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Strategic Planning Committee Minutes, September 19, 2002
Strategic Planning Committee Minutes
September 19, 2002
MEMBERS PRESENT: Bruce Morton, Mark Sheehan, Betsy Centa, Bill Brown, Jon Wraith, Mary Noll, Jaynee Groseth, Kay Chafey.
MEMBERS ABSENT: Greg Johnson, ASMSU representative.
OTHERS PRESENT: Kathy Attebury, Ben Sharp.
The meeting convened at 1:30 PM. Bruce Morton chaired.
The Chair will deliver the MSU Capacity for Growth statement to the Provost on Monday, September 23rd.
The main topic of this meeting is refinement of the SWOT analysis.
There appeared to be agreement that the bullets under each heading should be prioritized.
Strengths:
- It was suggested Bozeman's designation as an "All American City" be included as a strength. It may be an opportunity for MSU to engender stronger ties with the community, although some of this is already occurring.
- How to market MSU's location depends upon the geographical area in which the marketing is being done. Because of MSU's location, some programs have a strategic advantage, a "natural advantage". MSU's location, in tandem with its high academic standards, should be marketed.
- A statement might be made that in an ever-changing environment, MSU will strive to adapt well.
- "Community service" differs from "service learning", which is built into a course. Both have value within the framework of the university community.
- It was suggested the Marketing Club annually discuss, as a project, effective ways of marketing MSU. Faculty should be engaged in discussion of how to become effective marketers for the university.
Weaknesses:
- It was suggested a bullet state that central administrators be encouraged to establish a strategic focus for MSU.
- A recommendation for strategic focus might include statements regarding an excellent undergraduate program, retention, and higher admission standards.
Discussion of remediation programs followed. Students from disadvantaged backgrounds could be served by developing a program that increases their chance for success. The "best and brightest" are not necessarily identified through ACT/SAT scores and GPA. Should "remediation" take place at all units of the MSU system?
Planned mentoring programs by ASMSU address social adjustment of students, and freshman seminars help academic adjustment. A goal of the academic mentoring program is to provide support for every student within 5-6 years.
Discussion of the appropriate level of academic mentoring should be couched in terms of the available resources. Where does it make sense to spend MSU's resources? Should MSU work toward recruiting students who are well-prepared and diversified while less-prepared students begin their higher education elsewhere? Does MSU want to allocate its limited resources to ill-prepared students?
To help students, quality advising is necessary. Advising will be important to faculty if it is recognized within the reward system. An increased investment in Counseling Services is needed. Increased student-to-student mentoring can provide support to students with certain issues.
Higher standards are not antithetical to diversity. A statement could be made that MSU can not be all things to all people, but it will make a commitment to provide support to those populations MSU identifies as needing special consideration.
Discussion followed regarding the MSU family and the role of each unit within it.
Resources will need to increase to recruit better students, because additional scholarships and home visits will be required. However, increased retention should offset the cost.
Committee members should submit final minor changes to the SWOT analysis to Bruce by Monday morning. After the Capacity for Growth Statement and the SWOT analysis have been delivered to the Provost, the President and Provost will be invited to an SPC meeting to ask questions of the committee and discuss issues that need elaboration.
The Strategic Planning Committee will meet Thursday, September 26, at 1:30 PM, and Friday, September 27, at 3:00 PM.
The meeting adjourned at 3:20 PM.
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