Summary of Criterion Two
In this section we have provided evidence that St. Cloud State University plans for the future by aligning the MnSCU Strategic Plan, the university’s Strategic Plan and the work of the university at the institutional, college, and departmental levels. The university pays close attention to the external environment and is conscious and proactive about its role in preparing graduates to be successful in a multicultural and globally connected world. The university is future-oriented and is well connected to the MnSCU system and the external community.
We have introduced changes at many levels—infrastructure, programs, facilities and services—in order to adapt to the environment and improve how we function. The university collects and applies data to its decision-making in seeking to fulfill its goals and to make certain that its resources are adequate to achieve our goals. We have invested in faculty development, technology, learning support services, and renovation and expansion of facilities.
We have recognized that as we move into the future, we will need better systems for collecting and using data. To that end, we have increased our staffing and are developing the Balanced Scorecard. We have regularly scheduled formal reviews of our academic programs. While we have made progress in these areas, we recognize that we have work to do to close the feedback loop.
The university is working to develop a more effective and transparent method of constructing and communicating about our budget. Through the development of the Balanced Scorecard, we also seek to connect this budgeting process more concretely to our planning process. Many academic programs are regularly evaluated by specialized accrediting agencies, and the university is proud of the number of accredited programs. Learning outcomes have been identified for general education and many majors, and assessment is becoming an expected part of the faculty’s responsibility. This effort must continue until it becomes a part of the fabric of university life. Demographic changes will continue to impact the university’s enrollment and student mix. The university must work to increase the availability of scholarships and to keep tuition affordable, especially for students coming from lower income families. Assessment must become fully ingrained in the work of all faculty and staff, and ways must be found to engage in this activity without adding substantially to the workload of university personnel.
The university is successful in connecting budgeting to planning, and has become more deliberate about this process. Actions taken by the university—such as investments in particular disciplines, facilities and technology—are aligned with system and institutional strategic plans. Through its planning, which includes many internal and external constituencies, the university is learning-focused, emphasizing student learning in a diverse, global, and technological world, and it is making progress in preparing students for that world.
That the university is future-oriented can be seen by examining the ways in which we plan and respond to the environment. We have recognized demographic changes and global influences in our recruitment and retention strategies and in our increased emphasis on graduate education, online education, outreach efforts, and focus on internationalization. We are learning-focused, having been successful in prioritizing and allocating resources to focus on our educational mission and goals. We have invested in assessment of student learning outcomes and will further this work through our participation in the HLC Assessment Institute. The university is a connected organization in its relationship with MnSCU, its community outreach, and it development of a consultative culture of communication and decision-making. It is distinctive in its commitment to ongoing evaluation and assessment processes that enable us to prepare for the future both realistically and effectively.
