Quarterly Report

Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Work Plan for 2002-2003

Actions for Third Quarter of 2002-2003

July 16, 2003

Overview

The 2003 year has been strained by the State's fiscal circumstances. As the governing board, our constituencies, and citizens may expect, however, the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities have chosen to continue our commitments as defined by the strategic plan, Designing the Future. The 2003 year witnessed the implementation, by means of an ambitious annual work plan, of the second stage of a long-term design.

This report, the final quarterly report for the 2003 year, communicates the accountability of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, and identifies noteworthy progress toward achieving annual objectives and the larger overall objectives of the strategic plan. The colleges and universities continue to make significant progress on the initiatives detailed in the previous quarterly reports. The focus in this report is on a summary of the achievements for the year.

The summary is presented using a color scorecard similar to that employed by the Internal Auditor (Appendix A: Summary of 2002-2003 Work Plan Outcomes). The achievements of the fourth quarter are presented in summary form in another appendix (Appendix B: Fourth Quarter Institutional Activities). It is important to understand that not all achievements are listed in the appendices. Greater detail was provided by the institutions and can be made available upon request.

Results

Using the three-color scorecard available in Appendix A-which is based on an extensive review of the information captured in a more than 90 page matrix containing Office of the Chancellor and institutional results and initiatives over all four quarters-the results of the 17 major action steps across the six priorities in the 2002-2003 Work Plan follow:

• 2 of 17 action steps, or 11.8 percent of the work plan, are in progress but not yet completed (indicated in yellow);
• 15 of 17 action steps, or 88.2 percent of the work plan, are completed or effectively completed (indicated in green).

Extricating sub steps from the 17 action steps, the following evaluation is possible:

• 1 of 81 sub steps, or 1.2 percent of the work plan, have seen either no or insufficient progress (1) (indicated in red);
• 13 of 81 sub steps, or 16.0 percent of the work plan, have seen some progress but not yet been completed (indicated in yellow);
• 67 of 81 sub steps, or 82.7 percent of the work plan, have been completed or effectively completed at the time this report was written (indicated in green).

A few observations exemplifying the accomplishments of the recently concluded fiscal year are offered.

Increase Access and Opportunity

A national study conducted by Peter D. Hart Research Associates and Coldwater Corporation for the Educational Testing Service found that Americans are mostly positive about our higher education system. Despite the overall positive evaluations for higher education, the majority think that our nation's education system is coming up short: more than half (52 percent) say that our nation's education system is falling behind when it comes to offering young people from all backgrounds a chance to go to a college or university. The public wants more people to have access to college.

The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities strategic plan, Designing the Future, emphasizes inclusion. The first two annual work plans have stressed that all Minnesotans should have the chance to share in the benefits of higher education. While efforts continue and progress is incremental, early data indicate positive results in student enrollments but mixed results in attracting and retaining faculty and staff.

The number and proportion of students of color enrolled in our colleges and universities have increased. There were 2,538 more students of color in fiscal 2002 enrolled in fall classes than in fiscal 2001, (2) a 21.3 percent increase (to 14,449), which compares to a total increase of 6,788 students or 4.1 percent overall growth for the system. Students of color represented 37.4 percent of the growth of the system between fiscal 2001 and fiscal 2002.

After a decline by 47 faculty of color from fiscal 2001 to fiscal 2002, the numbers increased by 93-or 46 more than in fiscal 2001-in fiscal 2003. The percentage of faculty of color among all faculty increased from 6.1 percent to 6.8 percent of the total. Among staff, (3) numbers declined from fiscal 2001 to fiscal 2002 (440 to 313) before climbing again in fiscal 2003 to 347. The latter still represents a net loss of 93 staff of color over two fiscal years. In the same period, the colleges and universities lost nearly one thousand staff positions-staff of color represented 10.3 percent of the overall loss in staff positions. Our efforts continue in this area, and we will strive to make greater progress within the framework of our operating constraints. (4)

Training, an important tool in any long-term diversity efforts, also was made available throughout the system. During the year, for instance, 480 St. Cloud State University employees participated in diversity training on campus for a combined total of 3,360 training hours. In October of 2002, the Minnesota State University Moorhead President's office hosted an all-faculty professional development day devoted to the topic of improving racial and ethnic diversity of students, faculty, and staff. Normandale Community College established September 24 as an all-staff diversity professional development day and established a long-term staff training model to address cross-cultural understanding.

