The Office of Planning and Institutional Research performs numerous activities in actualizing its mission. These activities include, but are not limited to:

Strategic Planning

• Supports Villanova’s planning efforts at the university, college, departmental and unit level.
• Provides technical assistance, instruction, meeting facilitation and coordination to academic and administrative units, as requested, regarding development and implementation of stratergic plans.
• Employs survey research, institutional effectiveness and student learning outcomes assessment support, accreditation work, Course and Teacher Surveys (CATS), comparative research, and institutional research and statistical analysis in support of University planning efforts.
• Conducts ongoing environmental scanning in support of University planning.
• Serves on President’s Strategic Planning Steering Committee.
• Tracks strategic plan development and implementation.

Institutional Research

• Designing, and conducting as appropriate, special studies and evaluations
• Serving as a major point of contact for responding to external data reporting mandates and requests
•  Assisting other Villanova units develop research and evaluation activities, including study design, protocol and survey development, statistical analysis and report preparation
• Performing other special studies and activities as requested by the President and other key administrators.

Survey Research

• Surveying key constituent groups to support planning, assessment, accreditation and ongoing program improvement.
• Assisting Villanova units to conduct survey research and evaluation activities, including study design,instrument development and distribution,statistical analysis,and report preparation.

Assessment

• Serves on and supports the University-wide Outcomes Assessment Committee.
• Works directly the Vice President for Academic Affairs and the College Deans.
• Conducts survey research, including the systematic survey cycle.
• Administers the Course and Teacher Survey (CATS).
• Conducts statistical analyses at the university, college and departmental levels.
• Provides technical assistance to colleges and departments in support of their assessment efforts. Serves on college level committees as invited.
• Conduct assessment workshops.
• Coordinates University level accreditation activities.

Qualitative Research

• Focus Groups
• Observation
• Individual Interviews
• Garnering best practices

Course and Teacher Surveys (CATS)

• Every semester, administer, analyze and prepare reports of student perceptions of each academic classes
• Fully participate in the modification of CATS forms and report protocols
• Conduct ad hoc studies using the CATS data base to answer pertinent research questions.