Quarterly Report

Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Work Plan for 2002-2003

Actions for 2002-2003

October 16, 2002

Overview

Last year marked a transition in Chancellor-level leadership for the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities. This year marks another transition in leadership as we saw four of the longest serving members of the Board of Trustees and two student trustees conclude their service to the system. With six new trustees joining the board, approval of the plan was delayed to permit adequate time for review of materials and consultation with key constituencies.

Nevertheless, both the Office of the Chancellor and college and university staff were diligently at work on the general directions of the plan since these reflected the guiding principles of the approved strategic plan, Designing the Future.

Structure

The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities strategic plan has four strategic directions that offer a blueprint of the future for the system and its students: increase access and opportunity; expand high-quality learning programs and services; strengthen community development and economic vitality; and fully integrate the system.

The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities work plan addresses the four themes and adds two priorities to that list, as follows: increase access and opportunity; increase support; expand high-quality learning programs and services; strengthen community development and economic vitality; fully integrate the system; and measurement.

The six priority categories were elaborated into seventeen action steps, many of which go into even deeper, measurable detail allowing for greater accountability.

This report is the first of the quarterly reports for this academic year. Designed to communicate the accountability of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, the report reflects our work plan's focus on the system as a "system" and incorporates, for the first time, efforts undertaken by individual system institutions as examples of ongoing initiatives. This alignment of efforts, built on the year-long development of the Leadership Council framework, is the result of extensive discussions with the presidents within the context of Leadership Council meetings, regional meetings between Office of the Chancellor staff and small groups of presidents and the recently completed presidential review process. As part of the presidential review process, the Cabinet and individual presidents engaged in a dialogue about campus planning efforts, processes and existing plans. These discussions provided important insights into the planning process and the interrelationship between campus and systemwide efforts.

The report identifies general progress toward achieving the overall objectives of the work plan. While the focus is on progress toward achievement of the broader seventeen action steps, it underscores a good start to the achievement of all their components over the course of the plan's timeframe.

Priority: Increase Access and Opportunity.

Minnesota State Colleges and Universities will continue to recruit students from a broad spectrum of backgrounds, yet focus more intensely on the recruitment and retention of those who have been under-prepared for or traditionally under represented or under-served in higher education, including students of color, first generation college students, students for whom English is a second language and low income students.

Among the action steps in this priority are the identification and removal of barriers to the participation in higher education for students of color, first generation students and low-income students. Also included is the initiation of new pre-kindergarten through college (P-16) collaborative structures to improve student preparation for and transition into college and work, and the development of clear plans for the recruitment, professional development and retention of diverse faculty, staff and administrators.

In the area of the identification and removal of barriers to participation, Anoka Ramsey Community College is undertaking a needs assessment with the assistance of the Office of the Chancellor Equal Opportunity and Diversity division. Normandale Community College worked to identify demographic trends regarding populations of color in their service area with the Hennepin County Director of Planning and Development.

Fergus Falls Community College has expanded its English as a Second Language (ESL) offerings on campus and is planning an expansion at the Gateway, its collaboration with the Minnesota State University Moorhead, beginning spring semester 2003. Normandale Community College realigned departments to implement an English as a Second Language Department, while St. Paul Technical College added additional sections of ESL classes.

St. Cloud Technical College met with the Director of Community Education in the local school district to establish a partnership to offer classes in ESL to prepare students for college entrance. Inver Hills Community College is planning an expansion of its ESL course offerings.

Bemidji State University's American Indian Resource Center (AIRC) is under construction. Funding for the AIRC is a collaborative effort involving fiscal support from the state of Minnesota, tribal governments and private donors.

A first year student seminar designed to improve retention has been initiated at Bemidji State University for all students with specific sections for American Indian and first generation students. St. Paul Technical College has added college "success" courses for under prepared students.

Ridgewater College hired a new Director of Admissions with recruiting and retention of minority students as the primary assignment. The new Director of Admissions is currently forming an alliance with area Hispanic leaders to help advise the college on recruiting and retention matters.

Another effort in removing barriers is a focus on the increase of information. Fergus Falls Community College has revamped its recruitment process to provide additional financial aid information to minority students. The Office of the Chancellor's Public Affairs division mailed updated 2002-2003 student recruitment materials to 2,000 counselors in Minnesota and neighboring states and coordinated a Minnesota State Colleges and Universities presence at the National College Fair in Minneapolis where 22 institutions co-located their booths to inform students about all system institutions. Equal Opportunity and Diversity, in conjunction with campus representatives, distributed recruitment materials at the Urban League and Latino family days in Minneapolis.

