Strategic Plan Prepared by the Committee for Assessment and Planning (CAP)

Transcription

1 Committee for Assessment and Planning 1 Strategic Plan Prepared by the Committee for Assessment and Planning (CAP)

2 Committee for Assessment and Planning 2 Committee for Assessment and Planning (CAP) CAP is organized with representatives from the entire college community. Position President Vice President for Academic Services Vice President for Business Services Vice President for Institutional Advancement Vice President for Registration and Records Vice President for Student Services Chancellor Director of Marketing Director for Graduate Studies Director of Distance Education Associate Dean of Campus Undergraduate Studies Division Chair, Department of Arts and Sciences Division Chair, Department of Bible and Ministry Division Chair, Department of General Studies Librarian Director of Financial Aid Director of Admissions Network Administrator Alumni Relations Director of Maintenance Student Council President At-large Student Representative Trustee #1 Trustee #2 Person Royce Frazier Jim Le Shana Lee Anders Larry Lewis Glenn Leppert Kevin Lee Adrian Halverstadt Ryan Haase Jim Le Shana Angie Wetmore Tim Hawkins Lee Anders David Kingrey Jerry Simmons Pat Hall Ryan Haase Justin Kendall Trent Maggard Herb Frazier CD Fitch Heather Thornburg Brandon Palmer Marjorie Thompson Barbara Binford

3 Committee for Assessment and Planning 3 A Strategic Plan for Barclay College The ultimate goal of Barclay College is to become a college that fully realizes its mission to prepare students in a Bible-centered environment for effective Christian life, service, and leadership. This aspiration inspires us, as a collegiate community deliberately following the call of Christ, to ensure that each student becomes fully engaged in higher levels of inquiry and learning based on scriptural truth and application to life. Our strong desire is that every student at Barclay College will become effective evangelical Christians who are biblically literate, prayerful, mission minded, servant-oriented, and able to provide leadership to the church at large and in various professional fields. To enable the realization of this goal the college adopted a strategic plan covering key elements related to admissions, academics, student services, and alumni. The Committee for Assessment and Planning reviewed all areas of the college in the Fall 2007 and chose eight strategic areas to engage through a three-year strategic plan period. A second three year plan period was begun in 2010 and a ninth objective was added in May In November 2013 the plan was changed to one that would be reviewed and updated yearly. The original committee worked from a six step process: 1. Establish a manageable set of objectives for designated strategic areas. This was completed at the November meeting and is detailed in this document. 2. Assess the current state of each area identified. Assessment procedures for each were determined at the February meeting. The College Assessment Plan was reviewed as a part of this process. 3. Put in place additional assessment tools that might be necessary. 4. Project/plan ways to improve each identified area and list steps toward that goal. The steps that have been selected form the body of this plan. 5. Devise means to track progress over the three-year plan period and conduct periodic reviews and evaluations. 6. Add new objective as the strategic plan progresses. The nine objectives chosen by the CAP are: Objective 1 Improve writing skills across the college Objective 2 Increase enrollment and retention Objective 3 Improve graduation and gainful employment rates Objective 4 Strengthen vital and relevant student services. Objective 5 Facilitate a strong level of technology Objective 6 Steadily increase funding sources Objective 7 Increase connections with the alumni Objective 8 Strengthen financial stability Objective 9 Review and update the physical plan for development. Mission Statement The purpose for Barclay College is to prepare students in a Bible-centered environment for effective Christian life, service, and leadership. Each objective connects to this mission statement in our understanding of the ways that this mission is to be accomplished. Objective 1, improving writing skills, relates to effectiveness as a quality of the graduates from the college. Objectives 2, 3, and 4 will assure the college s ability to fulfill its mission by having adequate numbers of students. Objective 5 speaks to the level of preparation the college will give to students, while objectives 6 and 7 are necessary for the financial stability of the college enabling the college to continue to complete its mission. Objective 8 addresses the overarching plan for financial management. Finally, Objective 9 ensures foresight and continuity of campus development during periods of growth and expansion.

