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 create 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 Framework for Excellence and related administration and campus activities.
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:
- Develops and maintains an online, publicly accessible system that provides current and historical data on metrics related to student success, faculty productivity, research and technology transfer, finance and productivity, and healthcare.
- Directs research and publishes detailed analyses on special topics.
- Works with policy leaders to align the Framework for Excellence with state and national trends in accountability, and enhance the System's national leadership contributions on these issues.
- Provides management with information and analyses in support of the strategic objectives and institutional improvement efforts of The University of Texas System.
- Provides an integrated approach to institutional research, conducting policy analyses, maintaining a repository of management information, and disseminating information for use by decision-makers.
