These efforts have grown out of a charge given by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) Report of 2003, which urged the ASU administration to improve internal communications.  HLC also called for other actions, which are outlined in this issue of First Friday.

Over the last year, Dr. David Cox has led a campus-wide effort to develop a strategic plan to look ahead to the next period of university development.  After many public meetings and discussions within task forces, and through the good work of the writing team during the summer of 2004, a draft of strategic directions has been produced and is included here as an attachment.  These issues have been defined by the campus community at-large, and now will form the basis for unit-specific action plans that will be shaped over the next weeks.

The fulfillment of these objectives must occur through the acceptance and understanding at the individual and unit level about how we can make the strategic plan work.  We must commit to it for it to happen, and each of us will play a different role in seeing the plan become successful.  ASU will find incentives to recognize achievements within the plan, now that these directions of significance have been identified through the campus process.

In addition to the strategic directions, the writing committee has suggested a new mission statement, a new set of core values, and a vision statement that depicts our aspirations as a university.  These are important concepts that have a bearing on all who are a part of the enterprise we know as ASU.

We would welcome commentary about the points within the strategic directions, the mission statement, and the vision and values segments.  Please address your observations to Dr. Cox (dwcox@astate.edu) or to me (president@astate.edu).  We will appreciate your thoughtful observations by September 10, 2004.

Another area of HLC concern is the ongoing assessment effort throughout the Jonesboro campus.  During the last year, the academic assessment program has made great progress under the leadership of Dr. Kent Johnson, and more directed efforts to establish assessment activities will occur this year.  Numerous peer review and consultant evaluations have been made, and will be made throughout all non-academic units of ASU. 

The goal of the assessment effort is to constantly review and refine all that we do as a university, and to develop the instinct for each individual who is a part of ASU to strive to be better at what each can do.  Only when assessment reaches the high level of individual introspection and positive change will the university perform at its greatest capability.

Dr. Johnson and others will address many areas of the university throughout the year and eventually will build the assessment program to be a routine part of ASU operations in all units.

The HLC report encouraged ASU to develop an enrollment management plan to recognize and respond to the changing nature of higher education, and to address changing demographics of the primary service area addressed by ASU-Jonesboro.  These changes have occurred since the previous HLC visit of 1992-93, and now include issues that affect ASU-Jonesboro:

1. The number of post-secondary providers in our region has increased in number and quality.  Now, twelve other campuses operate within a short distance from ASU-Jonesboro, and provide many of the same products and services, often at lower prices.

2. The number of graduates matriculating from high schools throughout the region has declined over the last decade.

3. Compared to a decade ago, more students today who attend ASU-Jonesboro programs will need remediation in several subject areas.

4. New technologies, such as distance learning and internet delivery methods, have made personal presence at any given campus optional.  Greater numbers of students are adept at utilizing the technologies for their needs and interests.

These rapid changes in the geographic, teaching, and learning environment in which ASU operates have given need to examine and refine the ways in which we will attract and address students of the future.  Or to use the HLC term, we need to know how we will manage our enrollments.

This fall, ASU-Jonesboro will enroll approximately the same number of students that we have enrolled the last several years.  We recognize that we are serving those students at several ASU locations and through the use of technologies, in good response to market needs.  But we also recognize several things about the current enrollment situation in relation to a new funding formula proposal, developed by the Department of Higher Education, which is included as a PDF attachment to this report:

1.    Based upon the current enrollment for ASU-Jonesboro courses at all locations and by all means of delivery, our actual and demonstrated need for additional state funding is more than $11,000,000.  The students, faculty, and staff of ASU-Jonesboro deserve to receive $11,000,000 more from the state each year than we are getting now.  That amount of money added to our annual budget would provide for significant improvements in equipment, library resources, scholarships, salaries, the number of personnel, professional services and development, and a means to address a variety of needs across campus.

2.    That $11,000,000 infused into the ASU budget annually would reduce the dependence on tuition and fee increases necessary to pay for costs of operations.  This support from the state would reduce the need for students to create debt to come to a residential university environment, as is often now the case.

3.    If we were to increase enrollment, which would generate additional funding under a formula funding methodology, we would be able to “earn” more state funding that could be used throughout the campus.  And higher-level course enrollments at upper class and graduate levels generate more money than lower-level course offerings, which capitalizes on the capability of a comprehensive university like ASU.

So, enrollment management is a concept whose time has come, and for which there may be tangible benefits for the university.  In order to learn more about this concept, and especially to engage the full campus community, a consultant will conduct a public forum in the Convocation Center Auditorium Wednesday, Sept. 22, at 1:30 p.m.  The consultant is Dr. Jim Black, an enrollment management expert from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.  Dr. Black has seen great success through his efforts there, and will give insights based upon his observations of ASU.  Please make plans to attend, as enrollment management will become an important activity for all of us over the coming years.

Other outgrowths of the HLC report will be continued throughout the fall semester, including development of the shared governance system, revision of the faculty and staff handbooks, an update of the policies and procedures manual, budget management and operations orientations, and additional improvements in internal communications.  Initiatives will be introduced to improve the resource base, visibility, and recognition of ASU.  These issues will be the subject of forthcoming First Friday reports.

Thank you for reading this material.  If you have comments or questions about any aspect of this report or about ASU, please contact me at president@astate.edu.

Leslie Wyatt, ASU President

Referenced Material:

Strategic Directions, Mission Statement, Vision and Values

ADHE Formula Recommendations (PDF):
Summary (Table 1A), Four-year Institutions (Table 1C), and Non-Formula Entities (Table 1D)
 

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