St. Cloud State University

Core Component 4A:
The organization demonstrates through the action of its board, administrators, students, faculty, and staff that it values a life of learning.

The Minnesota State College and University (MnSCU) system and St. Cloud State University administration demonstrate their support for a life of learning through their established policies, budget allocations, and infrastructure for professional development, research, and lifelong learning. The MnSCU Board of Trustees has approved the St. Cloud State University mission and vision, which highlight “excellence in teaching, learning… scholarship” and global education. In addition, the board, St. Cloud State University administration, and faculty have established a series of policies which support freedom of expression, program oversight, sabbatical leave, research, and professional development. Furthermore, as detailed below, the system and university provide substantial financial resources and infrastructure to support faculty and student research and professional development at all levels. Faculty and students are active in basic and applied research. Finally, administrative leaders, faculty, and staff are active in professional development.

Policies That Support a Life of Learning

An authentic life of learning thrives in an environment of free expression and free inquiry, and St. Cloud State University is strongly committed to support for such freedoms in the acquisition, discovery, and application of knowledge. At the same time, the responsible exercise of these freedoms is essential to their preservation and to the integrity of learning and scholarship. University support for a responsible life of learning is developed in more detail under Core Component 4D.

Freedom of Expression and Academic Freedom

Freedom of expression for students is governed by MnSCU Board policy 3.1, Part 2, which states students are “free to examine and to discuss all questions of interest to them and to express opinions publicly and privately,” and are free to “support causes by orderly means that do not disrupt the regular and essential operation of the institution.” The acceptable use of computers and information technology statement of MnSCU expressly states that none of its provisions will contradict policy 3.1, Part 2. The university provides designated public expression zones or “public squares” in four parts of the campus that are open at all times. Public expression elsewhere is protected and guided by a Policy on Public Expression.

Academic freedom for the faculty is protected by tenure and by the Inter Faculty Organization (IFO)/MnSCU Master Agreement, Article 4. Section A states that the Employer shall not discriminate against faculty on the basis of political views held. Section C permits freedom of expression in the classroom for faculty to discuss their own subjects but they cannot claim the right to discuss topics unrelated to the course subject area “persistently.” Also, extramural utterances should clearly be represented as the faculty member’s own views and not those of the university. Section D states, “A faculty member is entitled to full freedom in research and in the publication of results, so long as he/she fulfills the requirements of his/her other academic duties.”

The university faculty, students, and administration currently are jointly considering the need for some policy revisions which confirm a commitment of St. Cloud State University administration and faculty to the American Association of University Professors’ (AAUP) 1940 Statement on Academic Freedom and Tenure (with 1970 Interpretive Comments.) This initiative also calls for the faculty union and the administration to open a discussion of academic due process, with the possibility of adopting all or part of the 1999 Recommended Institutional Regulations on Academic Freedom and Tenure of AAUP. These standards cannot and do not involve governance issues. St. Cloud State University uses a less top-down structure of faculty governance than envisioned by the AAUP guidelines, so the work we are pursuing in the future will include attempts to fit the principles into our governance structure.

MnSCU and St. Cloud State University policies demonstrate that the system and university administration, not only value a life of learning, but also provide significant support in the form of program review, sabbatical leave, and financial resources. Educational program oversight is guided by MnSCU Board policies 3.10 (Academic Program Review), 3.14 (Academic Program Approval), and 3.17 (Degrees, Diplomas and Certificates), among others, and by the St. Cloud State University curriculum approval process, for which faculty have primary responsibility. Sabbatical policies are covered by MnSCU 4.7. Support for faculty professional development and research is substantial, as documented in Article 19 of the IFO-MnSCU Master Agreement. (See below.)

Support for a Life of Learning

Budget Allocations

Budget allocations are a strong indicator of system and administrative support for a life of learning. From fiscal years 2004 to 2006, St. Cloud State University dedicated 55% of its resources to instruction, academic support, and research (see St. Financial Statements in Resource Room). As noted in Core Component 2B, we spend a larger percentage of our revenue on direct instructional costs than other MnSCU universities. This level of investment has been a hallmark of the value placed on learning at St. Cloud State University.

Miller Learning Resources Center

St. Cloud State University’s support for a life of learning is further evident from our investment in the Miller Learning Resources Center that came online in fall 2000. This facility has been an extremely useful resource for professional development, research, and data gathering for all its users; it is open to the community and provides a significant resource for lifelong learning in central Minnesota. In fiscal year 2006, $9,364,665 was allocated to this unit (see Financial Statements in Resource Room).