Additionally, Public Affairs, in cooperation with Equal Opportunity and Diversity, launched a new integrated marketing/public relations campaign to recruit first-generation college students and students of color, using the minority media. An advertisement for placement in key minority media outlets and a series of news releases for distribution to minority newspapers have been developed and begin this month.

One of the most successful programs for recruiting and retaining traditionally under-prepared and first generation prospective college students has been the TRIO programs funded under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965. Students in the Upward Bound program are four times more likely to earn an undergraduate degree than those students from similar backgrounds who did not participate in TRIO (Council for Opportunity in Education, 2002). While most Minnesota State Colleges and Universities boast TRIO program affiliation at some level, recent Central Lakes College activity saw submission of a grant application for Upward Bound, one of the primary TRIO Programs for students in middle and high school.

The Student Success Center, a TRIO program, at St. Cloud Technical College, serves 160 students. The Success Center offered a Summer Institute to first generation college students, low income students, and students with disabilities as a means of encouraging enrollment in college and increasing retention and graduation rates. Fifty-six students successfully completed courses in developmental reading, and writing skills and mathematics.

The Ethnic Heritage Pre-College Summer Institute at Minnesota State University Mankato is a one-week residential pre-college camp that exposes underrepresented students of color to the basics of completing a college education. The camp consists of science, technology and social-cultural development experiences accentuating the ethnic heritage of American Indian, Latino, African American and Asian American people. The camp is a collaborative effort of the Mankato and Sleepy Eye school districts, ethnic community agencies and Minnesota State University Mankato.

Central Lakes College and Pine Technical College are taking steps to create new working relationships with the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe.

The President's Diversity Task Force at Normandale Community College's has defined an annual action plan and confirmed its meeting schedule.

In the area of enhanced relationships with schools, the Rochester Community and Technical College has established an agreement with the Rochester Public Schools (ISD #535) that will allow increased access for high school students to technical programs. Pine Technical College has expanded interactive television offerings to regional high schools in several technical and academic areas. Ridgewater College is establishing a program with area pre-K-12 districts to educate Title I paraprofessionals, and Normandale Community College is partnering with Kennedy High School and the Bloomington Rotary STRIVE program to target underserved seniors.

To further address the access and opportunity issues, the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities seek to initiate new P-16 collaborative structures to improve student preparation for and transition into college and work.

In this realm, Central Lakes College has initiated a new partnership with ISD #181 to improve student preparation and transition by coordinating curriculum interests. In addition, a new initiative is underway to affiliate more closely high school technical programs in the region with college technical programs.

Fergus Falls Community College and the Minnesota Humanities Commission are discussing statewide workshops with high school English teachers to discuss research project findings that address competency expectation "links" between high school and college.

Member colleges in the Northeast Higher Education District signed a concurrent enrollment agreement with Iron Country Schools as a way to bridge K 12 and post secondary education.

The Equal Opportunity and Diversity division in the Office of the Chancellor has worked with the campuses and Human Resources to provide appropriate forums and training. Programs offered include decision maker training for presidents and administrators (five scheduled, one completed) and sexual harassment and 1.B.1 training for presidents and administrators (four campuses completed). Full-day training for all Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Affirmative Action Officers on the new rules promulgated by the Department of Employee Relations and their impact on writing Affirmative Action plans for 2003 to 2005 took place. All campuses were represented. Finally, with Winona State University and Minnesota State University Moorhead, a full day Multicultural Forum for all campus representatives was presented. Both diversity and multicultural campus personnel attended along with representatives of Academic Affairs and three presidents.

Equal Opportunity and Diversity has recruited at three minority community events: the National College Fair, the Diversity Job Fair, and the National Association for College Admission Counseling College State High School Fair. The offices also are partnering with the African American Men's Project to assist them in developing an African American recruitment campaign with the intention of tracking participants through graduation, and with the Minnesota Cultural Diversity Center to make their annual diversity conference available to all campuses and the Office of the Chancellor.

Priority: Increase Support.

Minnesota State Colleges and Universities will work to increase support for public higher education in order to maintain the core educational mission while keeping tuition reasonable and addressing the needs of the state.

