ST. JOHN FISHER COLLEGE Academic Plan SJFC Plan to College Academic Goals and Strategic Initiatives Academic Planning Committee 1/14/2015 Academic Plan Committee: Randall Krieg, Provost, Co-Chair Daryl Hurd, Co-Chair Jeremy Sarachan, Arts and Sciences Mary Kay Copeland, Business Jeff Liles, Education Tammy Roman, Nursing Fang Zhao, Pharmacy The Academic Plan was drafted to provide guidelines to SJFC in how to accomplish the academic goals and objectives outlined in the college s Long Term Strategic Plan.
Academic Vision: Our learning-centered environment develops students to be intellectually curious, professionally prepared, and ethical, transformative and compassionate citizens through engagement in the classroom and community. Goal 1: Academic Excellence Enhance academic programs through continual curriculum renewal. Cultivate student success through education academic enrichment and foster interaction between students and their community, country and world. This goal supports the College-Wide Learning Goal 2: Diversity and Cultural Understanding and Strategic Plan Goal 1: Academic Program Development and Curriculum Renewal. 1.1. Continually share best practices for teaching and learning across the College. Communicate successful pedagogy and practices from individual schools. 1.2. Continually assess and improve course design and pedagogy. Communicate existing best practices. Develop timeline for systematic program review and revision. Collect, communicate and use education analytics. 1.3. Encourage communication between faculty and students that fosters the increase in academic excellence. Share best practices occurring on campus. Encourage communication between students and faculty on course syllabi. Provide mechanisms for students to communicate feedback to faculty. 1.4 Exchange strategies for engaging 21 st century students who have grown up in a technological/digital and media driven world. Develop workshops to encourage faculty to embrace and enjoy the 21st century, digitally focused students and culture. Develop improved assessments and recommendations for teaching in this environment. Provide training resources and grants for technology tools to encourage increase adoption of technology in classroom, where appropriate., Learning Assessment Leadership Team Educational Technology Roundtable Educational Technologist Page 2 of 9
1.5. Establish methods for addressing different learning needs. Enhance professional development opportunities to: o increase awareness of diverse learning styles, o provide appropriate training and pedagogical tools to optimize the learning environment (incorporate universal design principles). 1.6. Coordinate, expand and improve student learning and testing support. Encourage students to seek support, in tandem with Early Alert System Monitor Early Alert System for effectiveness. Consider services of a learning specialist to prescribe and offer solutions to the most challenged students. Create a testing facility incorporating assistive technology that addresses student needs while maintaining academic integrity (including sufficient staffing). Increase awareness of learning disabilities. 1.7. Enhance processes to assist at risk students. Investigate and suggest appropriate support. Consider remedial courses/support (critical reading, writing, quantitative reasoning). 1.8. Advance Academic Programs/Tracks/Classes Assess and evaluate the current requirements of Honors and Science Scholars programs to better meet the needs of our most advanced students. Inventory and identify best practices for curriculum of current scholarship or raise the bar programs. Provide opportunities for expansion or creation of new programs. Director of Writing Center Coordinator of Disability Services Academic Counselors Academic Counselors Psychological Counselors Program Page 3 of 9
Goal 2: Scholarship Identify and support faculty best practices for scholarship. Provide opportunities and resources for expansion of research and scholarly activity. This goals supports Strategic Plan Goals 1: Academic Program Development and Curriculum Renewal as well as Goal 2: Cultivating Student Success through Academic Enrichment. 2.1. Expand faculty support for research and scholarship, including: Communicate strategies, tools and faculty options for scholarship. Identify resource gaps between scholarship opportunities and resources available. Establish a mentoring process to support scholarship development for new and existing faculty. 2.2. Facilitate and provide opportunities for faculty and student collaborative research. Expand scholarship programs (e.g., Science Scholars and Honors Program). Identify and support best practices. independent study opportunities and summer tuition waivers for students working on collaborative research with faculty. Library Director 2.3. Improve academic grant administration processes. Director of Corporate, Foundation and Governmental Relations 2.4., expand and encourage external collaboration with community and professional organizations. Establish best practices. Establish strategies for expansion. Seek additional mentoring opportunities with alumni and community professionals. 2.5. and encourage engaged scholarship in the context of tenure, promotion, professional development, recruitment and retention of diverse faculty and staff. 2.6. Review practices between schools for teaching-scholarship balance. Explore course release for scholarly activity. 2.7. Consider accreditation standards and consider establishing a professional track to attract a diverse range of professional candidates. Director of Alumni Engagement Service Learning Coordinator Service Learning Director Strategic Review Committee Committee on Rank & Tenure Page 4 of 9
Goal 3: Innovative Curricula and Programming Encourage multi-discipline instruction, curriculum and programming. Consider, evaluate and respond to the changing student pool and market informed, mission consistent demands. This goal supports College-Wide Learning Goal 2: Diversity and Cultural Understanding and Strategic Plan Goal 3: Knowing Our World and Each Other. 3.1. Provide opportunities for expansion of innovative curricula by identifying connections between coursework and mission consistent, educational opportunities. Develop new programs (degree). Explore certification programs (non-degree). Integrate existing programs into new opportunities. Develop programs for alumni. Develop courses/programs for community members. Explore and support partnerships with local K-12 schools (campus-wide). 3.2. Create a culture of innovation by embracing a flexible and responsive infrastructure. Examine process of cross-listing of existing courses. Investigate processes for sharing of teaching responsibilities (team teaching). Consider opportunities for pilot courses and teaching modalities. 3.3. Provide additional opportunities for capstone experiences. Communicate capstone coursework and experiences currently available throughout the college. Compile inventory and communicate potential options for maximizing outcomes of capstone experiences. Adjust academic requirements to accommodate capstone coursework. 3.4. Encourage Inter-professional educational experiences for students in professional tracts and other disciplines. 3.5. Share and communicate best practices about student data and analytics across the College. For example: Incoming student assessments, student interests and skills. Utilization of employer assessment and market research. 3.6. Increase opportunities for interactions between schools. Continue and support campus wide chair/program director meetings, chaired by the Provost. Offer college wide activities for faculty involvement and interaction during the school year. Page 5 of 9 Program Program Learning Assessment Leadership Team Director of Career Services Director of Institutional Research
