In the face of increasing student enrollment, decreasing government appropriations, and a shifting public policy framework, Algonquin College (a two-year, associate degree-granting institution and one of twenty-four colleges of applied arts and technology within the Ontario, Canada higher education system), embarks in 2009 upon a systematic evaluation of academic programs and services. Designed to make Algonquin a more demand-driven and market-focused institution, the Strategic Programs and Services Planning (SPSP) Project is a comprehensive, bottom-up process involving multiple campus constituencies. Specific reporting guidelines and evaluation metrics are developed and applied to all academic program offerings at the college. The institution aspires to use the SPSP project as a vehicle to enhance the rigor and thoroughness of its assessment efforts while also creating a more collaborative institutional culture and a heightened sense of shared responsibility to improve student learning outcomes. The case describes both the substance of the project and the process through which it is executed.
Subjects: Strategic planning
Setting: Two-year, associate degree-granting
Also avaiable: Evaluating Programs and Services at Algonquin College (B)
