Pathways  to  Academic  Excellence:  Adap6ng  the  Self-­‐Study  Report  to  the  Ins6tu6on  

MSCHE  Annual  Conference  December  9,  2016  

Chris&ne  Lemesianou,  Montclair  State  University  Joan  Besing,  Montclair  State  University  Sharon  A.  La  Voy,  University  of  Maryland  

Mapping  Out  an  Approach  to  the  Self-­‐Study  Report  

WHO?  

WHAT?  

WHERE?  

WHEN?  

WHY?  

HOW?  

Scanning  the  Internal  and    External  Environment    

Who  are  we?    The  mission  of  the  

ins&tu&on?  

Scanning  the  Internal  and    External  Environment    

What  is  our  story?  What  do  we  know  and  how  do  we  

know  it?  

Scanning  the  Internal  and    External  Environment    

Where  are  we  trying  to  go?  Strengths  &  challenges?  

Scanning  the  Internal  and    External  Environment    

When  are  changes/milestones  coming?  

Disrup&ons?  

Scanning  the  Internal  and    External  Environment    

Why  are  we  engaging  in  assessment  &  

analysis?  Intended  outcomes?  

Scanning  the  Internal  and    External  Environment    

How  can  we  ensure  ins&tu&onal  renewal  and  improvement?  Necessary  tools/

resources?  

General  Guidelines  for  the  Self-­‐Study  Report  

Excerpts  from  Self-­‐Study:  Crea&ng  a  Useful  Process  and  Report  (2016)  hTp://msche.org/publica&ons/SelfStudyGuideVersion13A.pdf  

The  Montclair  State    University  Road  to  the  Self-­‐Study  �   As  a  member  of  the  Collabora&ve  Implementa&on  Project  (CIP)  we  agreed  to  use  the  comprehensive  model  for  the  Self-­‐Study.  

� We  used  the  following  goals  to  guide  our  Self-­‐Study  process:  

� Demonstrate  compliance  with  the  seven  MSCHE  accredita&on  standards  in  order  to  con&nue  our  successful  history  of  achieving  accredita&on  

�  Examine  the  ins&tu&on’s  progress  in    mee&ng  our  mission  as  ar&culated  in  the  ins&tu&onal  goals  and  objec&ves  of  our  current  strategic  plan.  

The  Montclair  State    University  Road  to  the  Self-­‐Study  � In  order  to  complete  a  meaningful  self-­‐study  we:    

� Examined  our  ins&tu&onal  priori&es  � Studied  the  current  ins&tu&onal  culture  of  assessment  and  collabora&on  by  leveraging  the  work  of  the  CommiTee  on  University  Effec&veness  and  the  exis&ng,  ongoing  university  wide  assessment  processes    

� Considered  our  successes  and  challenges  mee&ng  the  goals  and  objec&ves  of  the  current  strategic  plan  in  order  to  provide  a  comprehensive  framework  for  the  upcoming  strategic  plan  

The  Montclair  State    University  Road  to  the  Self-­‐Study  � At  the  beginning  of  the  journey  we  iden&fied  several  clear  mechanisms  we  would  use  to  complete  this  process:  

1.  Iden&fy  a  self-­‐study  leadership  team  2.  Iden&fy  an  appropriate  group  to  serve  as  a  steering  commiTee  3.  Iden&fy  chairs  of  working  groups  who  had  their  fingers  on  the  

pulse  of  the  ins&tu&on  and    could  lead  their  groups  in  this  comprehensive  explora&on  

4.  Iden&fy  effec&ve  means  of  building  and  maintaining  a  documenta&on  roadmap  to  support  the  self-­‐study,  ongoing  assessment  efforts,  and  our  next  strategic  plan.  

Strategic  Planning  &    Ins6tu6onal  Priori6es  � We  looked  at  the  2011  strategic  plan  and  the  five  goals  that  con&nue  to  guide  the  ins&tu&on  as  priori&es:  

�  Connec&ng  students  to  a  successful  future;  �  Connec&ng  people  and  ideas;  �  Connec&ng  to  place;  �  Connec&ng  globally  and  � Mee&ng  the  challenges  and  opportuni&es  on  the  way  to  tomorrow  

� The  explora&on  of  the  successes  and  challenges  that  the  ins&tu&on  has  faced  in  mee&ng  the  goals  of  the  strategic  plan  through  our  con&nuous  cycles  of  transforma&on  and  growth  has  set  the  framework  for  our  future  strategic  planning  processes.  

Milestones,  Transi6ons,    and  Disrup6ons  � The  Self-­‐Study  process  and  report  reflect  the  adapta&ons  the  ins&tu&on  has  made  in  response  to:  

 �  Achievement  of  significant  milestones  and  external  recogni&on  

� Designa&on  as  a  Doctoral  University:  Moderate  Research  Ac&vity  � Designa&on  as  a  Hispanic  Serving  Ins&tu&on  

�  Transi&ons  �  The  rollout  of  new  Enterprise  Systems    known  as  OneMontclair  � New  ways  to  access  data  �  Changes  in  undergraduate  admissions  policies  

� Disrup&ons    �  The  implementa&on  of  OneMontclair  has  created  immense  demands  on  personnel  resources  which  has  led  to  limits  in  the  ability  of  some  key  personnel  to  par&cipate  in  the  Self-­‐Study  process  and  development  of  the  self-­‐study  document  

Ins6tu6onal  Culture  and  Collabora6on  � Montclair  State  University  had  been  seeking  to  develop  a  culture  of  assessment  and  collabora&on  which  resulted  first  in  a  Task  Force  for  Assessment  and  University  Effec&veness.  

