Goal 1: Excellence in Instruction

Advance high-quality in-person and online instruction and educational programs to prepare students for valuable careers, economic and social mobility and contributions to the public good.

This goal builds on the environmental scan strengths of exceptional instruction, high-quality programs and excellent faculty and employees as well as opportunities to enhance programmatic relevance, expand online offerings and generate formal partnerships with regional schools, businesses and organizations.

At BSU, faculty enhance student achievement by teaching differently drawing on interdisciplinarity and the infusion of liberal education outcomes into majors to prepare students for careers. At NTC, faculty enhance student achievement through hands-on experiential learning strategies that prepare students for the workforce and careers. At both BSU and NTC, distinctive approaches to instruction must be evident in online and in-person instructional modalities.

Leadership Action Team

• BSU: Provost, Academic Deans and a faculty work group to be identified by IFO.
• NTC: Executive Vice President, Academic Dean and a faculty work group to be identified by MSCF.

Key Performance Indicators

• BSU: Design and implement a new college and department/school organizational structure during the 2023-2024 school year that reduces overhead expenses, facilitates multidisciplinary collaboration and showcases academic offerings. (Green: reorganization attained; Red: reorganization not attained)
• NTC: Consolidate the current six “core abilities” to three and map to all academic programs. (Green: core abilities revised and mapped; Yellow: core abilities reviews; Red: reorganization not attained)

Future Direction

The current plan focuses on organizational (BSU) and curricular (NTC) structures to support excellent instruction at BSU and NTC. A future long-term strategic plan will address continuous improvement through related student learning outcome assessments disaggregated by student demographics and learning modality.

These outcomes will need to address outcomes connected to careers and future job skills, economic and social mobility, student well-being, social justice agency, civic engagement and environmental stewardship. Institutionally, outcomes will need to address the transfer friendliness of programs at both NTC and BSU, responsiveness and relevance of programs and connections to industry and the region.

Goal 2: Improving Higher-Ed Access

Utilize strategic enrollment management planning and guided learning pathways to enhance college and university access to students throughout Northern Minnesota and to increase student enrollment.

This goal takes an integrated approach to strategic enrollment management that considers student success and retention along with new student recruitment. Thus, there is significant overlap in the LATs and KPIs. Strategic enrollment management planning (SEMP) begins with recruitment practice and extends to student success.

Student success initiatives informed by Guided Learning Pathways likewise address retention and completion (as well as holistic learning outcomes) by addressing the student experience well before matriculation and extending into the students’ college experience.

In order to focus institutional capacities, this plan prioritizes the first-year experience. This approach is informed by significant higher education research addressing the importance of the first year for subsequent years and the reality that BSU’s and NTC’s largest attrition is connected to (a) persistence of first-year students to the second year and (b) equity gaps in student persistence. Future directions will expand these efforts to the second year, transfer students and adult learners/online students.

Leadership Action Teams

• Recruitment: Vice President for Enrollment Management and Strategic Enrollment Management Planning (SEMP) teams consisting of faculty, student affairs educators and professional staff (separate teams for BSU and NTC with shared leadership).
• First-Year Retention: The Vice President for Student Life and Success (BSU) or Executive Vice President (NTC) and Student Success planning team/teams consisting of faculty, student affairs educators and professional staff (separate teams for BSU and NTC with coordinated leadership).

Key Performance Indicators

The following categories will be used to measure success.

In-person Recruitment, First-time, Full-time

• Applications: Benchmark to statewide demographics for first-generation college students, students from low-income families and students of color and to regional demographics for American Indian students; design and enact strategies to address gaps. (Green, Yellow and Red measures TBD)
• Admits and Matriculants: Compare disaggregated application, admit and matriculant data; enact strategies to address any equity gaps. (Green – no equity gaps, Yellow – 5% equity gaps)

Transfer and Online Recruitment

• Applications: Benchmarks and Green, Yellow and Red measures are to be determined by the end of Fall 2023; Green, Yellow and Red measures for admits and matriculants will match those for in-person students
• Admits and Matriculants: Compare disaggregated application, admit and matriculant data; enact strategies to address any equity gaps. (For each measure: Green – no equity gaps, Yellow – 5% equity gaps)

Retention

• All Students: Design and implement new organizational structures for student success and/or Student Success Centers by the end of the 2023-2024 school year. (Green: reorganization atained; Red: reorganization not atained)
• In-Person Students: Disaggregated assessments for (a) orientation/welcome, (b) mid-term alerts, (c) first-year FYE course signature assignments (BSU only), (d) retention to the second semester and (e) retention to the second year. (For each measure: Green – no equity gaps, Yellow – 5% equity gaps)

Future Direction

Similar retention assessment strategies will need to be generated for transfer and online populations. This will build upon the implementation of student success centers/programs. BSU may consider extending the in-person framework to the second-year experience.