The Office of Institutional Research and Assessment responds to requests for information from a variety of sources including national and state regulatory agencies, accrediting agencies, and in-house requests from faculty, chairs, and deans related to students, enrollment, and academic programs.
A common set of data (2011-12 Common Data Set) is collected each fall semester and used for reporting to collegiate surveys such as US News and World Report, Peterson’s Guide to Undergraduate Institutions, etc. Data collected for the Federal Government, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) is collected annually and includes information on expenses, financial aid, enrollment, race/ethnicity, admissions, ACT/SAT Scores, graduation and retention rates, program completions, NCAA Division II Athletics, accreditation, federal loans, and crime statistics.
May 2011 graduating seniors attended the first-ever graduation fair. Seniors who attended were asked to complete a Graduating Senior Survey. Out of 294 graduates, 194 attended the fair and completed the survey. The questions related to overall student satisfaction with their academic experience. The overwhelming majority of West Liberty seniors strongly agreed or agreed that their overall academic experience was positive.
The Collegiate Learning Assessment (CLA) offers an authentic approach to the improvement of teaching and learning in higher education through a continuous improvement model, and recognizes faculty as central actors in educational improvement efforts. The CLA assists faculty, department chairs, school administrators and others interested in programmatic change to improve teaching and learning, particularly with respect to strengthening higher order skills.
The CLA assessment is administered anually to West Liberty Freshmen in the fall and Seniors in the spring. This online assessment is designed to measure a students’ ability to analyze, think critically, reason analytically, solve problems, and communicate clearly. CLA attempts to measure an institution’s contribution, or value added, to the development of these important competencies CLA.2010.11.Report.
