How do students know that UHV is a quality university? There’s a job for that, and Sharon Bailey has it.

Sharon Bailey

Bailey is the University of Houston-Victoria’s director of institutional effectiveness and online learning.

“This is the office that collects information about whether the university does what it says it does,” Bailey said.

Bailey earned her doctorate from Penn State University and previously worked at Eastern Kentucky University and the American University of Central Asia. She was hired at UHV in 2012 to make sure the goals of UHV programs – from the quality of education to student life – serve the university’s mission.

Bailey played an integral role in the university’s re-accreditation process. The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges voted in December to continue its accreditation of UHV for 10 additional years.

In Bailey’s line of work, asking questions and learning to understand issues she isn’t familiar with is a must. She does this through the use of tools and assessments.

She works with faculty to measure what the students are learning in ways that help the faculty make decisions to improve classes and the curriculum. She also works with faculty to gather the information needed for external reports to the University of Houston System, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, SACSCOC and other agencies.

Determining whether someone is learning can be difficult, but Bailey welcomes the challenge. She thinks students learn to understand their studies most during the moments when they aren’t in the classroom. This could be when they are walking to school, driving home or hanging out with friends.

Now is an exciting time to be at the university, she said, because of new student populations, new facilities and new programs.

“I find change exciting,” she said. “It’s an opportunity for our faculty to build undergraduate education the way we like it and the way we want it.”

Staff Feature is an online profile highlighting staff members at the University of Houston-Victoria. To nominate a staff member, contact Jeremy Shapiro, UHV communications manager, or call 361-570-4296.