Non-Academic Assessment Reports

This issue of the DATAWave provides a sampling of the initial outcomes assessment results for AY 96-97 for Eastern’s non-academic departments which have filed summary reports pursuant to the Non-Academic Outcomes Assessment Plan adopted by the Board of Regents. These are only selected portions of the results. Although the selection and inclusion of these highlighted portions in this DATAWave were not random, neither can it be said that there was any particular formula for selecting the included highlights. It is our hope that they give you a flavor of the goals and accomplishments of the various departments and the means of measuring those accomplishments.

Larry N. Smith, J.D.
Planning Associate

Admissions

• The criteria of having 75% of students satisfied that "admissions counselors respond to prospective students' unique needs and requests" was met (76.2%).

• The criteria of 9,277 qualified inquiries from first time freshmen was not met, 8,110 having made inquiries.

• The criteria of 1,202 applicants of first time freshmen for the fall term was exceeded, 1,284 having applied.

• The criteria of 1183 first time freshmen being accepted for the Fall term was not met, 917 having been accepted.

• The criteria of 532 students matriculating for the Fall term was not met, 488 new freshmen having matriculated.

• A Director of Recruitment and a new recruiter for southeastern New Mexico were hired as part of new strategies and to bolster a lack of personnel that was a weakness in the program.

• A Web page went on line in July ’97, and an Internet application is being designed.

Alumni Affairs

• In Spring ’97, working with the Assessment Resource Office, Alumni Affairs conducted a survey of alumni.
• The criteria of 85% of alumni being pleased with the services of the Alumni Affairs Offices was achieved, according to respondents of the alumni survey.
• All Alumni Affairs events, including all Homecoming activities, award of Alumni Association Scholarships, mailings, and contacts included in the criteria were conducted successfully.
• One of the many strengths listed was the upgrading of technology in the office with the Equifax and Blackbaud programs, which will increase effectiveness in the areas of tracking graduates.

Assessment Resource Office

• Each academic discipline, except four that had special circumstances, reported on their outcomes assessment plan, meeting the criteria set.
• Every non-instuctional unit implemented an outcomes assessment plan.
• The CAAP test was administered to more than 300 students, the CIRP Freshman Survey to more than 400 freshmen, the CIRP College Student Survey to 140 graduating seniors, and an Alumni Survey was conducted, meeting criteria set.
• 14 DATAWaves were produced/distributed.
• Seven faculty were presenters at NM Higher Education Assessment Conference, exceeding criteria by two.
• Strengths were in comprehensive array of assessment, regional and national leadership in assessment, and high campus involvement; weaknesses included the need for more faculty, staff, and student involvement.

Athletics

• Eastern met its criteria in abiding by all NCAA and Lone Star Conference rules and regulations.
• The Fall ’96 student athlete mean GPA of 2.74 was greater than the student body mean GPA of 2.6, meeting its criteria; and all student athletes declared a major in the 5th semester, an NCAA requirement.
• The Athletic Department did not report on whether it met its goal of competitiveness in the Lone Star Conference.
• 70.1% of students, faculty, and staff strongly agreed that the Intramural and Recreational staff were responsive to their needs; 79.1% responded that staff were polite, courteous, and responsive; and 67.3% responded that they were able to meet their recreation and athletic needs through services provided by Intramural and Recreational Services. Although the assessment criteria was 80% in each of these areas and improvement is sought, the results were generally considered good.

Bookstore

• New inventory items increased by 4%, doubling the criteria set.
• A goal of 80% strong satisfaction with the total number of products offered was met in the area of ENMU clothing and merchandise with an 80.8%. School supplies was 77.2%, cards and gifts 75.5%, textbooks 62%, general and reference books 61.1%, and computer/software products 46.2%.
• The 80% strong satisfaction criteria were achieved in the two areas of courtesy of personnel and knowledge of personnel about Bookstore products.
• Gross sales for the fiscal year increased by 3.65%, falling short of the 5% criteria. The shortfall was attributed to a decrease in enrollment and lower interdepartmental sales, compared to the previous year.

