In April, the Strategic Planning Committee invited members of the Montana State community to give feedback and direction on new language for the University’s next strategic plan at two design charrettes. At the charrettes, participants had the opportunity to read and react to proposed language that define specific Areas of Focus and Goals for the next 3-7 years. The comments are included verbatim in bulleted italics below:

Vision, Mission, and Values

The Vision, Mission, and Values are the foundation of the strategic plan, defining why we do what we do, what we do, and how we do it. Together they describe Montana State University's strategic direction.

VISION

Montana State University, your world-class university, is committed to access, transforming lives, and shaping the future.

  • Access- Disability inclusion specifically for OSE, making sure to caption videos for hard of hearing. Free speech emphasis as this is contentious issue on campus and with a student body that comes equally from rural Montana as well as more liberal places
  • More context; something besides "your world-class university"
  • “Your” only appropriate for internal Montana audience
  • “Your” world class university does not work well
  • Seems kind of braggadocios and not something to include in a “vision”
  • I like the pronoun ‘you’ – promotes a sense of ownership for Montanans
  • Delete/replace “world-class”
  • “To access to education”? “Transforming lives through education”?
  • Land Grant is important!

MISSION

At Montana State University, the state's land-grant institution, we integrate learning, discovery, and engagement to educate students, create knowledge and art, and serve communities.

  • Should be “…discovery, engagement and outreach”. Outreach needs to be specifically stressed
  • Great elevator citation; appropriately captures what we do
  • This is essentially the existing mission: why change the words?
  • Prepare students with real-world practical skills as well as giving them more academic knowledge.
  • The loss of student success as a value is notable
  • Expand how the land grant mission is embraced by this. Anyone can state this – live it by your roots…
  • Community inclusion? Or collaboration?
  • Prepare future workforce

VALUES

  • Like the short concise value statements

Excellence

We pursue exceptional outcomes and continuous and transformational improvement.

Integrity

We commit to honesty, ethical behavior, and accountability.

  • Integrity AND Transparency

Inclusion

We recognize, honor, and respect the value and dignity of all individuals and aim to create an environment where all can flourish.

  • “Strive” instead of “Aim”
  • Yay!

Collaboration

We believe that working together across disciplines and traditional boundaries produces better outcomes.

  • This should be stressed. Interdepartmental appointments for example
  • I was in an interdisciplinary major (biotechnology – microbial systems) and it was administratively difficult to work with College of Ag and Letters & Science
  • I like this but very aspirational. We have a current culture of having to compete with one another for resources
  • Include 2-year students and make it easier to transfer to MSU. They need to feel that they are a part of campus

Curiosity

We encourage inquiry, exploration, creativity, and innovation.

  • I love this!

 

General Comments:

  • I see a lot about people but not much about infrastructure. Maybe this comes later as an action item?
  • Need “Areas of Distinction” specific to faculty, staff and students. Maybe vision for each?
  • Add S/T on opportunity here? Access?
  • Compassionate – awesome word to use? I like the simplicity of these.
  • Students need to be primary focus for MSU. The university priorities can seem to students as money, researchers, etc. and not THEIR BEST interest. Students say often the content, especially of 100-300 levels courses, is POOR – unclear if this is due to ‘Professor’ having other duties or TAs filling in – unclear. BETTER TO HAVE HIGH quality ONLINE course than poor quality classroom experience. Needed for working students or non-traditional. ONLINE course work on offerings for credit e.g. AWS, Google. Stanford, Harvard, other offerings. More flexibility for students while MSU serving as a platform for networking and coordinating to accomplish students goals while in Montana
  • Students need AFFORDABLE TRAINING so they have a degree that serves them well and our country. – “Degrees” that waste time in any way for any reason – tradition – faculty need etc. are HURTING students and need to be culled
  • All of this is outstanding. Best version to date.

Areas of Distinction and Goals

The Areas of Distinction are the most important places for the University to focus in the next three to seven years to fulfill our mission and vision. They are not the only things MSU will do, but they are the areas that we need to prioritize at this time if we are to move in our strategic direction.

Goals lend further specificity by describing the outcomes we hope to achieve in each area.

AREA OF DISTINCTION: Drive Transformational Student Experiences

Montana State University students are challenged and ultimately changed by their active participation in high quality, innovative experiences at both the undergraduate and graduate level.

