Introduction

As a large land-grant, and Carnegie Classification Research 1 institution, Auburn University has many administrative support units designed to ensure that the university is able to effectively fulfill its mission to “improv[e] the lives of the people of Alabama, the nation, and the world.” Across campus, each of these units engages in continuous improvement by identifying objectives that are aligned with the university’s mission and strategic plan, meaningfully measuring the extent to which those objectives are reached, and using this data to inform the next year’s planning and improvement.

Scope of Administrative Support Units

Fulfilling Auburn University’s mission requires the entire institution to work collectively and cohesively. For the purposes of assessment or program evaluation, there are four key areas of interest:

1. Instruction, as described in Standards 8.2.a and 8.2.b,
2. Academic and student support services, as described in Standards 8.2.c, 12.1, and 12.2,
3. Library and learning/information resources, as described in Standards 11.1, 11.2, and 11.3, and
4. Administrative support units, as discussed in this narrative.

For the purposes of this discussion, we define administrative support units as those outside of degree programs and library services and those that are not explicitly student-facing in their day-to-day operations. Despite sometimes not being directly related to Auburn’s academic mission, these units nevertheless serve critical functions within the broader university structure, including in the areas of finance, communication and marketing, facilities maintenance, human resources, and transportation, as well as others. The majority of administrative support units report to the University President, the Executive Vice President, the Vice President for Business & Finance and Chief Financial Officer, and the Senior Vice President for Advancement.

Below, Table 7.3-1 includes a list of all the units included in this category; the attached documentation includes each unit’s website and its 2021-2022 Assessment Report.

Table 7.3-1. Administrative Support Units and 2021-2022 Assessment Reports

Administrative Support Unit Review

Overview

Administrative support units at Auburn University engage in ongoing planning, assessment, and reporting. Each year, typically prior to the start of a new academic year, each administrative support unit sets measurable goals or outcomes they intend to achieve for the upcoming year, outline meaningful ways to ensure whether or not those goals/outcomes were met, plan strategies for accomplishing those goals/outcomes, and reflect on results to improve services. This process is a means of ensuring continuous improvement in units that are not part of the processes for academic program review or student outcomes assessment.

Detailed Process

To begin each academic year, an Assessment Fellow from the Office of Academic Insight consults with all administrative support units to provide guidance on the formation of the year’s goals/outcomes. Through these consultations, units are encouraged to identify goals/outcomes that are appropriate to the specific function of the unit, explicitly measurable goals/outcomes (rather than simple “outputs” or other expected duties), and aligned to larger divisional and institutional objectives. For example, units often use goals from the university’s strategic plan as the basis for their unit’s outcomes, as is the case for units reporting to Auburn’s Chief Financial Officer (e.g., the Office of Employment Services, Budget & Business Operations, Financial Services/Controller). This practice illustrates alignment across planning at multiple levels within the organization.

The vice president to whom each unit reports has the choice of whether to engage in planning and assessment with each unit individually or to consider them collectively based on the overall mission and function of the vice president’s area. For example, units reporting to the Executive Vice President (e.g., the Air Transportation Department, Trademark Management & Licensing, and the University Ombudsperson) are so distinct in their daily operations that they each develop distinct assessment reports. Conversely, after the reorganization of Alumni Affairs, Office of Development, and the Office of Communications and Marketing under the leadership of the Senior Vice President for Advancement7 in 2021, those three units set outcomes and assess results collectively as part of a larger effort to coordinate the division’s functions.

With outcomes in place, units then identify ways to measure whether the outcomes have been met and create plans for achieving these outcomes over the course of the year. Particular emphasis is placed on meaningful direct measures that align with the stated outcomes, though some indirect measures are still valuable and are included where appropriate.

After the academic year has concluded, typically in early summer, units then complete their annual assessment report by including the results of their goals/outcomes using the measures they identified prior to the beginning of the year. Using this information, units can clearly determine whether outcomes were achieved and identify possible areas for improvement in the upcoming assessment cycle.

Upon completion at the end of the assessment cycle, each unit submits their assessment report to the vice president to whom their unit reports and to the SACSCOC Liaison as part of their routine record-keeping processes. As a result, each vice president is able to review every unit’s documentation for accomplishing their goals during the year.

Improvements Based on Review of Administrative Support Units

Ultimately, the goal of this annual process is to build a culture of continuous improvement driven by meaningful data from year to year. While examples of this are already embedded into the 2021-2022 assessment reports, two examples are highlighted here for convenience.

