The University for the 21 st Century A Strategy for the Future

The Challenge: WSU in the 21 st Century The mission of Winona State University is to educate and enlighten our citizenry at a distinctive institution: a community of learners dedicated to improving our world.

Issues in Higher Education Today Minnesota is becoming more diverse and more urban. We are becoming a nation of minorities. The economy is becoming information-based and shaped by science and technology. Intellectual and social capital will drive the economy. The world is increasingly “ flat ” and success comes from doing things faster, quicker and the way clients want them, anywhere in the world (Thomas Friedman).

Issues in Higher Education Today We face complex challenges in every aspect of life- economic, global, cross-cultural, environmental. A nation is going to college but many are at risk of being left out. Gaps in educational attainment are widening. Technology is changing how we communicate, how we learn and where we learn, what we know and how we interact with each other. The number of college-age youth will drop by 7.3% in MN, 4.5% in WI and 11.9% in IA.

The Challenge: WSU in the 21 st Century What will make us distinctive? How can we become a true community of learners? What will it mean to be educated for the 21 st century? What kind of educational and scholarly environment must we provide in the future? Who will our students be in the future?

Difficult Questions Who are our students likely to be in 5-10 years? How do we interact with our students today? How will we interact with them tomorrow? What other choices do our students have today? What choices will they have in the future?

Applying Learning for the 21 st Century to the Administration of the University A Guide for Focusing our Resources and Expertise. Learning Differently Working together Differently Making a Difference

Core Principles Develop a clear educational philosophy and intention and focus administrative resources on creating an educationally rich environment. Make progress visible and compelling. Approach administration as a scholarly act. Support the people doing the work. Design a strong infrastructure. Apply the habits of academic entrepreneurship.

What is Academic Entrepreneurship? Serve a broader array of students with a range of educational options. Diversify our revenue stream and generate additional revenue. Link scholarship and education to economic and community development (i.e. become more engaged and expand our learning environment).

What is an Engaged University? Interactions with the community that are characterized by shared goals. Agreed-upon definitions of success that are meaningful both to the university and to the community participants. pooling or leveraging of university resources and public and private funds provided by other participants.

An Engaged University, part 2 The resulting collaboration or partnership is mutually beneficial and is likely to build the capacity and competence of all parties. To be successful, partnerships must build on the strengths of the participants and there must be reasonable complementarity of what each can contribute to the overall goals of the collaboration.

Strategies for Building a Distinctive University #1 Develop clear expectations for WSU graduates at both undergraduate and graduate level. – Employ a powerful and coherent educational philosophy. – Use this philosophy to guide institutional investments in learning.

Strategies for Building a Distinctive University #2 Use a strategic planning and budget model. – Free up funds for innovation and redesign of essential programs and support structures. – Invest in programs that make us distinctive.

Strategies for Building a Distinctive University #3 Introduce a culture of evidence. – Foster a habit of continuous learning and improvement. – Utilize an experimental approach to change. – Guide change with evidence of impact.

Strategies for Building a Distinctive University #4 Expect high and rigorous standards. – Build support for scholarship. – Expand institutional research and assessment. – Define clear academic and administrative priorities and introduce rigorous performance expectations.

Strategies for Building a Distinctive University #5 Promote productive collaborations and partnerships both internal and external. – Focus on strategic societal issues (e.g. quality of preK-12 education, renewable energy, health care, community development, diversification of the economy, arts/cultural programs). – Create learning opportunities for our students.

Strategies for Building a Distinctive University #6 Foster interdisciplinary work within the administration as well as across academic programs. – Between Winona and Rochester. – Between academic and student affairs. – Across fields and disciplines.

Strategies for Building a Distinctive University #7 Partner within MnSCU and beyond. – Center of Excellence. – Educational partnerships. – Collaborations with the University of Minnesota. – Long-term collaborations with regional business and non-profit organizations.

Strategies for Building a Distinctive University #8 Seek additional sources of external support. – Portfolio of grant support. – Expand graduate programming. – Fund-raising. – New educational packages: summer session, workshops, etc.

Strategies for Building a Distinctive University #9 Expand international programming. – To promote global competence. – To support development of regional enterprise.

Strategies for Building a Distinctive University #10 Develop our presence in Rochester. – Make the University Center at Rochester a national model and a working laboratory for the study of emerging social, cultural and economic issues.

Strategies for Building a Distinctive University #11 Emphasize communication. – Continue to lead the nation in effective use of educational technology. – Develop more approaches to facilitating internal communication, conversation.

Strategies for Building a Distinctive University #12 Practice the Three R ’ s – R evenue Enhancement – R estructuring to focus resources and create more manageable administrative portfolios. – Cost R eduction

Reorganization of the Administration Only major details are highlighted

Reorganization of the Administration: Phase I Effective summer 2006 Office of Student Life and Development – Integrative Academic Services: Admissions, Advising, Registrar, Financial Aid, Student Accounts (reports to Comptroller) – Residential Life (no changes) – Integrated wellness, fitness and counseling – Dean of Students: student conduct and community liaison – Student union and related activities (no changes) – Career planning (will slowly expand to develop a lifelong service for WSU graduates, in cooperation with Alumni Affairs)

Reorganization of the Administration: Phase I Office of Finance and Administrative Services – Represents the consolidation of University Affairs, Comptroller, Division of Facilities, Budget – Legal affairs and human resources – Financial division (budget office, bookstore) – Consolidated security/safety/parking and emergency planning – Consolidated facilities/construction management and campus planning

Reorganization of the Administration: Phase I Office of Advancement: Expand capacity and prepare for more extensive fund-raising. Athletics: no changes.

Reorganization of the Administration: Academic Affairs Begins in fall Associate Vice President for Research, Graduate Studies and Assessment: created from the current areas of assessment, graduate studies and grants and sponsored projects. Associate Vice President for the WSU Rochester Center/Outreach (there will not be a change in structure but there will be a gradual investment to support engagement strategies).

Reorganization of the Administration: Academic Affairs Associate Vice President for Technology and Chief Information Officer (CIO): consolidated functions include web master, Information Technology Services (ITS), laptop program and e-learning. Executive Director of International and Domestic Study Programs: consolidated from travel study, study abroad, international office).

Next Steps Complete the national search for a new Vice President for Academic Affairs. Begin a national search for a Vice President of Student Life and Development in spring Conduct internal searches for the other new positions. Fill for a two-year term. Conduct national searches after each office is working well.

Net Results Six cabinet-level positions converted to four vice presidencies: Vice President for Academic Affairs, Vice President for Student Life and Development, Vice President for Finance and Administrative Services, Vice President for Advancement. VP Technology converted to an Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs and CIO. Office of University Affairs consolidated with comptroller and facilities to create VP Finance and Administrative Services.

Net Results Integrated offices are created from previously separate functions to support university goals. – Research, graduate studies and assessment – International and domestic study programs – Integration of academic and administrative computing and technology to support ubiquitous computing – Integrative academic services – Safety and emergency planning – Wellness fitness and counseling – Student conduct/community affairs