Building and Benefiting from the Documentation Roadmap

MSCHE Annual Conference December 8, 2016

Joanne Coté-Bonanno, Montclair State University

Steven Schwarz, Queens College of CUNY Christine Lemesianou, Montclair State University

New Approach to the Documentation Roadmap “The Design should include an annotated inventory of recent and current accreditation reports, assessment and planning data, enrollment and financial information, policies, procedures and other resources that the Working Groups will use as they conduct their inquiry and analysis. The institution should organize these resources using the format of the Documentation Roadmap. Although this inventory will change and develop throughout the Self-Study process, the Design should include an early version of the final range of documents, demonstrating that adequate information will be made available to the Steering Committee, the Working Groups, and the Evaluation Team. . . .” “Resources included in the Documentation Roadmap will be used in several ways: as primary source material to support the inquiry of the Working Groups, as appendices to the final Self-Study Report, and for review by the Evaluation Team.” Excerpts from Self-Study: Creating a Useful Process and Report (2016) http://msche.org/publications/SelfStudyGuideVersion13A.pdf

Some Basic Guidelines

Requirements of Affiliation

Development of the

Documentation Roadmap at Queens College of CUNY

Steering Committee co-chairs: Steven Schwarz, Christopher Vickery, Antonio Gonzalez, Cheryl Littman

Queens College employs Google Drive for the Documentation Roadmap, Working Group and Steering Committee interactions, and Campus Review

Free Unlimited storage Sharing modes: View; Comment; Edit Access: Private; Named individuals; College

accounts; World

2012 PRR Appendices http://www.qc.cuny.edu/about/administration/Provost/Pages/MidStates.aspx

A. College Bulletins

A1. Undergraduate Bulletin 2011-2012 A2. Graduate Bulletin 2009-2012

B. Master Plans and Strategic Plans

B1. Queens College Master Plan 2006 B2. CUNY Master Plan B3. Queens College Strategic Plan 2008-2013 B4. Queens College Strategic Plan Accomplishments B5. Strategic Plan Hires B6. Queens College Strategic Plan 2014-2018 – Draft Overview

C. Institutional Assessment – the Performance Management Process (PMP)

C1. 2010-2011 Data Report C2. 2010-2011 Goals and Targets C3. 2009-2010 Data Report C4. 2009-2010 Goals and Targets C5. 2008-2009 Data Report C6. 2008-2009 Goals and Targets C7. 2007-2008 Data Report C8. 2007-2008 Goals and Targets C9. 2006-2007 Data Report C10. 2006-2007 Goals and Targets C11. 2012 -2013 Goals and Targets

As received from Working Group 5

Generated and automatically updated from the Documentation Roadmap

The Documentation Roadmap at UVI with thanks to T. Koopmans and colleagues

UVI (cont.)

• The self-study is organized by university initiative, and not by standards. The roadmap allows the evaluators to see how the documents meet the standards in order.

• Documents in the roadmap are sequentially

numbered, e.g., DR-001, DR-002, etc. Within the self-study, when items are referred to, the citation DR-### is used. No appendices, only references items in the roadmap!

Conclusions

• The standard DR template is an ideal starting point for the working groups.

• Consider adding columns to denote status and location.

• Use active hyperlinks where possible. • Use the DR in the self-study to organize

references and appendices. • Design the DR so it can be available and

continuously updated after the self-study.

Development of the Documentation Roadmap at Montclair State University

Executive Leadership Team: Joanne Coté Bonanno Joan Besing Christine Lemesianou

The Montclair State Documentation Roadmap

Provides context through: A custom design of a dynamic and multi-layered database

Provides content through: Evidence records (processes, procedures, data and assessment reports)

Provides depth through: Ability to zoom into evidence, highlight data and add notes/comments

Provides evaluation through: The use of consistent benchmarks applied to all standards and criteria

Provides integration with the Self-Study Report through: Hyperlinks and generation of “point-in-time” reports

Context: Dynamic & Multi-Layered Documentation Roadmap Database

Standards and Criteria

Requirements of Affiliation

Research Questions

2012 PRR

Compliance 2011 Strategic Plan

Content: Evidence Records

Website, Print, and Email Info

TracDat & Annual Reports

Policies & Handbooks

OIR Surveys and Reports

FERCs & External

Accreditors

Interview & Focus

Group Data

Academic Programs

Assessment Database

Depth: Zoom in & Add Information & Notes

Zoom in and highlight

• Extract specific information from a web site

• Highlight relevant data from a report

Provide background information

• Add information for a specific policy, procedure, or document

• Reference important stakeholders

Add questions and notes

• Internal notes to facilitate the self-study process

• Enhance collaboration

Evaluation: Benchmarks for Each Standard & Criterion

Not evident: No activities or plan in place Initial: Design/planning of activities in individual areas/units

(documents, processes, and/or procedures, assessment) Emerging: Planning and implementation of activities across

institution (documents, processes, and/or procedures, assessment) Developed: Systematic gathering, analysis, sharing of data activities

across institution, which are aligned to institutional mission and goals (documents, processes, and/or procedures, assessment) Highly Developed: Sustained assessment that is channeled into

strategic planning and budgeting to ensure institutional effectiveness and improvement (documents, processes, and/or procedures, assessment)

Integration: Connecting to the Self-Study with Hyperlinks and “Point-in-Time” Reports

The Self-Study report connects to the Standards and Criteria and the Requirements of Affiliation The narrative in the report addresses key priorities at Montclair State It provides strong evidentiary statements around these priorities Statements are annotated within the narrative with appropriate

references to evidence in the documentation roadmap (all hyperlinked) for example (SI.C2.#4; SI.C4.a.#5)

Can generate “point-in-time” reports with live hyperlinks Can be updated and constantly renewed

Conclusions

The documentation roadmap template provides a strong foundation for launching the self-study process. Use user-friendly tools &

technologies to build the documentation roadmap. Have a plan to provide access and

edit rights to the roadmap.

Keep the intended audience(s) in mind. Provide guidelines for use to visiting team. Customize appropriately to make

as interactive, collaborative, and integrative as possible. Ensure that the documentation

roadmap continues to serve the institution well into the future.