This document presents a summary of the Parkland College (Illinois) Institutional Effectiveness model, designed to provide a measure of how well Parkland's instructional support units are achieving their stated goals and document how they contribute to the College's mission. The assessment format includes the following steps: (1) evaluating the goals of the support unit with respect to the college's mission and purpose statement; (2) defining objectives; (3) evaluating data; and (4) applying the results of the evaluation to improve the service quality of the unit. The paper describes two successful implementations of the assessment process (the College planetarium and bookstore) and outlines challenges and important lessons learned. For example, the assessment cycle has been shortened from 3 years to 18-24 months, the forms used to control the process have been modified based on participant feedback, and the assessment process now requires units to identify objective goals and criteria for success. The final lesson discussed in the paper concerns the need for a stronger link between the assessment results and institutional planning. (RC)