Assessment and Analytics in Institutional Transformation (EDUCAUSE Review) | EDUCAUSE - 0 views
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At the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), we believe that process is an important factor in creating cultural change. We thus approach transformational initiatives by using the same scholarly rigor that we expect of any researcher. This involves (1) reviewing the literature and prior work in the area, (2) identifying critical factors and variables, (3) collecting data associated with these critical factors, (4) using rigorous statistical analysis and modeling of the question and factors, (5) developing hypotheses to influence the critical factors, and (6) collecting data based on the changes and assessing the results.
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among predominantly white higher education institutions in the United States, UMBC has become the leading producer of African-American bachelor’s degree recipients who go on to earn Ph.D.’s in STEM fields. The program has been recognized by the National Science Foundation and the National Academies as a national model.
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UMBC has recently begun a major effort focused on the success of transfer students in STEM majors. This effort, with pilot funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, will look at how universities can partner with community colleges to prepare their graduates to successfully complete a bachelor’s degree in a STEM field.
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Assessment and analytics, supported by information technology, can change institutional culture and drive the transformation in student retention, graduation, and success. U.S. higher education has an extraordinary record of accomplishment in preparing students for leadership, in serving as a wellspring of research and creative endeavor, and in providing public service. Despite this success, colleges and universities are facing an unprecedented set of challenges. To maintain the country's global preeminence, those of us in higher education are being called on to expand the number of students we educate, increase the proportion of students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), and address the pervasive and long-standing underrepresentation of minorities who earn college degrees-all at a time when budgets are being reduced and questions about institutional efficiency and effectiveness are being raised.