A variety of programs, all closely tied to our educational mission, have been created to provide faculty, staff, and students with a broad range of access to the funding sometimes necessary to pursue professional development, research, scholarship and creative activity. Internal funding is made through clearly identified processes and application procedures with explicit criteria.

Support for Faculty

As previously noted, contractual agreements with faculty and staff set specific performance criteria and processes for meeting professional development expectations. Two of the five performance criteria specifically call for evidence of “scholarly or creative achievement or research” and “continuing preparation and study.” The faculty evaluation process calls for an annual professional development plan and subsequent progress report, which are reviewed by departmental peers and college deans. Progress reports on actual achievement of goals must be documented and submitted for commentary and review. These plans and reports are submitted as part of the faculty member’s application for tenure and are expected for submission on at least a four-year cycle for the duration of a faculty member’s tenure at St. Cloud State University. This procedure ensures an ongoing, documented process of continued learning and professional growth by faculty members.

Sabbatical Leaves
Year	2001-2002	2002-2003	2003-2004	2004-2005	2005-2006	2006-2007
10th Year Sabbaticals	27	18	23	22	7	18
7th Year Sabbaticals	2	4	1	2	9	8
Total	29	22	24	24	16	26
(See “Sabbatical Workbook” in Resource Room.)

Sabbaticals 2001-2006

A faculty member can apply for a sabbatical leave after seven years of service, and if funding is available it may be granted. After having served ten years, a faculty member who requests a sabbatical will be granted one by contractual requirement, subject to the limitation that no more than 25 percent of the members of a department will receive sabbaticals in any given year. The chart below shows the number of sabbaticals granted in recent years.

The total fiscal year 2006 budget allocation for sabbaticals was $783,503. An important challenge for the future is to increase the number of faculty who receive sabbaticals more frequently to encourage further research and professional development.

Professional Development Funds

Faculty members have a variety of professional development funds available. Each department annually receives $1,115 per FTE faculty member for professional and scholarly activity. This allocation totaled $703,311 in fiscal year 2006 (see MnSCU Financial Statement in Resource Room) These funds can be used for conference travel, research travel and expenses, professional memberships, subscriptions, professional materials such as books and software, and the like. Each year a substantial amount of the professional development funds allocated to departments is carried forward as funds assigned to specific faculty members. At the end of fiscal year 2005, for example, $922,571 from previous allocations went unused and was carried forward to fiscal year 2006 (see MnSCU Accounting Budget Transfer Document in Resource Room) While there are many legitimate reasons for funds to be carried forward (e.g. saving for a planned international conference), there is an increasing concern on campus that more of this money needs to be “brought into play.” For example, some departments limit to a period of three years the amount of professional development funds to be carried-over by an individual. After the third year the funds become unattached and redistributed within the department to fund appropriate projects among other faculty members. A future challenge may be the extension of such policies to every department on the campus.

A portion of indirect costs collected from external grants and contracts is returned annually to principal investigators, their departments, and their colleges to support continued professional development efforts and activities.

Minnesota State University Association of Administrative Service Faculty (MSUAASF) members also receive contractually guaranteed annual professional development funds and can apply for additional funds up to a maximum of $1000 per person. These funds can be used for a variety of training and development programs, and many MSUAASF members use them to travel to professional meetings. The fiscal year 2006 allocation was $81,627 (see MnSCU Financial Statement in Resource Room).

Faculty Professional Development Grants

In fiscal year 2006, $31,706 was allocated for the short-term grants, and $72,582 for long-term and research grants. Short-term grants support attendance at workshops; long-term grants support curriculum development, writing and study activities; and research grants support a variety of research, scholarly and creative activities. Funding for these programs received a one-time increase of $130,000 in fiscal year 2007. (See OSP data in the Resource Room.)