4 Committee for Assessment and Planning 4 Objective 1 Improve writing skills across the college. Area of the college: Academic Rationale: Observing that students increasingly enter the college with minimal writing skills and that the ability to communicate well through writing is an essential skill for those effectively ministering in the church, CAP agreed with the college faculty that this is an important Objective. 1. Engage the same level of concern for writing by every faculty member in every writing assignment so that the identified issues are addressed in every class not just in composition classes. This will continue to be a frequent item on faculty agendas. 2. Continue a Barclay College Writing Center to provide immediate help and strengthen the process for identifying students needing help. 3. Using a rubric, work through student writing samples from the papers lodged in the Student Learning Portfolio to determine specific writing issues that need to be addressed. 4. Consider additional writing courses to address writing deficiencies of incoming students. Assessment Plan: Follow the assessment plan and review writing samples each fall and spring semester comparing results as they are obtained. Maintain a formal collection of results to inform the faculty of areas needing remediation. Notation of Progress: A Writing Center was created in 2010 and was made available to students in the Fall 2010 semester. The center has remained active from that time with only one change of director. The Writing Center is used by more than 40% of the student body.

5 Committee for Assessment and Planning 5 Objective 2 Increase enrollment and retention. Area of the college: Admissions Rationale: In order to fulfill the mission of Barclay College, to maintain financial health, and to send out graduates who are effective in Christian life, service, and leadership, we need to recruit, enroll, and retain a growing number of undergraduate students (both resident and distance education) and graduate students.. 1. Continue to fund and offer the Full Tuition Scholarship to undergraduate, resident students. 2. Enhance visibility through selective advertising and marketing. 3. Be selective in the enrollment process, admitting students who are well prepared for college, many of whom will demonstrate a call to ministry in various forms. 4. Continue to strengthen relational recruiting techniques including parent information. 5. Expand our efforts to reach potential distance education undergraduates and graduate students. 6. The retention goal is for Barclay College to achieve a retention percentage rate that is higher than the national average retention percentage rate of all ABHE institutions. Assessment Plan: Evaluate for each new intake of resident and distance education undergraduate students the average GPA, standardized test scores, scores on the college placement exams to determine whether higher standards are being met. Monitor the number of graduate students, assessing their call to ministry in various vocations and contribution as leaders for Christ. Notation of Progress: As part of the ongoing progress for this objective exit interviews with all students leaving the college have been established to determine why they leave and an early enrollment process is now in place.

6 Committee for Assessment and Planning 6 Objective 3 Improve graduation and gainful employment rates. Area of the college: Academic and Student Services, and Alumni Rationale: Completion or graduation rates have fluctuated over the last two decades and remain low. The college mission is not being met when students do not complete their program. 1. Continue to raise and assess the standard for admittance (see Objective #2) so that the potential of graduation is enhanced for all modalities of admission. 2. Maintain tutoring services that will assist students in the pursuit of excellence in academics. 3. Increase communication techniques (webcams, forums, etc.) between faculty and students for academic assistance. 4. Continue to strengthen the advisor/student relationships by creating times for fellowship/mentoring/encouraging advisees. 5. Ensure the academic goals of our online students through academic and career advisement. 6. Analyze common threads that contribute to the dismissal of students for academic performance and disciplinary actions in all modalities. Assessment Plan: Utilize findings from the ongoing Barclay College Assessment Plan to make improvements in services to students. Conduct exit interviews with each student who leaves the college before graduation to determine reasons for not continuing and use the findings to strengthen programs as needed. Notation of Progress: Results derived from the College Assessment Plan and the semester reports to the board have been used to strengthen services in both academics and student services. promote faculty/student relationships through academic excellence and student motivation for learning throughout the college. The graduation rate while in the teens and twenties a decade ago is now in the fifties. Gainful employment through finding and publishing job openings is a large part of the new role of the Chancellor position though interaction with our connected organizations.

7 Committee for Assessment and Planning 7 Area of the college: Student Services Objective 4 Strengthen vital and relevant student services. Rationale: Student satisfaction is a vital factor in retention and completion. 1. Utilize surveys and evaluations during each semester and year to inform the college of areas of need. 2. Utilize feedback and information to enhance student life from all sources including students, faculty and staff, best practices and models, collegiate peer groups, organizations and all accrediting bodies. 3. Equip, empower, and encourage student leaders to engage in making a positive difference on and off campus through problem solving, decision making, and the development of activities that are well planned and appropriate for engaging students in a nurturing, relational, spiritual environment. Assessment Plan: Continue to use the student services components of the Barclay College Assessment Plan on a regular basis compiling comparative results to be given to the administration and faculty at the conclusion of each spring semester.