3.7. Improve transfer student support. Expand orientation. Provide additional first year transfer student events. Add enrichment courses such as research writing course for transfer students. Page 6 of 9
Goal 4: Academic Enrichment Expand and enrich learning opportunities throughout the campus. Learning opportunities addressed under academic enrichment include service learning, internships, study abroad, community connections and similar opportunities. This Goal supports all of the College-Wide Learning Goals as well as Strategic Plan 2: Cultivating Student Success through Academic Enrichment. 4.1. Conduct inventory of experiential learning opportunities at SJFC. Create a systematic campus-wide mechanism to document civic engagement, aggregate data at the institutional level, and assess CE learning outcomes and its impact on students, the community, and the institution. 4.2. Systematically promote, provide training and support, and deepen participation in service-learning and civic engagement. Develop solutions to identified community issues, and enhance faculty professional development, scholarship, and recognition. 4.3. Coordinate and communicate academic enrichment, such as internships, service learning and extended writing opportunities in terms of effectiveness, outcomes and participation. 4.4. Consider increasing the limit of internship credit, beyond six hours, to provide access to additional experiential learning opportunities. 4.5. Promote expansion of learning communities beyond the first year. Investigate feasibility of research writing course for upper level students and consider requiring the course for all transfer students. 4.6. Consider further the quality and quantity of breakout spaces for student academic collaboration. 4.7. Leverage community resources for increased campus engagement with the community. Increase hosting of conferences at SJFC. Increase invitations of community members to campus. Build additional relationships to increase student opportunities within the community. Page 7 of 9 Director of Service Learning Director of Career Services Director of Service Learning Assessment Leadership Team Director of Service Learning Director of Career Services Program (ad hoc committee) in consultation with Director of Facilities Services Offices of Alumni/Development Office of Enrollment Management
Deepen engagement with community partners and share resources and expertise for reciprocal benefit. Increase the integration of master and doctoral students within the college, outside the classroom and within the community. 4.8. Reassess procedures related to use of Math and Writing centers. Consider adding professional staff and graduate students as resources. Promote use of additional student tools and resources. Consider and promote resources for transfer students, especially where assessment shows a need for improved writing. 4.9. Expand and enhance study abroad and other global exchange of student learning. Improve communication of study abroad opportunities for students. Investigate needed changes in the curriculum to accommodate study abroad options. Pursue additional opportunities to have foreign students study at the college. Consider faculty exchanges for increased understanding of other cultures and addition of international pedagogy. 4.10. the development of professional documentation such as personal websites, e-portfolios, and as a method to communicate student accomplishments and outcomes. 4.11. Continue to provide opportunities for academic advisor training. Establish program/departmental liaisons with academic counselor in OAA to serve as primary contact for advising issues Offer advising assistance to programs with heavy advising loads. Offer 1:1 and small group advisor training with attention on new faculty advisors. Request advising solutions for students struggling within program and strategies for students in transition (new, transfer, major changers). Investigate a second semester freshman (SSF) transfer seminar modeled on current first semester Freshman Seminar. Assessment Leadership Team of Math/Writing Center Program Director, Foreign Study Educational Technologist Program Page 8 of 9
Goal 5: Modes of Delivery Develop and expand college wide curriculum to include modes of delivery that provide high quality academic experiences consistent and equal with existing classroom instruction. This Goal supports the Strategic Plan Goal 1: Academic Program Development and Curriculum Renewal. 5.1. Develop a cohesive philosophy for online education Establish college wide vision and strategy for online, hybrid and other modes of course delivery. schools in developing an individual vision that is consistent with their long term strategic plans and their school s specific vision. 5.2. Collect, communicate and assess best practices for online and hybrid courses. 5.3. Develop consistent policies for faculty to address course development, course ownership and compensation for online courses developed. Develop consistent online faculty workload policy with regard to online loads, % of classes taught online, etc. 5.4. Develop online learning guidelines for (but not limited to) online class size limit, % online courses for the college, and prerequisites/requirements for online students. 5.5. Establish consistent training policy and procedures for faculty teaching online, hybrid courses and technology focused or dependent courses. Provide ongoing technology training for faculty to keep faculty updated on emergent technology and its pedagogical impact and contribution. 5.6. Review and assess professional development practice to encourage faculty to adopt and report on effective new technology adopted in the classroom. Online Advisor(s) Educational Technologist Assessment Leadership Team Faculty Welfare Committee Committee on Rank and Tenure Provost office Faculty Welfare Committee Committee on Rank and Tenure Page 9 of 9