Broadcast Center

• FM radio expanded broadcast hours from 19 to 24, eliciting positive listener feedback and meeting assessment criteria.
• The goal of completing a feasibility study regarding expanding the KENW-TV hours from 19 to 24 was met, but funds to implement the service do not exist. The goal of implementing this service will continue to be pursued.
• A set of criteria involving increasing the student employees working in FM radio was achieved.
• The criteria of working with the Mass Communications Department to lift the class size limits and prerequisites for Broadcast Workshop was not implemented, though the MCD is taking such measure under advisement.
• Four channels were installed to each TV receiving site, achieving an assessment criteria and resulting in additional ITSF services available at each site.
• Non-linear editing equipment was purchased and installed in the radio and TV news operations, resulting in better quality production.
• Criteria for designing and installing a University owned talk-back conferencing system was not implemented. This project is still in the design and FCC licensing stages, and funding is still a question. If funded and achieved, the system will allow continuous, real time audio, fax, and computer connections without purchasing lines from telephone companies and will include high speed computer circuits to allow University computing systems to be hooked together at Portales, Roswell, and Ruidoso.

Campus Union

• The criteria of staffing the GAAS Center for 85 hours per week was implemented and achieved in that the Center was staffed approximately 93 hours per week during both the Spring and Fall semesters.
• Each student staff member attended 40 hours of training annually, meeting the criteria set.
• The criteria of 2,500 facilities events per year was implemented. 2,063 events were achieved.
• Strengths of the program centered around good staff, good morale, team work, and customer service.
• Weaknesses of the program centered around lack of funding to improve facilities and provide more space, lack of adequate staffing, and lack of equipment.

Career Services

• The goal of assisting more than 2500 students and alumni was met by 2769 office contacts and 870 attendees at presentations and workshops.
• The goal of registering 80% of graduating students with Career Services was achieved for student teachers (94%), but not overall (53%).
• The goal of 160 students participating in on-campus interviews was achieved. 169 participated.
• The goal of disseminating 20,000 individual job announcements was achieved. 24,588 were announced.
• 467 students attended Career Day, exceeding the goal of 400.
• 66 school districts participated in the Teacher Fair, exceeding the goal of 50.
• Few companies and school districts responded to surveys regarding satisfaction with Career Day and the Teacher Fair, prompting Career Services to contemplate redesigning the surveys.
• The Cooperative Education Program made 57 placements, exceeding the goal by 27. Verbal communication with employers indicated 100% satisfaction with the Cooperative Education Program.

Center for Teaching Excellence

• The criteria of publishing and distributing four issues of the public school edition of Teaching Excellence newsletter to 22,000 public school teachers was exceeded. Five issues were published and distributed, two of which were also sent to accredited non-public schools.
• Due to illness of layout personnel, the criteria of distributing three issues of the higher education edition of Teaching Excellence to 2,800 university professors was not met. Two issues were published and distributed.
• In an annual survey, in which the criteria implemented was 80% agreement regarding CTE effectiveness at disseminating information on effective teaching, ability to get assistance from CTE, and CTE being an important source in activities of professional educators, those responding indicated 100% agreement in all these categories.
• The CTE resource center exceeded its 40 hours per week criteria by being open 52 hours per week for teachers, professors, and students.
• Strengths: Keeping classroom research innovative in the state, and keeping educators informed of educational opportunities.
• Weakness: Lack of financial resources to expand program, especially in areas of training in data analysis, grant writing, and integrating technology into the classroom.

Comptroller

• The criteria of processing 95% of requisitions within one day of receipt by the Business Office was implemented and achieved.
• The criteria of processing interfund transactions within five working days of receipt by the Business Office was implemented and achieved.
• The criteria of the external audit verifying compliance with the state purchasing code was achieved as no instances of non-compliance were identified in the annual audit.
• Assessment criteria of 80% of survey respondents agreeing that budget and expenditure information was accessible was not implemented, nor was the 80% criteria as to whether the purchasing staff is helpful in the procurement of goods and services.
• The goal of less than 5% of accounts receivable being deemed uncollectable was met, according to the external audit.
• Strengths: Accurate and timely processing of transactions and good service to the University.

Computer Services

• Computer Services set numerous criteria, only a fraction of which can be addressed here.
• The criteria "to gain regional and national recognition for ENMU" was achieved and included work with various groups including K-12 teachers in the use of technology in the classroom, the results evidenced by the Pew Award, Network of Champions, and Western Governors University.
• The intended outcome of addressing capacity issues on the network while moving to a high speed backbone remains, in most cases, a series of "open projects."
• The criteria relating to faculty training was met by providing workshops and one-on-one training, resulting in more versatility in faculty and technology integration into the classroom.
• Criteria of "touch tone registration" was achieved, and students can now register from anywhere in the world.
• The criteria to review and make recommendation for new administrative software was implemented and achieved. RFP was released October 15.
• The student email capability was upgraded by placement of a new system.
• The objective of providing ENMU with stability, currency in technology, and support ability of hardware and software, an objective with ever changing infrastructure needs, was met in some cases but remains an "open project" in others. One result was completion of new wiring in Roosevelt, Williamson Liberal Arts, College of Business, and the Computer Center.

