Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi

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1 Page 1 of 6 Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi SACS: Self-Study Report administrative support services Compliance Status: Compliance Narrative The administrative support services units at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi identify expected outcomes, annually assess whether those outcomes have been achieved, and use these assessments to improve services to students, faculty, staff, and other constituents. Annual Assessment Process Assessment of administrative support services units is an ongoing process with the goals of service quality and continuous improvement driving the assessment process. The Office of Planning and Institutional Effectiveness provides cyclical data from secondary evidence sources including the Alumni Survey [1], Graduating Student Survey [2], National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) [3], Noel Levitz Student Satisfaction Inventory [4], Survey of Organizational Excellence [5], and other ad hoc customer satisfaction surveys [6] [7]. Results pulled from participant response of these instruments are reported after each instrument administration [8]. Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi annually assesses 77 administrative support services units [9] using the university approved Web-based software, WEAVEonline [10]. WEAVEonline is an electronic software assessment management system designed to capture, manage, archive, and track academic and administrative assessment information for regional and disciplinary accreditation, annual reporting, and program improvement. Administrators of all levels, as well as other designated unit leaders, work with the employees in their respective units to determine program objectives that support their program mission statements, and to enter them along with an assessment plan into WEAVEonline [11]. The units annually review these plans and update them based on the findings in the annual assessment report [12]. The annual report not only includes measurements and analyses but also evidence of improvement. Using WEAVEonline, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi's administrative support services units implement the support services assessment process in the following sequence: Mission: publishing program mission statements / purpose; Objectives: identifying several measurable unit objectives; Measures / Achievement Targets: specifying how the units will measure their achievement targets; Findings: documenting each measure's findings; Action Plan Tracking: assessing how well the goals have been met, and then taking corrective action for improvement; Analysis: reflective responses to unit strengths and continued areas of needed improvement; and Special / Annual Reporting: A narrative summation of the unit's contributions to the university, research and/ or community activities, planned actions to close the loop of

2 Page 2 of 6 assessment, anticipated challenges, and requested resources [13]. Unit leaders work with their departments to align the unit's mission statement with the A&M-Corpus Christi mission statement [14], and the units are encouraged to align whenever possible their outcomes/objectives with the principles in A&M-Corpus Christi's Strategic Plan [15]. Multiple measures are required to ensure that each outcome/objective is achieved (or in cases where the outcomes/objectives are not achieved, to identify where specific improvements can be made). The data generated by these measures are analyzed by the units, and on the basis of the analysis, units establish follow-up action plans to address needed changes. An example of this process comes from Enrollment Management. Due to functionality issues within the department of Admissions and Records it was decided to split the department into two separate entities- Admissions and Registrar [16] [17] [18]. Adding a Registrar to the campus would better serve the campus by restructuring the responsibilities to better align the admissions process to a fully dedicated Admissions department while aligning records management under a new Registrar's office structured for such a responsibility. Effective September 1, 2008, the offices were officially separated. WEAVEonline Training and Consultation The Associate Director for Institutional Effectiveness conducted multiple workshops to train administrative support services personnel on how to use WEAVEonline and provided departmental workshops to assist personnel in the development of effective assessment plans that close the loop [19] [20]. Administrative support services personnel were given assessment guides to better explain the assessment process [21] [22]. WEAVEonline writers also were provided a software user guide, [23] additional tips on how to document unit objectives and measure in the software [24] [25] [26], and additional assessment resource information [27] [28]. The Office of Planning and Institutional Effectiveness at A&M-Corpus Christi has worked with members of the university community [29] to share best practices and to disseminate information to the various units [30]. The annual cycles and reports for and currently reside in WEAVEonline. The objectives and measures for have been entered, with findings-related data scheduled for data entry during the summer semester. The deadline for completing unit plans for the cycle is October 1, 2009 [31]. The Office of Planning and Institutional Effectiveness is the official monitor/coordinator of WEAVEonline and works with unit leaders to ensure all unit plans are completed by deadline. Starting with the cycle, the Associate Director for Institutional Effectiveness audited all unit plans on levels of completeness and documentation accuracy. The audit proved successful in identifying exemplary unit plans while also identifying those departments requiring additional consultation [32]. The structured auditing process will continue in future cycles as it has proven to be a useful identification tool for developing the assessment process at the university. Both the and assessment cycles included 67 administrative support services units: (three in Academic Affairs, four in Community Outreach, six in Enrollment Management, six in Title V-TRIO, one in Graduate Studies, 28 in Financial Administration, one in the Harte Research Institute, six in Institutional Advancement, and one for Intercollegiate Athletics, Planning and Institutional Effectiveness and the South Texas Institute for the Arts) [33]. Additionally, as discussed in the response to Principle [34], nine student support services units from Student Affairs are using WEAVEonline to set goals and monitor progress towards achieving those goals as

