Strategic Planning Implementation Funds (SPIF) Proposal

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Year Two Strategic Planning Implementation Funds Proposal For Student Engagement

Project Description

Background:

“Student engagement” is the Academic Quality Improvement Project (AQIP) Action Plan term for “enrollment management” as employed in The Western Advantage: A Five Year Strategic Plan. Accordingly, the Academic Affairs and Enrollment Management Strategic Planning Implementation Committee (AAEM) is the key campus-wide group implementing the student engagement AQIP Action Project. As previously reported, prior to the first year of AQIP Action Project Strategic Planning Implementation Funding (SPIF), over 75 faculty and staff participated in one of eight planning teams sponsored by the Academic Affairs and Enrollment Management Strategic Planning Implementation Committee to construct a working draft conceptual strategic enrollment management plan entitled Assets and Aspirations.

Corresponding to the The Western Advantage: A Five Year Strategic Plan and prior to Assets and Aspirations and the student engagement AQIP action project, Western combined the academic and student affairs divisions in 2002 to emphasize the seamless nature of the student learning inside and outside of the classroom. This new Division of Academic and Student Affairs (ASA) has employed the “Citizen-Scholar” concept to frame the holistic nature of the Western learning community as described in the strategic plan —one that has two distinctive institutional signatures—“applied learning” and “service to the region”.

Finally in review, the student engagement AQIP Action Project also combines other components of the campus strategic plan and Western’s participation in three national projects consistent with the citizen-scholar model. Two of the three national projects are through the American Association of State Colleges and Universities: the American Democracy Project (ADP) and the Foundations of Excellence™ in the First College Year Project (Foundations). The third national project is participation in the National Learning Community Project (NLCP). Each of these projects has “engagement” components.

Proposal:

This Year Two SPIF proposal continues to address “student engagement” as a developmental process beginning with the marketing/branding of an “engaged learning community” to prospective students and continuing with the intentional educational programs to retain current students. With respect to AAEM goal one inThe Western Advantage, with year one AQIP Action Project funding from SPIF, the national firm of Noel-Levitz was engaged to assist the College with the development of a tactical/operational annual recruitment plan from June 2004 to December 2004.

In contrast to the conceptual Assets and Aspirations, the new SPIF-funded tactical plan is a data-driven planning effort focused on formulating an annual recruitment plan, based on Noel-Levitz market research conducted in 2004, which has measurable outcomes to evaluate each plan component.

To date, there have been six site visits by Noel-Levitz consultants involving more than 80 faculty and staff and a working draft of the plan is currently under final AAEM review with a December 15, 2004 submission deadline to President Scanlon.

As of December 10, 2004, this new recruitment plan has seven measurable enrollment goals supported by 26 strategies involving 215 separate tasks—with 157 or 73 % of these tasks identified as new initiatives.

The proposed project will focus on: 1) implementing the 215 new tasks of the new annual recruitment plan; 2) analysis of data collected in 2004 as part of the Foundations™ Project; and 3) development, with the assistance of Noel-Levitz, of an annual retention plan that would compliment the new recruitment plan—thus completing the achievement of a comprehensive (i.e., recruitment and retention) enrollment management plan action item in The Western Advantage: A Five Year Strategic Plan.

Evaluation Plan:

Each component of Year Two SPIF-funded Action Plan activities will have measurable outcomes.

In terms of the new recruitment plan seven measurable goals, Noel-Levitz will audit, at 90 days and again at nine months, the progress toward goal targets and assist with the assessment of the effectiveness and relative contributions of the 215 tasks toward meeting recruitment goals.

The analysis of data collected in 2004, as part and the Foundations of Excellence™ in the First College Year Project, will be summarized in a written report to campus no later than March 2005. This data set includes student NSSE data linked to CSHE faculty survey data for Western and other Foundations participants.

The timeline for the development and completion of the annual retention plan will parallel the recruitment plan—with a December 2005 submission to President Scanlon. As in the case of the recruitment plan, the retention plan will have five to seven measurable goals with action strategies and supporting tasks. A pre-planning consultation with Noel-Levitz is tentatively scheduled for January 2005, with plan development to commence with the completion of the analysis of data collected in 2004 as part of the Foundations of Excellence™ in the First College Year Project Report in March 2005.

Personnel:

In addition to the AAEMC, primary involvement with the proposed project is with the ASA Division, including Admissions, Student Development, Academic Departments, and Student Services. Select AAEMC members are also involved with the respective committees working on the three national projects—ADP, Foundations, and NLCP and the campus Assessment and Benchmarking Committee (ABC). The project director co-chairs the AAEMC, is Vice President for ASA, is an ex offico member of each national project committee, and receives ABC reports.

Impact:

The results of the student engagement measures will inform the development of the new retention plan. The completion of the retention plan will complete Western’s comprehensive enrollment management plan.

Budget Justification:

The requested Year Two SPIF funding will support implementation of the 2005 annual recruitment plan and the development of the companion 2006 retention plan. SPIF funds are needed to implement 157 new initiatives in the recruitment plan that were unbudgeted in the current 2005 fiscal year (estimated @ $70,000) and the Noel-Levitz consulting services to develop a new retention plan (estimated @ $30,000). Collection and analysis of student engagement data is now in the base budget of ASA.