Counseling and Testing

• A crisis intervention objective was represented by two different criteria: One, to have a staff member at the counseling center to respond to crisis calls, and another, to respond to the crises needs of Residential Life. The former was implemented and achieved by a 24 hour a day, 7 day a week crisis line, the latter by a new protocol and increased response time to Residential Life’s needs (five incidents in the academic year).
• The personalized counseling services set a criteria of counseling and tracking protocol and of seeing approximately 1,600 clients/students per calendar year. The criteria was implemented but not achieved as 1,190 students were served, and the protocols set were partially executed.
• The criteria for providing professionally trained testing staff was implemented and achieved as staffing and training conforms to national and ENMU standards.

Office of Development

• The strengths include stability and leadership of the Friends of Eastern Foundation, strong oversight by the investment committee, increased training in using the records database, and a well trained, cooperative office staff.
• The weakness cited was lack of time to devote to development and fund raising activities due to the sharing of directorship with Alumni Affairs.
• The criteria of raising $400,000 in private gifts for FY 96-97 was implemented and achieved, $442,399 having been donated.
• The report indicates that, although several criteria were not implemented and not achieved, a re-examination of criteria is in progress in several areas of endeavor, which would indicate that a revised assessment plan may result. A priorities change was cited as a result of a change in directorship during FY 96-97.

Extended Learning

• The change in organization of, and directorship of, Extended Learning has resulted in a process which includes re-evaluation of the outcomes assessment plan. That evaluation is in progress, and a revised plan will be available for review in time to become involved in the next reporting period.

Financial Aid

• All of the criteria related to the outcome "monitor compliance of federal, state, and institutional rules and regulations" were implemented and achieved, resulting in cleaner files and reduced mistakes.

• The 75% satisfaction criteria with regard to student satisfaction with the helpfulness of financial aid counselors and the timeliness of announcing financial aid awards were implemented but not achieved. However, satisfaction with helpfulness of counselors did increase from 44.6% to 52.8%.
• The criteria of creating a WWW Financial Aid site was not implemented, but the process of creating the Web page is under way.
• The criteria of identifying and awarding all sources of available aid was implemented and achieved; all funds having been expended and none returned to state or federal program. This leaves Eastern in a position to make a case for increased allocations.
• The weakest aspects of the program were deemed to be the software provided by CMDS and a forced relationship with a third party software servicer.

Graduate School

• The criteria "all graduates will complete a course of study approved by a major advisor, a committee of Graduate Faculty, a Graduate Coordinator, the Dean of the College, and a Graduate Dean" was implemented and achieved.
• Three criteria for 75% satisfaction of students with regard to the opportunity to engage in research, the overall educational experience of the Graduate program, and their development of a sense of professionalism, were all implemented but not achieved as there were insufficient responses to the survey. However, the fact that all of the special appropriation provided by the state for research was used and that the Friends of Eastern provided more, are deemed evidence and indicators that appropriate research opportunities were provided.
• Development of a comprehensive recruiting plan, with target student enrollment, was implemented. The plan has been partially developed and remains a work in progress.
• The development of new recruiting materials was implemented and achieved. This is considered an ongoing process.

Grants and Contract Management

• All criteria involving assisting faculty and staff in the development of grant proposals for external funding were implemented and achieved.
• All criteria involving budget and fiscal matters and involving compliance with all state, federal, and University regulations were implemented and achieved. No audit exceptions were found.
• The criteria of distributing and collecting 30 proposal packets was implemented, but not quite achieved. 28 proposals were submitted.

Health Services

• Health Services saw 5,959 students for acute primary care, exceeding their criteria of 5,000, which was used as a baseline goal. The projection is that this client load can be increased through time management and cross training of staff.
• The criteria of seeing 500 students for family planning purposes was implemented. 454 such students were seen, but because the student demand for this service is very high, cross training of staff has been instituted to meet the demand.
• The criteria to fill 800 prescriptions was exceeded. 1371 prescriptions were filled. The pharmacy will be slightly expanded.
• The criteria of seeing 200 students for HIV testing was exceeded. 300 clients were seen for screening and education.
• The criteria involving generating income equal to the original cost for pharmacy acquisitions was implemented and achieved. Income exceeded cost.

