OSU Student Affairs Strategic Planning
Initiative 6 Committee Report: June 6, 2012
Initiative 6: The Division of Student Affairs will build and sustain a robust culture of data-driven
decision-making and planning.
Committee Action to Date:
1) Informal conversation with colleagues, including the Student Affairs Assessment Committee
Results:
A “wish list” of possible action steps, inspired by personal interests and needs.
2) Reflections on the wish list and efforts to organize it.
Results:
Decision to organize and measure against an ideal; rather than a collection of needs and interests
3) Search for best practices, i.e. a model of the Ideal
Results: Two favorites:
Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS) Standards for Assessment Services
Education Advisory Board: The Data-Driven Student Affairs Enterprise
4) Articulate “the Ideal”
Results:
Goals and Outcomes, as presented (adapted from the Education Advisory Board: The Data-Driven Student Affairs
Enterprise)
Next Steps:
5) Assess our current status against the ideal
Strategies:
Develop a diagnostic (adapted from the Education Advisory Board: The Data-Driven Student Affairs Enterprise)
Identify and inform key stakeholders
Administer diagnostic
6) Identify priorities/ objectives
Strategies:
Analyze and interpret data from diagnostic
Integrate previously-brainstormed document:Possible Action Steps
7) Explore best practices
8) Present recommendations
Goals and Outcomes
Initiative 6: The Division of Student Affairs will build and sustain a robust culture of data-driven
decision-making and planning.
Adapted from: Education Advisory Board: The Data Driven Student Affairs Enterprise)
GOAL 1- Articulating Student Affairs Value to Stakeholders

OUTCOME 1A: Robust and detailed strategy for communicating its relevant success to university stakeholders

OUTCOME 1B: Developed, disseminated, implemented, and regularly reviews the mission for assessment and data
driven decision-making
GOAL 2- Creating A Culture of Accountability: Strengthening Divisional Assessment Capacity

OUTCOME 2A: High degree of assessment competency throughout the division in general

OUTCOME 2B: Student affairs has one or more experts who can provide support to colleagues

OUTCOME 2C: Division has the ability to carryout sophisticated assessment projects

OUTCOME 2D: Division routinely trains new employees and has conducted a division wide “boot camp” for
assessment
GOAL 3- Creating A Culture of Accountability: Hardwiring Assessment Infrastructure

OUTCOME 3A: Student Affairs Division has a strong assessment infrastructure in place

OUTCOME 3B: Data is collected rigorously

OUTCOME 3C: Assessment projects align with divisional standards

OUTCOME 3D: Mechanism in place for rewarding successful units
GOAL 4- Prioritizing Our Work: Aligning Assessment Efforts

OUTCOME 4A: Student Affairs Division coordinates assessment efforts internally and externally

OUTCOME 4B: Unit projects tie into divisional and institutional priorities

OUTCOME 4C: Resources are not wasted on needless assessment (students do not have survey fatigue)

OUTCOME 4D: Division has a functioning assessment committee

OUTCOME 4E: Division has an online data mart
GOAL 5- Moving from Good to Great: Leveraging Results to Drive Change

OUTCOME 5A: Student Affairs Division makes excellent use of assessment data

OUTCOME 5B: Data is leveraged to improve services

OUTCOME 5C: Data is used to allocate, obtain, and secure funding

OUTCOME 5D: Able to provide data and reports to stakeholders when asked in a systematic and efficient manner

OUTCOME 5E: Units are able to make a strong case for resource allocation
Possible Action Steps
Initiative 6: The Division of Student Affairs will build and sustain a robust culture of data-driven
decision-making and planning.
Note: Order of activities does not convey importance, rather the sequence in which they were written
Activity 6.1: Create a centralized depository for data/information collected by each department within the Division of Student Affairs.
Intended Specific Outcomes:
 Research best practices for “online data mart” within student affairs divisions
 Gain input from units and stakeholders
Activity 6.2: Gather stories about the benefits of data-based decision making within SA departments.
Intended Specific Outcomes:
 Each SA department will be able to articulate how they responded to the “voice” of the student body – what the data
showed and the course of action taken for change
Activity 6.3: Engage and educate departments in SA about assessment/data-based decision making.
Intended Specific Outcomes:
 Each department within SA will have a representative on the SA Assessment Council
 Each department within SA will submit an annual Assessment Plan
Activity 6.4: Recognize and celebrate data-based decision making within SA
Intended Specific Outcomes:
 A department within SA that exhibits data-based decision making will be recognized and celebrated at the yearly
Student Affairs all Division meeting
 Establish incentives (e.g., grants, professional development money, etc) that are awarded based established criteria
Activity 6.5: Increase human resources with Student Affairs to have the capacity to achieve data driven decision making as described
by CAS and Education Advisory Board
Intended Specific Outcomes: Increase FTE’s within the Division to have capacity for:
 Training of staff throughout the division on the assessment and data driven process
 Complex data analysis and report writing
 Consultation with units to determine best approaches to data driven decision processes
 Survey coordination to decrease likelihood of survey fatigue
 Coordination of “online data mart”
 Liaison with external university entities and external stakeholders to communicate assessment outcomes
Activity 6.6: Promote environments that are characterized by open and continuous communication that deepens understanding of
one’s own identity, culture, and heritage, as well of that of others
Intended Specific Outcomes:
 Research best practices in this area
 Address characteristics and needs of diverse populations through data collection and analysis to establish and
implement policy and procedure
 Design studies and collect data to explore potential sub-group outcome difference
Activity 6.7: Create a plan for enhancing the division’s data driven decision-making and assessment to be inline with CAS and The
Educational Advisory Board
Intended Specific Outcomes:
 Create specific timeline for implementation with clear goals and milestones
 Create specific financial resources needed in this process
 Gather Division and stakeholder input on plan