The Massachusetts Department of Higher Education recently shared information about research and technology upgrades which will assist state colleges in its employee performance management system and a list a peer institutions for comparative purposes.
The first iteration of the DHE’s new Performance Measurement Reporting System (PMRS), which was established with the expert advice and recommendations of representatives from all Massachusetts state institutions, will be offered as an online tool that incorporates the latest and most advanced technology for self-service data visualization and exploration. The DHE believes that it will greatly enhance campus resources for information-based analytical decision making.
Each institution will receive access to the beta version of the online Performance Measurement tool and will be given time to review the metric outcomes included and to provide feedback prior to the public release, which is scheduled for the May 7t Board of Higher Education meeting. Updates and enhancements are anticipated after the release in response to feedback from each institution.
Reviewing Peer Institutions
According to the DHE, some of the PMRS metric outcomes will be benchmarked in comparison with a set of national peer institutions. The National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS) has generated a list of peer institutions for each Massachusetts state university and community college. A peer selection methodology was used to create the list, focusing on “similarly-situated institutions.”
Although selecting peer institutions for benchmarking is not a precise science, it can offer a meaningful approach to gauging institutional performance. Additionally, there is a wide variety in the types of peer institution comparisons, each focusing on distinct categories and institutional characteristics.
The first iteration of the PMRS focuses on peer institutions that are relatively comparable to a specific set of variables that were chosen by NCHEMS.
Through this analysis, Westfield State’s peer institutions are:
- California State University-Monterey Bay
- Kutztown University of Pennsylvania
- Ramapo College of New Jersey
- SUNY College at Oswego
- SUNY Oneonta
- Salisbury University (MD)
- Sonoma State University (CA)
- Southern Oregon University
- Truman State University (MO)
- University of Wisconsin-River Falls
- Western Oregon University
- Winthrop University (SC)