The Principles of Accreditation, implemented effective January 1 2004, by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, through which Nova Southeastern University has been regionally accredited since 1971, underscore the importance of educational quality and the effectiveness of an institution in fulfilling its mission:

The concept of quality enhancement is at the heart of the Commission’s philosophy of accreditation; this presumes each member institution is engaged in an ongoing program of improvement and can demonstrate how well it fulfills its stated mission. Although evaluation of an institution’s educational quality and its effectiveness in achieving its mission is a difficult task requiring careful analysis and professional judgement, an institution is expected to document quality and effectiveness in all its major aspects (Principles of Accreditation, p.4).

Nova Southeastern University initiated a formal, systematic Institutional Effectiveness process in the early 1980s with a focus at the academic unit level that addressed multiple aspects of operations, administration, and academic programs. The process subsequently was expanded to encompass assessments of institutional effectiveness at multiple levels throughout the university. In 1993, the university initiated periodic reviews of Critical Success Factors identified in the Strategic Plan. These reviews culminated in production of editions of the document entitled, Annual Review of the Status of Attainment of Critical Success Factors from the Strategic Plan, that were published in 1993, 1994, and 1995. This assessment eventually was replaced, beginning in 1999, by periodic assessments of Strategy Implementation Projects (SIPs) identified in the Strategic Plan 1999-2004, as well as by an assessment of demonstrators of achievement of broad goals delineated in the plan that was undertaken beginning in 2001. In 1995, the institutional effectiveness process was expanded to include administrative service and support units.

The Status Report on Institutional Effectiveness documents produced throughout most of the 1990s, reflected a focus at the level of the academic unit. Beginning in 1999, the approach to assessment of academic institutional components was modified considerably. That year, the focus shifted from the broad academic unit level to the academic program level, as reflected in the status report for 1999. In 2000, the university initiated a review process focusing on the outcomes of student learning at the level of the academic major. All of the status reports produced over the last decade, regardless of level of focus, follow a structured organization that encompasses an outlining of goals, identification of outcome measures used in assessing goal achievement, results of that application, and a discussion of the use of results in subsequent decision-making. This latter aspect of the review ensures a continuous planning-evaluation-planning feedback loop.

The Institutional Effectiveness assessment process assumed a three-tiered form with the establishment in 2001 of a review at the institution-wide level to complement those conducted at the academic unit and administrative unit levels. The institution-wide review addressed the nature and extent of achievement of institutional goals set forth in the Strategic Plan 1999-2004 by identifying multiple demonstrators of goal achievement. Effective with the 2003-2004 cycle, the review of academic programs has been expanded to encompass two components: Academic Program Review and the Assessment of Student Learning Outcomes at the Level of the Major, the latter representing the process that was initiated in 2000, as indicated above. Academic Program Review is a new effort designed to incorporate the assessment of learning outcomes as one of a variety of program assessments, including evaluation by external consultants.