The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art

Over two years of self-study and assessment, the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art focused their attention on issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion within their organization. As a result, they developed the following concrete, measurable diversity-related goals:

1. Recruit/hire/retain diverse talent, ensuring robust onboarding and ample professional development opportunities.
2. Post job opportunities on at least six diversity portals.
3. Increase by 20 the number of art acquisitions by people of color.

At the end of the 2021-2022 Academic Year (AY), the Museum was able to report the following results of these efforts:

1. After completing a 2-year process resulting in the first staff reorganization since 2003, the Museum has recruited two excellent new staff members, one of whom self-identifies diversely as Jewish.
2. Additional recruiting is underway, and the Museum has intentionally posted positions on numerous diversity portals including AfricanAmericanHires.com, AllBilingualJobs.com, AllHispanicJobs.com, AllLGBTJobs.com, AllSpanishJobs.com, AsianHires.com, and DisabilityJobs.net, through the American Alliance of Museums; additionally, as conference and other travel opportunities re-emerge, staff has been in California, Florida, and New York, as well as locally, for professional development, public speaking, and art acquisition.
3. The Museum purposefully acquired 125 objects of art created by women and people of color, increasing holdings in those categories by 53 percent; began developing an alt-text protocol for the website, which now features a portal with all objects photographed and searchable; and approved two (2) object loans for exhibitions in Madrid, Spain, and a traveling exhibition assembled by The Mint Museum in Charlotte, NC.

As the assessment report illustrates, the Museum was able to use existing data to formulate concrete outcomes, dedicate resources to these objectives, and report specific, quantifiable results.

Human Resources, Office of Employment Services

Using the results from a 2019 assessment, the Office of Employment Services (a unit within the larger structure of Human Resources) identified 153 Temporary Employment Services (TES) employees who were working in long-term positions across 25 different university divisions. By definition, a TES position should be an assignment of limited duration and does not have a continuing employment relationship with the university beyond its limited assignment.  Temporary employment is appropriate when needed to complete work in the absence of a regular employee and/or assist with departmental or unit operational needs in cases of special projects, abnormal or peak workloads, seasonal work, or emergencies. TES employees are not eligible for group insurance (including, but not limited to health, dental, vision, and life), paid leave and holidays, and other fringe benefits as determined by the university, unless required by law. The result being that 153 TES employees were in positions without access to benefits for longer than is typical.

Employment Services thus began the process of individually assessing the roles of the 153 long-term TES employees to determine whether they could or should be transitioned into a full-time, benefits-eligible position. At the end of the 2021-2022 AY, Employment Services was able to report the following results:

1. Transition - Transition the TES employee into a regular position (full-time, part-time, or limited term).

2. Post & Recruit – Post an official university position and competitively recruit to fill.  The TES employee was eligible to apply for the posted position and continue to work in the TES position until the position was filled.

3. Scale Back – Scale the TES employee’s hours to fewer than 1000; thereby, allowing the individual to remain a TES employee.

4. End the Assignment – The duties of the assignment were transferred to another position within the department (if applicable) and the TES assignment was not back-filled by hiring a new TES employee, i.e., the position no longer exists.

Additional actions that were taken:

1. Individuals were discovered to have previously retired from another State of Alabama system. These individuals were then instructed to self-identify to the Retirement Systems of Alabama and have remained as TES employees as Retirees.
2. Three individuals enrolled at the university and were transitioned to student employees.

Ultimately, this process encouraged affected divisions to assess their use of TES employees and recruit for, fill, and/or close positions, increasing access to benefits for employees who were previously designated as TES and appointing permanent staff to open positions as appropriate. Based on these results, a fourth phase of the assessment is slated to begin in 2022.

Institution and Unit Strategic Planning Processes

Auburn University engages in ongoing assessment and evaluation processes that include a systematic review of institutional goals and outcomes consistent with its mission, as addressed at length in the response to Standard 7.1 (Institutional planning). These processes are integrated through the university, division, and unit level as evidenced by the administrative unit review process described here. The University’s strategic plan3 establishes areas for academic and administrative units to focus their efforts and resources, creating a solid foundation for the unit-level planning and assessment illustrated in the attached assessment reports. Additional evidence of unit-level progress toward institutional goals is included in Standard 7.1, specifically within sample administrative unit strategic plans and annual reporting on unit-level key performance indicators.

Conclusion

Auburn University identifies expected outcomes of its administrative support services and demonstrates, through unit-level assessment and evaluation, the extent to which those outcomes are achieved. The 2019-2024 Strategic Plan identifies both broad areas for administrative units to focus their efforts and resources and specific unit-level key performance indicators (KPIs) that help mark progress toward key institution-level goals. The results of annual administrative unit assessments are used to identify areas for continuous improvement that can be measured in future assessment cycles.