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Key Outcomes and Metrics of the Vision Project

The Vision Statement

We will produce the best-educated citizenry and workforce in the nation. We will be a national leader in research that drives economic development.

Key Outcomes of the Vision Project

What needs to be true for our public campuses to claim success in producing the best-educated citizenry and workforce in the country? The Vision Project asserts that Massachusetts needs to be a national leader in five key educational outcomes:

COLLEGE PARTICIPATION
College-going rates of high school graduates
COLLEGE COMPLETION
Graduation and success rates of the students we enroll
STUDENT LEARNING
Academic achievements by our students on campus-level and national assessments of learning
WORKFORCE ALIGNMENT
Alignment of our degree programs with key areas of workforce need in the state's economy
ELIMINATION OF DISPARITIES
Achievement of comparable outcomes among different ethnic/racial, economic and gender groups

What needs to be true for the University of Massachusetts to be a national leader in research that drives economic development? The Vision Project asserts that Massachusetts needs to achieve and maintain a top national ranking in two key outcomes:

RESEARCH ACTIVITY
Research activity related to economic development
ECONOMIC ACTIVITY
Economic activity derived from research

Public Accountability and Proposed Metrics

The Vision Project proposes to hold public higher education accountable for achieving national leadership in the seven Vision-related outcomes by annually reporting our national standing with respect to each. Our rank will be reported in aggregated form for the three segments (community colleges, state universities, and University of Massachusetts) based on comparisons with groups of peer institutions in other states. It is our intention over time to integrate this report with the currently existing Performance Measurement Report, which already includes information on some of the outcomes associated with the Vision Project. There is still work to be done on how best to bring together these two aspects of public accountability.

These are the metrics that we propose to include in the annual report on the Vision Project. Where possible data will be disaggregated by race/ethnicity, gender and economic status.

College Participation

College readiness of enrolled freshmen who were recent high school graduates (including percent placing into remedial education) disaggregated by Math and English.
College-going rates of recent Massachusetts high school graduates, with national comparisons.
College-going rates of recent Massachusetts high school graduates (public only), with disaggregation by student population groups.
Net migration for college attendance (Massachusetts residents enrolled out of state versus non-residents enrolled in state), with national comparisons.

College Completion

Baccalaureate-seeking

College/university graduation rates from initial institution, with national comparisons and disaggregation by student population groups.
College/university graduation rates from any institution in the system, state or anywhere in the United States.

Associate’s/Certificate-seeking

Community college completion rates for degrees/certificates, with national comparisons and disaggregation by student population groups.
Community college success rates that measure a range of student outcomes (including transfer to four-year institution and continuous enrollment), with national comparisons and disaggregation by student population groups.

Student Learning

Pass rates on a broad range of professional licensure tests, with national comparisons.
Performance on a broad range of graduate school entrance examinations, with national comparisons.
Other assessments of learning to be recommended, to be determined.

Workforce Alignment

Degrees and certificates produced in key occupational areas, with national comparisons.
Degrees and certificates conferred in key occupational areas compared to forecasted growth in Massachusetts.
Student persistence and degree completion in key occupational areas, with disaggregation by student population groups.
Employment, and/or continuing education, of graduates from Massachusetts public higher education.
STEM degrees and certificates produced in key occupational areas, with national comparisons.
Retention and graduation rates in STEM majors.
Number and percent of undergraduate and graduate students pursuing STEM fields.

Research Activity (UMass)

Level of research expenditures, with national comparisons.

Economic Activity (UMass)

Level of licensing income, with national comparisons.

It should be noted that comparative data on other states are not currently available for all items on which we wish to report; however national data are sufficiently available to allow comparisons with other states with respect to at least one important metric associated with each of the Vision-related outcomes, and Massachusetts data can be used to supplement the national data and provide additional detail on our work in each area. It should also be noted that, wherever possible, all Vision Project metrics will be disaggregated by different student population groups, such as race/ethnicity, gender, and economic status. In the summary of metrics provided below, metrics related to the goal of achieving comparable results for subpopulations are included under each of the other outcomes.