On another front, improvements are occurring on second language learning. For example, the number of students enrolled in English as Second Language (ESL) courses at North Hennepin Community College increased 62 percent between Fall Semester 2002 and 2003. Minnesota West Community and Technical College has continued its Occupational Spanish program and served 334 professionals and students in many occupations during the year. St. Paul College provided additional sections of Occupational ESL to an increased number of students in 2002-2003.

The previously mentioned Educational Testing Service study also found that nearly all respondents (96 percent) believed that a college education is a good investment, including 72 percent who saw it as a very good investment.

Increase Support

The belief that higher education is a good investment has been demonstrated in several ways within the system. Under the mandate to work more aggressively in securing non-state funding, giving to the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities appears to have made substantial progress. (5) For example, contributions to the Minnesota West Community and Technical College Foundation have increased by more than 50 percent with last quarter data still pending. In addition, colleges and universities have attracted significant contributions in both equipment and funds from their excellent relationships with their business and community partners. For example, Honda donated over $200,000 of new equipment to the new Power Sports program at Minnesota West Community and Technical College, and Itasca Community College was awarded an $180,000 technology grant from the Blandin Foundation.

The St. Cloud State University Foundation has raised more than $1.9 million for St. Cloud State University to date, including more than $400,000 for endowed scholarships and $250,000 for scholarships that will go directly to students. The Ridgewater College Foundation worked in partnership with Ridgewater College to raise funds totaling more than $300,000 in support of a new nursing simulation center and nursing program. Southwest Minnesota State University aggressively expanded development activities, creating a 24 percent increase in development funds to $1.1 million raised in fiscal 2003.

The reports from the institutions also show that the work plan emphasis on external fundraising has resulted in some immediate increases in fund raising. For instance, Minnesota State University, Mankato received $3,328,584 in external grants and contracts for the 2002 calendar year. More proposals than ever were submitted and the most dollars ever were received. St. Cloud State University has received $3,329,000 in grants ($1,817,000) and contracts ($1,484,000) for the 2003 fiscal year. St. Paul College received a Mid-West Center for Post-Secondary Outreach grant of $1,000,000 for each of 5 years ($5,000,000). Continued concerted efforts in external fundraising should manifest themselves more clearly in the coming years.

As an example of a collaborative effort, the Bush Foundation recently announced a grant of $251,000 to support neighborhood educational and literacy outreach activities from the St. Paul Public Library branch located within Metropolitan State University's new library on Dayton's Bluff in East St. Paul. Metropolitan State University, through its Foundation, submitted the grant proposal jointly with the St. Paul Public Libraries.

Another sign of improvement in this area is the capital campaign drive underway through the Fergus Area College Foundation board and Minnesota State College - Southeast Technical continued preparation, in conjunction with its foundation, for a capital drive of roughly $3 million. In early 2003, Minneapolis Community and Technical College prepared a case statement and organized a campaign committee. The college recently announced a $2,000,000 campaign for scholarships, technology and library resources. With $500,000 in pledges so far, Minneapolis Community and Technical College's campaign is building upon the $1,000,000 endowment from long-time friend and supporter Wheelock Whitney. The Anoka Technical College Foundation's $4 million major investment campaign was publicly announced in May 2003. Pledges to-date total $2 million. Normandale Community College, which recently initiated its first major gift campaign, "Creating Futures.Changing Lives," has secured pledges of over $1.6 million.

As a result of combined local and statewide efforts, system colleges and universities have enjoyed increased success in raising federal dollars. Office of the Chancellor staff coordinated a federal legislative agenda for healthcare. The system applied for federal Nurse Reinvestment Act funds to support system initiatives in nursing education.

Expand High Quality Learning Programs and Services

Several institutions demonstrated continued quality through specialized re-accreditation by professional organizations. The North Hennepin Community College and St. Paul College nursing programs received re-accreditation from the National League for Nursing. All of Winona State University's nursing programs and options also have been re-accredited for the maximum period of time by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). Normandale Community College received full accreditation from the National Commission on Dental Accreditation. The St. Paul College Medical Lab Technician program was re-accredited by the National Association of Allied Clinical Lab Sciences (NAACLS) and its Respiratory Therapy program by the Committee on Allied Respiratory Care (CoARC). St. Cloud State University's Manufacturing and Electrical Engineering were re-accredited through the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). St. Paul College also received Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) certification, making it one of a very limited number of certified programs in the Midwest.

The Minnesota State University, Mankato School of Nursing reported a 100 percent pass rate for the eleven Master of Science Nursing (MSN) students taking the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Family Nurse Practitioner Certification Examination and for the Dental Hygiene students on their Board exam. Winona State University's pass rate on the American Nurse Credentialing Center national certification exams in its three specialty areas has been 100 percent at first sitting since program inception. Nationally, the first time pass rate for the specialty areas ranged from 60 percent to 87 percent.

