This qualitative study explored the evaluative criteria used by administrators at a southern, metropolitan university to define institutional effectiveness and to determine the congruency between those criteria and the institution's metropolitan mission. Four focus groups were conducted with 22 administrators (vice chancellors, associate and assistant vice chancellors, academic deans, and department chairs). In addition, a personal interview was conducted with the university chancellor. Content analysis of the focus group data was used to categorize the evaluative criteria into three constructs: educational "geography" (the specifics of the educational process or the content of education; "terrain" (the fitness of the university environment to accommodate the purpose of the process or the context of education; and "landscape" (the higher education benefit to the individual and to society). The findings indicate that the evaluative criteria used by the university leaders were congruent with the philosophical focus on teaching, research, and public service as communicated within the metropolitan university mission. A lack of congruency between the evaluative criteria and the metropolitan mission was found in the importance given to applied research and the evaluative criteria and terminology regarding the university's partnership with the metropolitan region. A declaration of metropolitan universities is appended. (Contains 17 references.) (WD)