The Office of Institutional Effectiveness coordinates the assessment, planning, and evaluation cycles that promote accountability for the continuous improvement of programs and services at all levels of the institution. We support our colleagues in this process through the clarification of goals and the identification of measurable expected outcomes. The evaluation of actual results against expected outcomes prompts the College to affirm or modify its strategies for Mission fulfillment.
Office of Institutional Effectiveness
Patrick Henry College
10 Patrick Henry College
Purcellville, VA 20132
Phone: 540.441.8060
Fax: 540.441.8069
Email: IE@phc.edu
Students, alumni, faculty, staff, and other key constituents are periodically invited to communicate with College leaders by means of surveys, focus groups, or other assessment methodologies, including the Noel Levitz® Student Satisfaction SurveyTM, the CIRP Freshmen Survey®, and alumni surveys. Certain student learning assessments are administered to measure attainment of learning objectives for the Core curriculum or other academic programs, such as the ETS®Proficiency Profile, Project SAILS® (Standardized Assessment of Information Literacy Skills), or ETS® Major Field Tests. Students, faculty, staff, alumni, and other key constituents regularly contribute to the body of assessment data that campus leaders use to inform improvement plans.
In collaboration with offices throughout the College, the Office of Institutional Effectiveness conducts research that campus leaders use to measure mission fulfillment, including research on enrollment, finance, financial aid, faculty loading, and library resources, among other core functions. This information is reported to accreditors, state regulators, in institutional publications, and other databases for a variety of purposes.
A necessary element of the effectiveness strategy at PHC is the establishment of expected outcomes for certain Mission critical research and assessment items. Meaningful expected outcomes (or benchmarks) provide context to assessment data and are useful for identifying opportunities for continued improvement. Expected outcomes are identified by the relevant person(s) on Assessment Plans.