  • Involvement matters. Belonging=success. How do we measure student success? What contributes to it?
  • Individualized, personalized?
  • College is more than an education. It’s social and cultural development. Increase student involvement to increase student success.
  • Ok, but may be producing too many PhDs already. Need to look hard at this! Carnegie is stupid!
  • High quality and diverse graduate education
  • Shouldn’t the challenge part be reflected in a goal? Do we need to aim for more challenges?
  • Inside/outside classroom? More commitment to programs/services, opportunities
  • Don’t overuse ‘transformational’
  • ‘…increase student success…with engagement?”
  • Requirements for degrees need to be BETTER coordinated e.g. AP Honors Organic Chemistry and AP Honors Physics should NOT be scheduled at the SAME TIME same semester. Course need to be possible to take without waiting a year for next chance. IF the goal is the SERVE the students.
  • Must include new ways of learning that are more diverse – online, partnerships with other universities, inclusive options. Goal to serve the students/citizens frugally with the BEST education as measured objectively – basic math and English etc. requirements should be possible outside MSU classroom
  • Graduate and professional education? Some of our degrees are professional (but fall under the umbrella of graduate)
  • And we create the places and have the physical facilities to allow these really good things to happen
  • …And create spaces and places that inspire and support these innovative experiences
  • High impact basic things MSU could improve on include:
    • Promoting healthy lifestyles, especially with all the sitting students do
    • Emphasize the importance of sleep! For brain function and health overall
    • No idea what this means
    • What measures “high-impact” or “High quality” – these are useless phrases without definitions
    • I don’t know what “high-impact practices” are. I think the goal should be self-explanatory
    • Ensure excellence in existing grad programs
    • Is there a limit to access? How much can the University handle with the space/resource constraints we currently have?
    • “Innovative experiences” seems like a strange phrase. “Transformational” is better, but you used that in the title. “Eye-opening experiences”?
    • Take student input (like this)
    • What do you mean by “high-impact practices” (vague)

GOAL: Broaden access and increase student success

  • Student involvement/engagement? Broaden access, involvement opportunities and increase student success
  • Defining student success?
  • These are two different things. Should be separate.
  • How do we define “student success?”
  • Out-of-state student retention and inclusion!!
  • How about supporting students who are food insecure? Homeless? Maslow’s hierarchy must be met first for “success”!
  • Do we want to encourage student involvement? EX: all students participate in at least “X” events/programs at MSU.
  • Lower costs by cutting spending on sports facilities especially FOOTBALL which is not an “academic” venture and per MSU and RAEA (?) associated with on campus rapes. Let them be their own entity or adopt Canadian or smaller school modes
  • Pay advisors a living wage. This will cut down on turnover which will help build relationships w/ students & increase student success
  • Pay advisors and student RAs and TAs a good, living wage and everyone will benefit. My advisor was terrible – partially because he didn’t have the authority to do anything – I started going to another person instead (the head advisor – so she could get stuff done)

GOAL: Expand opportunities for high-quality graduate education

  • Do we need to consider new non-STEM doctoral programs?
  • The country may well be producing too many non-STEM PhDs already! Carnegie must not be followed.
  • Must align degrees with job market. Especially computer science options only all more current e.g. AWS, Google, Cloud capability. Partnerships with business to increase educational experiences and decrease costs to MSU and increase relevance.
  • Expand Optics and Photonics masters degree program → HUGE demand in Bozeman, but they are having to hire from California (I know this for a fact)

GOAL: Implement high-impact practices for every student

  • I find “High impact” to be current buzzword or phrase. It presumably means that practices have some objective evidence of being influential. Maybe refer to the definition, or use meaningful terms.
  • High impact – how will this be interpreted? Need more definitive word(s)
  • Defining high impact?
  • Maintain percentage of courses taught by professors than TAs.
  • We need to make sure that we invest resources in high quality teaching
  • International - global -  global citizenship
  • The wording of the “GOAL” did lot convey the idea that this is so focused on interdisciplinary topics
  • Choose specific directions and put resources towards these impact areas

AREA OF DISTINCTION: Enhance the Impact and Prominence of Scholarship

Montana State University faculty, staff, and students are known for discovering, applying, testing, and sharing knowledge and creative works that expand understanding and improve lives and society.