Short-term grants have funded attendance at faculty workshops on subjects as diverse as “Life Space Crisis Intervention Training,” “Spatial Analysis and GIS,” “Gang Specialist Training,” and “LC-MS for Chromatographers.” Over 100 faculty members have received these grants during the last five years. (See OSP data in Resource Room)

Long-term grants have been used for a wide variety of projects, such as: “Field Visit and Training at the Department of Geobotany, Moscow State University & Biodiversity Conservation Center,” “Certification from the Educational Society for Resource Management,” “Research and Evaluation of Electronic Textbook Materials for Graduate Courses,” and “Pursuit of Intensive Study at the Centre de Creation Musicale lannis Xenakis in Order to Attain a Current Perspective on and Deepened Understanding of Electroacoustic Music Creation and Aesthetics.” Eighteen faculty members have received long-term grants during the last five years. (See OSP data in Resource Room)

Research grants are currently the most-applied for award. Sixty faculty members have received these grants during the last five years. (See OSP data in Resource Room) Recent projects supported by these grants have included: “Sequencing Human Pathogen DNA Libraries,” “Democratization, Privatization & Metamorphosis of Electronic Media in Asia,” “Effects of Speech Recognition on Quality of Student Writing,” and “The Selective Synthesis of "Mirror-Image" Molecules.”

Reassigned Time

Faculty can apply for reassigned time to work on research, journal editing, or other professional activity. A proposal is currently being developed to standardize these awards and allocate them on a competitive basis. The following chart illustrates the number of faculty who have received reassigned time to dedicate to research activities:

Academic Year	Number of faculty
2006-2007	43
2005-2006	47
2004-2005	32
2003-2004	36

Support for Professional Development, Research, and Creative Activity

Colleges and departments engage in professional development activities for faculty specific to their discipline, including symposiums, brown bag lunches, speakers, seminars, and retreats. A current initiative in progress is encouragement of colleges and departments to provide more support for professional development, research and creative activity. While anecdotally there is substantial support in all colleges for such activity, it is almost impossible to track at a university level. Thus, support for research and creative activity is most likely being under-reported. Additionally, it is difficult to compare research support at St. Cloud State University to research support at our peer-institutions without college level activities and funding being tracked.

Office of Sponsored Programs Professional Development Support

The Office of Sponsored Program (OSP) is an essential part of the university’s structure that supports continued professional development of faculty through research funding. The unit is highly placed in our organizational structure directly under the Provost, and the chief administrator of the unit is an assistant vice president. Sponsored Programs has strong university support as evidenced by a recent decision to add another position to the unit. OSP organizes and administers workshops and seminars on grant writing, develops and disseminates newsletters on grant deadlines, notifies faculty on upcoming grant opportunities, and helps scrutinize grant proposals (budget, Institutional Review Board approvals, etc). OSP is staffed by the Assistant Vice President for Research, two directors of grants, an office manager, and student assistants.

Other Research Support

The University Researcher’s Fund (URF) provides three to four awards (up to $5000) annually to faculty and staff seeking external funds of $25,000 or more for research, scholarly or creative activity. The university allocates $125,000 to be used as cash matches for externally funded projects. These funds are primarily used for equipment purchases. For example, a match was made to a National Science Foundation grant enabling the Chemistry department to purchase a MALDI Mass Spectrometer. In fiscal year 2006, St. Cloud State University allocated $97,975 among 13 faculty members for research and creative activity instrumentation funds, which help improve the quality of faculty research and creative activity at St. Cloud State University by supporting the purchase of equipment and durable supplies not normally obtainable through annual university budgeting processes.

The Lowell Hellervik Research Prize is St. Cloud State University’s premier prize for research, and encourages and rewards scholarly activity that holds the potential to earn external sponsorship and advance knowledge on issues of importance to society. The recipients of the Hellervik Prize receive an additional $2,500 to further their research activity.

Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning

St. Cloud State University’s Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) is affiliated with MnSCU’s Center for Teaching and Learning. CETL has a director to manage its activities and is instrumental in providing on-campus faculty development workshops, seminars, and instructional activities to improve pedagogy. In addition, it sponsors a Faculty Writers’ Group, which meets regularly to share written work, gather feedback, or get support for maintaining a regular writing schedule.

Faculty Scholarship in Basic and Applied Research

It is the traditional duty of university faculty to ensure that the knowledge produced and disseminated remains current and effective according to the national standards of each discipline. Faculty who are themselves advancing their disciplines professionally can engage students most directly in its vital work.

