LESSONS LEARNED IN WRITING
A PERIODIC REVIEW REPORT
Kara O. Siegert, PhD
Special Assistant to the President, Institutional Effectiveness & Assessment
Robert M. Tardiff, PhD
Professor, Mathematics & Former Associate Provost
SESSION OBJECTIVES
Attendees will be able to:
 describe how a representative and effective
committee of faculty and staff is an essential
ingredient in developing a meaningful PRR.
 outline a proven method for creating a PRR
document.
 identify key documents and reports that
should be utilized in creating the PRR.
ABOUT SALISBURY UNIVERSITY
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Master’s level comprehensive institution with
42 undergraduate & 14 graduate programs
Member of the University System of Maryland
Has 4 privately endowed schools (Liberal Arts,
Science & Technology, Education &
Professional Studies, and Business)
Enrolls about 8,600 students with 92% in
undergraduate programs
570 faculty (300 TT) and 900+ support staff
MSCHE PRR OBJECTIVES
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To assess the impact of significant major developments, changes, or
challenges subsequent to the last evaluation
To assess the institution’s response to recommendations resulting
from the previous evaluation
To review the institution’s enrollment trends, financial status, and
enrollment and financial projections
To determine the current status of the implementation of plans for
the assessment of institutional effectiveness and the assessment of
student learning outcomes (accreditation standards 7 and 14)
To assess the extent to which linked institutional planning and
budgeting processes are in place
PRR SECTIONS
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
Executive Summary
Response to Recommendations
Challenges & Opportunities
Enrollment and Finance Projections
Assessment of Institutional Effectiveness &
Student Learning
Linking Institutional Planning and Budgeting
ATTEND MSCHE PRR WORKSHOP
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Chair(s) attend a MSCHE PRR Workshop
Learn
 What
the PRR must address
 What reviewers of the PRR look for
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Review successful PRR’s both at the
workshop and online
PRR VS. GRANT PROPOSAL
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PRR is similar to a grant proposal
 Consultation
with agency professionals
 Clear guidelines equate to the Request for Proposal
 Peer Review
 Concise with limited extraneous, PR-type
comments
 Presented using one “voice”
LESSON #1:
DEVELOPING THE COMMITTEE
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Create a representative & informed committee that:
 Reviews
PRR Guidelines & previous accreditation
documents
 self-study
 visiting
team’s report
 institutional response
 follow-up actions
 Endorses
a timeline (example) allowing for feedback
from all constituents (e.g., governance bodies,
Executive staff, editors)
LESSON #1:
DEVELOPING THE COMMITTEE
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Review the sections of the PRR and determine
who can serve as leaders and who knows
campus history
Consider positions that served on the last selfstudy and those that are a part of institutional
Strategic Planning
Key campus representatives:
Faculty leaders
Student Affairs
Academic Affairs
Student Affairs
Enrollment Management
Administration & Finance
LESSON #2:
ORGANIZING THE COMMITTEE & CONTENT
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Organizing the committee:
 Round
1: based on previous self-study subcommittees
 Round 2: based on themes identified during
brainstorming
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Brainstorming identified institutional
highlights relevant to each PRR section
Reviewed notes to determine common
themes and identify those that were related
to MSCHE standards (qualitative approach)
LESSON #2:
ORGANIZING THE COMMITTEE & CONTENT
Round 1 Subcommittees:
Assessment
Enrollment Management
Resource Management
Facilities
Community Response
Computing
LESSON #2:
ORGANIZING THE COMMITTEE & CONTENT
Round 2 Subcommittees:
Closing the Achievement Gap &
First-year student initiatives
Assessment/General
Education/APR
Budgeting
Accreditation & Professional
Schools
Fulton Curriculum Reform
Academic Programs/Offerings
Mission/Strategic Plan
Diversity
Facilities & Technology Needs
STEM
Enrollment/Test-Optional
Satisfaction, Opinions &
Engagement
LESSON #2:
ORGANIZING THE COMMITTEE & CONTENT
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Template for each theme (example)
 Broken
down by PRR section
 Included statements/thoughts collected during
the brainstorming sessions
 Sub-committees elaborated on the statements and
provided context to be used by the writing team
 The writing team collected the templates and
reviewed PRR documents from other institutions
to organize the content
Section 3: Challenges & Opportunities
Advancing our Scholarly Community
(MSCHE Standards 1, 3, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
Curriculum Reform
Graduate Programs
STEM
Initiatives to Meet MD Workforce Demands
UG Research
USM Course Redesign Initiatives
Progress in Student Recruitment and Enrollment
(MSCHE Standards 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 6, 9, 10)
Incoming Student
Recruitment
Student Success & Retention Initiatives
Pilot of Test-Optional
Admissions Policy
Envisioning and Implementing Institutional Effectiveness
(MSCHE Standards 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 14)
Mission & Strategic Planning
Institutional Effectiveness
Assessment
Developing Innovative Facilities
(MSCHE Standards 1, 2, 3, 5, 6)
Academic Buildings
Technology
Residence Halls
Pressures on our Academic Resources
(MSCHE Standards 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 9, 10)
Academic Commons
Financial Aid
Faculty & Staff
Coping in Light of Economic Challenges
LESSON #2:
ORGANIZING THE COMMITTEE & CONTENT
I.
