Offices & Services

Office of Strategic Planning, Institutional Research & Effectiveness

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Overview

Welcome to the Office of Strategic Planning, Institutional Research, and Effectiveness (OSPIRE) at Shaw University. Whether you’re interested in learning about the University’s strategic plan, developing strategic goals for your unit, or obtaining data on students and faculty, OSPIRE is here to help.

Our primary purpose is to ensure that Shaw University’s mission and goals are planned and evaluated systematically. Specifically, OSPIRE:

  • Plans for academic and support programs and anticipated student outcomes described in the mission statement and goals.
  • Implements regular evaluative procedures to improve academic programs, support services, and administrative processes.
  • Documents the extent to which the institution attains expected student competencies and achieves its goals.
  • Keeps stakeholders informed and involved in activities related to compliance with accreditation agencies and the establishment of new accredited programs and substantive changes to current programs.

Services

    • Facilitate strategic planning workshops for units
    • Offer guidance in developing and analyzing performance indicators of progress
    • Lead planning, evaluation and compliance teams on special projects
    • Prepare a common strategic plan template for use by all academic and support units
    • Serve as a central repository of strategic plans for academic and support units 

  • Our data expertise is in the areas of faculty, student, and course data, with additional expertise in research

    • Prepare University’s corporate data for external reporting (e.g., IPEDS, Media)
    • Obtain comparative data
    • Prepare data analysis for University-wide metrics and indicators of progress
    • Perform advanced statistical analysis
    • Assist units with the design of surveys to Shaw University constituents (e.g., students, faculty, staff, or alumni)
    • Select and participate in national comparative survey instruments
    • Administer on-line or paper surveys
    • Provide standard or custom analysis of survey results
    • Collaborate with department leaders, the Registrar’s Office, and Academic Affairs to select courses for evaluation
    • Communicate with students and faculty about the administration of Course Evaluations
    • Provide user-friendly reports based on analysis from SIR II Evaluations
    • Serve as liaison to external partner for administration and reporting

Assessment

Institutional Level Assessment

The Office of Strategic Planning, Institutional Research, and Effectiveness (OSPIRE) conducts various surveys and polls to measure satisfaction, knowledge, behavior, cognitive and social development, and programmatic outcomes at an institutional level. Each year, OSPIRE administers surveys and standardized assessments that provide a comprehensive picture of student and program outcomes, enhancing Shaw University’s culture of assessment and evidence.

Annual Assessments:

  • National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE): Administered every other year.
  • College Student Inventory (CSI): Conducted at each New Student Orientation.
  • Student Satisfaction Inventory (SSI)
  • College Senior Survey (CSS)
  • Student Instructional Report (SIR II)
  • Major Field Test (MFT)
  • Area Concentration Achievement Tests (ACAT)

Additionally, OSPIRE uses Qualtrics to conduct various surveys, including Student Engagement, Support Program Effectiveness, Program Level Senior Exit Surveys, Academic Advising, and other surveys as needed by academic and non-academic programs.

Results and Reporting:

OSPIRE provides results and analyses to the University community through written reports, oral presentations, data hearings, folders on the institution’s intranet site, and via the campus Learning Management System.

Taskstream Engagement:

To maximize the assessment process, OSPIRE has recently engaged Taskstream. This platform helps conduct program reviews, prepare annual reports and accreditation visit reports for accredited programs, and complete assessments on the General Education curriculum, the QEP, and SACSCOC reporting.

Resources

Division Level Assessment

Each program and unit within the University must submit an end-of-year report following an approved format. This ensures all reports uniformly address specific topics, including goals, student learning/operational outcomes, measurement of success, evaluation of measurements, and plans for improvement (if needed).

Programs and units, with assistance from OSPIRE, are responsible for conducting their own assessment systems. Shaw University utilizes a variety of assessment instruments and activities, including:

  • ETS® Major Field Tests
  • Area Concentration Achievement Test
  • ETS Proficiency Profile
  • Student Instructional Report II
  • Student Satisfaction Inventory
  • National Survey of Student Engagement
  • College Senior Survey
  • Other standardized assessment instruments

To synthesize assessment information across the institution, OSPIRE produces an annual report summarizing programmatic changes resulting from assessment data. This comprehensive report provides an accurate picture of assessment activities, findings, and the use of results within the University.

Resources

Strategic Planning

  • The Shaw University 2020+ Strategic Plan is essential to the short- and long-term growth, evolution, and sustainability of the University. Shaw 2020+ establishes a vision for the next five years with a set of transformative objectives, initiatives, and measurable goals to inform decisions on institutional priorities, investments, programs, and initiatives. The 2020+ Strategic Plan highlights the strategic direction Shaw University will take during the next planning and assessment cycle. This plan includes opportunities to leverage our current outstanding assets to ensure the greatest impact in education, research, and innovation and to make recommendations and execute action based on these findings.

    Download the Strategic Plan

  • The development of an institutional strategic plan entails institution-wide involvement for success.  The institutional plan is developed for a 5-year cycle and is assessed yearly to measure success, institute changes for improvement, and make adjustments to the institutional plan based on the results of assessments.  Each year institutional priorities are reviewed, assessed, and modified if necessary.

  • Program/unit level planning follows the Institutional Model in that each Program Coordinator/Unit Director develops a plan for their area that supports the Institutional goals and objectives. The yearly plans for each academic program and support units are entered into Taskstream and directly support the Program’s/Unit’s goals and objectives.

    The End of Year Course Assessment report guides course level planning. Student Learning Outcomes that have been developed based on best practices in the discipline are reviewed and assessed to ensure quality instruction and learning.  Each level is intricately linked and is impacted by the University’s mission, the institutional goals, assessment strategies within academic programs and administrative services units, and the incorporation of results into the planning process for improvement.

Accreditation

Shaw University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to award associate, baccalaureate, and master’s degrees. Questions about the accreditation of Shaw University can be directed in writing to SACSCOC at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097, by calling 404-679-4500, or by using information available on the SACSCOC website.

The Shaw University Divinity School is accredited by The Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada (ATS) to award the Master of Divinity, Master of Arts in Christian Education, and Master of Arts in Christian Leadership degrees. Contact ATS at 10 Summit Park Drive, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15275-113: Telephone number 412-788-6505 or 800-367-8250.

The Social Work program is accredited by the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE).

The Teacher Education program is accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) and is approved by the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI).

For additional information, please visit the Accreditation page.

Resources & Information

Contact Us

Brian Cumberbatch
Senior Data Analyst
Estey Hall #207
(919) 546-8615
brianc@shawu.edu

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