CLARION UNIVERSITY ACTION PLAN – MIDDLE STATES STANDARDS OF EXCELLENCE
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Standard

1

Mission and
Goals

2

Planning,
Resources and
Institutional
Renewal

Recommendations

*









Suggestions

Working Group(s)

Hold extended discourse on
Academic/Directors’
the meaning of “nationally
Councils; Open
recognized programs” for
Forums (FF-PAI)
Clarion University.
Frame new strategic
Strategic Directions
directions in a way that is
Steering Committee
measurable.
Make additional reporting
tools, including modeling
IMIR; Computing
techniques and forecasting,
Services; F&A
available to RC managers and
the university as a whole.
Offer training and workshops
for administrators, faculty,
Divisions of
and staff to develop expertise
Academic Affairs,
in RCM performance and
F&A, and SUA
assessment.
Align institutional initiatives
with PASSHE performance
metrics in order to capitalize
RC Managers
on opportunities for
additional revenue.
Develop a plan to ensure
UTAC; Faculty
adequate computing
Senate; Institutional
resources for faculty and staff
Resources Comm.
across RCs.

Decisional
Authority

Milestone/
Date

PEC

PEC

PEC

PEC

PEC

PEC

Delivery date of
May 1, 2012

#
3

4

5

Standard
Institutional
Resources

Leadership and
Governance

Administration

Recommendations

*




Suggestions
Develop a funding and
implementation plan for
deferred maintenance.
Periodically assess the effective
use of institutional resources.
Examine the charters of
university governance groups,
particularly Faculty Senate, and
amend as necessary.
Council of Trustees should
strategize on how to take on a
more intentional advocacy role
in the community and beyond
given serious state budget
reductions.
More reflection and
deliberation by governing
bodies on university change
initiatives.
Conduct periodic assessment of
the effectiveness of
institutional governance and
the role of students within
university governance.
The university administration
should proceed deliberately
with RCM and strive to ensure
that all constituents understand
its mechanisms and details.

Working
Group(s)
Division of
Finance and
Administration

Decisional
Authority

ISLAC

PEC

Governance
Groups

Governance
Groups &
President

Council of
Trustees

President;
Council of
Trustees

Governance
Groups

President;
Governance
Groups

Governance
Groups; ISLAC

President;
Governance
Groups; VP
for SUA

RC Managers

President

PEC

Milestone/
Date

#

5

6

Standard

Recommendations

*

Ensure that documents and
publications identify the Clarion
University Foundation, Inc. as a
distinct and separate entity
from the university.
Review the university’s
organizational structure
regarding academic and
institutional planning to ensure
effectiveness.
Re-examine the need for more
intentional institutional
infrastructure for supporting
sponsored research and grants.

Administration,
cont.

Integrity

Suggestions

Conduct a formal review of
faculty promotion criteria
to confirm that they are
sufficiently defined and that
recent faculty promotion
decisions affirm consistent
treatment of all candidates
for promotion.
Conduct periodic
assessment of other
institutional policies,
processes, and practices
and their implementation.



Working
Group(s)

Decisional
Authority

Printing Svcs;
University
Relations

President;
VP for SUA

ISLAC

Provost

Acad Affairs
committee
(ongoing,
Turell)

Provost

Academic
Affairs;
Human
Resources;
APSCUF

President;
Provost;
APSCUF
(Meet &
Discuss)

ISLAC

PEC

Milestone/
Date

#

6

Standard

Recommendations

*



Integrity, cont.





.

7

Institutional
Effectiveness

Suggestions
Continue to improve the flow
and accuracy of information
between administration,
faculty, staff, and other
constituents.
Create a centralized online
resource providing information
on local faculty policies and
procedures.
Further ensure integrity of
online courses using
biometrics, challenge
questions, web video
conferencing proctoring, and
other relevant methodologies.

Continue to proceed with
plan to implement a
comprehensive, sustainable
program of institutional
assessment in order to fully
document effectiveness
across the board.



Initiate a systematic
administrative department
program review process and a
systematic assessment plan for
on-line offerings.

Working
Group(s)

Decisional
Authority

University
Relations

PEC

Provost;
Human
Resources

Provost

Virtual
Campus (Dir.,
Lynne
Fleisher)

Provost

ISLAC

PEC

Virtual
Campus; ISLAC

PEC

Milestone/
Date

#

7

Standard

Recommendations

Institutional
Effectiveness,
cont.

*





8

Student
Admission and
Retention

Suggestions
Centrally track information
about post-graduation activities
of students to inform
recruitment, program review
and accreditation standards,
and advancement.
Develop a mechanism to
facilitate the sharing of
assessment best practices
across the institution.

Track the retention and
graduation rates of all
Clarion University students.
Develop a sustainable
strategy to ameliorate
existing retention and
graduation disparities
between minority and
majority students.



