. Faculty can then modify any outreach and engagement data in their
DigitalMeasures accounts to meet their unique reporting and evaluation needs. For the 2016
Administration of Raiders Engaged, further process improvements are planned for gathering and
reporting outreach and engagement data to help ensure accuracy, completeness, and accessibility
of information. Faculty will also be asked to exclusively use Raiders Engaged for submitting their
outreach and engagement activities for annual reporting purposed and will be given a longer time
period during the year for submitting data. This will allow OPA to contact participants and potential
participants if questions in reporting emerge.
Priority 4 in the TTU 2010-2020 Strategic Plan, Making it Possible, focuses on furthering
outreach and engagement to expand the university’s outreach within the community, promote
higher education, and create opportunities for engagement partnerships that will improve
community involvement and quality of life. Texas Tech University’s community outreach efforts aim
to address critical society issues, prepare educated and engaged citizens, strengthen civic
responsibility, and combine university knowledge and resources with those of the public and
private sectors.
Project data collected by Raiders Engaged allows the institution to capture and demonstrate
the breadth of outreach and engagement activities in which its faculty and staff members are
involved, its partnerships with community members, and impacts on the communities that it
serves. As currently defined, outreach and engagement occurs when faculty or staff member’s
research, teaching, administrative, or service activities significantly involve their scholarly or
professional expertise with communities and/or organizations outside the university with the
direct goal of improving outcomes for those who live and work in the communities.
Trend Analysis
Projects by Division
Figure 1, Projects by Division, depicts the number of outreach and engagement projects
reported by each TTU College, school, or administrative unit during the last three reporting cycles.
The figure shows that the overall impact TTU has in the community has increased although the
number of projects has decreased. This could be due to more accurate reporting methods as a
number of projects are collaborations between departments, and previous years may have reflected
duplicate entries in project reporting. Areas which tend to report higher numbers of outreach and
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engagement initiatives are Administrative Units, the College of Human Sciences, the College of
Visual and Performing Arts, and the College of Arts & Sciences. A number of individual projects
were not tied to a department or respondent in the latest administration of the Raiders Engaged,
complicating complete analysis of the data set.
Figure 1: Projects by Division
Division
AY 2014
AY 2013 AY 2012
College of Arts & Sciences
65
174
53
Administrative Units
82
181
56
College of Agricultural Sciences & Natural Resources
21
54
27
College of Architecture
19
10
4
Rawls College of Business Administration
20
18
3
College of Education
13
93
25
College of Engineering
20
42
13
College of Human Sciences
36
225
135
School of Law
11
12
N/A
College of Media & Communication
5
12
2
College of Visual & Performing Arts
42
165
34
Unknown
91
N/A
11
TOTAL
425
986
363
Projects by Type of Engagement
For each project, respondents were asked to report the type of engagement that best
describes their initiative’s goal. Figure 2, Summary by Type of Engagement, shows the percentage of
projects reported for each of the listed forms of outreach. Of particular interest is the significant
drop in reporting for the “Other” category, demonstrating that respondents are becoming more able
to identify which category of engagement applies to their work. This could be attributed to having a
better understanding of the various types of engagement. The most commonly reported types of
engagement that faculty and staff were involved in over the past three years were Engaged
Instruction: Non-Credit, Engaged Instruction: Public Events and Understanding, and Research and
Creative Activity. Clinical Service was the least commonly reported type of engagement.
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*Note that respondents were asked to select as many types of engagement as applied to the reported
project.
Figure 2: Summary by Type of Engagement
Projects by Type of Initiative
For each project, respondents were also asked to provide information on whether the
initiative was individual (not dependent on any program, department, college, or university
support beyond base salary), institutional (a department, program, college, or the university has
assumed ownership and has committed sponsorship or support), or multi-institutional (initiative
led by multiple institutions.) Figure 3, Summary by Type of Initiative, shows individual initiatives
have remained consistent over the past three years. Additionally, there has been a slight increase in
institutional initiatives along with a decrease in multi-institutional initiatives.
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Figure 3: Summary by Type of Initiative
Conclusion
The annual assessment of its outreach and engagement via Raiders Engaged not only helps
Texas Tech University demonstrate its commitment to collaborating with its communities through
a range of faculty and staff activities, but also helps to develop the concept further within the
institution. However, as Texas Tech continues to promote other forms of outreach, new guidelines
need to be considered. For example, information gathered from the 2014 administration of the
Raiders Engaged Survey reveals a need for the University to reevaluate how outreach and
engagement is defined operationally with respect to the actual activities of those involved. Specific
examples of how the engagement definitions relate to University efforts are in development to
assist faculty and staff in aptly identifying the category with which their project aligns. Clarification
of operational definitions in more specific terms could also provide opportunities for faculty and
staff to broaden their methods of engagement and implement changes that could improve the
effectiveness of their initiatives.
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