The three action steps in this priority involve an analysis of how Minnesota's policy on student financial aid affects Minnesota State Colleges and Universities students and a subsequent strategy to obtain legislative changes benefiting public higher education students, advocacy for responsible management of fiscal, facilities and technology resources and work to obtain more non-state funding.

Several Minnesota State Colleges and Universities institutions have secured new or continuing funding from foundations to enhance their educational offerings:

• Fergus Falls Community College has added an Otto Bremer Foundation grant for continuing education for non-profit organizations and renewed a Veden Trust grant for technology-enhanced education efforts;
• Ridgewater College received a grant from the Blandin Foundation to support the college's state of the art Nursing Simulation Center;
• Ridgewater College also received matching grants from the Willmar Affiliated Community Medical Center and the Rice Hospital Foundation; and
• the College of Graduate Studies at Minnesota State University, Mankato received a Sloan Foundation Council of Graduate Schools award.

Campuses, such as Central Lakes College, have initiated discussions with their foundations on new fundraising programs to provide more scholarships for students, thus offsetting the impact of increased tuition. The Ridgewater College Foundation has decided to focus on donations/contributions/grants to enhance technology and health-related programs. Normandale Community College has named Honorary Chairs for first major gift campaign "Creating Futures.Changing Lives." The St. Paul Technical College Foundation is conducting a "Thrive for Excellence" campaign to raise funds for student scholarships.

For the second internal campaign in a row, St. Cloud Technical College Foundation's Annual Campaign Drive has had 100 percent participation from faculty, the college's Foundation Board, and from Administration. Ninety-eight percent of all full-time employees participated.

Other Minnesota State Colleges and Universities institutions have secured new or continuing support from local businesses and industries to augment their educational offerings:

• Anoka Ramsey Community College has secured community financial support for the expansion of its nursing program at the Cambridge campus;
• Fergus Falls Community College has leveraged equipment funds with matching gifts from Lake Region Healthcare Corporation and Otter Tail Power Company for microscopes, centrifuges and physics laboratory equipment;
• Pine Technical College, in collaboration with City of Pine City, has prepared an application to the Rural Utilities Service for funds to improve access to broadband telecommunications by creating a fiber backbone connecting to the Internet through Pine Technical; and
• Rochester Community and Technical College signed an exclusive beverage contract, which provides cash, student scholarships for seven years, three student internships each year for seven years and new signage.

The Public Affairs division will examine the development function in the system-both Office of the Chancellor and the institutions-and develop and implement strategic and operational plans to increase the capacity of the system and to achieve a balance between the Northstar Foundation and the institutions' efforts to raise funds from non-state sources. The first quarter saw Public Affairs work with the Northstar Foundation to develop a plan, scheduled for completion this month.

The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities must continue to work better with external groups to promote advocacy and recognition of the system's significant contributions to the economic vitality and quality of life in Minnesota. Staff will continue to advocate internally for responsible management of fiscal, facilities and technology resources. Externally, we will advocate with the executive branch, the Legislature and other key constituencies for a system biennial operating budget adequate to maintain the core educational mission, grow the areas needed by the state and keep tuition affordable.

This quarter, a concentrated program of corporate visits has been shaped to improve relationships with Minnesota's business and industry leaders. Six visits were completed in August and September with Minnesota Hospital and Healthcare Partnership, Circuit City, the Asian American Chamber of Commerce, the Hispanic American Chamber of Commerce, the American Indian Chamber of Commerce and the Anoka County Board of Commissioners. Ten additional corporate visits are scheduled for October.

The Finance and Facilities division of the Office of the Chancellor presented the FY 2004-2005 biennial budget request to the Board of Trustees at its July meeting. Discussion continued at the September Board meeting. Public hearings on the preliminary budget request for the FY 2004-2005 biennium were held on September 27, 2002, at Southwest State University in Marshall and on October 2, 2002, in the World Trade Center in St. Paul. Final action on the FY 2004-2005 biennial budget request will be presented to the Board of Trustees during this meeting.

The Biennial Budget Committee, consisting of representatives from faculty, employee and student groups, along with presidents and Office of the Chancellor staff, has advised the Chancellor and the Leadership Council on components and strategies on the biennial budget request. Strategies are being developed to communicate the need for funding to the executive branch, the Legislature and key constituencies.

