Improve Institution-wide Infrastructure Investment

The University has used assessment to improve institution-wide infrastructure investment. The areas explored in this section of the report are significantly different in their missions, their institutional history and location, and their relation to the academic mission and vision of the University of Pittsburgh. This very diversity makes them useful examples for understanding the general culture of assessment at Pitt.

In all cases, a committee at the Provost level or above sets fairly general goals and fiscal guidelines, while the particular means of realizing these goals devolve upon specified interested parties and stakeholders. The relevant oversight committee then reviews on a regular basis what has been proposed or accomplished and approves or adjusts the next stage of the strategic plan in the appropriate area. Within this common framework of assessment, there is significant variation in the kind and frequency of review, the period covered by each articulation of a strategic plan, and the ongoing participation of different groups of interested stakeholders in the planning and review process. Such variation seems appropriate due to the intrinsic differences of these areas as well as a general institutional commitment to assign immediate responsibility to the most knowledgeable and interested parties.