FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
>September 8, 2008
Contact: K.E. Schwab
724.738.2199
karl.schwab@sru.edu

Slippery Rock University launches College Portrait accountability site

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Slippery Rock University today officially launched its College Portrait as part of the national Voluntary System of Accountability effort.

            The VSA is a voluntary initiative for four-year public colleges and universities. Developed through a partnership between the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) and the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC), the VSA is designed to help institutions demonstrate accountability and stewardship to the public, measure educational outcomes to identify effective educational practices, and assemble information that is accessible, understandable and comparable.

            The VSA communicates information on the undergraduate student experience through a common template, the College Portrait.

            Each five-page College Portrait provides consistent, comparable and transparent information on the characteristics of institutions and students, cost of attendance, student engagement with the learning process and core educational outcomes. The information is intended for students, families, policymakers, campus faculty and staff, the general public, and other higher education stakeholders to use in making educated comparisons between and among higher education institutions.

            “This project represents an unprecedented effort in higher education to provide the public with data about the total student learning experience,” said SRU President Robert Smith. “For Slippery Rock University it provides another opportunity to demonstrate how we deliver on our promise to provide students with a Rock Solid education.”

           SRU has been a leader in public institutional accountability. In November of 2007 it launched a SRU Profile: Accountability 2008 Web site that presented data on a myriad of topics including student demographics; first-year students; transfer students; graduate students; core educational outcomes; campus engagement; costs and financial aid; the classroom environment; campus living; institutional success and getting to know the University.

            “We developed our SRU Profile: Accountability 2008 site in response to U.S. Department of Education Secretary Margaret Spellings’ challenge that universities and colleges provide potential students, parents, the public and policymakers with accessible, transparent information. Right after we launched our site, the VSA initiative was formalized. We decided to join that effort as well as an early adopter,” Smith said. 

           “Our SRU Profile site received a great deal of national attention as one of the first and most comprehensive responses to Secretary Spellings’ challenge. Parents and others have told us it is very useful. The College Portrait complements that site,” Smith said.

           Both the SRU Profile and the College Portrait are easily accessible through the SRU Web site at www.sru.edu

Slippery Rock University is Pennsylvania’s premier public residential university. Slippery Rock University provides students with a comprehensive learning experience that intentionally combines academic instruction with enhanced educational and learning opportunities that make a positive difference in their lives.