Executive Summary
II.
Response to Recommendations
The University should define what “proficient” means for General Education.
1.
General Education Curriculum:
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It is unclear in the General Education curriculum how students are
developing skill in oral communication;
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Oral communication and quantitative reasoning are not included in the
Honors “core curriculum.”
3.
It does not appear that the Technology Fluency Policy adheres to MSCHE
guidelines for Information Literacy
4.
SU General Education learning outcomes include outcomes related to the SU
strategic emphasis on diversity and globalization. However, only 18% of existing
General Education courses purport to address this outcome. The majority of
students graduate without experiencing courses with these learning emphases.
5.
There are substantial differences in General Education between transfer and
“native” SU students. These need to be critically examined to ensure that the SU
degree is comparable for all students .
LESSON #2:
ORGANIZING THE COMMITTEE & CONTENT
III.
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Challenges & Opportunities
Review history and forecast the future. Must relate to MSCHE
Standards
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Enrollment and Finance Projections
Audited financial statements, IPEDS, & projections
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Assessment of Institutional Effectiveness & Student
Learning
Goals, assessment methods, & examples of closing the loop
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Linking Institutional Planning and Budgeting
Opportunity to align your budget with the Strategic Plan
IV.
*Strategic Plans
*Program reviews
*Peer comparisons
V.
*Dashboards example
*DE Study example
VI.
LESSON #3:
WRITING THE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
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Utilize your faculty and staff resources for writing
expertise
Provide an institutional overview & outline and connect
the main themes. This is your opportunity to tell a story.
We did this FIRST
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We knew the major themes
We wanted verification from the committee that we were on the
right track
LESSON #3:
WRITING THE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
What to include:
*mission
*enrollment
 Overview of the institution
*resources *structure
 Institutional approach to the PRR
 Summary of major changes & developments
Must be related to the
since the last self-study
MSCHE Standards
 Abstract of the PRR sections
 Certification Statement
LESSON #4:
UTILIZING EXISTING RESOURCES
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Exploit work that has already been done!
 Public
documents have already been vetted and
approved
 Internal reports may demonstrate institutional
effectiveness and assessment efforts
 May include data to support statements made in
the PRR
 No need to replicate enrollment, budget,
faculty/staff, and other routinely reported
information
LESSON #4:
UTILIZING EXISTING RESOURCES
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Closing the Achievement Gap
Strategic Plans
University of DE Study of Instructional Costs
& Productivity
Peer Comparisons (IPEDS)
Academic Program Review documents
Annual departmental reports
Surveys
LESSON #5:
SHARING WITH THE CAMPUS
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Purpose of the PRR is to demonstrate that we
are meeting the MSCHE accreditation
standards
 Review
for accuracy & completeness
 Not a public relations document or list of
grievances
LESSON #5:
SHARING WITH THE CAMPUS
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University developed website to collect
feedback
Executive Staff
Deans
Faculty governance body
Staff governance body
Student governance body
Contact:
Kara Siegert
kosiegert@salisbury.edu