Central State Report.Indd

Honoring Ohio’s Historically Black Public University A Plan for Advancing Progress at Central State University OhioHigherEd.org 1 Chancellor Jim Petro n accordance with Ohio Amended Substitute In order to support the university in its endeavor IHouse Bill 153, the Chancellor of the Board of to pursue this Plan, I am providing a loaned ex- Regents is to submit to the state Legislature and ecutive to assist Central State’s administration the Governor a plan, developed in consultation through February 2013. The loaned executive will with Central State University, that assures the Cen- work directly with the university leadership and tral State Supplement will be used to promote the the Planning and Implementation Advisory Com- goals of increasing enrollment, improving course mittee to move the Plan forward. In addition, the completion, and increasing the number of degrees Board of Regents Grant Services Department will conferred at Central State University. actively work with Central State to identify and pursue funding opportunities that align with strat- In an effort to advance progress at Central State, it egies outlined in the Plan. has been my intention to enhance this obligation by enlisting the university in defi ning strategies However, the ultimate success of Central State on that are innovative and transformative, and by as- reaching these goals and growing its stature rests sisting the university in the implementation of the on the ability of its Board, administration and fac- plan. The result of this endeavor was a four-month ulty – through their shared and deliberate efforts – collaborative planning process between the Board to embrace and implement the strategies outlined of Regents and Central State’s president, its admin- in this Plan. istration and its Board of Trustees. It involved the participation of a team of eight higher education I believe strongly in the importance of retaining administrators from across the country who volun- Ohio’s Historically Black Public University, and I teered their time to visit the Central State campus have confi dence in the mission of Central State. and meet with staff. The result of their participation In addition to the recommendations outlined in was a report proposing 10 strategies that would this plan, I encourage the Advisory Committee and move the university towards greater achievement those engaged in Plan implementation, to contin- in retaining and graduating students who will live ue to explore additional ideas, University branding and work in Ohio. and marketing concepts, and new student recruitment initiatives in the months ahead. The Team of Consultants’ report, entitled Accen- tuating Strengths/Accelerating Progress (AS/AP), The creative and committed engagement of all is attached as an addendum to this Plan. The AS/ concerned with this project will result in a lasting, AP report was reviewed by a Planning and Imple- positive future for Central State, and for its past, mentation Advisory Committee, made up of repre- current and future students. sentatives from the Board of Regents and Central State, which I established in partnership with Pres- ident John Garland. I am pleased that the report was received favorably by the university. In developing a plan for Central State, I have relied heavily upon the recommendations of the Team of Consultants and the advice of the Advisory Com- mittee, as well as my own observations. Jim Petro Chancellor Ohio Board of Regents 3 4 Contents The Board of Regents Plan for Central State 6 Executive Summary of the Accentuating Strengths/Accelerating Progress Report 10 Conclusion 12 The Board of Regents Plan for Central State ased upon the Accentuating Strengths/Accel- Berating Progress report, which was prepared by my Team of Consultants, feedback from the Planning and Implementation Advisory Committee and my own observations, I have identifi ed sever- al actions whose implementation should begin at Central State over the next year in order to satisfy the requirements of Ohio Am. Sub. HB 153. I hhavea divided these actions into thrthreee phases of execution: • Phase I actions should begin imimmediately and be implement- eedd by the end of the 2011-12 aca- dedemic year. • Phase II actions should begin iimmediately and be imple- mmented by the beginning of Fall Semester in 2012. • Phase III actions should begin within 2012 with a goal toward implementation by the end of the 2012-13 academic year. PhasePhase I ActionsAction (to be completed by May 31, 2012) 1. Defi ne performance metrics for Central State. A joint committee made up of Board of Regents and Central State staff, with consultant assis- tance as needed, will defi ne metrics for retention and graduation in accordance with the AS/ AP recommendations. This will include identifying a “rising achiever” cohort on which performance primarily will be based and review- ing performance of other state universities and comparable HBCUs relative to that cohort. 6 2. Affi rm a student body of 3,000 students as an Phase II Actions appropriate size for Central State over the next (to be completed by September 30, 2012) three years. With less pressure to dramatically grow enroll- 1. Enter into an agreement with another Univer- ment in the short run, the university will be able sity System of Ohio institution to defi ne a da- to commit its energy and resources toward ta-driven process for identifying and recruiting retention and strategic enrollment strategies. “rising achievers.” During the three-year period, an optimal enroll- The Board of Regents will help to facilitate an ment size for the university going forward will agreement with an institution that provides the be determined based on its success. research capacity and technical expertise in data-driven admissions to complement Central 3. Examine funding alternatives as part of an State’s ability to create a rising achiever profi le analysis of the current state funding formula, and to build the data system needed to incor- with the goal to replace the Central State Sup- porate that profi le into recruitment and enroll- plement. ment efforts. The goal will be to implement the The formula should provide for a base level of system in time for recruitment for Fall 2013. consistent funding to the university while in- corporating merit-based funding opportunities 2. Hire or appoint a Director of University Reten- in accordance with the AS/AP recommenda- tion to coordinate fi rst-year strategies. tions. A working committee should be estab- The Director will have the authority to drive im- lished to determine alternatives, including the plementation of the fi rst-year retention meas- base allocation and appropriate performance ures that the university has introduced as well metrics and tiers for merit-based funding. The as the enhancements called for in the AS/AP state should earnestly pursue 1890 Land Grant report (see Strategy 2A, pp. 10-11). The Direc- University status as a revenue strategy for the tor would be directly accountable for improv- university as well. ing retention rates in line with the performance metrics that will be defi ned for the university. 4. Develop a funding plan for facility improve- ment at Central State. 3. Identify three degree partnerships in STEM The plan – developed through negotiation with with other institutions. Central State’s administration and fi nancial Such partnerships will build program capacity, consultants, as well as the Board of Regents – stature and enrollment at Central State. They should include an infusion of state funds and will include those currently under negotiation specifi c funding commitments from the univer- by Central State and new ones that align with sity. It should be based on revised cost projec- the principles underlying the AS/AP recom- tions for the proposed Student Center and a mendations. review of the university’s Facilities Master Plan in light of AS/AP recommendations. 4. Explore with Wright State University opportunities to share administrative operations. The goal of such an exploration will be to create greater effi ciency and ease the fi nancial burden on Central State. Such negotiations should in- volve senior administrators from Wright State University and Central State, with facilitation from the Board of Regents as needed, and lead to a mutually benefi cial service partnership agreement that is driven by the contributions of both institutions. 7 Phase III Actions (to be completed by May 30, 2013) 1. Assess the viability of developing a “Success 5. Re-examine Central State’s marketing strategy. Roadmap” to degree completion, including: The re-examination will address the alignment • Recognize completion of 30 hours of study of the university’s branding campaign with the (1-year) with the granting of a certifi cate fo- ultimate goal of degree completion. cused on career readiness. • Recognize completion of 60 hours (2-years) of study and a core curricula completion Funding of Action Steps with the granting of an associate degree in the specifi c art or science discipline se- It is the Board of Regents’ expectation that many lected. of the initiatives outlined above will be executed • The assessment may consider the award- through the reallocation of resources and support ing of associate degrees in partnership with from other institutions within the University Sys- a community college. tem of Ohio rather than through new funding. Cen- tral State may need additional funding to move 2. Conduct a review of STEM curriculum as part forward on some elements of this Plan. of the university’s Higher Learning Commis- sion self-study process. The Board of Regents’ Grant Services Department The review will seek to achieve greater strate- has identifi ed about 20 available federal grants that gic investment and effi ciency among the uni- align with various aspects of the Plan.

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