Self Study Report

Self Study Report Prepared for the Middle States Commission on Higher Education February 1, 2013 by CAZENOVIA COLLEGE Cazenovia, New York 13035 Prepared by the Self-Study Steering Committee EXECUTIVE SUMMARY “At Cazenovia, you will find the best of everything an undergraduate college has to offer. Students become part of an intellectual journey, one in which the Cazenovia College experience takes them farther than they ever dreamed of going.” President Mark Tierno BACKGROUND Cazenovia College was first accredited in 1961 and reaffirmed its accreditation in summer 2003 and again in summer 2008 with the periodic review process. At the time of the last self-study process in 2002-03, the College was recovering from administrative transition and budget challenges. To aid in that recovery, the College chose to create a five-year strategic plan as a self-study special topic. Adding to the challenge of aligning the accreditation standards with strategic plan goals/objectives, the College was one of the first Middle States’ institutions to approach a self-study utilizing the newly revised Characteristics of Excellence. The Commission acted to require a Monitoring Report to follow up on several recommendations by the evaluation team related to financial matters and assessment. That report was accepted by the Middle States Commission without a campus visit in November 2005. Throughout the 2006-07 year and into fall 2007, College constituents met regularly to create the current 2007-2012 Strategic Plan (now extended to fall 2013). That significant planning effort involved over 90 participants contributing through membership on workgroups and committees, document review, and advisory functions. The rest of the campus community participated by reviewing draft plans and attending forums. Materials that were generated as a result of the year- long strategic planning effort were utilized to develop the Periodic Review Report (PRR), which was submitted to the Commission in June 2008. The Commission subsequently re-affirmed the College’s accreditation status. Over the past decade, a great deal of work has been accomplished by campus constituents to build operations, improve the College’s financial position, establish fair and equitable policies, embed assessment practices into everyday activities, and implement change based on data analysis and evidence. The past four years have presented economic challenges that the College and its constituents continue to face; however, one of the goals of this current self-study was to fully understand the impact of the economic downturn and develop a perspective about related implications for the future. We believe we have accomplished that goal as we continue our work toward a new, well-informed strategic plan. RESULTS Mission and Integrity The College’s Mission, Vision, and Goals are interconnected and fairly characterize the education that students receive as well as the aspirations the institution has for itself and its constituents. Multiple constituency groups considered the language in the Mission Statement ii throughout the self-study and as a first step to create the next strategic plan. While essentially relevant, most groups suggested minor language changes to strengthen the ties to marketing and recruiting efforts and to acknowledge the central role of the ten All-College Competencies. The Self Study Steering Committee has been tasked with creating the next strategic plan. A minor edit of the Mission Statement will be recommended along with new goals for the institution. A basic assumption for the Mission and goals is that they will be integrated with one another and with student learning goals, and that they will be assessable in a direct and clear manner. Cazenovia College includes Integrity as one of its core values. Policies, handbooks, and manuals exist to guide students, faculty, and staff in carrying out day-to-day business. The College strives to administer policies in a fair and impartial manner to address complaints, grievances, and infractions. The College provides required information to its constituents and the public through the Web, internal communications, and printed materials. Suggestions for improvement include adhering to timetables for routine handbook and policy review/revisions and improving accessibility of consumer information as required by the U.S. Department of Education. Planning and Resources Over the past ten years, the institution has made substantial progress in the areas of strategic growth and realizing short and long-term goals. The planning process, grounded in assessment and accountability, is designed to foster a culture of trust and confidence about the future of the College. College governance has improved significantly in terms of participation and collaboration since the last self-study, in large part stemming from an improved culture of planning and assessment. The improvements in the strategic planning process have allowed for a more informed resource allocation process. While divisional and unit planning processes can be described as participatory, collaborative, and transparent, there is opportunity for further transparency in the budget and resource allocation processes. The College should utilize the governance system, as it was designed, to help identify and establish the priorities for reinstating resources as enrollment and other funding targets are met or exceeded. In the process of creating a new strategic plan, strategies to integrate the strategic plan, the assessment plan(s), the resource allocation process, and annual reporting should be identified. Details about planning and institutional resources are included in Chapter 2. Governing Board and Administration Cazenovia College incorporates a structure of governance with a governing body (Trustees) as the legal authority of the College, empowered to set institutional policies, grant degrees, and operate the institution, and a President who encourages active participation by campus constituents in the teaching and learning mission of the College via a shared governance system. Both the governing board and the system of shared governance are reviewed every three years with changes implemented as a result. The shared governance system includes representation from all internal constituencies (administrators, staff, faculty, and students), and places the work of the College in the hands of the people directly responsible. The College administration, particularly the President, relies on the governance process to advise and inform decision- making. Staff members play a vital role in the success of the College through administrative support, service on governance councils and committees, project management, and student iii support. A great deal of attention has been paid over the past decade to establishing sound administrative policies and procedures in order to operate the College within its stated mission. A number of economic influences have resulted in a reduction of certain resources—staffing, compensation toward retirement, supplies, etc.—which has affected the ways in which employees accomplish their work. As a result of the self-study process, it is evident that the administration, working through the governance system and existing resource allocation processes, will need to focus on staffing needs as part of the process to establish priorities for reinstating resources once funding and enrollment targets are met. Governance and administration are discussed in greater detail in Chapter 3. Admissions and Retention The challenge in meeting enrollment targets since fall 2009 has caused the College to rethink its strategies, considering the actions of other institutions vying for the same quality students. The financial aid support being offered by competing institutions has driven the discount rate up significantly. Lowered enrollment and increased discounting has resulted in a double-faceted budget challenge. The College’s revised recruiting strategies are primarily focused on increasing the number of students who apply to the College and subsequently enroll. New marketing efforts, a redesign of the website, technology enhancements (SMART Approach, Zinch, etc.), staffing, market analysis, financial aid, and the use of external resources have already been implemented. Other initiatives include faculty networking with colleagues at other institutions, sending personalized letters to high school guidance counselors acknowledging their graduates who were named to the Dean’s List, increasing engagement with community colleges, and expanding and rebalancing the geographic areas of recruiting. With a renewed focus on recruiting, the incoming student populations for fall 2011 and 2012 rebounded from 306 in fall 2010 to 332 each of the two subsequent years (including 7 readmits). The total number of applications has increased steadily since 2007, growing from 2,123 to 2,607 in fall 2012. Nonetheless, the impact of the small fall 2010 freshmen cohort (both in terms of recruiting and retention) will be felt through spring 2014 when that cohort graduates. Enhancing efforts designed to improve strategies to recruit students who are an appropriate match for the College will result in higher retention. Overall, the College has succeeded in implementing a number of enrollment strategies that represent appropriate responses to the altered economic and market landscapes. Expanding the realm of communication about recruiting and retention efforts has resulted in a better understanding of the role each

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