8 Committee for Assessment and Planning 8 Objective 5 Facilitate a strong level of technology. Area of the College: Technology Rationale: With the educational environment changing rapidly in its use of electronic communication and teaching tools the college desires to be on the cutting edge of technology. Distance education models are vital to help the college connect with both undergraduate and graduate students worldwide who will benefit from the mission of the college. Accessing information both for campus and for distance students is vital and requires a current and well- functioning technology. 1. Regularly upgrade all aspects of technology (see Technology Plan) in class presentation equipment, servers for the campus network, computer systems for faculty and for maintaining the distance educational program. 2. Develop means for training all college personnel including students in the use of technology. 3. Strengthen and expand our required course offerings and programs electives. 4. Plan toward an integrated student information system. Assessment Plan: Keep a record of upgrades made to the technology of the college and log changes so outdated items may be renewed on a regular schedule. Track use of the technology by all students and faculty to determine areas of greatest need.

9 Committee for Assessment and Planning 9 Objective 6 Steadily Increase Funding Sources Area of the College: Administration, Board of Trustees, Alumni and Faculty Rationale: In order to help the college grow and maintain financial stability, new funding sources must be identified, implemented, and pursued to ensure long-term financial stability of the institution and to support the funding of Full Tuition Scholarships for those students living on campus. 1. Contact alumni and friends of Barclay College through personal visits, phone calls, direct mail, , regional dinners and other events and forms of communication. These contacts should be for the purpose of informing, asking for support, encouraging others to support, saying thank you, and requesting prayer for Barclay College. 2. Increase direct mail appeals in fundraising DELETE? [BOARD] 3. Use the resources available to us through the Board of Trustees, alumni, faculty, staff, and friends of Barclay College, and outside consultants (such as the Timothy Group) to identify endowment dollars. 4. Develop a culture of supporting Barclay College financially among its supporters. 5. Seek to diversify funding sources and new strategies to increase annual fund giving. 6. Offer estate planning information on all publicity and hold small group seminars as needed. 7. Establish donor recognition for a variety of giving levels. Assessment Plan: Do a comparative review of the Fiscal Year Gift Income for the past 5 years to ensure progress and growth in the Barclay College Advancement office. Review annual funding sources (personal, foundation, businesses, churches, and estate bequests) to ensure diversity of resources and to identify the number of giving units per event and per year.

10 Committee for Assessment and Planning 10 Area of the College: Alumni and Administration Objective 7 Increase connections with the alumni. Rationale: This Objective is directly connected to Objective #6. With an increasing number of the recent graduates coming from the distance education program of the college there are limited ties with these alumni to the college. Maintaining a strong interest in the college by the alumni will both ensure donor support and provide a solid source for student recruitment. 1. Increase connections with the alumni through additional printed and electronic means. 2. Allow alumni to use their barclaycollege.edu address unless it becomes inactive for a period of one year. 3. Strengthen alumni relations through an active alumni relations office. 4. Increase the number of opportunities for alumni to re-gather in Haviland and at various locations nation-wide where there are strong pockets of alumni. 5. Continue Alumni Block reunions. Assessment Plan: Using new alumni surveys assess the strength of alumni relationships with the college now. Repeat this in year two of the cycle.

11 Committee for Assessment and Planning 11 Objective 8 Strengthen Financial Stability Area of the College: Administration Rationale: The college desires to continue to strengthen its financial base and best utilize the resources of the college. 1. Maintain a solid budgetary process. 2. Reduce the long-term debt. 3. Continue to maximize and diversify revenue sources. 4. Increase the endowment. 5. Maintain a long range financial plan. Assessment Plan: Conduct an annual review of the budget process, annually review and update the long range plan, develop the annual budget within the guidelines of the 10-year plan as approved by the Board of Trustees (See Appendix A), and review the financial statements monthly.

12 Committee for Assessment and Planning 12 Objective 9 Review and update the physical plan for development. Area of the College: Administration, Faculty, Board and Student Council Rationale: With an increasing number of students the physical placement and ongoing maintenance of buildings and grounds should be coordinated for overall campus enhancement and usefulness. 1. Coordinate the balance between construction and community space. 2. Think forward and guide possible campus facility needs. 3. Always give attention to the Barclay College philosophy of family/community in the development of the physical campus. 4. Remain flexible in order to accommodate the needs of a growing campus while being faithful stewards of our resources. 5. Maintain stewardship of current physical plant. Assessment Plan: Assess campus needs and the best organized response to these needs as they arise. Repeat this in each year of the cycle.

13 Committee for Assessment and Planning 13 Appendix A