Institutional Effectiveness

IE Mission

The Mission of the American InterContinental University Institutional Effectiveness process is to ensure that planning is functional, ongoing and includes a broad base of involvement of faculty and administration at each of the AIU main and branch campuses and for the institution as a whole. The planning process includes the procurement of meaningful information in a timely manner for effective decision-making and planning as well as the systematic assessment of institutional operations and educational effectiveness, which culminates in institutional improvements and future goals. Institutional Research is a function of the University's Institutional Effectiveness Program.

Research and Development

AIU Online relies on Institutional Research for proficiency. Institutional Research efforts include survey data, compilation, environmental scanning, external data reporting, comparative studies with peer institutions and regulatory reporting such as IPEDS reports. Institutional Research is key to tracking appropriate data and information within the University and must provide information for the long-range planning process to be effective. Research and Development is heavily linked to the AIU Planning Cycle. The research and development lead to planning, establishing goals, assessing, analyzing and using results for institutional improvement. The diagram "The AIU Planning Cycle" shown below demonstrates the steps within the process.

AIU Online adheres to an institutional effectiveness model of planning and measuring effectiveness that is based on the student. All aspects of the AIU Online system interrelate in key areas that ultimately affect the student and the overall distance education administration and operational services as shown in the Venn Diagram below. This diagram visually depicts AIU Online's educational operations and aids in educating all departments on the impact that one department has upon another and especially the student:

Converging for the Student

"Students are alive, and the purpose of education is to stimulate and guide their self-development…"- Alfred North Whitehead, The Aims of Education (1929)

As a regionally-accredited institution of higher education, AIU views student outcomes as effective measures of institutional and educational effectiveness. The University believes these outcomes to be valid and reliable measures for quality assurance for distance education, and base the program evaluation for quality assurance on measurable outcomes that are considered. Student outcomes are evaluated against established benchmarks; historical data for the programs to determine levels of quality assurance; and national comparisons gained from external sources including regionally-accredited institutions offering distance education, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), and other sources that report data and trends on distance education. The Provost acts as the central point of contact and individual accountable for ensuring that institutional effectiveness measures remain ongoing and are integrated into the institutional planning processes at AIU Online.

In 2002, AIU Online made significant advances in the integration of institutional effectiveness measures with institutional planning processes and procedures. AIU Online executive managers held a strategic planning session in July 2002 to determine goals/objectives for 2003 and the five-year strategic plan. These goals/objectives were finalized in the fall 2002 annual budget process and action items were established in this process. In November 2002, a second strategic planning session was conducted to continue implementation plans for 2003 strategic goals/objectives for the online division.

Following a review of institutional assessment models in 2004, the University expanded its narrative format for the annual executive summary on institutional effectiveness to a data-rich, tabular format that better served as documentation for the annual report on the University's institutional effectiveness program and more clearly articulated with the institution's planning processes.

Methodology

The University has developed a system-wide approach to institutional effectiveness that engages in ongoing, integrated, and institution-wide research-based planning and evaluation processes that incorporate a systematic review of programs and services that results in continuing improvement, and demonstrates that the University is effectively accomplishing its mission.

The University's assessment of institutional effectiveness program incorporates the assessment of 1) its educational programs; 2) its administrative and educational support services and whether it achieves these outcomes; and 3) provide evidence of improvement based on analysis of those results.

The following combined qualitative and quantitative assessment measures include, but are not limited to, the following:

Institutional Effectiveness Measures used by AIU Overall
End-of-Course Evaluations by Students and Instructors
Quality Assurance Survey
Student Satisfaction (Customer Service) Survey
Graduate Satisfaction Survey
Virtual Classroom Observations by Dean
Employer Survey
Student Surveys and Data Reports as required for the U.S. Department of Education's Distance Education Demonstration Program
Online Library Assessment Tools
Student Attrition Analyses
Marketing Research and Demographic Studies

These tools have provided evaluation results that provide AIU Online staff and administration with formative evaluation measures so that course and program quality can be measured in an ongoing manner and needed improvements can be made as they are identified-a process that is essential for maintaining program quality.

AIU Online Evaluation against Institutional Goals

University Institutional Goal	Evaluation Measure(s)
To enable an international student population to achieve personal and professional goals.	Demographic Data Quality Assurance Surveys Student Satisfaction Survey Graduate Satisfaction Survey Employer Survey DEDP Surveys Online Library Assessment Instruments AIU Annual Fact Book
To enable students to rely on their cultural heritage and background as a foundation for their learning, growth, and change.	End of Session Course Surveys Student Satisfaction Survey Graduate Satisfaction Survey Online Libarary Assessment Instruments
To guide students in adapting their knowledge, training, and skills to the workplace.	Graduate Satisfaction Survey Employer Survey DEDP Surveys Online Libarary Assessment Instruments
To foster the development of critical thinking and lifelong learning skills.	Quality Assurance Surveys Student Satisfaction Survey Graduate Satisfaction Survey Employer Survey Online Libarary Assessment Instruments
To foster the development of critical thinking and lifelong learning skills.	Quality Assurance Surveys Student Satisfaction Survey Graduate Satisfaction Survey Employer Survey Online Libarary Assessment Instruments
To instill the importance of ethical behavior, responsibility, and professional standards.	Student Satisfaction Survey Graduate Satisfaction Survey Employer Survey Online Libarary Assessment Instruments
To provide academic programs, services, facilities, and technologies that support team-based learning and contribute to students' intellectual development and personal growth.	End of Session Course Evaluations Virtual Classroom Observations Graduate Satisfaction Survey Student Course Evaluations Online Libarary Assessment Instruments
To retain a diverse faculty comprised of experienced, qualified educators with industry-current expertise.	Faculty Hiring/Evaluation Data Virtual Classroom Observations Student Course Evaluations Online Libarary Assessment Instruments
To coach and prepare students for job placement and career success utilizing a network of professional and business contacts.	Graduate Satisfaction Survey Employer Survey Alumni Surveys Online Libarary Assessment Instruments