The FY 2004-2009 capital budget guidelines were approved at the July 17, 2002, Board of Trustees meeting, and preliminary capital project lists were submitted to the Office of the Chancellor as planned.

Many Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, usually through their Student Senates, are hosting candidate forums to which legislative and statewide candidates have been invited to address higher education funding issues. The Student Senates of North Hennepin Community College, Hennepin Technical College, and St. Cloud Technical College held recent forums, as did Normandale Community College. Minnesota State Colleges and Universities students are interested in making a strong case for improved higher education funding.

Through consultation with the Leadership Council, the Government Relations office has identified housekeeping changes and policy proposals which would allow the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities to operate more effectively.

Working through a contracted consultant, the Government Relations office has initiated development of a Federal Relations agenda and has begun active work at the Federal level.

Priority: Expand High Quality Learning Programs and Services.

The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities will provide students with a full range of high quality learning programs and services that respond to student needs and document student achievement.

Five action steps address basic issues in quality educational programming: a continued focus on providing a liberal arts foundation supporting lifelong learning, critical thinking and citizenship skills; providing up-to-date education and training through well-equipped classrooms and laboratories and effective curriculum models; expanding professional development opportunities for faculty, staff and administrators; continuing system responsiveness to the development of distance and technology enhanced education opportunities to meet learner needs; and providing and expanding graduate education and practical research.

Bemidji State University's Distributed Learning in Teacher Education (DLiTE) program was implemented this fall. Courses are delivered through various blended technologies including Internet, interactive television and some on-site, face-to-face classroom interaction. On-site Teacher Mentors also have been assigned to each student for additional guidance.

The number of students enrolled at Bemidji State University in fully on-line or Internet assisted courses has increased from 82 in fall 2001, to approximately 1,123 students in fall 2003. The significant increase is largely attributable to the increased number of faculty using the Internet to supplement their on-campus courses and new degree programs offered on-line. Minnesota State University, Mankato has increased from 13 to 25 the number of courses offered on-line.

The Rochester Community and Technical College opened the $4.5 million Horticulture Technology Center. The project provides 11,200 square feet of classroom/lab space and 4,800 square feet of greenhouse space. In addition, the college will offer a newly developed Web Designer and Development AAS/AS degree (in collaboration with Minnesota State College Southeast-Technical) and a Medical Transcriptionist Certificate totally on-line. St. Paul Technical College is offering its first totally on line program in Human Resources this fall.

Fergus Falls Community College has created new computer lab on campus. Pine Technical College and St. Paul Technical College have added to their general education liberal arts course inventory, providing for greater student options. Normandale Community College has implemented a new assessment process to ensure effective student placement in courses.

At Minnesota State University, Mankato the College of Science, Engineering and Technology has upgraded several laboratories with computers, including the CAD lab and the human physiology laboratory. The physics labs also continued to make progress in connecting computers to the laboratory to interface instrumentation for experiments. The Department of Computer and Information Sciences established a wireless computer laboratory, a robotics laboratory and an introductory laboratory.

In the arena of professional development, Fergus Falls Community College has significantly increased non-faculty staff development funding. Anoka Ramsey Community College has had a plan presented to the President's Council on improving support to faculty and staff and has scheduled a staff development day and supervisory training this fall.

Century College held its first ever Student Success Day on September 24. Hundreds of students took advantage to meet with their instructors, attend workshops on study skills, meet with counselors and sign up for campus activities and clubs. Students attending workshops on listening, note taking and test taking filled the West Campus Theatre. As one counselor noted, "Research has shown that student faculty interaction has a stronger relationship with student retention than any other factor. Nothing is as important as connecting students with faculty members, and that is what Student Success Day is all about." Instructors, counselors and students agreed that Student Success Day was a worthy activity.

In graduate education, Bemidji State University, through an inter-institutional collaborative agreement with Minnesota State University Moorhead, has provided access to an online Master's degree program in teacher education. As a result, 26 students are completing Master's level courses online through Bemidji State University. At Minnesota State University, Mankato, except for accreditation-required clinical and research components, three graduate programs are now available on-line: nursing and professional education for learning disabilities and emotional-behavioral disorders.

