Guide to Statistics for Systematic Program Review Self-Studies

Some of the statistics needed for SPR self-studies can only be produced by the Colleges or Departments themselves, while others will be provided from central sources. This Guide to Statistics provides information on centrally available statistics, an overview of the types of information to be provided by the College or Department itself, and advice about some other types of information. Institutional Analysis is referred to as 'IA'.

Information Provided from Central Sources

University Statistics

·         Attachment I identifies the information available in the University Statistics Book.

·         Editions from 1996 onwards are available on-line at http://ia.usask.ca/ (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader). Effective 2000, statistics are posted on the website as they become available. Printed editions are available up to 1999, and may be found in Deans' and Department Head offices and the main Library.

·         Most of the statistics in each edition are provided for a five-year period.

·         Contact Institutional Analysis directly (e-mail contact@ia.usask.ca, phone 966-7812) for assistance in interpreting the University Statistics and for electronic (Excel) files of the data (available on request in special cases).

Graduate Program Report

·         The College of Graduate Studies and Research provides a CGSR Graduate Program Report to assist units in preparing their self-study. Any discrepancies with the unit's own data should be discussed with the CGSR before the report is appended to the self-study document. A sample table of contents is attached (Attachment II).

Library Report

·         The University Libraries will provide a report on Library resources available to support the program. Program heads should contact the Director of Libraries directly to request this report. The report should be made available to the reviewers on-site.

Course Inventory System (CIS)

·         CIS reports provide detailed and summary level statistics on instructional activity for every registered course (or portion thereof) taught by each instructor (scheduled instruction only). They are produced each year and are available in Deans' and Department Head offices (but not in the Library).

·         For assistance in interpreting the CIS reports, contact Linda Hunt, Institutional Analysis (phone 966-7815, e-mail linda.hunt@usask.ca).

·         The CIS reports include the following items:

o        Course Inventory Detail

o        Department Instructor List

o        Scheduled Instructional Activity Summary

o        Instructor Detail Report

o        Department Instructor Summary Report

o        Instructor Profile

o        Instructor Resource Matrix

·         Please bear in mind that substantial time and effort is required to produce replacement copies of CIS reports (it isn't simply a matter of photocopying!), and so if departments/colleges have mislaid reports, every effort should be made to locate them before submitting a request for replacements.

·         Instructional Resource Matrix (IRM) Reports: Reports from the IRM database of the CIS will be provided separately by IA. These reports assist in understanding interactions among programs and departmental teaching loads, and offer a different perspective on 'service teaching' from the Statistics Book, since they are based on source of funding (who paid the instructor) rather than on course label. IRM Unit Percent Reports identify the programs to which a budgetary unit provided instruction, while IRM Program Percent Reports identify the departments and other budgetary units which paid for instruction to students in given programs. Data are available for Regular Session scheduled instruction only, and the program reports are only available for certain types of programs.

Other Sources of Information

APPC Programme Audit

·         The APPC Programme Audit (1995) contains information on programs, with statistics in the Key Activity Indicators appendix. The main report is available on the Web at http://www.usask.ca/appc, and a hard copy of the Indicators is available from IA on request. Most of the statistics in the Programme Audit relate to the years 1989/90 to 1993/94; updates are not currently available.

Space Management

·         Section 11 of the University Statistics provides College-level statistics on assigned instructional and research space. A more detailed report may be available from the Office of Space Management in the Facilities Management Division.

University-wide Student Outcomes Survey 1999

·         A survey of the graduates of 1994 was carried out in 1999 to obtain information on graduates' employment and further education and to determine their degree of satisfaction with their U of S education. The main report is available on the Council Website. The database is currently being analysed at the program level, where possible, and department heads are being provided with a complete set of statistics for their programs. Priority has been given to programs that are about to undergo SPR; others will follow. It should be noted that sample sizes limit the usefulness of many of these statistics, and programs are strongly encouraged to conduct their own surveys (see next section).

Special Analyses by IA

·         If the above reports do not contain sufficient detail for your requirements, or if other data are needed, IA may be able to generate additional analyses (e-mail contact@ia.usask.ca, phone 966-7812). Please note that requests for statistics are sometimes more complicated than they appear, are not always feasible, and may be delayed by other institutional priorities.

·         A 'standard' data package is under development for SPR purposes. Suggestions for the content and format of this package are welcome.

Advice re. some Types of Information

Student Surveys

·         Student outcomes surveys are not required by SPR, but they are strongly recommended for the feedback they provide on student satisfaction and 'success' after graduation.

·         Departments and Colleges should carry out these surveys themselves, but may be assisted by the SPR survey templates available on the SPR Website at http://www.usask.ca/vpacademic/spr/surveytemplates.html.

·         The SPR templates provide a complete set of tested questions relevant to SPR, including general and program-specific options, so that units can quickly generate questionnaires relevant to their own programs.

·         The SPR templates have been pre-approved by the ethics committee, so applications for ethics approval are not required. However, a copy of the questionnaire must be sent to the Office of Research Services for information, and the survey Guidelines must be followed.

