Leadership and Foundations-OIRE

I had another opportunity to sit in on a Institutional Effectiveness (IE) report help session again. The more time I spend sitting down with units across campus and discussing their IE reports, the more comfortable I am becoming with the verbage and process. The process of constructing an IE report, begans with a units annual report, in which we pull pertinent information from and insert this information into the 4-column matrix. I sat in on a unit that was more academic based versus research base, and I was able to notice the similiarities and differences between the two units. One thing always remain consant, "How are we improving ourselves. This improvment can come in the form of student retention, curriculum, or staff retention. The ability to review a units annual report, or even my own annual report is essential in proving a departments worth. The ability to review annual reports from individuals and compose a clear and concise effectiveness report will increase your chances of staying around longer.

On another note, now that we are a little over the halfway point of the practicum experience, my supervisor and I had a sit down evaluation. It put into perspective for me, the importance of our Learning Contract. As we sat there and reviewed my goals and objectives, and some of my learning outcomes, I began to realize how this Learning Contract really serves as a road map for your entire experience. Although I know what I want to get out of my practicum, the only means by which for my supervisor to know what I'm expecting, is via my learning contract. As my supervisor and I sat down and reviewed each goal and objective, we placed each one on a timeline/calendar. This was an effort to make sure each was completed, and nothing was overloooked. After the review of my contract, and seeing the strategic plan for executing the goals that were listed in my learning contract, I am confident that we will hit each and everyone of them, and this will be a true learning experience.