Metrics that Matter: Integrating Key Performance Indicators into Program Improvement Efforts
College of Arts and Sciences: Spring 2025
Metrics That Matter Update:
Congratulations to the nine programs listed below who were awarded grant funds to explore “Metrics that Matter” focusing on key performance indicators for your program. They are currently in the midst of exploring their programs metrics and identifying strengths and weaknesses.
| Program | Department | Lead Faculty | Cooperating Faculty |
| Africana Studies | Africana Studies | Catherine John-Camara, John McCray, Hannah Francis | |
| Art | Art and Art History | Clarisa Carubin | |
| Art History | Art and Art History | Kathy Quick | |
| Chinese | Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures | Yu (Joyce) Wu, Yiping Zhang, Danwei Li | |
| French | Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures | Leslie Kealhofer Kemp | |
| Journalism | Harrington School of Communication and Media | Daniel Hunt | |
| Professional and Public Writing | Harrington School of Communication and Media | Stephanie West-Puckett, Adrienne Jones Daly | Genoa Shepley |
| Public Relations | Harrington School of Communication and Media | Daniel Hunt | |
| Spanish | Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures | William Stark | Judy de Oliveira, Colleen McAlister |
Background and Goals:
The outcomes assessment reporting timeline recently changed from a two-year to three-year cycle for academic programs within the College of Arts and Sciences. The cycle has traditionally focused on measuring progress on achievement of student learning outcomes at the program level. This grant supports undergraduate academic programs, both accredited and non-accredited, to explore a broader, more holistic approach to student success using Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to complement the assessment of student learning outcomes. These broader measures include metrics critical to academic programs, Colleges, and the University, and can include:
- number of majors
- time to degree completion
- persistence rates (within the program, college and at the university)
- unproductive grade rates
- engagement in alumni-based career readiness classes
Examining KPIs such as these, across various student groups (e.g., persistence rates or unproductive grade rates by race/ethnicity, first-gen status, Pell eligibility), ensures that programs understand how all students are progressing and provides an opportunity to design interventions so that all students can succeed.
Participation Includes:
I. During the semester (Spring 2025): Three one-hour sessions designed to scaffold participants through the steps of completing a KPI roadmap. The sessions will be in person, with dates/times TBD depending on participant availability. Participants may also request individualized consultations in addition to the scheduled sessions to support the completion of their roadmap.
- Session 1: Introduction to the grant and KPIs (February)
- Session 2: How to use dashboards to examine program strengths/weakness (March)
- Session 3: Setting benchmarks and planning interventions to increase student success; setting timelines for evaluating progress on goals (April)
II. At the conclusion of the semester (Spring 2025): Grant recipients will submit their program KPI Roadmap which summarizes their progress on developing a process to integrate KPI’s into their program improvement efforts (due June 1, 2025). The roadmap will be formatted as a template document and the sessions will walk participants through how to complete it.
III. Going forward: Faculty participating in this grant will collaborate with faculty leading the outcomes assessment reporting process for the next scheduled learning outcomes assessment report (suggestions and guidance will be provided). In that report, participants will be expected to submit a brief summary update on the progress of their KPI roadmap (cohort I, May 2027; cohort II, May 2026).
Registration Closed: January 2025