Housing and Residence Life

• 78% of students with residence hall experience were satisfied that "residence hall staff are concerned about me as an individual," exceeding the 70% criteria that had been implemented.
• A criteria implemented was that eight times per semester residents will have the opportunity to attend a social or educational program exclusively for hall residents. The criteria was achieved with over 500 social and educational events in the academic year.
• "Students who live in the residence halls will be retained at a rate greater than non-residents." That criteria was achieved. Freshmen Fall ’96 to Spring ’97 retention was 92.59% for residents and 82.20% for others. The Freshmen Fall ’96 to Fall ’97 retention rate was 64.4% for campus residents and 51.4% for those who resided off campus.
• Among weaknesses cited are needs for upgrading old facilities and more computer access in halls.

Internal Audit

• An audit schedule was prepared and submitted to the President and Audit and Finance Committee of the Board of Regents, implementing and achieving the criteria set in that regard.
• All audits performed were in compliance with professional standards and the policy statement on audits, achieving the criteria set.
• Special projects were undertaken in the areas of records management and updating and distributing the Administrative and Governance Policies and Procedures Manual, achieving the criteria set for special projects.

Learning Support

• Annual internal review and assessment of ACS 101 classes resulted in 73% of students grading the course as A or B (on an A through E scale) as to the first goal of the course, and 76.4% grading as A or B on the second goal of the course. This achieved the goal of the criteria. The two goals graded were (1) "empower students to become successful learners at the college level," and (2) "empower students to develop a realistic sense of themselves as healthy and intelligent people who have the tools to learn, grow, and be successful citizens in a university, professional, public, and global community."
• The tutoring program assessment criteria were implemented and achieved, as evidenced by 95% of students rating their tutor as above 4.0 on a 5.0 scale, and 95% of students rating the tutoring services as a whole as above 4.0 on a 5.0 scale (average 4.7185).
• Some new means of increasing the visibility of the tutoring program have been instituted as a result of the assessment showing that improvement was needed in that area, as well as the areas of communication with faculty and increasing the tutoring staff to meet student needs.

Golden Library

• The criteria "the collection will contain materials equal to the mean (50%) number of the CHE cohort holdings in each discipline listed in the University catalog" was implemented and achieved for 17 departments.
• The criteria "the collection will grow 5% every year" was not achieved. 9,000 items were added to the library collection in FY ’96, and all acquisition funds were spent, resulting in the conclusion that a more practical measure of growth should be adopted.
• A criteria set was that 60% of the $500,000 collection money spent would reflect faculty choices. That criteria was implemented and achieved. 94% of all faculty recommended purchases were made, and 89% of money was spent as planned in departments.
• Assessment of student satisfaction with "I can find most of the materials I need" fell slightly short of the 80% criteria established, but achieved 71.6%.
• From students completing surveys, the library received a 94% for helpfulness, 92% for responsiveness, and 71.6% for students being able to find most of the materials they need. The percentages reported represent the two highest responses on those response scales.
• The 80% criteria set for faculty agreeing strongly that "students are able to find the necessary materials for their courses" was not achieved. 42.4% of faculty rated the library as "good" or "excellent" in this area.

News Services

• News Services implemented and achieved all its criteria for its objectives of obtaining quality publicity about ENMU in the media and producing a quality newsletter, Connections, for ENMU staff and friends four times each year.
• With regard to its paid advertising criteria, New Services produced award winning TV and radio spots and print ads targeted to potential students at least three times per year.

Physical Plant

• A Physical Plant Service Guide was developed and disseminated, achieving the criteria set.
• Better tracking of work orders and other reports was achieved due to the purchase and operation of the Computer Assisted Maintenance Management Program.
• The 80% criteria was met when 80.1% of surveyed staff, administration, and students agreed that the buildings and grounds of the University are well maintained.
• The strengths listed were that Physical Plant is becoming more service oriented, and that the overall assessment is positive.

Planning and Analysis

• All task requests, annual reports, surveys, and data analysis projects set as criteria were implemented and achieved, providing the information required by University academic and administrative departments, as well as outside groups and governmental agencies, including providing all required data to the Commission on Higher Education on time.
• One discipline-based assessment criteria was that "at least four academic units will use Educational Testing Services major field aptitude tests per year." The criteria was implemented and achieved in that eight academic units used ETS in AY 96-97.
• All of the criteria for preparing room schedules for classes and maintaining records of space utilization for facilities allocation and in support of capital improvement were implemented and achieved.
• The criteria "to respond to 50 or more requests per year for scheduling of rooms for special events" was achieved, over 400 such requests for faculty, students, and staff having been completed.
• With regard to its affirmative action, mandated equity, and human relations services, it was noted as a strength of the program that the University was able to resolve all known formal and informal grievances promptly, thoroughly, and equitably.

