Higher Ed Accreditation, Strategic Planning, Outcomes Assessments, and Institutional Effectiveness

A Valentine’s Day Story

It’s February, the shortest, coldest (for those of us in the Midwest), and most romantic month of the year. As Valentine’s Day approaches, romantic comedies seem to be highlighted on every streaming service. These movies can be polarizing because they’re all very similar. On some level, we know what’s going to happen: girl meets guy, girl loses guy, girl gets guy back. But just because something’s predictable doesn’t mean it’s bad, and this week’s blog will examine rom coms through the most romantic lens we can think of—that of Outcomes Assessment Planning, Institutional Effectiveness Planning, and Strategic Planning. Yes, really.

Most of us in higher education know these terms, but their applications can cause confusion since every institution employs them slightly differently. We’re here to help! We’re going to be breaking these terms down as they pertain to our upcoming (not really) movie, “Love Accreditationally.”  So, break out the popcorn, silence your cellphone, and let’s get to it.

Our opening shot is the skyline of a generic major city (our preference is obviously Chicago). Meet our main character, Ashley P. Bashley. She is always dating the wrong guys. Her most recent relationship ended when she walked into a restaurant to find her fiancé on a date with her best friend. What’s a girl to do? After eating four containers of ice cream while sobbing and watching “The Way We Were” sixteen times (women, am I right?), Ashley is determined to get her life back on track. She wants to be in a relationship in time for her overachieving, “perfect” sister’s upcoming wedding. Cue the montage where she buys books about how to get what she wants, gets a haircut/new clothes/makeover, and starts putting herself back out there. One day she falls down the stairs and is caught by Mr. Right. They hate each other at first, but Ashley eventually learns that he (choose one: is a pediatrician, is a veterinarian, has a little brother/sister he cares for, has a traumatic past that he blames himself for), and that’s why he acts the way he does. Together, they realize that they are both scared to get hurt again, but that they love each other and believe their relationship is worth the effort. Everything is going great until Ashley overhears and misinterprets a phone call that Mr. Right is having with his (choose one: sister, mother, aunt, grandmother). She assumes he is cheating on her and they break up. Mr. Right, devastated by Ashley’s lack of trust, decides to move to Belize, never to set foot in the US again (a completely reasonable and relatable reaction). Eventually, Ashley realizes she’s made a huge mistake and that Mr. Right would never hurt her. She races to the airport to stop him from boarding his flight. Upon her arrival, she makes a dramatic speech over the airport loudspeaker about how she knows she has a lot of work to do on herself, but she doesn’t want to do that work with anyone but Mr. Right. They declare their love for each other while a slow pop ballad plays in the background. Ashley invites him to her sister’s wedding, and all the other passengers in the airport clap and cheer. Southwest flight attendants hand everyone celebratory snacks. Everyone’s happy forever. The End.

Strategic Planning:

Most institutions will tell you that they understand Strategic Planning—and many do. This multi-month (sometimes multi-year, depending on an institution’s size) process involves meetings with stakeholders, a review of the mission, discussion of the current environment, and identification of goals and objectives to ensure institutional sustainability. In our movie, Ashley engages in her own strategic planning, the process is just sped up through movie magic. Her pop music-fueled montage scene is actually a mini master class in Strategic Planning. First, she realizes that her past actions are not helping her to achieve her goal—to live happily ever after. She consults external sources (books), re-evaluates her current state (haircut/clothes/makeover), and identifies her goals and objectives (get herself back out there). She identifies a key indicator and timeline (short-term: can she take the person she’s dating to her sister’s wedding and long term: can I spend the rest of my life with him) that will help her make sure she’s on track to meet her goal. Once her strategic plan is complete, she starts dating, knowing that she can rely on her plan to ensure she stays on course.

Outcomes Assessment:

In a relationship, or with any product, it is not enough to just throw things together and hope that there will be sufficient return on investment. There is always work involved. Success requires detailed analysis of the pros and cons, identification of what doesn’t work, and time to make improvements. For institutions, this requires an Outcomes Assessment—a deep dive into the academic programs offered that provides data on student achievement and satisfaction. If students aren’t learning, the institution needs to figure out why and either make revisions or look seriously at whether the program should still be offered.

In our movie, Ashley and Mr. Right have this moment at the airport when they decide that they have things they need to work on, but that they belong together. They identify what makes a successful relationship for each of them, individually. They both identify what they’ll need to adjust to make their relationship work—analyze their own emotional hang-ups, communication styles, and commitment issues to understand how to move forward together.

Institutional Effectiveness:

Once Ashley and Mr. Right get out of their own way and realize they are right for each other, the real work begins. Institutional Effectiveness is the component that’s usually missing from most romantic comedies. After is the random by-standers are done clapping and the credits roll, how do Ashley and Mr. Right actually live life together? The answer’s not very Hollywood, but it is important: Institutional Effectiveness. In healthy relationships, each person is vocal about how they feel, what they need from the other person, and how these things affect the relationship. This sort of introspection and communication is constant and is not dissimilar from what institutions do when they evaluate their current processes and procedures to determine if they are working.

For an institution, this might be realizing that having minimal admission requirements is resulting in low graduation rates; for Ashley and Mr. Right, it might be realizing that being on their phones all the time means that they’re not spending enough meaningful time with each other. Institutional Effectiveness means monitoring key performance indicators to gain insight into what an institution is doing right and what areas need improvement. Armed with that information, we can make small (or, sometimes, big) changes before we run into major problems.

Romantic comedies are beloved because they’re formulaic—and that’s not a flaw; it’s an asset. We know that if our main character follows the above steps, she is going to live happily ever after. The good news for all of us out in the real world is that the formula works here too.  Robust Strategic Planning, Outcomes Assessment, and Institutional Effectiveness don’t just make an institution look good (although they do that, too); they are important because, if they’re meaningfully employed, an institution will continue to achieve its mission.

“I’m so glad that I was able to utilize Strategic Planning, Outcomes Assessments, and Institutional Effectiveness to build the relationship and life of my dreams. Thank you, EduCred Services.” –Ashley P. Bashley