NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY
Instructions for Units Engaged in Research and Public Service
Name of Unit:
CIP Code:
Reporting Relationship within the University:
Date of Initiation:
Date of Last Review:
I.
DESCRIPTION OF THE UNIT
A.
Unit Objectives

B.
Organization, Staffing, and Campus Involvement



C.
What are the purposes/objectives of the unit?
How is the unit organized to achieve its purposes/objectives?
What are the roles and responsibilities of the faculty, staff, and/or students
directly associated with the unit?
How are other faculty, staff, and/or students involved in the activities of the
unit?
Contributions to the NIU Mission, the Imperatives of the Great Journeys
Strategic Plan, the Goals of the Illinois Board of Higher Education’s Public
Agenda for College and Career Success



What is the unit’s best example of how it contributes to the NIU Mission?
What is the unit’s best example of how it contributes to the Imperatives of
the NIU Great Journeys Strategic Plan?
What is the unit’s best example of how it contributes to the Goals of the
Illinois Board of Higher Education’s Public Agenda for College and Career Success?
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D.
University Support and External Support/Funding



Provide a table showing line-item support from internal and external sources
over the past five years.
What is the unit’s assessment of the university resources that support the unit
and its activities? Discuss the university's fiscal support of the unit for the past five years,
including general revenue and in-kind support (space, services, personnel, commodities, etc.).
What is the unit’s assessment of the external support and/or funding it has
received over the past five years? Discuss funding sources; provide data on grants,
contracts, and fees; and supply a description of donations of equipment, goods, and services.
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Fiscal
Year
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
General
Revenue
(02)
Fee
Accounts
(41)
Internal
Grants/
Contracts
External
Grants/
Contracts
Donations/
Foundation
*In-Kind
Support
Other
Total
*In-kind support includes contributions of products, supplies, and equipment; the use of services or facilities, and the use of professional
services or expertise. Please provide the value of these contributions. The value should be reported as the amount your unit would normally
pay for the item.
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E.
Demand


F.
Unit Changes


II.
What is the demand for the unit's activities and services? Provide a summary of the
number of individuals, groups, or entities served by the unit over the past five years.
Is the demand for the research/public service provided by the unit in balance
with the unit's capacity to carry out research/public service? What gaps between
demands and the unit’s capacity have been identified?
Since the last review (or over the last five years if not previously reviewed), what
major changes occurred in the objectives, organization, and resources of the
unit?
What actions were taken based on the findings and recommendations of the last
review?
EVALUATION
A.
Outcomes, Achievements, and Impact





What are the unit’s major outcomes and achievements over the past five years?
How has the unit contributed to students’ educational outcomes?
How is the unit making significant contributions to the development and/or
application of knowledge or to the delivery of services?
What evidence is there of the impact of this unit’s activities in the nation, state,
region, and/or local community? Provide evidence from internal and/or external
constituencies that demonstrate the quality of the unit’s services/activities.
What are the appropriate measures of quality for this unit? Provide baseline data
(current year) and targets for the next review. The IBHE expects each institution to engage in
benchmarking and to create internal processes generating evidence that demonstrates continuous
improvement in the quality of its outcomes. These benchmarks may be internally derived and/or
external measures appropriate to the unit’s objectives. It is expected that the unit identify at
least five appropriate benchmark indicators (e.g., amount of external funding, number of
constituencies served or contracts negotiated, level of satisfaction with services) in this review and
establish the baseline criteria (e.g., $250,000 in external funding per year) against which the
unit will be compared in the future (e.g., $350,000 in external funding per year).
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B.
Effective Practice
An effective practice “can be described and documented in terms of the problem(s) it solves,
the context in which it has been successful, evidence of the success of the practice, and level
of outcome or impact it helped to achieve.” http://nationalserviceresources.org/ep-about.


III.
Provide a description of an effective practice for the unit (e.g., a unique
service/activity, national recognition, etc.).
How does this practice contribute to the fulfillment of the unit’s objectives, the
university mission, strategic plan, and/or the goals of the IBHE Public Agenda?
CONCLUSIONS TO BE DRAWN FROM THE REVIEW
A.
Strengths

B.
Areas Needing Improvement/Change and Future Plans


C.
Based upon the evidence provided in this review, what are the major strengths of
the unit?
Based upon the evidence provided in this review, what are the major areas in
need of improvement/change? How will these improvements/changes be
addressed? What are the priorities for addressing these changes?
What are the unit’s plans for changes over the next review period?
Plans for the Future




What are the unit’s goals for the future?
How will the unit meet its goals for the future and continue to improve its
outcomes and achievements?
What are the timelines for achieving the goals?
What are the resources needed to achieve the goals?
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IV.
SUMMARY
Provide a two-page summary of the unit review. The summary should report substantive
information for each section (parts I, II, and III). Only the members of the APC subcommittee
assigned to review the unit will receive the full review document. The majority of the APC members will
receive only the summary, so it is important that it provides substantive information about the unit to
facilitate the council’s full review of the unit.
U\Planning\PR\Formats\CenterFormat2013
5 October 2012
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