Data cited below show that faculty members maintain their goals of performing scholarly activity and disseminating knowledge. Given the university’s status as a regional comprehensive institution, a high percentage of faculty members are active researchers and disseminators of knowledge

Since the last NCA review, faculty awareness has been raised campus-wide concerning both the diversity and the significance of the work carried out by comprehensive universities such as St. Cloud State University. Several faculty initiatives sought to increase understanding of Ernest Boyer’s definitions of scholarship throughout campus. CETL promoted this cause through a two-year initiative that culminated in a keynote address by Dr. Charles Glassik, major disseminator of the Boyer model, at the campus-wide Teaching Forum Day in April 1999. Faculty have found the Boyer categories and terminology useful as they plan and evaluate their own work. In addition, greater understanding has developed among faculty that scholarship of teaching and scholarship of application (such as in program and curriculum design and faculty governance) were areas in which St. Cloud State University—a former normal school—has already provided leadership in many fields.

St. Cloud State University’s faculty members have a long and distinguished history of engaging in research and scholarly activities consistent with a comprehensive university. The faculty commitment to research and scholarly/creative activities at St. Cloud State University is strong, as demonstrated by the following examples of evidence:

• The Miller Learning Resources and Technology Services Center has recently developed the RefWorks database of publications by St. Cloud State University faculty in the past five years. Although this database is by no means complete and is constantly being updated, it currently lists over 2000 citations.
• The Statistical Consulting service area provides direct support (survey construction, data input, and data analysis) to graduate students and faculty in support of the statistical component of research projects. This service area also assists with the development of online surveys. Assistance was provided for 120 different projects during FY06.
• The number of electronic journal subscriptions directly purchased by SCSU has increased almost 70% in the last four years (to 3,033), and when coupled with aggregated database subscriptions, nearly 16,000 journal titles are available online to meet the curricular and research needs of students and faculty.
• The College of Business maintains a database of professional activities including publications, presentations, faculty awards, grants and contracts, workshop presentations, etc., on a Digital Measures Database. It currently lists 327 citations on the RefWorks/RefShare database.
• The College of Education lists 250 publications and 450 presentations in its Directory of faculty publications and presentations on their college web-site. Over 500 citations for the college are listed in the RefWorks/RefShare database.
• The College of Fine Arts and Humanities has compiled faculty professional activities, creative work, research interests, and publications in a College Compendium (available in the Resource Room). The college lists 125 citations in the RefWorks/RefShare database.
• The College of Science and Engineering through its Applied Research and Development Center has developed a directory of faculty research interests. The college currently lists 671 citations in the RefWorks/RefShare database.
• In the College of Social Sciences, individual departments produce departmental newsletters that list faculty achievements including publications. The college lists 235 citations in the RefWorks/RefShare database.
• A survey of faculty research and creative activities conducted by the Research Sub-committee in preparation for this self-study reported over 3,000 publications (including media), performances, and shows in the last five years, of which nearly 1,300 were peer reviewed. (See Statistical Data, Questionnaire, and Survey Data from Research Sub-committee in Resource Room)
• The Research Sub-committee survey also reported over 2,500 non-peer reviewed professional performances and presentations in the last five years and over 7,500 scholarly activities outside the classroom, including outreach and public events; supervision of student research, creative projects, and internships; organization of workshops and conferences; and courses taken. (See Statistical Data, Questionnaire, and Survey Data from Research Sub-committee in Resource Room)

The rate of publications and exhibits varies across the university. Some faculty members are more heavily invested in practical applications, curriculum development, assessment, or other forms of professional activity. Departments with Masters Degree programs tend to emphasize publication more than those that have only undergraduate degree programs. The advent of applied doctoral programs will increase expectations for research among faculty in departments that develop such programs.

Many faculty members write grant applications to federal and state agencies as well as foundations, and, as detailed above, receive funding to carry out research and/or creative scholarly activities in their fields of expertise. OSP data shows the number and award amount of extramural grants and contracts awarded to St. Cloud State University faculty members during the last five years:

Agency Type	Amount Awarded					# of Grants	Grand Total
	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006
Business	$1,457,943.00	$261,821.69	$190,760.25	$547,126.00	$148,879.00	107	$2,606,529.94
Federal	$1,161,634.09	$1,210,639.00	$6,289,294.00	$748,445.00	$1,526,524.50	88	$10,936,536.59
Foundation	$107,985.00	$157,714.00	$190,336.00	$107,066.00	$259,167.86	57	$822,268.86
MnSCU	$821,549.50	$163,585.79	$48,628.00	$92,994.00	$213,851.40	64	$1,340,608.69
Other Gov't	$86,199.00	$566,007.00	$242,159.00	$47,150.00	$123,072.00	63	$1,064,587.00
Other non-Gov't	$43,920.78	$176,371.03	$42,703.50	$6,600.00	$255,410.42	33	$525,005.73
State	$1,226,309.45	$992,300.46	$896,189.00	$709,955.00	$1,009,643.47	134	$4,834,397.38
Various	$873,811.00	$859,911.28	$989,829.08	$980,220.00	$1,232,688.71	42	$4,936,460.07
Grand Total	$5,779,351.82	$4,388,350.25	$8,889,898.83	$3,239,556.00	$4,769,237.36	588	$27,066,394.26
(See OSP data in Resource Room)