3 Page 3 of 6 the units seek to continuously improve their respective services. Starting with the cycle, 10 additional assessment plans were added to WEAVEonline (International Education, Study Abroad, Athletics Academic Support, College of Business Academic Advising, College of Education Academic Advising, BAS Degree Academic Advising, College of Liberal Arts Academic Advising, College of Nursing and Health Sciences Academic Advising, and College of Science and Technology Academic Advising, and the newly created Registrar division) [9]. The addition of these unit plans is a result of the university's aim to assess sub-components of larger divisions to better gauge their performance for effectiveness and improvement purposes. All of the administrative services units identified in WEAVEonline were included as they were identified organizationally [35] as program/services relevant to the university's mission and overall vision. Assessment and the Budgeting Process During the spring semester, each budgetary unit prepares a budgetary request packet, based on instructions provided by the Budget department [36], to address accomplishments of the previous year and priorities of the coming year with related funding requirements. One of the new processes in was the inclusion of Detailed Assessment Reports, based on the information units documented during the assessment process in WEAVEonline [37]. Effective , budgetary units formally connected their budgetary requests by documenting such requests in the WEAVEonline software [38] [39]. Budget request information now is connected to the action plan and annual reporting process [40] of the annual unit plan. Itemized Resource Request reports now can be run on the basis of priority, as can be seen by the Administrative Services Resource Request report from the cycle [41]. All units are encouraged to support any budgetary requests made with relevant information gathered throughout the unit's assessment process. The president and his cabinet assess the university's financial status and evaluate the priority requests of each division, in the context of Momentum 2015 [42]. Priority requests are identified in the New Funds Request sheet [43], with priorities linked to objectives documented in WEAVEonline. After a final presentation is made by the president to the Board of Regents and budget allocation decisions are finalized, the associate vice president for finance and administration directs the process required to compile the individual unit budgets and then sends the budget information to The Texas A&M System Chancellor's Office. Additional information regarding the university's budget process and how it is used in the assessment process to ensure continuous improvement in the university can be found in the response to Principle 2.5 [44]. Examples of the Assessment Process and of Closing the Loop Of course, assessment activities at Texas A&M -Corpus Christi predate the incorporation of WEAVEonline in the documentation process. Prior to entering assessment information into WEAVEonline, division leaders at all levels documented their unit mission, unit objectives, measurement targets, and findings using the James O. Nichols five column model of assessment [45]. From FY 1999 to August 2006, each unit documented its unit plans using an Excel spreadsheet provided by the Office of Planning and Institutional Effectiveness [46]. An example of this former process comes from the Women's Center affiliated with the division of Student Affairs [47]. The process has five stages (one per column): connecting the unit/division mission to the university mission, identifying unit objectives,

