Proposal for presentation of the initiatives proposed by the Working Group on Excellence in Delivery and Productivity
(from Board Docket April 2, 2004 page 47)

The UO proposes a framework for presenting the Work Group’s 6 initiatives that illustrates the essential role of a Statewide Integrated Data System in converting them from concept to reality. This framework does not change the intent of the initiatives, but emphasizes their synergy as a powerfully integrated unit. Together, they represent an enterprise that will simultaneously remove bureaucratic impediments, communicate the richness and variety of Oregon Higher Education to the public, and help students and advisors design educational experiences that are both individualized and efficient. The attached diagram and brief explanations below summarize our thinking – namely, that the creation of a statewide data system is central to everything else. Each of the initiatives will be enhanced by it, and some are dependent on it.

Primary initiative: 1. Create a statewide K-16 Student Data System

The creation of a statewide K-16 Integrated Data System is the driver for all other initiatives and should be the highest priority. Two specific initiatives are included: 1. creation of an electronic transcript including state assessments, and 2. development of degree audit and course articulation systems that would operate within and between all Oregon colleges and universities. The electronic transcript will allow early test results to guide students and their advisors, and will greatly reduce the clerical work associated with college admissions and subsequent transfer. The degree audit/course articulation systems will allow students and advisors to track progress toward degree within a single institution, and will facilitate transfer among institutions by determining the fit between completed or contemplated course work and degree programs elsewhere.

Such Integrated Data Systems are in wide use in at least 14 other states (Ohio, Illinois, New York and Florida, for instance), where they allow for efficient sharing of individual student records and also provide the capacity for rapid synthesis and analysis of grouped information. The System we propose for Oregon would act as a powerful hub, connecting all of the other initiatives and providing a mechanism for progress on each of them.

The other initiatives: 2 through 6

2. Increase successful transfer of community college students to OUS campuses via Dual Enrollment and a Transferable General Education Core

• Dual Admission and Enrollment programs would be enhanced if individual student data (electronic transcripts) could be shared for admission, advising, and financial aid award purposes. This automation eliminates red tape for students and saves institutions money and staff time. Extensive Dual Admission and Enrollment Programs also depend on sophisticated course articulation and degree audit systems for accurate articulation of academic work and tracking progress, through multiple institutions, toward a degree.

• A Transferable General Education Core will facilitate transfer directly, by eliminating the need for detailed course-by-course articulation for this key body of foundational coursework. An integrated data system will be helpful, however. It will provide a convenient source of information for the design of General Education curricula in accord with statewide criteria and will provide a vehicle for publicizing the excellence of this part of Oregon higher education.

3. Increase successful transfer of community college students to

OUS campuses via articulation to an academic major

• Academic advising will be greatly enhanced through implementation of a course articulation system. Through such systems, students themselves can do much of the routine checking of course articulation. As a result, advisors are freed for the crucial work that computers can’t do: inspiring students to take on challenge and helping them think through the choice of a major or profession.

4. Expand the use of on-line courses

• The course articulation system would include on-line courses, as well as standard ones, and search functions would help students find the on-line offerings they need on any Oregon campus.

• Enrollment in on-line courses could be accurately tracked to assess the reach and impact of this educational approach.

• Expansion of on-line offerings would provide rigorous course offerings in schools that cannot now afford to offer these courses themselves. Thus, the potential to earn college credit, or even advanced credit, would exist in high schools statewide.

5. Ensure that all qualified Oregon high school students have an

opportunity to take rigorous courses in high school

• Rigorous high school courses prepare qualified students to begin work at either a community college or university, or both (through dual enrollment).

• High School accelerated course information can be effectively shared via the Data System with institutions of higher education, allowing for fast and accurate evaluation for award of credit or advanced placement.

6. Increase the successful retention of OUS undergraduates to degree

completion.

• By tracking student coursework patterns through a degree audit system, it will be possible to recognize signs of difficulty before academic problems become severe. Timely intervention based on this information will help students stay on target for a degree.

• Retention and graduation information will be tracked centrally, regardless of where the student earns credit or where the degree is awarded. This data sharing will allow better identification of the patterns of successful students – information that can guide the design of better retention efforts.

Submitted April 8, 2004 by:

Martha Pitts

Director of Admissions

Assistant Vice President for Enrollment Management

University of Oregon

Karen U. Sprague

Professor of Biology

Vice Provost for Undergraduate Studies

University of Oregon