Summary

Summary of Major Challenges and Recommendations

The Self-Study recognizes a number of challenges that merit institutional focus and action. These challenges have been clustered in the chart below according to five topics:

  • Budget—understanding of and participation in planning and allocating financial resources
  • Diversity—valuing human differences in race, ethnicity, religion, learning styles, etc.
  • Environment—creating conditions for all University members to excel
  • Alignment—perceptions of synergy or compatibility among mission, priorities, structures, activities, resources, and rewards
  • Assessment for Improving Learning— evaluations of activities and programs for improvement and accountability.

Challenges are followed by brief recommendations made earlier in the report. While many challenges might fit in more than one of the five major topics, each challenge and recommendation emphasized in the Self-Study is located below in only one topical category. The challenges and recommendations are not listed in order of priority.

Budget
Challenges Recommendations
Technology budget (beyond Student Computer-Usage Fee) Increase budget for technologies beyond student computer-usage fee
Increased external funding to offset decreasing state funding Increase emphasis on fundraising from external sources, including grant-proposal writing
Graduate-program funding Continue to enhance graduate-program funding
Uneven understanding of and involvement in strategic budget decisions by faculty and department heads Implement more inclusive and informative budget process
Inadequate Faculty and Staff Salaries
  • Develop and implement new faculty productivity standards and reward systems
  • Review current compensation status for classified staff
Diversity
Challenges Recommendations
Within budget constraints, increase enrollment of ethnic minorities and recruit and retain high-quality faculty Continue to give high priority to diversity in student recruitment and faculty hiring
Elevate the role of Missouri State University as a leader in state and regional diversity  issues
  • Elevate equal-opportunity and affirmative-action compliance to a greater appreciation of diversity by increasing the visibility of positive experiences that diversity brings
  • Increase students’ active learning experiences with international students and other diverse populations to make theoretical knowledge about diversity more meaningful
  • Continue to improve services and programs for non-traditional students and students from diverse backgrounds
 Environment
Challenges Recommendations
Greater participation by members of university community in planning process Encourage greater direct participation in the opportunities that already exist
Greater faculty participation in professional development Achieve more widespread and effective use of professional development opportunities
Evaluating appropriate use of Instructional Technology training Increase appropriate use of Instructional Technology
Facilities renovation and/or expansion Upgrade facilities and streamline work-order process for physical plant changes to improve learning environment
Mentoring of new faculty Continue to expand the mentoring program
Communication channels (laterally and vertically) are not always used properly to inform university community about decisions and processes Improve communication at all levels, including more widespread discussion of policy changes and implementation of new programs and initiatives
Diffuse administration of international programs and relatively low percentage of students participating Improve international programs and emphasis on globalization, in part by establishing international-affairs group to assist in communication and coordination of goals, strategies, and programs
Difficulty of creating and implementing interdisciplinary studies programs and research projects Review and improve procedures for interdisciplinary studies and research
Current environmental scanning is limited in scope and is diffuse. Improve coordination and broaden use of systematic environmental scanning to monitor changing social and economic conditions of state/region in order to better serve constituents
Cumbersome curricular change and approval process Evaluate curriculum change and approval process to streamline while retaining quality assurance
Alignment
Challenges Recommendations
Inconsistent perceptions of the University’s public affairs mission and its implementation
  • Continue dialogues regarding the University’s public affairs mission, including orientation of new members to the mission, and implementation of mission by individuals and units
  • Develop and implement new faculty standards and reward systems related to the mission
Inequity across departments in new classroom technology and streamlining of requests Provide equity and more organized and timely process for requesting, ordering, and installing new classroom technology
Inequity within and across departments for work with graduate studies Develop graduate program workload recognition
Assessment for Improved Learning
Challenges Recommendations
Lack of formal campus-wide academic review policy that supports long-range plan measures and incorporates data-based decisions Implement a campus-wide academic review policy that supports long-range plan measures and incorporates data-based decisions
Inefficient sharing of alumni data across offices to assess the success of graduates Continue work started to survey and track graduates through a centrally-maintained database available for query
Inconsistent use of available information to assess and improve student learning Request academic units to take more responsibility for using assessment results to improve curriculum and student learning experiences
Current environmental scanning is limited in scope and is diffuse Improve coordination and broaden use of systematic environmental scanning to monitor changing social and economic conditions of state/region in order to better serve constituents

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