·         Templates for employer surveys are not provided, as they tend to be highly program-specific, and do not require ethics approval.

Research

·         It is usually recommended that Departments and Colleges use their own statistics on research grants and contracts, as they will be more comfortable with the numbers and will be able to explain them to the reviewers. They should provide, at a minimum, sources and types of funding, amount of funding, and number of grants/contracts.

·         If Departments or Colleges wish to use central statistics for comparison with other units, the following are available in Section 9 of the University Statistics: total research revenue by department; college-level breakdown of research revenue by source of funding (e.g. industry-Sask, NSERC, provincial agencies, etc.); and department-level breakdown of research expenditure by type of expenditure (e.g. travel, salaries, etc.).

·         As of 1999/2000, a department-level breakdown of research revenue by source of funding is also available.

·         Several caveats must be noted re. the use of statistics from the central research accounts:

o        They are based on revenue and expenditure activity in research accounts in a fiscal year, and so do not reflect the size of 'a grant'.

o        They credit all funds to the department/college of the principal investigator, and none to the department/college of co-investigators, if any.

o        As of 1999/2000, research statistics are calculated using a new methodology and so are not comparable to previous years.

Information to be Provided by the College/Department

Much of the information required for the SPR self-study will be provided by the faculty and staff associated with the programs under review. In departmentalized colleges, some information should be provided by the Dean's Office. The following is an indication of the types of information Departments and Colleges should expect to provide themselves or in conjunction with central sources, organized by self-study section. (This list is not intended to be exhaustive. Units should read the Self-Study Guides and Advice to Units for more details, and should consult the SPR office if they are unsure which items to include.)

Introduction

·         College/Dept mission

·         Programs and Degrees offered

·         History and description of program under review

·         Program administration

Curriculum

·         Program objectives

·         Curriculum: outline, admission requirements, courses, currency, breadth, flexibility, opportunities for synthesis, application and integration of knowledge, etc.

·         Course syllabi

·         Methods of evaluation of student performance

·         Program reviews and revisions

·         Education equity

·         Accreditation

Faculty

·         Number and type of faculty and other academic staff

·         Teaching assignments

·         Graduate student supervision

·         Qualifications (including use of sessionals, adjuncts, etc.)

·         Scholarly work (research grants/contracts; contribution to discipline; publications, exhibitions, etc.)

·         Scholarly/professional honours

·         Involvement with academic and professional organizations

·         Professional practice

·         Public service and extension

·         Instructional development

·         Faculty CVs

Learning Environment

·         Environment: evaluation by students, effectiveness of instruction, education equity, advising, practical experiences, international perspective, connection to faculty scholarship, etc.

·         Standards for admission, promotion, graduation

·         Course load

·         Student demographics

Infrastructure

·         Revenue: operating budget, other funds

·         Support staff

·         Space, facilities, equipment (including IT)

·         Library resources

·         Scholarships/bursaries

·         Administrative structure and organization of College/Department/program

·         Graduate: use of double-numbered and special topics courses; nature of qualifying and comprehensive exams (if any); advisory committee process

Student Outcomes

·         Student satisfaction

·         Employer satisfaction

·         Graduates' 'success' in employment, further education, licensure, scholarships, etc.

·         Degrees awarded

·         Retention and Completion

·         Graduate: scholarly activity of graduate students

Demand

·         Enrolment: total, geographic origin, trends

·         Applications/admissions

·         Calibre of students

·         Employment opportunities; prospects for further education

·         Demand for service teaching

Efficiency

·         Faculty/student ratio; support staff/student ratio

·         Class section sizes

·         Service teaching

·         Involvement of students in faculty research

·         Collaborative resources

·         Contributions to research, service, extension, administrative activities (internal and external)

Unique Features and Relevance to the Province

·         Unique features (in Province, region, country; unique approach; other)

·         Relevance to the Province: economic and cultural contributions, availability of services and expertise, extension and public service activities

Summary

·         Strengths and weaknesses of program and unit

·         Relationship among programs in unit

·         Plans for changes

General Note
Self-study documents should indicate the sources of all statistics, whether they are from central University sources (e.g. Statistics Book, CIS, CGSR, Registrar, etc.), from the Department/College's own records, or from an external source.

 

Attachment I: University Statistics Book
http://IA.usask.ca/statistics

The following items are included in each Statistics Book (subject to change):

 

Attachment II:
CGSR GRADUATE PROGRAM REPORT: SAMPLE TABLE OF CONTENTS

·         The report will be provided by the College of Graduate Studies and Research approx. 5 months prior to site visit, to assist with self-study preparation. It should be appended to the self-study report, and commented on in the report text. Units are encouraged to discuss discrepancies and queries with CGSR as early as possible.

·         Sources are noted in italics.

·         Report structure will vary slightly by program (not all sections below are applicable to all programs).

·         Data will be provided for the most recent five-year period.

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