Core Component 5.D

Main Content

DRAFT

5.D The institution works systematically to improve its performance.

  1. The institution develops and documents evidence of performance in its operations.
  2. The institution learns from its operational experience and applies that learning to improve its institutional effectiveness, capabilities, and sustainability, overall and in its component parts.

Argument

5.D.1.  SIUC monitors and provides documentation of performance through multiple channels.

The Office of Institutional Research and Studies is designated to provide timely, accurate, and accessible data to support the institution’s academic mission. The office provides validated institutional statistics for official and external data reporting, including federal and state agencies, assists with university and departmental planning and decision making via data-driven analysis and reporting, and generates reports required for university and departmental accreditation and program reviews. The office utilizes industry-accepted methodologies to meet all federal and state agency reporting requirements. 

The Southern Illinois University System's Office of Internal Audit, Compliance, and Ethics provides reasonable assurance that University operations on the SIUC Carbondale and Springfield campuses are run effectively and efficiently by providing an independent, impartial, and objective review of administrative functions and insuring compliance with University policies and procedures as well as applicable statutory requirements. The office also evaluates the implementation of operation and control improvements. Annual financial reports on the SIU system, on the SIU Housing and Auxiliary Facilities System, and on the SIU Medical Facilities System, and financial and compliance audits are presented to the SIU Board of Trustees. 

The Office of the Associate Provost for Academic Programs advances the University’s academic missions by providing oversight and management of curricular matters, including new programs, program changes, program mergers, or program eliminations, oversees academic program reviews and accreditations, prepares reports about SIUC’s academic performance to the Office of the President, the Board of Trustees, and the Illinois Board of Higher Education, and oversees preparation and submission of state legislative reports.

The Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research prepares and submits to the Board of Trustees annual reports on research centers and institutes, including assessment of their fiscal status, intellectual contributions, public service contributions, student training and engagement efforts, their strategic alignment with institutional missions and goals, reputation, and evidence that outcomes achieve stated objectives and evidence that results from evaluations are being used to improve organizational effectiveness. 

5.D.2. Over the past decade, enrollment at SIUC has been in a steady decline, which has highlighted the need for increased retention rates. Multiple mechanisms have been designed and employed to create a focused and strategic institutional approach to retention. In 2013, an outside consulting firm, Teresa Farnum & Associates, was hired to assess retention efforts and outcomes at SIUC. Their Assessment Report was produced after numerous interviews with university leaders and examination of a variety of data sources, and identified retention strengths within SIUC, and also priorities for action. The Office of the Provost formed a retention committee comprised of several members of the University community to create a plan to improve retention. The committee's final report in May of 2014 included baseline data/goals, a structure for planning and implementation, and action plans from 10 different teams. Action plans included strategies to improve retention through advising initiatives, including changes to first-year advisement, probationary strategies, curriculum strategies (e.g., block scheduling), Fresh Start courses, student engagement (e.g., creation/expansion of living/learning communities), support programming, registration (e.g., decreasing the amount of money that triggers a hold on a student’s account to enable them to register for classes more easily), and University College 101.  

The university offers unique support services targeted at specific student populations. Non-Traditional Student Services (NTSS) provides support and programming to adult and transfer student population. During the fall 2017, NTSS introduced a new program to help transfer students transition to life at SIUC and adjust to a new environment with new expectations. To assess program effectiveness, new transfer students were given a pre-assessment test at the beginning of each semester and a post-assessment test at the end of each semester.  Assessment results are used for tracking changes and making programmatic improvements. The Disability Support Services (DSS) provides the required academic and programmatic support services to students with permanent and temporary disabilities. DSS staff conducted a peer program review to identify opportunities for program improvement. As a result of the review, DSS has created new collaborative projects with other campus units, implemented a new student information system, identified staff development opportunities, and relocated its offices to the Student Health Services building. The Achieve Program is a fee-based comprehensive academic support program fostering academic achievement and personal growth in students with atypical learning processes by cultivating effective learning strategies and self-confidence. The program uses GPA, academic standing, and degree completion data to monitor student success and identify improvements in services and facilities. 

The Student Health Services engages in the Quality Improvement of Organizational Performance Program to assess and improve their processes, performance, and services. The program encompasses the full scope of organizational components and services to include clinical, administrative, cost of care performance issues, as well as patient outcomes, i.e., results of care and patient safety. The Improving Organizational Performance (IOP) Committee oversees the quality monitoring and assessment of the full scope of services through the implementation of annual Quality Improvement Plans.

SIUC has made a strategic effort to improve its effectiveness, capabilities and sustainability at the university, college, and academic unit levels. One important addition was the development and implementation of UCOL 101, which is a first-year student success course. UCOL 101 was originally intended to provide all first-year students at SIUC the opportunity to gain skills necessary to be successful in a college environment. The initial iteration of UCOL 101 utilized more of a “one-size-fits-all” approach; however, based on analysis from the provost’s office and a UCOL 101 Action Group in 2014, modifications in the structure of the course were proposed, including stratification of students by ACT scores, modifying the timing of course availability to allow for less academically prepared students to take UCOL earlier in their college careers, and adjusting the credit-hour model to be an adjustable 1-to-3 credit hours to increase the flexibility of the course. This course is now housed within the Saluki Success Program and has been reconceptualized as UNIV 101, a 1-hour course designed to facilitate the transition into life at SIUC and to develop knowledge, skills, and behaviors needed to enhance academic and personal success. The Saluki Success Program also provides further opportunities for academic and personal development through two additional 1-hour courses addressing both learning/cognitive strategies and financial literacy, a 200-level course to develop leadership skills, a 300-level course on the transition into the workforce, and a 400-level course on transitioning into graduate/professional school.

The Office of Information Technology (OIT) has developed and is actively pursuing a plan to implement a Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) in Computer Learning Centers. This effort will significantly reduce the costs associated with support and maintenance while providing a robust computing environment to students. 

SIU Sustainability engages in strategic planning via the AASHE (Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education) STARS (Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System) reporting mechanism, which serves as a needs assessment for the university. The STARS reporting occurs on a three-year cycle. It typically takes about one year to gather the campus-wide data for the report. The two off-cycle years are utilized to work toward an improved score and more sustainable university, as defined by the STARS reporting system (which is guided by an international committee of sustainability professionals). The Sustainability Office and Sustainability Council identify opportunities from the STARS assessment and systematically plan steps for improvement in prioritized areas. SIUC reported into STARS in 2013 and 2016. In 2013, we received a score of 48.36 and in 2016, we improved to 58.51.

The Green Fund, instituted in 2009, supports advancing sustainability on our campus through research, efficient design, energy and waste reduction, aesthetic upgrades, and education and outreach. All current students, faculty, staff, or campus unites are eligible to apply for Green Fund project grants, providing campus members the opportunity to invest in and develop a connection with campus-wide sustainability initiatives. Since its implementation, the fund was used to support 169 projects resulting in over $2.1 million invested in sustainability efforts across campus. One example is the SIUC Sustainable Farm and LOGIC (Local Gardening Initiative of Carbondale) providing a variety of vegetables to the Dining Halls at SIUC. Excess vegetables are sold at local farmer’s markets to generate additional revenues supporting the operation. The fund also provided partial support for the construction of the composting facility that turns food waste into marketable compost product. The facility is able to take 87 tons of dining hall, livestock, and landscape waste annually.

Plant and Service Operations implemented several cost savings measures over the years, including lighting replacements, use of low flow water valves, implementation of a geothermal system in McLafferty Annex, and co-generation of electricity.

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