Develop a more robust
enrollment reporting system
including metrics to monitor
targeted populations.
Document the impact of all
initiatives and strategies
employed to improve (increase)
student retention.

Working
Group(s)

Decisional
Authority

IMIR

PEC

ISLAC

IMIR Director

IMIR

IMIR Director

Enrollment
Management
Retention
Advisory
Committee

Provost

IMIR;
Computing
Services;
Enrollment
Management

Provost

IMIR

Provost

Milestone/
Date

#

9

Standard
Student Support
Services

Recommendations

*







10

Faculty



Suggestions
Encourage offices to
coordinate services and share
information in ways that
benefit students.
Develop a plan to maintain and
improve technology and
services for students with
disabilities
Review the capacity of
counseling and health related
services in response to
increases in enrollment and
demand for mental health
services.
Focus greater attention on the
predictability of student
enrollment, student retention,
and course availability.
Focus on improving academic
advising, the readiness of
campus students for online
learning, and the quality across
offerings.
Continue to support a program
for faculty professional
development.

Working
Group(s)

Decisional
Authority

SUA; Academic
Affairs

Provost &
V.P. for SUA

Office of
Disability
Support Svcs.;
Computing
Svcs.

Provost

Counseling
Svcs; Dean of
Student
Development

V.P. for SUA

Enrollment
Management;
Acad. Affairs

Provost

Acad. Affairs;
UASC; (special
subcommittee?)

Provost

Academic
Affairs

Provost

Milestone/
Date

#

10

Standard

Recommendations

*

Faculty, cont.



11

Educational
Offerings

Program goals should be
stated in terms of student
learning outcomes for all
academic programs.
Establish the inclusion of
student learning outcomes
in all course syllabi as an
institution-wide
expectation.
Ensure the assessment of
student learning and
program outcomes relative
to the goals and objectives
of undergraduate programs
is practiced across all
academic departments and
that results are used to
improve effectiveness.

Suggestions
Continue to examine syllabus
requirements to identify and
systematize approaches to
articulating student learning
objectives in course instruction
across the curriculum.
Review promotion and
sabbatical leave criteria to
ensure their alignment with
university missions and
strategic directions.

Working
Group(s)

Decisional
Authority

Academic
Affairs

Provost

Academic
Affairs;
APSCUF

President;
Provost;
APSCUF
(Meet &
Discuss)

ISLAC

Provost

Academic
Affairs; Faculty
Senate

Provost

Academic
Affairs; ISLAC

Provost

Milestone/
Date

Syllabus policy
revised and
posted online
under Academic
Affairs Policies.

#

11

Standard

Recommendations

Educational
Offerings, cont.

*





12

General
Education

Suggestions
Re-engineer the five-year
program review process to
increase usability of the
Periodic Review Report for
planning and assessment
purposes.
Collect and organize year-end
summary data from CCPS and
report annually to the
university community.

Establish a manageable
program of assessment of
general education
outcomes as part of the
institution’s overall plan for
assessing student learning
and use the results for
curricular improvement.



Review methods for Math and
English placement in General
Education coursework.

Ensure that syllabi for general
education courses with
multiple sections include the
same goals, objectives, and
expected student learning
outcomes.

Working
Group(s)

Decisional
Authority

Academic
Affairs
(currently
ongoing)

Provost

Academic
Affairs; CCPS

Provost

General Ed.
Council;
Academic
Affairs

Provost

Depts. of
Mathematics
and English;
Gen Ed.
Council

Provost

ISLAC;
Academic
Affairs

Provost

Milestone/
Date

Delivery date of
September 1,
2012

#

13

Standard

Recommendations

Related
Educational
Activities

14
Assessment of
Student
Learning

*



Suggestions
Develop and implement an
enrollment management plan
for International students with
targets, goals, and strategies
for their recruitment and
retention and provide
increased international student
services as demand increases.
Consider how to better
integrate “high-impact”
practices into online courses
and the need for a more
effective orientation program
for students less prepared for
online course delivery.

Continue to proceed with
plans to implement a
comprehensive, sustainable
program of student learning
outcomes assessment in
order to be able to fully
document its impact on
student learning.
Improve communication across
the university regarding the
assessment of student learning
outcomes within General
Education, degree programs,
and majors.

Working
Group(s)

Decisional
Authority

Office of
International
Programs;
Enrollment
Management

Provost

Virtual
Campus

Provost

ISLAC;
Academic
Affairs

Provost

ISLAC

Provost

Milestone/
Date

#

Standard

14

Assessment of
Student
Learning ,cont.

Recommendations

*

Suggestions
Utilize university resources to
develop the infrastructure
necessary to effectively assess
student learning outcomes.

Working
Group(s)

Decisional
Authority

PEC; ISLAC

President; RC
Managers

Milestone/
Date

Footnote: Items with a “” were identified as recommendations within the university’s Middle States Self-Study and endorsed by the Middle States
Site Visit Team as either a recommendation or suggestion.