St. Cloud State University

Core Component 1A:
The organization's mission documents are clear and articulate publicly the organization's commitments.

The university's mission documents consist of its published mission and vision statements that were approved by the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) Board of Trustees on October 16, 2002, and the Strategic Planning Themes, which were originally endorsed by the university community in 2000 and have undergone ongoing review as part of a campus-wide strategic planning process.

The mission documents articulate St. Cloud State University's commitment first and foremost to high academic standards. The mission and vision statements cite a commitment to excellence and leadership in teaching, learning, and scholarship, and Academic Distinction is consistently presented as the first theme of the strategic plan. The mission documents further articulate how the university will achieve that distinction -- through collaboration, a focus on student service, and a commitment to diversity and global education. The university has 27 learning goals in three broad categories: excellence in teaching and learning; scholarship, creative and artistic endeavors; and service and collaborative working relationships.

Mission Documents: Revision and Approval Process

St. Cloud State University's mission documents were developed through collaborative processes that included participation from across the campus. In accordance with MnSCU policy 3.24, a 30-member mission committee was created in 2001 to review and make recommendations for new mission and vision statements. The committee included faculty members, administrators, staff, and students, with representatives from each college and from all campus bargaining units. The committee was charged with creating statements that accurately reflect and succinctly identify our common purpose as a university. As a result of two interactive, day-long meetings the committee drafted new mission and vision statements, which were revised as a result of four campus-wide open meetings during fall 2001 and spring 2002. The final new mission and vision statements were approved on campus in spring 2002 and were submitted to the MnSCU system Board of Trustees.

The mission and vision statements were approved by the Board of Trustees in 2002. While driven by an expectation of non-duplication and efficient resource utilization, they recognize that each state college and university has a distinct mission that "shall provide a foundation for evaluation, accountability, and regional accreditation."

The university believes strategic planning is a dynamic process. We have had an active campus-wide Strategic Planning Committee (SPC) since 1996. The strategic themes that still guide the university were first developed in 2000 and revised again in 2004 and 2006 to include performance indicators and to reflect changes in our operating environment. This fall, the strategic planning committee began to work closely with those responsible for budget planning to provide a stronger relationship between institutional budgeting and planning. The membership of the SPC was expanded in November 2005 to include additional members to ensure more inclusive input from all areas of the university.

In 2005, the Minnesota State Legislature amended the stated mission for the seven state universities of Minnesota to include offering applied doctoral degrees in education, business, psychology, physical therapy, audiology, and nursing. Previously, among public institutions in the state of Minnesota, only the University of Minnesota had the legal right to offer doctoral degrees.

The SPC is co-chaired by the interim Assistant Vice President for Institutional Effectiveness and a faculty member. Currently, the SPC is evaluating and enhancing the strategic plan using a balanced scorecard process. When this process is complete in December 2006, the strategic plan will include clear institutional level performance measures and criteria for strategic initiatives that will allow for a direct link between the university's strategic plan and budget allocations.

This history is indicative of the university's commitment to ongoing evaluation and review of our mission documents and our continuous efforts to "live the mission" by working to directly align our mission with the strategic plan.

Alignment with Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System

St. Cloud State University's mission documents are consistent with and supportive of the mission documents of the MnSCU system. The system documents are as follows:

Vision Statement
The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities will enable the people of Minnesota to succeed by providing the most accessible, highest value education in the nation.

Mission Statement
The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system of distinct and collaborative institutions offers higher education that meets the personal and career goals of a wide range of individual learners, enhances the quality of life for all Minnesotans, and sustains vibrant economies throughout the state.

As explained in more detail in Core Component 2D and displayed in the following diagram, St. Cloud State University's strategic planning themes and goals are in alignment with and supportive of MnSCU's strategic plan.

Each year, MnSCU prepares an annual work plan based on the goals in their strategic plan. The work plan is shared with each campus in the system, with the expectation that each campus will prepare an annual work plan that is supportive of the system plan but also addresses the unique strategic activities on the campus. Since the mission and the vision statements were approved in 2002, St. Cloud State University has prepared an annual work plan since the 2003 fiscal year.

Public Dissemination of Mission Documents

St. Cloud State University's mission documents are communicated to the university's internal and external constituencies in multiple ways. The mission documents appear in major student publications, as criteria in the budget and program planning documents, on employee business cards, and on multiple websites. They have consistently been included in presidential speeches and publications to both internal and external groups.

Evaluation of Core Component 1A

The information presented in Core Component 1A demonstrates how St. Cloud State University's mission documents are developed and used to articulate the organization's priorities and commitments. St. Cloud State University's mission documents are in alignment with the mission documents of the MnSCU System. St. Cloud State University has a collaborative planning process that includes broad participation from campus constituencies and provides for the opportunity for periodic review and updating of the documents.

Strengths: The St. Cloud State University mission documents have been created with widespread campus involvement and input and have been widely shared with all campus constituencies. They are inclusive both in their conception and in their intent, which has led to broad understanding and support. The messages of the mission statement are carried out in curriculum development, prioritizing and creating new programs to better serve students and faculty, and budget allocation and assessment.

Initiatives in Progress: St. Cloud State University is continuing to refine its planning process to bring further clarification to the university's priorities and to include specific measures that can be used to measure goal achievement and inform decision-making. The strategic plan will henceforth include institutional performance measures and criteria for strategic initiatives that link the plan and budget allocations. Attempts to more broadly communicate the mission, vision, and strategic themes are underway with the goal of achieving even greater understanding and support for the priorities of the university.

Future Challenges: It is clear that university-wide initiatives flow out of the mission documents, but it is unclear that they cascade down to the level of the department. A process should be developed as part of the strategic planning process to ensure that the departments and offices support the mission in their day-to-day functioning.