Each of the academic colleges at St. Cloud State University promotes basic and applied research activities and most have a research director who works as a liaison between faculty in the college and the Office of Sponsored Programs. A number of designated research centers also provide research support and opportunities for faculty. For example:

• Human Performance Research Laboratory and Special Projects and Applied Research Center – College of Education
• Applied Research and Development Center – College of Science and Engineering
• Nine centers that promote scholarship and applied research, as well as connections between the university and the wider community – College of Social Science Centers

A number of our faculty members are conducting research at the cutting edge. For example:

• Faculty in the Department of Biological Sciences conduct research in cell, molecular and environmental biology areas that are targeted towards understanding diseases and environmental impact of chemicals on reproductive capabilities of aquatic animals.
• Faculty in the Department of Chemistry through various research projects are developing anticancer and anti-diabetic drugs, and understanding anticancer drug resistance mechanisms via genomic and proteomic approaches.
• Faculty in the Human Performance Laboratory, housed in the Department of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Sports Science, have developed and patented ideas that have been used by industry to develop prosthetics. Most recently, faculty members in this center have conducted significant research on fluid retention in sports drinks.

Faculty Work Reassignments

One of the most significant areas of current initiatives and future challenges is that of work reassignments for faculty to devote more of their workload to professional development, scholarship, and research. Faculty receiving federal, state, or foundation grants are generally given course release time to pursue such research and scholarly activities. Many faculty members could obviously benefit from reassigned time. Such reassignment is likely to increase their productivity further, enhance their ability to renew funding, and increase student participation in research activities. In departments where student research credits are generated (e.g., chemistry, electrical engineering, and manufacturing and mechanical engineering), the student research credits are pooled and assigned to research-active faculty on a rotation basis to provide additional time for research and/or scholarly activities. There are discussions at some department and college levels to provide similar work reassignments for active research faculty to pursue sponsored research, and it would be advisable for all departments and colleges to engage in such discussions. The university is currently looking at ways to provide more reassigned time to faculty who are active researchers and is working on developing a more equitable process for awarding reassigned time across campus.

The faculty bargaining unit, IFO, has been seeking a reduced required course load for faculty in order to support and stimulate more professional development, scholarship, and research. As St. Cloud State University develops more graduate education and begins to offer applied doctorates, support for scholarship and research becomes increasingly important.

Professional Development at All Levels

MnSCU supports ongoing learning opportunities for faculty and staff. The Office of the Chancellor offers the Luoma Leadership Academy each year to promising faculty and staff to develop future leaders for the system. The university nominates and supports the participation of several individuals a year in this program.

MnSCU also provides administrative training in such areas as conduct of investigations, data practices, and employee contracts. St. Cloud State University administrators attend two MnSCU professional development meetings each year. Funds are used for participation in national professional organizations such as the American Association of State Colleges and Universities, American Association of Collegiate Schools of Business, American Council of Education, Association of College Personnel Administrators, College and University Personnel Association, the Association of Higher Education Facilities Officers, Council of Advancement of Support for Education, Council of Graduate Schools, the Higher Learning Commission, National Association of College and University Business Officers, National Association of Student Personnel Administrators, National Association for Foreign Student Advising, and the National Council of Teacher Education, to name a few.

The Division of Student Life and Development provides ongoing training for staff at all levels and encourages staff to serve on regional and national professional association bodies as well as provide presentations at regional and national conferences. For example, the division has hosted national speakers for the campus community as well as members of the division. A number of staff serve on regional and national association governing bodies including the Association of College and University Housing Officers International and the Association of College Unions International.

Professional development of faculty and staff through lifelong learning is further encouraged through availability of tuition waivers to all faculty and staff. In the last three fiscal years (2004-2006), 1,473 credits were used by employees to advance their education. (See Tuition Waiver Recap document in Resource Room)

There are also training programs offered on campus to enhance employee skills and to improve the climate for diversity. A designated training position in the Administrative Center for Information Systems unit provides continuing training to staff and faculty on procedures and programs involved in the various information system programs.

