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Lyndon State College Self-Study Report

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Lyndon State College Self-Study Report Lyndon State College Self-Study Report New England Association of Schools and Colleges Reaccreditation Visit October 17 – 20, 2010 Lyndon State College October 2010 Self-Study Report Table of Contents SECTION PAGE 1.0 Institutional Characteristics (IC Frm) 1.1 Institutional Characteristics Form .............................................................i 1.2 Chief Institutional Officers .........................................................................v 2.0 Introduction (Intro) 2.1 Summary of Self-study Process...................................................................vi 2.2 Participants .................................................................................................vii 2.3 Goals ...........................................................................................................vii 3.0 Institutional Overview (Ovrvw) 3.1 Brief History ................................................................................................ix 3.2 Context ........................................................................................................ix 3.3 Focus Areas from Fifth-year Update ...........................................................xii 3.4 Principle Self-study Findings .......................................................................xii 4.0 Narrative (NARRATIVE) 4.0 Data First Form General Information (immediately after Narrative tab) 4.1 Standard One - Mission and Purpose (Std 1) 4.1.1 Data First Form (immediately after Std 1 tab) 4.1.2 Response ..........................................................................................1 4.2 Standard Two - Planning and Evaluation (Std 2) 4.2.1 Data First Form (immediately after Std 2 tab) 4.2.2 Response ..........................................................................................5 4.3 Standard Three - Organization and Governance (Std 3) 4.3.1 Data First Forms (immediately after Std 3 tab) 4.3.1.1 Organization and Governance 4.3.1.1.1 Organizational Chart 4.3.1.1.2 Enabling Legislation 4.3.1.1.3 Vermont State College By-laws 4.3.1.2 Locations and Modalities 4.3.2 Response ..........................................................................................13 4.4 Standard Four - Programs and Instruction (Std 4) 4.4.1 Data First Forms (immediately after Std 4 tab) 4.4.1.1 Credit Hours Generated 4.4.1.2 Headcount 4.4.1.2.1 Undergraduate 4.4.1.2.2 Graduate 4.4.1.3 Enrollment and Degrees 4.4.2 Response ........................................................................................19 4.5 Standard Five - The Academic Program (Std 5) 4.5.1 Data First Forms (immediately after Std 5 tab) 4.5.1.1 Highest Degrees and Teaching Assignments (fall semester data) 4.5.1.2 Rank, Gender, Salary (fall semester data) 4.5.1.3 Appointments, Tenure, Departures, and Retirements (academic year data) 4.5.2 Response ..........................................................................................36 4.6 Standard Six – Students (Std 6) 4.6.1 Data First Forms (immediately after Std 6 tab) 4.6.1.1 Admission (fall semester data) 4.6.1.2 Enrollment (fall semester data) 4.6.1.3 Financial Aid, Debt, and Developmental Courses 4.6.2 Response ..........................................................................................44 4.7 Standard Seven - Library and Other Information Resources (Std 7) 4.7.1 Data First Forms (immediately after Std 7 tab) 4.7.1.1 Library 4.7.1.2 Information Technology 4.7.2 Response ..........................................................................................63 4.8 Standard Eight - Physical and Technological Resources (Std 8) 4.8.1 Data First Form (immediately after Std 8 tab) 4.8.2 Response ..........................................................................................71 4.9 Standard Nine - Financial Resources (Std 9) 4.9.1 Data First Forms (immediately after Std 9 tab) 4.9.1.1 Statement of Financial Position/Net Assets 4.9.1.2 Statement of Revenues and Expenses 4.9.1.3 Statement of Debt 4.9.1.4 Supplemental Data 4.9.2 Response ..........................................................................................77 4.10 Standard Ten - Public Disclosure (Std 10) 4.10.1 Data First Form (immediately after Std 10 tab) 4.10.2 Response .........................................................................................87 4.11 Standard Eleven - Integrity (Std 11) 4.11.1 Data First Form (immediately after Std 11 tab) 4.11.2 Response ..........................................................................................94 5.0 Appendix 5.1 FY09 Financial Statement/Management Letter (Fin FY09) 5.2 List of Workroom Documents (Wrkrm Doc) STANDARD ONE MISSION AND PURPOSE Overview In 2007, Lyndon