UNK Welcomes NCA

• NCA Visit Home
• Working Group Membership
   
• Self Study
   
• Chapter Outlines
    Chapter 1
    Chapter 2
    Chapter 3
      (Criterion 1)
    Chapter 4
      (Criterion 2)
    Chapter 5
      (Criterion 3)
    Chapter 6
      (Criterion 4)
    Chapter 7
      (Criterion 5)
  
• Minutes
    Nov 2002
    Dec 2002
    Feb 4, 2003
    Feb 18, 2003
    Mar 13, 2003
    Apr 23, 2003
    May 20, 2003
    July 8, 2003
    Aug 14, 2003
    Oct 15, 2003
    Nov 10, 2003
  Jan 22, 2004   Jan 29, 2004
• Resources
    Criterion 1
    Criterion 2
    Criterion 3
    Criterion 4
    Criterion 5

Marilyn Hadley-Working-Group Chair, Mike Bohnhoff, Ron Crocker, Phyllis Harris, David Hof

a. Current Resource Base

Students:
Plans/challenges we chose: To focus on UNK as a residential undergraduate campus with selected graduate programs

• Increase number of students in programs through improved recruitment and retention Strategies
  • Retention of freshmen is up
  • Undergraduate student graduation rates are improved
  • Total number of Bachelor's degree graduates has remained steady, despite enrollment decline, due to improved retention (Oseth)
  • Use of cohort programs has resulted in increased enrollment in graduate programs
  • Use of alternative assessment methods for judging acceptance into graduate programs
     
• Increase quality of undergraduate students - increased entrance requirements 1996 Fall
  • All indicators are up ACT, High School Rank, and completion of High School Core curriculum
  • Tied to increased retention of freshmen, improved graduation rates
     
• Increase quality of graduate students
  • Anderson form" instituted in 1992 as quality control for off-campus courses - course requirements, meeting times and dates, faculty identified.
  • Entrance requirements increased in 1991??????
     
• Increase diversity of students
  • Percent of International students more than doubled between 1992-2002
  • Percent of Non-resident students doubled between 1992-2002
  • In-state students living more than 100 miles from campus increased
  • Number of female students remained steady
  • Percent of Ethnic students declined
     
• Focus on graduate programs rather than graduate electives
  • Reduction in electives offered coincided with higher qualifications
  • Selected electives consistent with institutional priorities (technology, assessment, multicultural education) complement graduate programs

  
  Concern:

• Despite consistent and focused efforts to recruit ethnic minority students since 1998, the percent of minority students is less in 2002 than in 1992
   
  (What are actual numbers?)

Faculty
Plans/challenges we chose: Maintain faculty positions and improve quality of faculty during time of high turnover due to retirements and other reasons

• Improve quality of faculty:
  • Number of tenured or tenure track faculty with terminal degrees has increased
  • Number of tenured or tenure track faculty with doctoral degree has increased
  • Graduate faculty (regular and adjunct) qualifications increased beginning in 1991 with entrance into NU system
  • The UNK Graduate Council, created in 1991, involved faculty as well as administrators in monitoring quality of course and program requests.
  • Ability to make salary offers based on market improved opportunity to hire faculty in some colleges
     
• Maintain flexibility in faculty staffing:
  • Attention to hiring non-tenure track faculty that allows unit flexibility during tight budgets, shifting student enrollments among programs
     
• Increase diversity of faculty:
  • Percentage of female faculty has increased 11.5%
  • Percentage of ethnic faculty has increased 3.2%
     
  Concerns:
  • Salaries for two ranks (Professor and Assistant Professor) are below peer institutions.
  • Progress in increasing ethnicity among faculty has been slow.
  
   
  Managerial Professional/Office Service

Financial
Plans/challenges we chose: Support scholarly teaching focus in academics; improve "residential" aspect in students services; utilize resources wisely through collaboration with other units in business/finance

• General Unrestricted Funds Revenue
  • Revenue for campus was up
  • Growth rate in revenue was up in 5 of 7 areas. Instruction was down, which is consistent with the smaller number of faculty. Research was down.
     
• General Unrestricted Funds Expenditures
  • Amounts were up in all areas except research
  • Amount spent on research as a percent of entire budget was down
     
  Concern:
  Actual dollars supporting research were less in 2002 than in 199? While expectations for faculty to conduct research are increased.
   

Physical

b. Decision-making processes

c. Assessment

Student Performance Assessment

Academic departments have been asked to submit student academic performance assessment plans and reports annually during the last decade. Assessment of student academic performance has varied by department. Based on analysis of data collected and analyzed, the following trends have been identified:

Program Assessment

Based on a variety of program assessments that are conducted on a regular basis, numerous changes have been made that are consistent with the institution's strategic plan and have moved the institution forward. Academic Program assessments include Academic Program Review (APR) conducted at department level every 5 years; Coordinating commission reports conducted every 5 years, specialized accreditation reviews. Other units on campus have conducted annual reviews. Results of these assessments can be categorized as follows:

Academic:

Programs revised

Programs eliminated/consolidated

Programs prioritized

Student Affairs

Business & Finance

Other: University Relations, Technology, athletics, and affirmative action

Concerns: While a systematic student performance assessment system is being implemented at the department level, efforts to assess and learn from student performance during the past decade have been uneven.

Program assessment has taken place on a more consistent basis within units, although emphasis has been uneven.

d. Plans and planning processes

Strategic Planning committee

Description of how SPC worked during GSJ era.

Changes/outcomes as a result of work of SPC:

Concern:
The UNK Strategic Planning committee was not convened or reconstituted during 2002-03. Due to change in Chancellor, and pressure of budget cuts, a different system was used to gain input to make decisions.

e. Organization of and allocation of resources to support plans