� This  task  force  has  evolved  to  become  the  CommiTee  on  University  Effec&veness  (CUE)  which  has  a  charge  to  monitor,  oversee,  and  support  assessment  ac&vi&es  and  provide  analyses    of  the  effec&veness  of  all  of  Montclair’s  divisions,  departments  and  programs.  

�  It  was  logical  then  to  leverage  this  group  to  serve  as  the  steering  commiTee  for  the  Self-­‐Study  process  and  the  Self-­‐Study  report.  

� A  robust  assessment  program  implemented  to  assist  academic  programs  to  be  the  best  they  could  be  has  become  part  of  the  fabric  of  Montclair  State.  

� The  ins&tu&onal  culture  of  assessment  and  the  collabora&on  among  various  units  has  facilitated  the  Self-­‐Study  process  and  the  development  of  the  report.  

Intended  Outcomes  

� In  undertaking  this  Self-­‐Study  process  and  the  crea&on  of  the  report,  all  members  of  the  team  kept  the  primary  focus  on  the  intended  outcomes  iden&fied  below:  

� Con&nue  to  maintain  our  status  as  an  Ins&tu&on  that  is  accredited  by  the  Middle  States  Commission  on  Higher  Educa&on  

� Understand  how  planned  strategic  change  to  support  the  student  experience  relies  on  assessment  and  builds  the  framework  for  con&nuous  quality  improvement  in  an  integrated  fashion.  

�  Iden&fy  a  set  of  recommenda&ons/sugges&ons  that  will  serve  as  the  founda&on  for  addressing  exis&ng  challenges  and  inform  the  development  of  the  next  strategic  plan.  

Pathway  to  Excellence  

� In  sum    

� The  self-­‐study  process,  including  the  development  of  the  report,  has  been  instruc&ve  for    Montclair  State  University.  

� We  have  been  able  to  leverage  exis&ng  resources  and  created  new  resources  while  examining  the  pathways  that  have  led  us  to  our  current  level  of  academic  excellence  and  to  build  a  solid  roadmap  to  the  future.  

The  University  of  Maryland  Road  to  the  Self-­‐Study

2015        þ   January    Steering  CommiTee  Members  have  been  selected  

 þ   March    Select  Working  Group  Members  &  Complete  Drag    Design  of  Self-­‐Study  

 þ   April    MSCHE  Liaison  visits  campus  for  one  day    þ   Summer    Assemble  documents  for  working  groups  2016        þ   January    Working  Group  first  drag  reports  due    þ   April    Working  Group  second  drags  due    þ   June    First  draW  of  Self-­‐Study  due    þ   Aug-­‐October    Campus  feedback,  second  drag  of  Self-­‐Study  due    þ   September      Evalua6on  Team  Chairperson  visits  campus  2017           January    Final  version  of  Self-­‐Study  due       April      Evalua6on  Team  visits  campus    (2.5  days)  

Strategic  Planning  

�  Most  recent  Strategic  Plan  in  2008  –  under  former  President  and  Provost  

�  2016  Strategic  Plan  Update  �  AKA  Flagship  2020  �  Encouraged  to  incorporate  into  Self-­‐

Study  

Ins6tu6onal  Priori6es  

�  “Equal  to  the  Best”  �  Educa&on  �  Research  &  Scholarship  �  Arts  &  Humani&es  �  Athle&cs  

Transi6ons  &  Milestones  

�  Move  to  the  Big  10  July  1,  2014  �  CIC  –  CommiTee  on  Ins&tu&onal  

Collabora&on  

�  Renamed  the  Big  Ten  Academic  Alliance:    “…  arguably  the  na&on’s  preeminent  model  for  effec&ve  collabora&on  among  research  universi&es.”  

Ins6tu6onal  Culture  and  Collabora6on  

�  MPower  –  Strategic  Partnership  with  the  University  of  Maryland,  Bal&more  

�  Greater  College  Park  �  Equity,  Diversity  &  Inclusion  

Disrup6ons  

Threats  as  iden&fied  in  Strategic  Plan:  �  Unstable  and  unpredictable  state  

funding  

�  Flawed  budget  alloca&on  process  �  Deferred  maintenance  

Pathway  to  Excellence  –    Self-­‐Study  Recommenda6ons  *  

�  Strengthen  efforts  to  create  a  diverse  faculty,  con&nue  to  integrate  and  support  PTK  faculty  

�  More  assessment  of  impact  of  programs  to  support  students  (both  academic  and  non-­‐academic)  

�  Increase  collabora&on  between  Academic  Affairs  and  Students  Affairs  

�  Use  learning  outcomes  to  inform  academic  program  improvements  

�  Strengthen  prac&ces  for  aligning  resources  with  ins&tu&onal  mission  

�  Complete  analysis  (and  implementa&on  when  feasible)  to  iden&fy  new  revenue  streams  

�  Develop  a  robust  and  predic&ve  centralized  budget  model  

Pathways  to  Academic  Excellence:  Lessons  Learned