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Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Planning - George Mason University
George Mason University Mason
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Planning

Data with purpose. The qualitative and quantitative information OIEP curates, analyzes, and publishes illuminates trends, forecasts potential and contributes to the ongoing planning initiatives of the university including strategic institutional goals, program planning and innovation, and student success.

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institutional Effectiveness

How do we know what we are doing works? Defining and assessing student learning outcomes, engaging in rigorous program review, conducting surveys to understand experience and satisfaction and student evaluations of teaching are all ways in which Mason can learn more about how we are doing and what we can improve.

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Mason's Assessment Framework
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Data Analytics and Research

Want to learn more about Mason? Explore the reports here to learn more about applicants to graduates, survey outcomes, human resources and planning.

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Student Evaluations of Teaching

In consultation with the University Effective Teaching Committee, Faculty Senate Chair, the Provost, the Registrar and ITS, the Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Planning has selected a new way to conduct student evaluations of teaching. This online format will meet institutional needs in an environmentally friendly and fiscally responsible way. The evaluation software Blue by Explorance was chosen for its functionality, ease of use and demonstrated success at many intuitions, including several in Virginia.

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Student Success

What does the student lifecycle at Mason look like? From where do our applicants come? Where do our admitted students enroll? Once enrolled, how many students are retained to the on the path to graduation? What are the career outcomes? Learn more with these resources.

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Resources

Find how to use our reports, answers to common questions and how to request data not already available

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About Us
About Us

OIEP advances the strategic goals of George Mason University through collaborations and partnerships that engage stakeholders (senior leaders/administration, faculty, staff and students) in data-informed strategic, operational and tactical decisions. OIEP does this by capitalizing on our experience and professional judgment drawing upon quantitative and qualitative analytic information.

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FAQs

Student Evaluations of Teaching (SETs)
  • Will evaluations be administered in summer 2020 for all courses?
    Yes!
  • Is Mason still using paper-based evaluations?
    No. Starting in summer 2020, student evaluations of teaching will be conducted online for all courses at Mason.
  • How will students and faculty know when it is time to do the evaluations?
    OIEP will send emails to students and faculty to let them know when the evaluations are available. In addition, there will be messaging on Blackboard.
Assessment and Tk20
  • How do I get access to Tk20?
    Have your department or unit send a request to oiep@gmu.edu.
  • Does my degree program or administrative unit need to conduct and report on assessments every year?
    Yes. All academic degree programs and administrative units need to participate in annual assessment. Assessment resources and reporting requirements are available on the OIEP website.
  • Do I need permission from my students to submit their work for assessment?
    Student work may be used for institutional assessment purposes without student permission. Consent is only needed when using student data or work products in a generalizable way, such as in professional presentations or publications–in which case, IRB approval is required. The policy on using student work in assessment is posted in Mason’s University Catalog, under Student Rights and Responsibilities.
Enrollment
  • What’s the difference between BOT, Census, and End of Term?
    Beginning of Term (BOT) data is pulled the day after the last day to add classes.
    Census data is pulled approximately six weeks after the semester has started.
    End of Term (EOT) data is pulled approximately four weeks after the semester has ended.
  • Which data pull is used for official reporting?
    Census data is used for external reporting and internal trend reports, unless noted.
  • What is FTE and how is it calculated?
    FTE is full-time equivalent and is obtained by dividing the total number of undergraduate, first professional(law), and graduate credit hours per term by 15, 15 and 12 respectively. The number of FTE students in summer, and annualized regular sessions (fall and spring semesters) is obtained by dividing the total number of undergraduate, first professional, and graduate credit hours per session by 30, 30 and 24 respectively.
Degrees
  • If a major/degree program has moved from one college/school to another, where will the historical data be reported?
    The college mapping for each major is based on the most recent structure.
Retention
  • How is a cohort defined?
    A cohort consists of full-time, first-time (freshmen) degree-seeking students who enrolled in the fall semester.
  • Does this cohort include transfer students?
    No.
  • Are there retention reports for populations other than full-time, first-year students?
    Each year, OIEP prepares reports for first-time freshmen, transfer undergraduates, transfer baccalaureates, and graduate students (master’s and doctoral) for the university and by college. These reports are distributed to the respective college deans who can share the data with their colleagues. If you would like retention data not available on our website, please fill out a data request form.
Student Surveys
  • I’m graduating this semester. Is the student exit survey mandatory?
    No. However, it is the official Mason exit survey for all seniors and graduating master’s and PhD students. The information that you provide is important and allows Mason to make program and campus improvements based on student feedback.