PLANNING AND ASSESSING OUTREACH AND EXTENSION
As a land-grant institution, NCSU is strongly committed to using knowledge to advance the welfare of the broader community through extension and outreach. As discussed in the research section, in 1992 a broad-based committee began to develop consistent, universitywide measures of both research and extension effectiveness. In spring 1993 its draft report on extension measures was reviewed by the University Extension Committee and the Extension Operations Council's executive committee.
The proposed plan (see self-study library) listed a number of specific objectives and measures for evaluating extension and outreach. For example, one proposed extension goal is "NCSU's knowledge, science and technology [should] improve the quality of life of the citizens of North Carolina." Among the sixteen measures are number of honors and awards for public service received by the faculty; level of clientele satisfaction from NCSU program evaluations; and change in client attitudes, skills, knowledge and behaviors as determined by tests and surveys.
This 1992 proposed assessment plan provides the base for the work of the Research and Outreach Institutional Effectiveness Committee. Throughout the 1993-94 academic year, this committee will develop and implement specific planning and assessment processes for outreach and extension (as well as research).
In addition to this new, centrally coordinated evaluation process, a new universitywide planning process for outreach and extension was begun in 1992. At that time, the Extension Operations Council's executive committee, composed of the ten associate deans and directors of the extension programs of the colleges and schools, began holding annual planning retreats to set the direction for the University. For example, in 1992 the executive committee identified a need to enhance the University's land-grant image and transmitted this need into measurable goals and objectives in the annual budget plan of the vice-chancellor for research, outreach, and extension. The University funded the objective for two years, provided that there were demonstrated results from these allocated funds. Faculty, staff, and administrators on the Extension Operation's Council executive committee and the Council's Marketing and Public Relations Committee are actively involved in choosing the publication and video items on which the money will be spent, and then monitoring the quality and impact of those items.
Although such centrally coordinated planning and evaluation processes are new, many of the separate NCSU outreach and extension programs have long had result-oriented planning and assessment systems. The remainder of this section will focus on those separate efforts. It will consider to what extent planning and evaluation systems in outreach and extension are participative, continuous, and effective (used to drive decisions).
Participation in Planning and Assessing Outreach and Extension
Extension planning and assessment at NCSU has often been based on broad participation. Extension has traditionally been distinguished by its strong emphasis on customer-satisfaction measures and by its incorporation of these customers in planning. Examples include:
- The Cooperative Extension Service: Within the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, this service uses a customer-driven process to determine program priorities and focus. Over 26,000 clientele are involved in local advisory councils, which analyze local needs and advise on programs to address them. A state advisory council made up of lay leaders assists in this process. Annual reports of accomplishment are required from all units within the system. These are evaluated against the written measurable objectives in each unit's plan of work. In addition, formal program reviews are regularly conducted for each county unit.
- The Industrial Extension Service: Within the College of Engineering, planning and evaluation in this service is a team effort that provides significant interaction with the industry. For example, the Industrial Extension Service regularly schedules informal sessions with industry to assess their needs, to gather their input and to assess the impact of current programs. Faculty provide input through focus groups and also assist in writing proposals and technical briefs.
- The Christmas Tree Extension Program: Shared by the College of Forest Resources and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, this program provides frequent dialogue with the industry to determine needs and thus establish strategic plans. Interactions with industry members, county extension agents, and specialists provide a comprehensive basis for program planning and evaluation.
- The College of Humanities and Social Sciences Extension Service: This service is conducting a statewide survey through county extension agents to determine the types of general-extension seminars that should be planned for the remainder of the decade.
Results Orientation of Outreach and Extension Planning
Partially in response to state and federal requirements, a number of the traditional extension programssuch as agriculture and public school outreachhave long had continuous, results-oriented planning and evaluation systems. Planning and assessment of newer extension activitiesleadership training, management training programs, humanities extension seminars, etc.are less consistent. Two examples of strong result-oriented systems include:
- The Cooperative Extension Service: Dictated by a federal partner, the overall framework of this program provides for a formal, written, four-year plan of work that is reviewed and updated annually, based on needs assessments and formative evaluation. The federal partnership also provides direction for measures of accomplishment that can be aggregated on a national basis. CES utilizes a formal strategic planning process to provide direction for organizational changes needed to maximize effectiveness in program development and delivery. CES has already implemented most of the recommendations in its 1990 strategic plan and is in the final stages of developing a new plan intended to carry the organization through the mid-1990s.
- The NCSU Model Clinical Teaching Program: Within the College of Education and Psychology, this program prepares public-school teachers as clinical teachers and assists their school districts in adapting differential developmental supervision. The program conducts an annual evaluation based on its annually developed goals. The college also provides extension and outreach service through the Center for Research in Mathematics and Science Education, the Diagnostic Teaching Clinic, Pre-College Program, and the Educational Leadership and Service Bureau. All these activities have developed a focused set of goals that are annually evaluated by clientele groups, funding agencies, and the college's administration.
These programs have very successful extension planning systems, but many departments and colleges have not yet fully integrated extension planning and assessment into their planning process.
Effectiveness of Outreach and Extension Planning and Evaluation
Because extension depends so strongly upon its outside customersfor participants, for political support, and sometimes for fundsit is particularly responsive to their reactions. Accordingly, customer-focused results do in fact often seem to drive decisions. As noted above, engineering, education, agriculture, forestry, and other extension activities survey customers or solicit their views of ongoing programs through advisory councils. They then actively change the programs in response to how well they and their customers believe they have met their planning goals.
Section Summary
Although one is being developed rapidly, there is currently no universitywide system for setting and monitoring goals for outreach and extension. However, because extension has always been particularly responsive to customers, a number of extension and outreach programs have long had broad-
based strategic planning, as well as decisions driven by results of that planning [3.1.5]. As a broad generalization, the planning and evaluation systems are often stronger for older programs, particularly those subject to federal guidelines, than for newer extension programs.
Recommendation 3.16: NCSU's departments, colleges, and schools should conduct focused extension planning and evaluation at least once a year.
Extension activities would benefit from deliberate planning efforts. Departmental and college-level planning should be a major assigned responsibility of an associate dean or director of extension. In addition, because some colleges have not consistently planned and evaluated their extension programs, they need to take a fresh look at their extension planning.
Recommendation 3.17: Each NCSU college or school should, before the end of 1994, conduct a focused evaluation of the structure by which it plans and assesses extension and should take the steps necessary to correct any discovered shortfalls.
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