"Learning That Lasts," a new statewide faculty development initiative supported by the Bush Foundation and the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, was launched by the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL). The project has three main components: systemwide faculty development through CTL Weekend Seminars; systemwide instructional development with $750,000 in incentive grants to seed and grow campus change agendas; and a faculty leadership development program to select, train, and support up to 18 faculty to serve as peer consultants and change agents (Active Learning Advocates) focused on long-lasting student learning.

Priority: Strengthen Community Development and Economic Vitality.

The Minnesota State Colleges and Universities will help meet the state's critical workforce and community needs in collaboration with statewide and local leadership groups.

The three action steps in this priority focus on service to the state's critical workforce and community needs: to provide enhanced capacity and flexibility in key workforce areas through flexible scheduling and alternative delivery of education and training; being responsive to the acknowledged critical workforce needs in teaching and health care careers; and improve the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities' ability to respond rapidly to accelerated or sudden change experienced at the industry, company, employee or community level.

Bemidji State University's Small Business Development Center has provided services to more than 178 clients with approved loan packages in excess of $2,000,000 already arranged.

The University Center Rochester, a unified and comprehensive partnership of Rochester Community and Technical College, the University of Minnesota Rochester, and Winona State University, with support from GRAUC and the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation, has planned LINK 2002: Building A High Performance Workforce - Best Practices in E-Learning, a conference to explore ways to support and invigorate the creation of public/private partnerships that support innovative learning practices.

Meeting the need for nurses and other health care workers is a theme in the work plan and several institutions have responded. Anoka Ramsey Community College is expanding its nursing program on the Cambridge campus, thus providing access to such training in East Central Minnesota. Fergus Falls Community College, working with Morris area recipients of an H 1B grant to fund nursing education, has been invited to provide practical nursing and associate degree nursing courses over the next two years. Fergus Falls Community College also has begun planning to offer courses for an AS Degree in Nursing at Alexandria Technical College in fall 2003.

Pine Technical College has entered into partnership with the Bridging Distance consortium to offer LPN-to-RN education in the Pine City area as collaboration with local healthcare facilities and other Minnesota State Colleges and Universities institutions. St. Cloud State Technical College, through a contractual partnership with the St. Cloud Hospital, launched an invasive cardiovascular technician program in August. In addition, through a partnership with local long-term care providers, the Center for Customized Training at St. Cloud State Technical College is offering an accelerated practical nursing program to certified nursing assistants. Inver Hills Community College is looking into expanding its nursing program to address local needs.

At Minnesota State University, Mankato the number of applicants accepted into the undergraduate program was increased to achieve the goal of an increased number of baccalaureate graduates in May 2003. Nursing has entered into a partnership with Fairview Southdale Hospital to deliver an on-site RN option of the baccalaureate nursing program beginning January 2003.

Central Lakes College received a grant from the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Research and Development fund to address health care needs in central Minnesota. A consortium with health care providers was created to identify critical human resource training needs and proposals are being developed to address them. A medical billing course already has been created at Central Lakes College in conjunction with Inver Hills Community College and will begin in January.

Minnesota State University, Mankato has developed and implemented graduate certificate professional education programs in K-12 and secondary teaching, learning disabilities and emotional behavioral disorders to address critical needs in the schools.

The State of Minnesota and Blue Cross Blue Shield will fund employee training with a major grant from the Minnesota Job Skills Partnership Program. The grant was awarded to Mesabi Range Community and Technical College.

The Rochester Community and Technical College submitted two new Minnesota Job Skill Partnership Grants in September. The Rochester Community and Technical College also continues its active involvement in Health Care Core Curriculum conversations with local health care facilities and K-12.

The NetWORK for Customized Training, Education and Development comprises 34 Customized Training/Education units within the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities. Located at every campus and at unique community sites in 52 cities throughout the state, Customized Training/Educations units operate to serve the performance improvement needs of Minnesota's employers by providing credit and non-credit instruction and related services for workforce development on or off the work site.

NetWORK operations are driven by college and university perspectives through the guidance of a seven-member team of administrators, assisted by staff from the Office of the Chancellor. The NetWORK team determined three NetWORK goals for FY03:

Goal 1: establish regional system workforce and economic development work groups;
Goal 2: communicate the value of customized training; and
Goal 3: continue improving operational effectiveness.

In a related effort, customized training leaders in the system's two-year and four-year higher education institutions in northwestern Minnesota are working towards the development of a comprehensive and collaborative approach to better address employer and workforce development needs in the region.

