The president of a major state university has a problem.
A group of alumni are complaining that the university's athletic program is an embarrassment to the university and are demanding that the athletic director be fired. In response, the president has promised an intensive ''audit'' of all aspects of the department's performance.
The university has never explicitly established formal goals for the athletic department. Nevertheless, five years prior to this ''crisis,'' at the press conference announcing his appointment, the athletic director (with characteristic exuberance and hyperbole) made the following statements:
1. We intend to win national championships in all major sports.
2. Every one of our athletes will be graduated in five years.
3. The student body will once again be proud of its teams, showing its support by attending our games.
4. We will be ''number one'' as measured by TV appearances and revenues.
Although these comments are obviously visions, rather than operational objectives, they do imply performance indicators that can be objectively assessed.
Suppose that you are placed in charge of the president's promised audit of the athletic department. For each of the four visions, propose objective indicators that could be used to assess the department's performance. Recognizing that you will be unable to make definitive judgments as to whether the department's performance was satisfactory or not, tell what information you would want to provide the president and the university's board of trustees so that they can make an informed judgment as to the quality of the department's performance.