  • In reading details of this (and others) I see a tremendous amount of money will be needed. I hope you get it.
  • Expand/emphasize undergrad research opps. To non-traditional, first generation students (e.g. McNair)
  • Innovative?
  • Innovative work instead of creative work?
  • Innovative!
  • Emphasize how big MSU is on research
  • I am very disturbed by the lack of academic rigor in “nursing” program. Especially as regards Peter Bauerhaus – who has not worked as a nurse and who verbalizes a narrow bias for private insurance model of care. Myself and others who work caring for patients find the nursing faculty disconnected from “BEDSIDE” problematic – would you get the best science education from an MD who never saw patients? Medical school faculties traditionally require MDs to work 50% of time in patient care. Perhaps MSU does not allow for this? Can it be fixed? Need REAL clinicians teaching in classroom.
  • Unclear – raise standards? Or individual improvements? Or make harder rubrics?
  • Aren’t they already?
  • Raise tuition waivers for MSU employees
  • As a musician and scientist I love this
  • Related to goal 2.3 – consider knowledge mobilization (Gustavo Fischman’s work)
  • The Honors College does a good job with interdisciplinary matters, the rest of MSU could benefit from their experiences/strategies
  • Enhance reputation – BUT NOT AT THE EXPENSE OF THE STUDENTS!!! Very basically I mean can you hire good teachers over good researchers or at least don’t have a brilliant researcher teaching an introductory class (see CHEM 141, 143 past teachers). Ask Greg Francis who a good teacher is.
  • This could easily be confused to be money for students until you read the rest. Is scholarship the right word?

GOAL: Raise scholarship expectations

  • Raise scholarship expectations for faculty, staff and students
  • For faculty staff and students
  • Word 2.1 differently. Seems heavy handed.
  • The sub-goals are all good. I read them as raising the level of scholarship or sch (?) performance. Not just expectations.
  • Same for professors, some research should/could be more relevant. Focus seems to be publishing RATHER than doing something relevant and meaningful for society. This can lead to discussion of ‘Elitism'
  • How does this apply to the average undergraduate student?

GOAL: Expand interdisciplinary scholarship

  • Need more real money to support the “Idea” of interdisciplinary teaching
  • Propose mechanism for “interdisciplinary” given our silo administrative structure
  • Recruit more faculty who have interdisciplinary orientation. Tend to be silo’d now.
  • There is a lost about interdisciplinary work – incentives ($) would go a long way in doing this.
  • Potential re-evaluation of CORE studies to be more interdisciplinary?
  • It is problematic to formulate this goal from the top down in this way. This makes interdiscipline a goal for its own sake. It should be driven by actual needs & problems, not by arbitrary numbers.

GOAL: Enhance the impact of scholarship

  • …on society (outreach emphasis)
  • Non-educational constituents may be confused by term scholarship. Could be associated with financial assistance (merit/need based scholarship)
  • Repetitive? Area of Distinction 2

GOAL: Enhance institutional reputation in scholarship

  • Should it say “reputation for scholarship”?

AREA OF DISTINCTION: Expand Mutually Beneficial and Responsive Engagement in Montana

Montana State University students, faculty and staff work together and with community partners across Montana to create and expand mutually beneficial and responsive partnerships that enhance the social, economic, physical, and environmental well-being of individuals, organizations, and communities.

  • Emotional/mental well-being?
  • Consistency in how we say ‘students, faculty, and staff’ or “faculty, students, and staff’. Which is it?
  • Like that stewardship is included here!
  • Koch Foundation center is a bad idea. Better: a center with multiple partners, grant that does NOT allow Donor the option of taking back all unexpended funds without 30 days’ notice (15 day refund), center guidelines need to ensure that academic integrity is protected without bias.
  • Internships and job shadowing
  • “Continuous Improvement” model for DevOps (computer science) is a good model for all continuous improvement strategies
  • MSU could incorporate more Native American Art/History into campus
  • Paid internships for our students at UPD, BPD, GCSU, MHP
  • Industry partners

GOAL: Build mutually beneficial partnerships with state organizations and Montana communities

  • Yellowstone?
  • We need to create a formal process for obtaining the needs of Montana communities and businesses
  • Why is communities capitalized?
  • Why are we limiting to Montana? I find this limiting.
  • Better recognize what we already do well across all areas

GOAL: Increase mutually beneficial collaboration with tribal nations and partners

  • Tribes sensitive to MSU faculty building their careers on their backs
  • Indigenous?
  • Delete mutually? Many in tribes suspicious of MSU faculty and students using research on Natives to build their careers
  • Have we spoken to tribal partners about this? How do they feel? Are these their needs? If this is a goal, we need to make sure they are on board and are ready.
  • So glad this is a larger goal.
  • With tribes and other outside groups: Research WITH not “about them” nor “for them” not “us and them”
  • Address well-being and health needs of diverse and minority groups!
  • Must invest! This has been a priority for a while without monetary support

GOAL: Build a University culture of collaboration, continuous improvement, and individual growth

  • Interdisciplinary?
  • Culture of continuous collaboration, improvement and individual growth

Final Thought: Montana is the 48th state with male/female pay gap and the USA has not ratified CEDAW or the ERA – I’d like to see something in here about promoting female educational opportunities and diversifying majors in terms of gender. We are the 50%

Metrics and Action Items

The Strategic Planning Committee is working on the next level of detail that will help us measure progress and define the concrete actions that must be taken to be successful in each Goal.