Friday, October 2, 2009
Objective Assessment of All Programs...
I would like to applaud President Reilly for striving to create a vision for the future of our campus and then trying to figure out how to bring it about. His administration's JV2007 provides a considered foundation from which to proceed.
Quoting from the report, "Decisions and the implementation of the
model should be based on: The development of metrics for all of our programs, services, and academic departments; Objective assessment of all programs using the determined metrics".
This idea of objective review and assessment is something I believe is missing from the student oversight of ASUN programs. The amalgamation of programs that is ASUN is a complex entity. Each unit of ASUN has merits and is designed in a way to attempt to serve the student body. How many ASUN leaders know who is being served, and how well?
For the elected members of ASUN, the review process comes up every year during elections. But for almost every other aspect of ASUN, be it Campus Escort, InkBlot, the bookstore, etc, little is done to objectively measure the benefits of the programs.
A simple example is campus escort. The program is, without question, tremendously popular. But does anybody know, with objective certainty, who's using it? Is it 25% residence hall students? Maybe the Residence Hall Association (RHA) or Residential Life (RHLHFS) should be contributing to the program. How many Greeks use it? Maybe they should help secure funding for the program through their alumni networks. But these questions cannot be responsibly raised without information on the constituency and the efficacy of the program. I am aware that pick up and drop off locations are recorded, and perhaps some other data is as well. I would wonder if any Senator has ever asked for a report on the program?
It is only from understanding who is served by a program and why it is used that ASUN leaders can hope to improve and expand existing programs, create new and successful ones, and justify the existence of others.
My proposal in broad terms, is for ASUN to take President Reilly's advice and begin to construct an apparatus within the student government, in partnership with the Student Activities staff, to allow for the review of existing and new programs.
Footnote: During the 75th Session, a law was passed providing a framework to do just this for new programs. I do not believe it has ever been used.
Posts
Meh, it was poorly constructed. He should throw it in the trash can and start a new one.
ReplyDeleteEric, you've done nothing useful. Until you do, don't comment on my blog.
ReplyDeleteOn your footnote, you wouldn't know it since the laws enacted during the 75th Session have been scrubbed from the ASUN website. I wonder who directed that move, and why.
ReplyDeleteI like the new layout.
ReplyDeleteShane, make me.
ReplyDeleteDoesn't it bother anyone that JV2017 calls for more control by the administration over nearly everything? ASUN really wouldn't do anything if this happened, there'd be nothing left. We'd elect people for the sake of electing them.
ReplyDelete