Normandale Community College has reorganized its Continuing Education/Customized Training component.

Public Affairs in the Office of the Chancellor has begun discussions with the Customized Training unit to assess feasibility and resources for an integrated marketing and public relations plan. It will target employers to inform them of the system's customized training services and to encourage them to use those services.

Bemidji State University is participating in a study with the University of Minnesota to assess regional stakeholder needs in nursing.

Ridgewater College, which already manages eight grants from the Minnesota Job Skills Partnership Program, is submitting two more grant requests for workforce development.

Central Lakes College has responded to a major, negative economic event in Brainerd. Potlatch, a paper mill, was closed, resulting in the layoff of over 600 employees. The college has worked in a highly collaborative fashion with local, state and federal government agencies and not-for-profit community organizations to assist the laid off employees. Approximately 87 former Potlatch employees enrolled at Central Lakes College in the fall to seek education or new technical training. The college also assisted some to enroll in other Minnesota State Colleges and Universities institutions and provided training through the Small Business Development Center.

St. Cloud Technical College, in collaboration with St. Cloud Workforce Center, has assisted the dislocated workers from Fingerhut. In addition, through a partnership with the Stearns Benton Workforce Center, the college began offering a 5-week Truck Driving course which local citizens affected by the closure of Fingerhut accessed.

Priority: Fully Integrate the System.

Minnesota State Colleges and Universities will become a more efficient, effective and fully coordinated higher education system while respecting the differences and distinctiveness of the individual colleges and universities.

The Office of the Chancellor Public Affairs division has organized a schedule of comprehensive campus visits for the Chancellor and the cabinet so that each institution is visited at least once over the next three years. Visits to 12 institutions during the 2002-2003 academic year are planned, the first two of which been completed. These visits also give the trustees an opportunity to join staff at the campuses.

Work continues on developing a "collaborative approach" to increasing student access to higher education in Northern Minnesota by Bemidji State University, Fergus Falls Community College, Northwest Technical College and Northland Community and Technical College.

Work also continues on enhancing a "collaborative approach" to increasing student access to higher education in the metropolitan Twin Cities area. The first meeting of a new Steering Council for a Metro Consortium was held in early September. Membership includes the Minneapolis and St. Paul school superintendents, the Executive Director of the Minnesota Minority Education Partnership, a representative of Mayor Kelly's office, and senior administrators at the University of Minnesota and Metropolitan State University. The Council is chaired by President Wilson Bradshaw. The consortium has selected three priority areas of collaboration: career ladders of incumbent workers, working with K-12 to improve readiness for college of high school graduates and working to better serve underserved populations.

Fergus Falls Community College is collaborating with Northwest Technical College for customized training delivery in the Fergus Falls area.

Bemidji State University's on-line services center is providing in-service training for both Central Lakes College and Vermilion Community College on the applications of technology to enhance teaching and learning.

Bemidji State University, in collaboration with other two-year and four-year Minnesota State Colleges and Universities in Northwestern and Western Minnesota, is working towards a "single application for admission process." The implementation of this approach will enable students to apply once at any partner institution and be admitted to all participating institutions whose admissions requirements are met. In addition, the concept of a collaborative relationship across the partner-institutions (both two-year and four-year) in the direction of a common market program is also under review.

Minnesota State University, Mankato has initiated meetings with South Central College to collaborate on providing Student Health Services for South Central College students.

Normandale Community College has identified best practice institutional effectiveness models, undertaken the alignment of the system strategic plan with its operational and budget operational planning, and is completing its Master Facility Plan.

Across-the-Board Priority-Measurement.

The Rochester Community and Technical College continues to work towards implementation of a Balanced Scorecard approach to performance management. The college has identified four major categories of indicators, including student learning outcomes; for each of the twelve indicators, operational definitions are being established and related measures are being identified. Targets for each indicator are being set that will be benchmarked with like institutions and leading organizations.

Anoka Ramsey Community College has created an institutional research position to meet needs in this area.

The Internal Auditor and staff in the Office of the Chancellor have held extensive discussions and drafted a plan for developing and monitoring a system of performance indicators to measure the effectiveness of the system.

Conclusion

The initial quarter of the 2002-2003 academic year saw sufficient progress toward our new goals. We are confident that the progress will continue and will move us forward as a system to better serve students and citizens.