The Office of Institutional Research and Assessment
I. MAJOR LINK: The Office of Institutional Research and Assessment
II. IRA Mission and Goals
Baltimore International College's (BIC) Office of Institutional Research and Assessment (IRA) mission and goals.
III. Institutional Assessment
The institution has developed and implemented an assessment plan and process that evaluates its overall effectiveness.
IV: Assessment Handbook
The BIC Administrative Assessment Handbook was developed as a guide to understanding BIC’s strategy for assessing institutional effectiveness.
V: Fast Facts
Fast Facts on enrollment demographics and degrees awarded.
VI: State and National Surveys
A list of state and national surveys that Baltimore International College participates in each year.
VI: IRA Staff
IRA Staff directory.
I. MAJOR LINK: The Office of Institutional Research and Assessment
II. IRA Mission and Goals
The Office of Institutional Research and Assessment (IRA) at Baltimore International College (BIC) has a two-fold mission. First, IRA is responsible for conducting research related to the mission, goals and objectives of the College to support planning and decision-making, and policy development. Specifically, the Office compiles, analyzes, interprets and disseminates data on student enrollment, degrees awarded, student retention, graduation rates, and faculty and staff characteristics, which are useful to both the College and external communities.
Second, the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment is the focal point for the college-wide assessment processes, assisting faculty and staff in the development and continuous evaluation of courses, programs and the institution as a whole. Assessment activities are used at BIC to improve teaching, learning, student retention and evaluation of faculty, student and alumni achievement.
To assist the College in achieving its mission, goals, and objectives, the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment embraces the following objectives intended to accomplish institutional goals:
- Develop in-house surveys to collect, analyze, interpret and report institution related information to the BIC community in support of effective institutional planning and decision making, and policy formation.
- Respond to external organizations’ surveys and data requests with the intention of being included in the national dialogue and consortium for higher education.
- Prepare annual reports in response to data requests from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) and Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC).
- Serve as the central repository for archival and current college data (local and national) related to student learning and experience, and faculty and staff characteristics.
- Facilitate the coordination of college-wide assessment of student learning to comply with regional and professional accreditations as well as state accountability mandates.
- Facilitate the college-wide collection, analysis, interpretation and presentation of assessment data resulting from student learning evaluations.
- Coordinate professional development programs that continuously inform and enhance faculty and staff’s knowledge of best practices in higher education assessment.
III. Institutional Assessment
The institution has developed and implemented an assessment plan and process that evaluates its overall effectiveness in: achieving its mission and goals; implementing planning, resource allocation, and institutional renewal processes; using institutional resources efficiently; providing leadership and governance; providing administrative structures and services; demonstrating institutional integrity; and assuring that institutional processes and resources support appropriate learning and other outcomes for its student and graduates (Middle States Standard 7).
Baltimore International College has developed a comprehensive and sustainable assessment plan that evaluates all facets of the institution including governance and leadership, support services and institutional resources. A number of surveys are conducted each year to determine stakeholder satisfaction with specific services and resources, and satisfaction with the institution as a whole. These measurements include the student satisfaction survey, employee satisfaction survey, employer survey, alumni survey among other important measurements.
III. ASSESSMENT OF STUDENT LEARNING:
Assessment of student learning demonstrates that, at graduation, or other appropriate points, the institution’s students have knowledge, skills, and competencies consistent with institutional and appropriate higher education goals.
A number of assessments are conducted at the course and program levels to assess student learning. The goal is to evaluate the student experience to determine whether they have developed knowledge, skills and abilities to perform effectively in their chosen fields of study.
Faculty incorporates the use of the student learning assessment rubric, student course evaluations, pretest/posttest evaluations, capstone projects, management salons and other academic and co-curricular activities as means or measurements for assessing the student experience and program effectiveness.
III. BIC ASSESSMENT PLAN
To ensure that the College is achieving its mission, goals and objectives, a number of assessments are conducted throughout the academic year to evaluate institutional effectiveness and student learning. The following link displays BIC’s assessment plan, including the College’s assessment flowchart and calendar.
