Strategic Planning Committee Meeting
Warner Conference Room
September 13, 2000 - 2:30 p.m.
Present:
James Roark, Gordon Bennett, Charles Bicak, Paul Bishop, David Clark, Roger Davis, Bruce Elder, Kent Estes, Randy Haack, Marilyn Hadley, Ben Homan, Larry Kuskie, Bonnie Mumm, John Oseth, Ryan Samuelson, Debbie Schroeder, Jim Scott, Annabell Zikmund
Absent:
Betty Jo Armagost, Barbara Audley, Roger Jones, William Lewis, Peter Longo, James Rundstrom, Patty Shefte, Michael Sumpter
Staff:
Mike Bohnhoff, Karin Covalt, Kathy Livingston
James Roark called the meeting to order.
Minutes of the April 13, 2000, Meeting were distributed and approved.
A PowerPoint Presentation highlighting UNK improvements was shown to committee members. In 1991, 80% of tenured/tenure-track faculty had terminal degrees, compared to 91% in 1999. The quality of incoming students has improved. In 1991, 30% of our students were in the 22-26 range and 9% were in the 27-36 range; in 1999, 37% were in the 22-26 range and 12% were in the 27-36 range. Our new admissions standards have raised the quality of our students. The retention rate in 1991 was 72.5%; in 1999, it had risen to 78%. The current student/faculty ratio is 16.5:1. External grants increased from $500,000 in 1991 to $1,600,000 in 1999. UN Foundation funding in 1999 was $1,131,400.
The Student Technology Fee of approximately $800,000/yr is used for technology enhancements for students. Some uses of that money have been to wire all residence hall rooms for Internet access, and computer labs have been upgraded and some are staffed 24 hr/day.
SET Fees in the amount of $75,000 were distributed to 400+ students and groups. These funds assisted with expenses of attending conferences, research presentations, attending seminars, and networking with businesses and experts in their fields.
Groundbreaking for the College of Education building is set for this month. West Center has been renovated, and Bruner Hall of Science, Otto Olsen, and the Nebraskan are also in line for renovation in the near future.
Instructional resources for faculty have increased (i.e., the Center for Teaching Excellence, writing workshop support for faculty, and technology development support for faculty.
Using US News Rankings 2001, we are a third-tier institution. Based on their indicators, we ranked 4th of 11 in our peer group. We ranked 2nd in Freshman Retention Rate (74%) and 9th of 11 in Expenditures per Student Average with $6,751. The average was $9,012. Other rankings included: Academic reputation score of 2.9, ranked 4; 6-yr Graduation Rate of 43%, ranked 5 of 11; Class size % w/<20 of 43%, ranked 4; Class size % w/>50 of 5%, ranked 3; Student/faculty ratio of 17:1, ranked 4; Percent full-time faculty 91%, ranked 7.
Smith's Commission for Development of Criteria for Evaluation and Prioritization of Academic Programs. Scott reported that the "Smith" committee has established a mechanism to evaluate academic programs for each campus. The nine broad criteria were defined and in June, the document went back to the campuses for development and implementation. Individual campuses will weight indicators to fit campus priorities and mission, and will develop a process for gathering and using information. Scott advised that UNO and UNL both plan to do a fast prioritization of programs on a volunteer basis this academic year.
Roark was agreeable to doing the same FastTrack priority list by the end of the year. He felt the deans would best direct this activity within the colleges, and will have them begin the process tomorrow.
Bohnhoff shared a draft of the "Definition of a Program" for the consideration of committee members. M Hadley felt it would be quite a challenge to allocate faculty resources directly to a program or sub-program, especially when faculty are shared. Zikmund could also see that problem in Music (i.e., music theater, music therapy, music education).
Scott's view is that there are really only three phases in which to divide programs: degree, subject, or department. Academic Program Review could use one of these or a combination of the three.
Homan asked if campuses would be sharing this information or would each campus go their own way. Scott explained that it was the judgment of the committee to make the instrument special to each campus and let them determine the "centrality to the campus core mission."
Oseth was agreeable to using whatever unit the UNK academic unit felt is the correct definition of "program". The Strategic Planning Committee would help with weighting the nine criteria and the development of specific measures.
Bohnhoff also shared a handout on "Measures for the 9 Criteria in Academic Prioritization." The measures shown in italics were added after he reviewed the Smith document. Bohnhoff indicated that he believed it was necessary to keep the number of measures to a manageable number. He further asked the committee to submit their ideas for measuring the nine criteria to him before the next meeting.
Zikmund suggested that departments scheduled to undergo APR this year should use these criteria as measures.
According to Bicak, General Studies will do alumni surveys for their Program Review. Perhaps those efforts could be a benchmark for other programs undergoing review.
The next meeting will be held in the Warner Conference Room on Thursday, October 5, at 3 p.m. Meeting was adjourned.