As part of an initiative to provide students, parents, legislators, and members of the university community a fair comparison between the institutions, IUP and the other thirteen universities in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education have joined the Voluntary System of Accountability.
Developed cooperatively by the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges and the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, the system communicates information on the undergraduate student experience of four-year institutions through a common web reporting template called the College Portrait.
The purpose, according to Barbara Moore, director of Institutional Research, Planning, and Assessment, is to demonstrate accountability and stewardship to the public, measure educational outcomes to identify effective educational practices, and assemble information that is accessible, understandable and comparable.
“In essence, our participation allows our constituents to make smart consumer choices and judgments about us when they search for the right educational opportunity or when they seek information about us,” Moore said. “Our data will be made available in a snapshot similar to that of other participating institutions.”
As of late March, 227 institutions across the country had joined the Voluntary System of Accountability.
IUP's College Portrait is in the development stages and is expected to be made available to the public in June.
IUP Joins National Accountability Program
Posted on 4/2/08 8:00 PM