Iowa State University

Measuring Progress: Performance Indicators

Iowa State University will annually measure progress on its strategic plan goals using a number of key indicators of progress. At the University level, the following areas will measure overall progress. Specific elements within these areas will serve as distinct performance indicators that may be subject to periodic adjustments in response to emerging national and/or local issues and trends. International, national and peer competitiveness will be central to assessing progress toward achieving the goals of the strategic plan and Becoming the Best Land-Grant University.

Enrollment: undergraduate, graduate; science and technology disciplines; diversity; resident and non-resident; distance education enrollment; non-credit continuing education enrollment; level of student financial need met by aid

Retention, graduation, and career placement rates (including further education): undergraduate, graduate; diversity; resident and non-resident; science and technology disciplines; success in professional certification; national competitiveness

Student Achievement and Satisfaction: student outcomes assessment - intended outcomes, and outcomes achieved; accountability, and improvement; satisfaction with student life opportunities and involvement

Advancement in information science and technology: international leadership characteristics; advances in information technology infrastructure, access, and services for learning, distance education, and scholarship; electronic library resources and services

Faculty/staff characteristics and competitiveness: composition, diversity, compensation, national and international recognition through academy and professional society memberships, scholarly publications, citations, awards

State appropriation level: total base appropriation; one-time funds and capital appropriation; national competitiveness

Sponsored funding: total sponsored funding and by FTE; science and technology funding; funding distribution by sponsor type; national competitiveness

Academic program characteristics: quality based on program review by peers; liberal education content; national ranking of selected programs - a limited number of programs including focus on science and technology

Responsive engagement: programs addressing needs of communities and society; active engagement of stakeholders; economic development/technology transfer through income generating licenses and patents; lifelong learning opportunity programs; clients served, outcomes assessment, client satisfaction

Advancement in institutional support services and infrastructure: development and implementation of best ideas and practices, awards and recognition; new facilities; facility repair and improvement; integrated support services bridging administrative and academic support; exemplars of national recognition

Private giving: total funds raised (gift income, i.e., outright gifts; new pledges, and deferred commitments); synergistic characteristics with strategic plan priorities; national competitiveness (with land-grant peers, Big 12, and selected institutions recognized for distinctive programs)

Constituent relations: internal and external communication, and periodic assessment of internal and external "citizen" awareness and satisfaction

Peer Comparison

As a subset of the areas of overall measures of progress, a set of key benchmark measures will serve to assess Iowa State's progress on competitiveness with peer institutions. These benchmark measures represent various characteristics of major land-grant universities in the nation, and have been developed with significant input from a representative group of institutions belonging to the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC). These key benchmark measures are grouped as "input" and "output" measures as follows.

Input Benchmark Measures

State and federal appropriations as fraction of total operating budget
Tuition revenue as fraction of total operating budget
Cost of education per FTE resident and nonresident undergraduate student
Financial aid disbursed per FTE undergraduate student
Proportion of underrepresented students/faculty/staff as compared to proportion of state's underrepresented population
Student credit hours per FTE faculty
Average undergraduate class size
Fraction of FTE tenured and tenure-track faculty that are directly involved with undergraduate learning
Fraction of FTE tenured and tenure-track faculty considered as discovery-active
Fraction of FTE tenured and tenure-track faculty time devoted to discovery
Fraction of FTE graduate students supported by sponsored funds, and average funding per FTE graduate student
Fraction of FTE tenured and tenure-track faculty time devoted to engagement

Output Benchmark Measures

Price of education per FTE resident and nonresident undergraduate student
Indebtedness per undergraduate student at graduation
Undergraduate retention rates regressed against standardized test scores - after years 1, 2, 3, and 4
Undergraduate graduation rates regressed against standardized test scores - at years 4, 5, and 6
Career placement rate including fraction of graduates placed in field of major, and mean/median of starting salaries (within six months after graduation)
Success rate of graduates in professional licensure
Fraction of graduates proceeding to advanced studies (within six months after graduation)
Total sponsored funding and sponsored funding per FTE faculty
Faculty scholarly output resulting from peer reviewed discovery on a rolling three-year basis
License agreements, patents, and initiation of start-up companies signifying technology transfer through engagement
Number of clients served in the state and as fraction of state's population served by engagement
Employers' assessment and graduates' self-assessment of preparedness five years after graduation