In addition to in-service training provided by Learning Resources and Technology Services and the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, discussed previously, the Human Resources Office sponsors many workshops and other activities throughout the year for the professional development of the faculty and staff on campus.

Support for Student Basic and Applied Research

Undergraduate Capstone Experience

Many of the departments at St. Cloud State University have developed capstone experiences for senior students in their programs. As part of this capstone experience students may write research proposals in their junior year, perform collaborative research and scholarly activities with faculty in their senior year, and present their findings in the form of a seminar paper or senior thesis to the departments. Other students may take specially designated capstone courses with research components in their senior year.

Internships and Summer Research Experience Programs

Many of the majors at St. Cloud State University require students to undertake internships before their graduation and accordingly have developed internship courses. As part of the internship requirements, students are required to report back to the departments on their activities in the form of a seminar or submit an internship report. Many students pursuing graduate degrees, particularly in basic and engineering sciences, participate in ten-week summer research programs sponsored by the National Science Foundation. Successful completion of this assignment requires that they present their work at a symposium, departmental seminar, and/or at a professional research meeting. Other students may receive credit for internship work in business, industry, education, government, and non-profit organizations.

Undergraduate Research Programs

The university recognizes the importance of faculty and student collaboration in research and has worked diligently to offer education rich in both research and practice in preparing students for success. In 2004, St. Cloud State University budgeted $35,000 to support the annual Student Research Colloquium. This is a permanent, annual, line-item allocation. Approximately $5000 of this funding is used to support the annual event, and the remaining funds are used to provide research and creative activity grants for undergraduate and graduate students, up to $1500 per project. During 2005-2006, 35 students received research awards; in 2006-2007, 50 students have received research awards. (See OSP data in Resource Room) We believe that this is a level of student research funding unprecedented in Public MA I institutions. Over 300 students and faculty from across the disciplines have participated annually in the Colloquium, which features more than 200 posters and oral presentations each year.

A number of departments require their students to complete an original research or design project (e.g., Departments of Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Electrical and Computer Engineering and Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering) as part of their degree requirements and these research projects are presented at the annual Student Research Colloquium (SRC). Student research awards have been made for projects such as: “Repressive Discourses of Marriage and Motherhood,” “Microalgal Species Diversity,” and “Wireless LCD Picture Frame.” These research awards can also be used for conference presentations.

OSP and the Applied Research Center of the College of Science and Engineering have developed a student researcher fund program and have funded 69 student applications over the past five years. Generally, participating students earn research credits that count toward their degree requirements.

Graduate Studies

The School of Graduate Studies, along with other sources, allocates funds to provide from 250-300 graduate assistantship opportunities each year. The graduate assistant stipend offered by St. Cloud State University matches or exceeds those provided by other universities of similar size and type. For the 2006-2007 academic year, the stipend is $9,700; for 2007-2008, it will be $10,000. The tuition waiver is for up to eight graduate credits per semester (academic year only).

The School of Graduate Studies offers annual research awards in the amount of up to $500 to support work on a student’s culminating project (see Graduate Research Awards document in Resource Room). In addition, it sponsors an annual distinguished thesis award competition where the recipient receives a $200 award as well as having the work represent St. Cloud State University in a regional competition.

Other scholarships in varying dollar amounts are offered by Graduate Studies, including the $4,000 Graduate Friend’s Fellowship, offered to four outstanding students from non-reciprocity states with a cumulative GPA of 3.75 or higher or McNair Scholars who are US residents or citizens and who will begin an on-campus program in the fall semester.

The number of graduate programs at St. Cloud State University has grown steadily in the past five to ten years. Degree programs have increased from 38 to 53 and certificate programs, from six to 14. (See Graduate Bulletins 1998-2006 in Resource Room) At the same time the scholarship produced in the form of master’s theses, starred papers, and research papers has also grown steadily. Most graduate programs either follow master’s thesis plans or starred paper presentation plans. In either case the graduate students are expected to perform quality research or creative work as part of their degree requirements. College research centers also fund graduate research projects.

