IRP Annual Report 2004-2005
UNIVERSITY OF WEST GEORGIA
ANNUAL REPORT
Fiscal Year 2005 (July 1, 2004 to June 30, 2005)
Department of Institutional Research and Planning
Name of Department Head Dr. Andrew Luna
Name of Person Completing Report Tara Pearson
Departmental Mission/Vision Statement (url only, required)
Departmental Statement of Goals, Process to Assess These Goals, and Assessment Results (url only, required)
Give an Example of how your Department Used the Assessment of Goals and Outcomes to Change/Improve a Process (required)
(IRP, Goal 2-Promote the improvement of West Georgia’s planning process in compliance with Board of Regents Policy and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Criteria.)
In support of IRP goal 2, IRP gathered feedback from faculty and staff regarding the online Annual Report template. Institutional Research and Planning will no longer be using the online Annual Report template created by Information Technology Services, instead, the Annual Report template will be emailed to all departments in a Microsoft Word document for easier data entry and collection. IRP will continue to review the process for the Annual Report in hopes of making the data entry process easier as software becomes available.
Helpful suggestions received regarding the Annual Report template are as follows:
- Share ware should not be used in the creation/maintenance of the AR template because the soft ware in unstable.
- HTML format needs to be able to accept charts and/or graphs.
- Template does not need to be password protected for data entry.
- Allow data session to be unlimited so the person is not forced to login again.
- Allow data to auto save as it is being entered so data is not lost if computer failed.
- Allow for pasting large amounts of text into fields
- Make sure all required questions for departments are properly coded, so required questions are not able to be skipped or not answered.
General Statement of Department Condition (required)
The condition of the Department of Institutional Research and Planning is good. Funds have been granted for an additional analyst to be hired so that greater detail may be placed on the Board of Regents Records Retention Schedules and furthering UWG’s compliance with the USG mandate regarding records management.
During the last three years, the IRP staff has tried to maintain a positive outlook for the future and has demonstrated this by continuously providing information in a timely/accurate manner, through excellent customer service and professionalism, all the while increasing the level of work. With an increase to detail that is required for completing external surveys/data requests, complying with the Board of Regents Records Retention Schedules, and the states open records laws, the new analyst position is a boost to office moral. Within the next year, IRP is preparing to increase awareness of the state laws regarding records retention and public record dissemination by requesting all departments complete a records inventory.
IRP will continue to increase visibility throughout the UWG community by educating staff and faculty on reports and data provided by IRP. IRP will continue exploring new ways of increasing the use of technology for a greater ease in data dissemination, and will focus on various procedures in order to comply with the state record and open record laws.
Departmental Achievements
For fiscal year 2005, the following chart shows the percentage of data requests, projects, Open Records requests, subpoenas, and external surveys completed by the IRP office.
During the past year, the Department of Institutional Research and Planning has completed or participated in the following:
- Organized and hosted the USG Institutional Research and Planning Fall Meeting Carrollton, GA (October 7-8-2004).
- Staff members participated as members of the Staff Appreciation Day Committee.
- Faculty Salary Compression Analysis.
- Administered the HERI Faculty Survey.
Staff Productivity
Demands for data continue to be met with the same four staff positions allocated to the department since the 1990s. Technology, better equipment, and staff training and expertise make the increased workload manageable while maintaining the same size staff. The Institutional Research and Planning staff attends conferences, training, and workshops throughout the year in an effort to improve, understand and meet the needs of our customers. The following is a list of all the events attended:
- Data Center Conference, Covington, GA (July 29, 2004)
- Southern Association of Institutional Researchers (SAIR) Conference, Biloxi, MS (October 16-19, 2004)
- USG IRP Fall Meeting Carrollton, GA (October 7-8-2004)
- NSSE Workshop, Macon, GA (October 14, 2004)
- Meeting for Annual Report Template, Kennesaw State University, Kennesaw, GA (November 4, 2004)
- Economic Forecast Breakfast, Carrollton, GA (November 4, 2004)
- NSSE Workshop, Macon, GA (November 12, 2004)
- Georgia Records Association Fall Conference, Pine Mtn., GA (November 16-19, 2004)
- GAIRPAQ Spring Meeting, Macon, GA, GA (April 20, 2005)
- USG IRP Spring Meeting, Macon, GA (April 21-22, 2005)
- Georgia Records Association Spring Conference, St. Simons Island, GA (May 3-6, 2005)
- USG Staff Council Meeting, Columbus, GA (October 7-8, 2004)
- USG Staff Council Meeting, Macon, GA (June, 25, 2004)
- NSSE Workshop, Orlando, FL (February 11-14, 2005)
- Georgia Records Association Fall Conference, Pine Mtn., GA (November 16-19, 2004)
- Georgia Records Association Spring Conference, St. Simons Island, GA (May 3-6-, 2005)
Student Achievements
N/A
Other Awards, Distinctions, and Achievements
Erma Shooks, Senior Administrative Secretary, received Employee of the Year Award.