In 2001, Spelman College received a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for a project to improve the quality of the institutional research enterprise throughout the campus. What we learned from that effort should be of interest to any institution seeking to demonstrate its commitment to high educational standards and achievement for students.
Accreditation, though voluntary, is the key to recognition by peer institutions and governmental bodies that an institution is an appropriately organized, adequately managed and functioning higher education system. More than ever before, institutional effectiveness, or IE, is the factor that interferes with efforts to obtain or reaffirm accreditation. Every unit of an educational institution should have a mission that relates to and supports the broader institutional mission. The extent to which there is evidence-based alignment between operational units determines how effective the institution is judged to be.
In addition to the regional concerns about accreditation, the recently published report by the Commission on the Future of Higher Education highlights the momentum building for higher education institutions to articulate clearly their educational missions and to demonstrate that they are accomplishing those missions.
The loss of accreditation by some historically Black colleges and universities speaks volumes to the need to address what amounts to a critical condition that threatens the survival of still other minority-serving institutions.
The first and most important aspect of a successful IE process is that it permeates the institution. A single individual or office may be assigned to direct or coordinate IE activities, but the process cannot be accomplished by a single entity alone. A systemwide approach must be taken.
The second factor that is critical to the success of an IE plan is that everyone should understand what it is and why it is important. Every employee should know at least the rudiments of the IE plan and where they fit into it. An IE plan that has been adequately infused into the organization will become familiar enough to articulate with ease.
