Announcements:
The UT System Productivity Dashboard. Phase 1 of this project is live to the public. Phase 1 focuses on 10 core metrics:
- enrollment
- degrees
- graduation rates
- post-grad success
- TLCs per T/TT faculty
- research expenditures
- gross revenue from intellectual property
- patient care net revenue
- cost per degree and cost per FTE
- endowments
The first phase offers drill-down capability on the data to the institutional level where available. There is also the ability to dynamically creat your own tables and graphs on some metrics. Additional metrics and additional drill-down capability will be added in later phases. Read the news release. Visit the Dashboard.
We're Talking About It. We wanted to share our journey through this dashboard project, so we started a blog. The blog focuses on what's going on with the project--successes, frustrations, and next steps. What we truly want is to build a community that discusses the issues of data collection, analysis, and presentation. And how that data plays a part in policy decision-making. What are others who are undergoing this sort of project doing?
It's also a forum to look at data more informally. For example, we've offered sneak peeks on enrollment and graduation rates data. We've looked briefly at some census data. Often the information will be more formally and fully analyzed and presented in official publications, but the blog allows us a place to get it out there more quickly and in smaller, more digestible pieces.
Read the blog. Join the discussion.
Now on twitter! As part of our efforts to get information out there and to start a conversation, we are also on twitter as @UTFactsOnline. Follow us there for project updates, short data bites, and links to new blog posts, reports, etc. We'll stick mostly to data and institutional research-related issues, but we'll also share interesting stories in the world of education or from our 15 campuses. You can also follow @utsystem for the latest UT System news.
Mission
The UT System Office of Strategic Initiatives provides leadership, staffing, and resources to foster alignment, manage development, coordinate initiatives, and track progress and impact of the UT System strategic plan and related administration and campus activities. The Office of Institutional Studies and Policy Analysis connects data analysis with policy and decision making.
The office chairs and staffs strategic initiative advisory groups and leads improvements in the accountability and assessment framework, including development of peer comparisons and benchmarking studies. It aligns institutional studies and policy analysis with management information and policy needs of the Board, Chancellor, legislative requests, and with strategic and functional activities of UT System offices and campuses.
The goal of these activities is to support evidence-based decision-making by fostering cross-System focus, alignment, and effective communication about the key goals, priorities, and outcomes of UT System activities.
Vision
The UT System establishes goals and implements priorities to achieve excellence aligned with clear and specific plans that engage people throughout the organization, including institutions, System offices, and the Board of Regents. Through an integrated approach to planning and accountability, the System takes actions and communicates effectively its areas of emphasis, specific priorities, initiatives, and accomplishments to demonstrate the value that it provides in serving Texans.
Chief responsibilities
To fulfill its mission, OSI:
- Leads implementation and management of the 10-year UT System strategic plan to foster alignment among institution, System, and Board planning and analysis of progress. Campus strategic plans align with System-wide goals and priorities, but exhibit considerable flexibility in format and content to reflect the distinctive missions of each institution. These plans, more over, align with the System's accountability framework and review of executive work plans, so that progress on key priorities is tracked, analyzed, and communicated widely to inform future improvement efforts.
- Coordinates annual schedule of special topic strategic and accountability reports.
- Coordinates and facilitates development of System Administration strategic plans, in collaboration with System offices.
- Directs research and publishes the UT System's annual accountability and performance report and related studies.
- Works with policy leaders to align the UT System framework with state and national trends in accountability, and enhance the System's national leadership contributions on these issues.
- Institutional Studies and Policy Analysis - Provides management information and analyses in support of the strategic objectives and institutional improvement efforts of the University of Texas System. Responsibilities of the office include providing an integrated approach to institutional research, conducting policy analyses, maintaining a repository of management information, and disseminating information for use by decision-makers.
