Prepared by Nathan Davis, Theodore Gracyk, Joel Powell, Barbara Vellenga.

Fourteen focus groups met during October 1999 as part of the process of selecting strategic goals for FY 2001. These groups, including two groups of students, met to discuss and modify three goals that emerged from focus groups in the spring of 1999:

1. Communication
2. Collaboration
3. Responsiveness to our Environment

Several points emerged from October focus group discussions of these three goals.

            Despite the best efforts of the focus group facilitators, many participants had trouble understanding the distinction between strategies and desired outcomes. Few participants were able to articulate outcomes without linking them to concrete strategies for meeting those outcomes. Consequently, many of the outcomes listed in our analysis suggest strategies as well as outcomes. A report that purged all references to strategies would not be an accurate report on how our campus community currently handles strategic planning.

            Perhaps the most interesting result came from the three groups of participants who agreed to discuss responsiveness. The recurring themes of the discussion proved to be those of the other two goals, communication and collaboration. As one student participant put it, "Communication is a major part of being responsive to our environment." Analyzing the minutes of these three focus groups, Strategic Planning Group 3 found no consensus about the subgoals and objectives that should be pursued in relation to the responsiveness goal. Group 3 concluded that this goal should not be pursued as a strategic goal for FY 2001, and that virtually all of the consensus that did emerge for responsiveness can be handled under the goals of communication and collaboration.

            An equally compelling result is the clear consensus that improved communication is a greater priority than increased collaboration. With that result in mind, Group 3 found that communication subgoals and outcomes clustered around two broad topics, communication within the existing MSU community and communication between MSU and the broader community. We propose that the single goal of improved communication be divided into two general goals, improved internal communication and improved external communication. Focus groups identified sufficient subgoals and outcomes for each category to justify dividing our previous goal in this way.

            This recommendation was further supported by the frequency with which the collaboration focus groups touched upon communication issues. This result suggests that the campus will generate a range of strategic proposals addressing both communication and collaboration outcomes.

            A final result was the strong message that strategic proposals must not be favored simply because they emphasize innovation and new programs. Many focus group participants emphasized a need for more attention to existing and ongoing concerns. Although it was not mentioned in the materials provided to focus group participants, campus "housekeeping" emerged as a strong concern. Because it was generally linked to the theme of the message communicated to those who visit our campus, it has been introduced as a new subgoal under the goal of internal communication.

            It is worth noting that the general mood of the focus groups was upbeat and positive about the university. Financial stability and increasing student numbers are paying off in a renewed pride on the part of students, faculty, and staff. Yet pride in institutional accomplishment is generating frustration about lost opportunities and needless obstacles. If an overall message emerged, it was that Moorhead State University is succeeding in its educational mission, but that the institution is held back from greater excellence by organizational weaknesses and by the consequent failure to target resources where they be most effective. Strong academic programs and strong student services are inadequately promoted and marketed. Different parts of the campus community feel increasingly out of touch with one another. Another common theme is that professional relationships and collaborative activities work best when they are reinforced by a genuine "community spirit" that only emerges through regular (and often informal) interactions of all personnel.

Our compilation of the three strategic goals for AY 2001 as developed in the focus groups is attached.

Goal I: IMPROVE INTERNAL COMMUNICATION

Subgoal 1: Make Campus Information Accessible

Outcomes:

1. Improve internet service (both speed and availability) in dormitories.
2. Reduce inter-campus mail.
3. Establish an area or "university club" dedicated to faculty/staff/administration

interaction.

4. Increase informal contact between administration, faculty, and staff.
5. Establish a common campus meeting time for convocations
6. Develop separate problem resolution Hotlines for faculty and students: also

create a student Help center (in the same campus location).

7. Organize a Retreat to develop strategies for improving campus wide

communications.

8. Increase use of voice mail.
9. Increase student participation in campus committees.
10. Delegate more responsibilities to the Dean?s Office.
11. Establish and publicize measurable goals for all units of the University

L) Improve communication to off-campus students.

Subgoal 2: Establish a Central Communication Office

Outcomes:

1. Create a master calendar.
2. Increase attendance at University events.
3. Increase readership of the advocate.
4. Expand and update MSU?s web pages.
5. Develop a centralized location for picking up scholarship applications and for disbursing scholarship awards.

Subgoal 3: Improve Housekeeping to Enhance Image

Outcomes:

1. Establish a clean-up day.
2. Repair ceilings.
3. Replace carpeting.
4. Improve landscaping plans.

Subgoal 4: Improve Advising

Outcomes:

1. Create a professionally staffed advising center.
2. Develop an abbreviated handbook for students.
3. Develop an organized advisor training program.
4. Create an orientation program for all new personnel.
5. Improve format of student transcripts.

Goal II: IMPROVE EXTERNAL COMMUNICATION

Subgoal 1: Improve Public Relations and Public Image

Outcomes:

1. Establish a central location for origination of information to the community and region.
2. Articulate MSU?s identity: develop a short, concise, and clear mission/vision statement and use it on all university correspondence.
3. Provide customer service training for relevant campus personnel.
4. Publicize the activities of faculty and staff in community service and volunteer positions.
5. Provide improved information to the community about campus events.
6. Improve parking for visitors.
7. Improve linkage between MSU committees and the community.
8. Increase university sponsorship of off-campus cultural community events.
9. Increase business partnerships.
10. Increase contact between employers and MSU students and graduates.
11. Increase contact between MSU community and alumni.

Subgoal 2: Improve Marketing

Outcomes:

1. Develop a marketing plan.
2. Increase the advertising budget.
3. Increase promotional visibility of the university through visual marketing tools.
4. Raise contributions from alumni and other sources.
5. Increase efforts to reach multicultural community.

GOAL III: INCREASE COLLABORATION

Subgoal 1: Bring all units of the university into the public relations process

Outcomes:

1. More events integrating faculty and staff with a resulting visible "community spirit."
2. Clearly identify what type of campus community we want, in terms of what everyone recognizes and promotes, within the larger community.
3. Increase interdisciplinary course offerings.
4. More effective, current and creative web-sites, to encourage collaboration among departments and between faculty and staff.
5. Stronger student affairs presence on campus: stronger residential life program, plus campus connection for large number of students living in Fargo.

Subgoal 2: Increase partnerships and strengthen ties to extramural

community

Outcomes:

1. Identification of specific "partnerships" and how to assess effectiveness.
2. Increased interaction between MSU and the community.

(Ideas: Initiate external events at the departmental level.)

3. Create centralized events coordination department.
4. Articulate our strengths and develop a major marketing campaign to "spread the word": increase our visibility in the community.
5. Develop non-MnSCU monetary resources.

Subgoal 3: Increase educational partnerships with the University System and

other regional and state schools including MnSCU, and other K-12

educational institutions.

Outcomes:

1. Better experiences for transfer students, resulting in higher retention rates.
2. Better experiences for K-12 students.

A member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System
an equal opportunity educator and employer | Accessibility Questions? | Contact academic@mnstate.edu | Updated 09/16/08
MSU Moorhead | 1104 7th Ave South | Moorhead, MN 56563 | 1.800.593.7246
 home | msum | academic support | apac | department and faculty data | links | contact us | strategic planning