4 Page 4 of 6 identifying criterion for success (means of assessment), summarizing collected data (reporting the findings of the results), and closing the loop by using the results for continuous quality and improvement Additional unit plans prepared using the Nichol's model to demonstrate continuous improvement for Bursar [48], Employee Relations/ Equal Opportunity/ Training and Development Division [49], Enrollment Management [50], Foundation Relations (formally Donor Relations) [51], Printing Services [52], Purchasing Department [53], Recreational Sports [54], and University Housing [55] have been included. Closing the Loop Initiatives Some examples of units that made improvements based on their assessment process using WEAVEonline include: Accounting Services: To expedite the travel voucher process, the Accounting Services department instituted the Department Central Billed Account (DCBA) program, with the achievement goal set at a three-day processing time. The program proved to be successful with results reflecting an improved voucher processing time of two days instead of the targeted goal of three days [56]. Media Services: Based on the assessment of help-desk customer service, the Computer Help Desk department recognized the need to improve customer service while effectively addressing computer/media related issues. The department incorporated HEAT (Help-desk Expert Automation Tool) call tracking system and ensured all help-desk personnel received HEAT software training. As a result of effectively using the software, the department improved call resolutions by 94 percent [57]. Human Resources: As part of the department's objective to promote a safe and secure campus for its employees, Human Resources implemented a new background check program for campus new hires, including faculty, staff and student workers. Criminal background checks were performed on all non-faculty regular-budgeted new hires in FY [58]. Foundation Relations: Recognizing the growing campus's need for additional scholarship funds, the Foundation Relations department in Institutional Advancement secured percent more funds in FY 2007 when compared to FY The department increased scholarship support through various modes of communication, including donor relation reports, scholarship recipient portfolios, and scholarship banquets [59]. Additional sample reports- Career Services [60], Marketing and Communications [61], Planning and Institutional Effectiveness [62], and the South Texas Institute for the Arts [63] that demonstrate closing the loop initiatives are available as supporting documents. Information about other assessment reports, improvements in administrative support services, and their contributions to the institution for and , as well as assessment plans for , are available in WEAVEonline. Conclusion With the use of WEAVEonline, Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi's administrative support services units identify the expected outcomes, annually assess whether those outcomes have been achieved, and use the assessments to improve the services to students, faculty, staff, and other constituents

5 Page 5 of 6 of the University. Evidence UD Alumni Survey Results UD Graduating Students Survey Results UD NSSE Results UD Noel Levitz Student Satisfaction Inventory Results UD Survey of Org Excellence Results CD Physical Plant Customer Satisfaction Results CD Library Comprehensive Survey Report UD 188 PIE Survey Administration Cyclical Calendar UD 189 Administrative Services Assessed Units UD 190 WEAVE Home Page Web Screen UD 191 WEAVE Objectives page UD 192 Disabilities 0607 DAR UD 193 Assessment and WEAVE rationale UD TAMUCC New Mission Statement UD 194 Strategic Principles Check Boxes CD 164 Admissions and Records Action Plan 0708 CD 165 Registrar Office CD 166 Admissions Office CD 167 WEAVE 3.5 training agenda 2007 CD 168 WEAVE 4 training agenda 2008 UD 195 WEAVE Academic Assessment Guide UD 196 WEAVE Administrative Assessment Guide UD 052 WEAVEOnline User's Guide UD 197 Student Learning Assessment UD 198 Academic Assessment Tip Sheet UD 199 Admininstrative Assessment Tip Sheet OD 058 Assessment Links OD 059 WEAVE_Administrative_Assessment CD 169 PIE WEAVE Consultation Log 0708 CD 170 PIE website UD 200 Assessment Cycle Timeline UD 201 Planning &l Effectiveness Unit Plan Audit Report 0708 UD Administrative Unit List UD 203 Administration Unit Organizational Structure UD 204 FY 2009 Budget Instructions

6 Page 6 of 6 UD 205 Student Affairs AR 0607 UD 206 WEAVE Budget Process in 4.5 Upgrade UD 207 WEAVE Budget Section Screenshot UD 208 Annual Report Headers UD 209 Administrative Budget Requests 0809 UD 025 Strategic Plan-Momentum 2015 UD 210 WEAVE New Funds Request Sheet UD 166 Nichols Powerpoint UD 167 Nichols spreadsheet CD 171 WomensCenter unit plan CD 171 WomensCenter unit plan CD 172 BURSAR unit plan CD 173 Employee Relations FY 05_06 CD 174 Enroll Mgt 0506 unit plan CD 175 Donor_Foundation Relations 0506 unit plan CD 176 Printing Service 0506 Plan CD 177 Purchasing Unit Plan CD 178 RecSports unit plan CD 179 Housing plan UD 211 Accounting Services DAR 0607 UD 212 computer help desk dar 0607 UD 213 hr dar 0607 UD 214 foundation relations dar 0607 UD 215 CAREER DAR 0607 UD 216 Mrkting Comm DAR 0607 UD 217 Planning and Institutional Effectiveness Annual Report DAR 0607 UD 218 STIA DAR 0607 SACS CCR SACS CCR 2.5 Confidential - Institution and SACS Agency Personnel Only