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Performance
Management tracks AU achievements
BY SALLY ACHARYA
Not only did admission to AU become tighter than ever, but when
students arrived, they chose from more types of housing, took more
classes taught by full-time faculty, found it easier to access technology,
and even had a new, popular dining option.
Those were among the achievements that departments noted as they
took stock of the first year of the Performance Management system
for evaluating employees performance. “It’s the year-in-review
discussion at the university level,” Beth Muha, executive director
of Human Resources, said of the evaluation process.
Many departments chose to measure themselves partly against their
progress towards the goal of transforming AU into an academically
distinctive and intensely engaged community.
At the Office of Academic Affairs, the faculty noted an increased
amount of external funding. Adjunct faculty taught nearly 7 percent
fewer sections for undergraduates than in previous years. And a
dramatic increase was noted in both graduate applications and quality
of applicants.
The phase-out of the English Language Institute was also characterized
as an achievement, in that it helped to ensure that students are
fully capable of beginning their academic programs upon admission.
At the Office of Enrollment Services, much progress was focused
on incoming students, an area where statistical improvements were
shown both for incoming freshmen and transfer students. It was also
noted that e-administration has created a host of Web sites to change,
for the better, the way the university offers services to the community.
The Office of Finance and Treasurer, focusing on the same goal of
academic distinction and intense engagement, highlighted its achievement
in making AU the first university in the nation to install a campuswide
wireless system. Emergency management procedures and a host of Web
sites to alter the way the university offers services to students,
faculty, and staff were noted among the achievements.
The 10-year lease on the Park Bethesda housing complex was also
noted as a student-centered improvement, as were new dining options,
such as Chick Fil-a and Jamba Juice to supplement the popular dining
services of Bon Appetit. The Office of Campus Life noted a host
of achievements, from increased faculty presence at New Student
Orientation to improved methods of steering students into volunteer
opportunities.
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