Qualitative Analysis of the Performance Measurement and Outcome Management Procedures Applied to the Plebe Summer Program at the United States Naval Academy

The United States Naval Academy is the premier source of officers for the Naval service. It is a four-year total immersion educational experience designed to develop midshipmen morally, mentally, and physically and prepare them for service as either a Naval or Marine Corps officer. The Fourth-Class Indoctrination (Plebe Summer) program is the first military training evolution for most members of the incoming plebe class. The seven-week indoctrination course is intended to provide and introduction to military and academy culture as well as to prepare fourth-class midshipmen for integration into the brigade of midshipmen. This research uses detailed literature reviews and expert interviews to identify the objectives and performance measurement procedures of Plebe Summer. Next it evaluates the performance measurement and outcome management procedures employed by the Naval Academy in assessing Plebe Summer success. Evaluated in this research are the objectives, outcomes, outcome indicators, data collection procedures, and benchmarks applied to the Plebe Summer program. The research indicates that a performance measurement and outcome management system can assist Naval Academy leaders in improving the quality of the Plebe Summer program.Naval Postgraduate School Monterey CA is the author of 'Qualitative Analysis of the Performance Measurement and Outcome Management Procedures Applied to the Plebe Summer Program at the United States Naval Academy', published 2002 under ISBN 9781423508618 and ISBN 1423508610.