Public Recognition of Achievement

At the institutional level, St. Cloud State University takes significant actions to reward faculty and student achievement. In addition to scholarships, awards, professional development opportunities, and research support noted above, the university acknowledges individual achievements in the following ways. The library purchases two copies of books that arepublished by our faculty, one for archives and one for circulation. There are numerous university publications that contain articles of individual achievement and CETL includes a “Kudos to Faculty” page on its website. College newsletters regularly inform the campus community of individual achievement. Departmental newsletters, websites, and news boards serve the same purpose within the departments. Also, each year during convocation week there is a reception and recognition of faculty for their publications. Several colleges (COSE, COFAH) have instituted special faculty and staff awards reflecting achievementin fields such as service, creativeachievement, leadership, etc. Individual contribution to special projects is recognized in the form of OSP thank you letters, letters and certificates for participating in or leading workshops and colloquia, and various initiatives. Faculty research directories reflect information on individual faculty research and/or interests. Some colleges also have established special awards for undergraduate student achievement, for example the Denise McGuire Undergraduate Research Awards in COSE.

In addition to student scholarships and research awards mentioned above, the Center for Student Organizations and Leadership gives numerous awards for student leadership and community service each year, as does Multicultural Student Services and GLBT Services.

Each year the Faculty Association Graduate Committee and the School of Graduate Studies recognize one outstanding thesis completed during the last academic year or summer with the St. Cloud State University Distinguished Master’s Thesis Award. This thesis is then submitted by St. Cloud State University as its nominee for the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools Distinguished Thesis Award.

The university recently initiated a new publication, Accolades, to showcase individual academic successes, but it could certainly do more to publicly recognize individual achievement at all levels. A centralized infrastructure for recognition of students, faculty, staff, and administration for their accomplishments could perhaps facilitate and improve the process. Currently, faculty professional achievement outside the immediate campus environment is self reported and therefore not all achievements are tracked.

Evaluation of Core Component 4A

The MnSCU system and St. Cloud State University’s administration, faculty, staff, and students demonstrate that they value a life of learning through institutional, financial, and human resources that support scholarship, professional development, and free inquiry; through professional activity of faculty and staff; and through student engagement in research.

Strengths: Our support and established infrastructure for scholarship and learning at all levels is noteworthy, as are the multiple professional development opportunities for administrators, faculty, and staff. We also clearly recognize our role as a comprehensive state university in our support for scholarship as broadly defined in the Boyer model, including the scholarships of integration, application, and teaching, as well as traditional research and creative activity. Our faculty are active in all four categories of scholarship, and because most classes are taught by tenure-track faculty expected to maintain high standards of scholarly and professional activity, students consistently receive instruction from and have the opportunity to interact with highly qualified professionals who can guide them toward the state-of-the-art in each field and to experience curriculum that is informed by current research and scholarship.

The climate and support for student scholarship has greatly improved with the establishment of such programs as the Student Research Colloquium, and the steady increase of student participation in these programs shows strong scholarly activity among students. Because of multiple opportunities to engage in research and scholarship and to showcase their work, students are able to learn from apprentice relationships with faculty and from their own pre-professional work.

Scholarship by faculty and students undergirds undergraduate and graduate programs, ensuring substance and currency in curriculum, instruction, and student learning. It raises the public profile of the university, contributes to quality and accreditation of programs, helps attract motivated students, and results in recruitment and retention of high quality faculty in a range of programs. Scholarship by faculty and students significantly contributes to and nurtures a learning environment in which academic excellence is not only valued but experienced by and accessible to the campus community, and it provides the university with a resource pool of expertise, which is often drawn on to strengthen the organization, curriculum, campus life, and community service.

Initiatives in Progress: Major initiatives which hold promise to improve our support for acquisition, discovery, and application of knowledge include the improvement of institutional research and data collection and creation of line-item budgets in departments and colleges, both of which could enhance our ability to track actual expenditures and to make decisions in support of scholarship and learning. Another initiative in progress is the review of work reassignments for faculty to ensure more equity in and support for professional improvement and research. And ongoing discussion between faculty and administration on academic freedom and responsibility policies show that the climate for learning is valued and continually reviewed.

Future Challenges: As we continue to expand our graduate degree programs, especially in the area of applied doctorates, support for scholarship and research will need further review and enhancement. Faculty workload distribution will need additional review, and access to sabbatical leave, as well as other opportunities for professional development and research support, will require additional resources. Budget policies and practice to improve faculty use of professional development funds should be instituted, and public recognition of achievement could be improved at all levels.