adopted a rephrased mission statement. The mission of the College remains unchanged, but the statement of the mission was updated: “old-fashioned” (adjective- laden, nonspecific) phrases were removed and replaced with a more succinct, direct, and bold phraseology designed to reflect the institutional commitment to student-centered education. It is as follows: “Lyndon State College prepares every student for personal and professional success through experience-based, high-quality programs in the liberal arts and professional studies .” A. Description In 2006, Lyndon undertook a College-wide strategic planning effort. The planning initiative was led by the Strategic Planning Steering Committee (SPSC) and, as part of that process; we reviewed the current mission statement. In doing so, we wanted to shape a concise, yet bold, commitment. The committee spent almost a year discussing the current mission and surveying the College community for their input. After considering the response from the community, the committee issued a new draft mission statement. The draft was circulated to the entire community for comments. Further, the draft was discussed at academic department chairs’ and administrative program directors’ meetings. The committee went back and forth with comments and redrafts for numerous iterations. The committee issued the final draft, which was endorsed by faculty and staff at their respective group meetings. The old and the new mission statements can be seen and compared on the support disc and in the work room. We do not believe the new statement substantially changes our purpose as we see it; however, we believe the new statement boldly commits us to a course of action that will offer every student the opportunity to be successful at Lyndon. B. Appraisal The Lyndon community developed a bold agenda for the future in revising its mission statement—a concise statement of our commitment to every student who enrolls at Lyndon. This is a significant challenge, but the community is committed to realizing this commitment. The community has wrestled with what it means to “prepare every student.” We have monitored our effectiveness in obtaining this ambitious goal by reviewing our first-to-second- year retention, our overall retention, our retention of first-generation students (which comprise 62 percent of our first-year students), and our graduation rate. Most of these indicators have shown some improvement particularly in the last two years. For example, from fall 2008 to fall 2009, first-to-second-year retention has gone from 60 percent to 62 percent; first-in- family/middle-income (FFMI) one-year retention has gone from 54 percent to 57 percent; and the graduation rate has gone from 34 percent to 36 percent. 1 However, we recognize that we have a way to go to keep our commitment to assist every student in their achievement of success at Lyndon (for example, from fall 2008 to fall 2009, overall retention went from 76 percent to 72 percent.) The challenge of increasing overall retention is related to the challenge of successfully engaging the diverse academic preparation of Lyndon students. In fact, one recurring theme in campus conversations is how to meet the challenge of the diverse needs of our student population. This is especially true for our faculty, who in any given class will engage students with remedial needs as well as students who are eager for rigorous challenge. For example, the diversity in the academic preparation of our students is indicted by the answers on the National Survey of Student Engagement questionnaire by 2009 first-year Lyndon student (the numbers refer to the percent of answers in the categories at the two “ends” of a five-category scale): asked questions in class: never/sometimes = 30 percent, very often = 25 percent; prepared two or more paper drafts: never/sometimes = 53 percent, often/very often = 46 percent; used electronic medium to complete an assignment: never = 22 percent, very often = 22 percent; number of unassigned books read this year: none = 22 percent, five or more = 21 percent; number of problem sets that took you less than an hour to complete: one to two = 33 percent, five or more = 34 percent; attended an arts performance: never = 9 percent, very often = 10 percent; time spent preparing for class: 5 hrs/wk or less = 9 percent, 26/wk or more = 12 percent. While the new mission statement has been a call to faculty and staff alike, we continue to seek ways to further fulfill this commitment. The Lyndon community has made progress, as witnessed by the increase in retention rates (see Standard Six for data,) and we continue to strive to meet the diverse needs of our student population and to fulfill our mission of preparing every student while increasing the academic quality of programs through our assessment efforts. C.
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