Link: Assessment Flowchart
Link: Assessment Calendar
IV: Assessment Handbook
The BIC Administrative Assessment Handbook was developed as a guide to understanding BIC’s strategy for assessing institutional effectiveness. The handbook includes a step-by-step process for assessing institutional processes and student support services. Each office develops SMART goals that are measured using an appropriate assessment instrument. The results from the assessment or analysis are used to support planning and decision making at the College.
The Academic Assessment Handbook is a work in progress. This document will be used as a guide to help faculty and staff assess student learning. It will provide information such as guidelines for developing SMART goals, a number of measurements (rubric, pretest/posttest) and ideas for assessing student learning, and guidelines for developing research projects.
In addition to the assessment handbooks, the following services are available to BIC’s faculty and staff through the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment:
- Coordinating and/or conducting of assessment workshops – IRA staff will work closely with faculty and staff to improve campus-wide assessment activities. In many instances, assessment experts will be invited to the College to share their experiences and inform our faculty and staff of best practices in higher education assessment.
- Coordinating focus groups – A Focus group is one way to obtain rich information on stakeholder experience, preferences and level of satisfaction with institutional services. The IRA staff is available to help faculty and staff develop effective focus group questions - the open-ended questions that probe valuable and in-depth responses.
- Creating program and office/unit assessment plans – In addition to the assessment handbook, the IRA staff is available to coach faculty and staff on the step-by-step process involving plan development.
- Designing survey instruments – A survey is one of the most commonly used assessment tools. It can be used to capture information from large audiences. If created correctly, a survey can provide detailed information allowing it to function as a stand alone measurement.
- Analyzing and interpreting data – Data analysis and interpretation are important aspects of assessment as they inform one’s curiosity about the area being researched. It is critical that faculty and staff understand statistics, which is an area of expertise for the IRA staff.
- Extracting specific information from surveys and other assessment results upon request – If requested, the IRA staff can develop brief synopses of survey results to be used in meetings, presentations, reports, etc.
- Fulfilling requests for institutional data – Faculty, staff and students of BIC as well as outsiders can request specific College data through the Department of Institutional Research and Assessment.
V: Fast Facts
Enrollment Demographics
Degrees Awarded
- Spring 2009 Degree Recipients
VI: State and National Surveys
A list of state and national surveys that Baltimore International College participates in is as follows:
- America’s Best Colleges – U. S. News
- Campus Crime and Security Survey – U. S. Department of Education
- College Board Annual Survey of Colleges – Common Data Set
- Degree and Formal Awards Survey – Maryland Higher Education Commission
- Degree Information Systems File - Maryland Higher Education Commission
- Institutional Characteristics – IPEDS
- Completions – IPEDS
- Twelve Month Enrollment – IPEDS
- Credit Hours of Enrollment – Maryland Higher Education Commission
- Opening Fall Enrollment - Maryland Higher Education Commission
- Financial Aid - Maryland Higher Education Commission
- Financial Aid Information System File - Maryland Higher Education Commission
- Enrollment Information System File - Maryland Higher Education Commission
- Annualized Credit Hours of Enrollment - Maryland Higher Education Commission
- Human Resources – IPEDS
- Distance Education Survey - Maryland Higher Education Commission
- Graduation Rate 200 - Maryland Higher Education Commission
- Finance Survey – IPEDS
- Graduation Rates Survey – IPEDS
- Enrollment - IPEDS
- Student Financial Aid - IPEDS
VI: IRA Staff
Dr. Shantell Saunders, Director
Institutional Research and Assessment
Commerce Building, Room 371
Phone: (410) 752-4710 ext. 217
Fax: (410) 752-0278
Email: ssaunders@bic.edu
Mercy Mugo, Research Analyst
Institutional Research and Assessment
Commerce Building, Room 370
Phone: (410) 752-4710 ext. 207
Fax: (410) 752-0278
Email: mmugo@bic.edu
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