Strengthen Community Development and Economic Vitality

Fond du Lac Community and Tribal College, the Northeast Higher Education District and Rochester Community and Technical College were chosen to participate as demonstration sites in the new phase of the Rural Community College Initiative, an effort funded by the Ford Foundation. The purpose of the program is to foster economic development, increase access to education, enhance civic participation, develop new partnerships and initiate new programs to address the variety of challenges and opportunities existing in rural communities.

Working together, the Office of the Chancellor and several colleges and universities developed a multilateral workforce planning model and guide based on a pilot test using nursing in the metropolitan area. The model is distinctive because system participants are joined with industry and community stakeholders, the data infrastructure will be transportable to other regions and occupations and a reporting relationship has been established with a metropolitan Employer Services Partnership.

A regional customized training consortium has increased awareness of system capacities within neighboring institutions, developed and implemented strategies to increase management efficiencies in marketing, staff development and grant applications and developed a plan to provide consistent communication to external stakeholders.

As a result of combined local and statewide efforts, system colleges and universities have made some progress, partially through a significant increase in online courses and programs, in addressing the nursing shortage. However, absent sufficient funds, expansions have been undertaken through reallocations at the colleges and universities and waiting lists persist.

The number of students at North Hennepin Community College declaring a major in a health related occupational program grew by 35 percent between 2002 and 2003. Normandale Community College added a Nursing Assistant Program to the curriculum in response to the demand from healthcare employers. In two semesters, more than 250 students have enrolled in the course. At Minnesota State University, Mankato the number of applicants accepted into the undergraduate program was increased to achieve a goal of increasing baccalaureate graduates by May 2003. Anoka-Ramsey Community College expanded the nursing (RN) program on the Cambridge Campus, adding a cohort of 27 students in January. Hibbing Community College expanded nursing enrollments from 80 to 200 and hosted an evening/weekend 2nd year nursing program for the Iron Range. Such expansions provide greater programmatic access to the citizens of Minnesota while simultaneously addressing a critical workforce shortage.

Four of our colleges, working collaboratively with workforce service area boards and local employers, provided registered nursing education for approximately 150 students at 10 new locations in rural Minnesota through the H1B "Bridging Distances" grant funded by the Department of Labor.

Fully Integrate the System

As reported yesterday and today, the Division of Academic and Student Affairs has made significant progress at the system level on the reorganization of Northwest Technical College, on collaboration with the University of Minnesota on the Metro Consortium, and on integrated campus planning.

The Office of the Chancellor and selected northwestern institutions completed a collaborative healthcare professions workforce study with University of Minnesota. Minnesota West Community and Technical College has offered to partner with the University of Minnesota Extension Service during their re-organization. Minnesota West offers co-location and coordination with their Farm Business Management programs.

Minneapolis Community and Technical College and Metropolitan State University continue discussions on integrating student affairs, technology and operations functions for more efficient and effective performance. Minneapolis Community and Technical College also helped organize a Metro Alliance retreat to identify structural options that will improve the Alliance's ability to respond to the needs of the region.

North Hennepin Community College added technology-enhanced instructional and service opportunities for students and employees with the number of classes offered online growing from six to 12 and the number of Web-enhanced classes from 44 to 64.

Additionally, over 90 percent of North Hennepin Community College registration activities occurred over the Web. Between regular programming and customized training, St. Paul College was able to deliver learning to Saint Paul residents seven days per week, twenty-four hours per day.

The Global Center for Agriculture Education, jointly developed by Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College, Ridgewater College, and South Central College, has expanded to include 26 instructors from seven Minnesota State Colleges and Universities institutions.

Conclusion

Given the rescinding of allocated system funds and the time absorbed by the immediate legislative session, the record of achievement is creditable. While not quantifiable throughout, it represents significant measurable movement since 2001-2002. The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities have made real progress, especially on the road to becoming a successful system, despite the differing but noteworthy challenges the last two years have presented.

End Notes

(1) Action item 9.2 "has not been accomplished due to a lack of necessary resources to support a position or professional development activity."

(2) This is the last year for which comprehensive data relatively free of errors is available.

(3) In this usage, "staff" is an all-inclusive term that includes administrators.

(4) Collective bargaining agreements frequently dictate the procedures for reductions in force and those with less seniority, often staff of color who were most recently hired, are frequently those whose positions are eliminated.

(5) End-of-the-year data has not yet been tabulated, but early reports indicate improvements.