Registrar

• 87% of more than 800 students responding to the Student Satisfaction Inventory in Spring ’97 indicated that they were neutral or satisfied with registration personnel, exceeding the 80% criteria.
• 79.1% of students completing the SSI indicated that they were neutral or satisfied with their ability to register for classes they needed with few conflicts, barely missing the 80% criteria implemented.
• A criteria for developing a Registrar’s Web page to inform prospective students was achieved. It also enables alumni to request transcripts on the WWW.
• The criteria of early registration for 2,500 or more students was implemented and achieved. In Spring ’96, about 2600 students registered early for Fall ’97.

Student Activities

• The enhanced promotion of student events by the submission of a promotional campaign by responsible student organizers was implemented and achieved as a criteria.
• Five students were recognized as outstanding students at the awards banquet held April 23, 1997, exceeding the criteria set at three students.

Student Support Services/College Success Program

• Three of the criteria that were implemented were of the low income, first generation, and disabled students who exhibited academic deficiency and/or lack of direction and who were selected for the program, 60% of freshmen should be retained for their second year, 50% of sophomores for their third year, and 40% of program participants should graduate within six years of their first matriculation. All of these criteria were achieved in the following manner:
  

  * Of the 148 freshmen students invited to the program in Fall ’96 and Spring ’97,    66% (98) remain in school.

  * Of the 175 students who enrolled first for the ‘95-‘96 academic year, 57%    remained in school for the ‘96-’97 academic year.

  * Of the 138 new students selected for the ‘90-’91 academic year, 54% have    graduated with a bachelor’s degree.

Talent Search

• The criteria of identifying and selecting 1,200 students per year to participate in the Talent Search program was achieved. The total was 1,376. 1,127 of those were both first generation college prospects and low-income.
• 100% of the 11th and 12th grade students in the program received information regarding financial aid, the ACT, and admissions.
• The criteria of 150 program students visiting the ENMU campus for a tour and programming was exceeded. 207 visited ENMU.
• 31 schools and agencies in the seven county area served were visited on a regular basis by Talent Search personnel, exceeding the criteria set.

Telecommunications

• Many of the criteria for telecommunications relate to the criteria addressed in the Computer Services report in this DATAWave.
• Many (too many to mention all here) of the criteria that relate to the outcome/objective "providing the students, faculty, and staff with the most technologically advanced voice and data communications…" were achieved, and significant progress was made on the others which remain, by their nature, open projects.

University Police

• A criteria implemented and achieved was that "five or more workshops will be given to University groups on crime prevention and suppression." The response by students was favorable.
• The criteria to "employ six sworn peace officers" was met.

University Printing Services

• To achieve one criteria, Printing Services purchased a photo imager to produce negatives for the computer to save materials and staff time.
• The criteria with regard to volume of duplicating and printing were to maintain the same volume of the previous year. In duplicating, that criteria was achieved; and in printing, the volume fell off by only 1.5%, which is explained by budget cuts which are not in the control of Printing Services.

University Relations

• All available funds were expended in an increased emphasis of television advertising to support registration and Eastern’s image; however, insufficient funds were available to achieve the 5% increase criteria for such advertising.
• News/feature releases and media distribution was increased by more than the 5% criteria as measurable in column inches printed and released and television time. Major new announcements such as the Pew Award, best college buys, and North Central accreditation were factors.
• Strengths of the program are deemed to be the quality of all University Relations staff including New Services, Development, Alumni Affairs, and Printing.
• The reported primary weakness of the program centers around lack of funds for sufficient advertising time and space and for additional staff to take the University Relations programs to another level.

Upward Bound

• The criteria of 85% of senior students enrolling in an institution of higher education in the Fall semester was achieved when 89% were enrolled.
• One of the criteria achieved was a comprehensive Summer Upward Bound component for pre-college students. The students completed an average of 218 hours of class during the Summer of 1997, including daily instruction in math, English, science, computers, communications, current events, Spanish, study skills, and careers.
• Achieving the criteria set, 100% of the program participants completed a comprehensive needs assessment which included the Stanford Achievement Test.
• Strengths of the program were that 67 participants were served during AY 96-97; students spent an average of 32.25 hours at the Saturday meetings on academic activities and 13.5 hours on cultural and social activities; an extensive tutoring program was offered in both the summer component and the academic year; and the students learned to interact as a group and become responsible for their academic endeavors.