Transcript NEASC Self-Study Review of Appraisal Findings

NEASC Self-Study
Review of Appraisal Findings
TOWN MEETING
MAY 1, 2008
Standard 1: Mission & Purposes
 Mission statement accurately defines CCSU
 Counseling and Wellness Center understaffed
 Students have trouble navigating student services
offices
 Recent incidents have made CCSU seem less
welcoming to a diverse community
Mission & Purposes, 2
 Academic Affairs and Student Affairs have largely
worked in isolation
 Administration has not clearly articulated
expectations concerning faculty work
 Concern about the quality of communication among
constituencies at CCSU
Standard 2: Planning & Evaluation
 Low satisfaction with implementation of strategic
plan (43%) and with mechanism for evaluating
progress toward meeting goals (45%)
 The strategic planning process could be more
efficient, transparent, and participatory
 Perception that management has been too involved
in planning and decision-making
 Perception that the process and communication
about the process have improved recently
Standard 3:
Organization & Governance
 Part-time and full-time faculty and students do not
believe they have enough participation in planning
and decision-making
 Lack of communication from System Office and lack
of communication about System initiatives from
campus administrators
 Dissatisfaction with level of input from faculty and
staff in evaluation of President
Organization & Governance
 Improvement in tone and timeliness of
communication from administration, but concern
that it takes crises to galvanize the administration
 Some faculty believe administration does not consult
enough with Faculty Senate and circumvents
established committees
 Satisfaction with new decentralized approach to
budgeting
Standard 4: Academic Program
 Curriculum review process considered a strength
 Need more emphasis on diversity in the curriculum
 Need to offer enough FYE courses for all full-time
students in first semester
 Need to include information literacy/fluency in
General Education
Academic Program
 Insufficient attention to specifying and assessing
learning outcomes; lack of consensus about its
importance
 Concern about assessment of student learning
outcomes




Not systematically implemented
Results of uneven value
Absence of feedback loops
Not widely disseminated
Academic Program
 Concern about consistency and adequacy of
measures for evaluating teaching
 Low faculty satisfaction with resources available for
research/creative activity (vs. evidence of
considerable support)
 Faculty rarely report violations of Academic Integrity
policy; many not familiar with policy
 Concern about process for approving credit for
transfer courses (adequacy, efficiency)
Academic Program
 Student concern about not receiving prompt
feedback on academic performance
 Strong track record of graduates obtaining
employment
Standard 5: Faculty
 Role of part-time faculty not clearly defined
 Support for adding more full-time faculty
 Concern that salary levels make hiring difficult in
some disciplines; too much reliance on emergency
appointments
 Measure of load credit does not adequately reflect
faculty work (esp. advising in different
departments)—Need to systematize
Faculty
 Problem with lack of updated Faculty Handbook
 Faculty concern that CCSU policies are not applied
equitably (e.g., P&T, faculty responsibilities)—yet
few grievances filed
 Concern about delay in implementing new P&T
Guidelines, esp. departmental guidelines
 Call for more “family friendly policies” (e.g.,
childcare)
Faculty
 Concerns about physical plant and technology
 Inadequate research and creative space
 Crowded office space
 Lack of support for certain technologies
 Shortage of adequate research reassigned time
 Dissatisfaction with inconsistency of teaching load
responsibilities (1.84/5.0)
Faculty
 Call for more faculty participation in shared
governance and service activities
Standard 6: Students
 CCSU graduation rates have dropped to lowest
quartile among benchmark institutions
 Call to increase diversity of student body
 Concern that minority students graduate at lower
rates
 Concern that many first-time students struggle
academically (approximately 30% do not earn 2.0 in
first semester; 43% required remediation in 2007)
Students
 Positive student satisfaction with
 Library resources and services
 Computer labs
 Tutoring services
 Online access to services
 Availability of counseling services
 CCSU commitment to diversity
 Welcoming campus
 Feeling free to express themselves
 Safety and security of campus
Students
 Low student satisfaction with
 Inconsistent advising
 Registering for courses with few conflicts
 Insufficient course offerings for timely graduation
 Courses not scheduled to fit students’ schedules
 Convenient registration processes and procedures
 Not getting help to set goals
 “Run-around” while seeking information
Students
 Students not well informed about available services
 Few students actively involved on campus
 Student services staff need professional development
to better serve today’s students and families
 Concern about inadequate facilities for student
services (e.g., counseling, advising, learning center)
Library and Information Resources
 Inadequate support and back-up staff in library
 Concerns about space crunch in library and delay in
implementing scheduled renovations
 Pressures imposed by increased emphasis on
technology
 High satisfaction with ITS services
 Lack of university-wide direction for development of
information and instructional technologies—need for
ITS strategic plan
Standard 8:
Physical and Technological Resources
 Campus significantly undersize for its enrollment
and programmatic needs
 Campus conditions and maintenance highly rated by
employees
 Concern about lack of employee input in future
facilities planning
Standard 10: Public Disclosure
 Majority see information published by CCSU as
“helpful and reliable”
 CCSU discloses important information readily and
accurately
 Most students agree that CCSU provides relevant
information about academic and administrative
policies, fees, and students’ rights and
responsibilities
 University website is outdated and difficult to
navigate (although survey respondents rated it more
highly than print materials)
Standard 11: Integrity
 Employees rate academic integrity and professional
ethics high in importance and satisfaction in their
departments
 78% of respondents to Employment Satisfaction
Survey “strongly agreed” and “agreed” that academic
freedom is accepted and practiced at CCSU
 5.13/7.0 mean average student satisfaction response
in 2006 to statement that faculty are “fair and
unbiased” in treatment of individual students (4.99
for African-American students; 5.07 for Latino
students)
Integrity
 Multiple initiatives to promote diversity at CCSU but
they lack coordination and leadership
 CCSU consistently fails to meet its affirmative action
hiring goals; failure to recruit a sufficient number of
minority applicants
 5.21/7.0 mean average student satisfaction response
in 2006 to statement that there is a strong
commitment to diversity at CCSU (4.42 for AfricanAmerican students; 5.09 for Latino students)
Integrity
 79% of student respondents to campus climate
survey strongly agreed or agreed to the statement
that “CCSU promotes a welcoming educational
environment free from discrimination” (n=111)
 Faculty and staff rated the following statement high
in importance (4.55/5.0) but low in satisfaction
(3.11/5.0): “This institution strives to create a
respectful work environment free of discrimination”
 Campus climate survey conducted by Diversity
Committee identified feelings of prejudice and
discrimination among faculty/staff of color