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Strategic Planning and Budgeting University Reaccreditation 2007 MSU Moorhead |
November 2002 Campus Update November 21, 2002 To: The Campus Community From: President Barden Re: Campus Update Nursing Accreditation Process: The Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) and the North Dakota Board of Nursing just completed the exit interview from their visit to the Tri-College University Nursing Collaboration and announced they will be recommending full approval for both undergraduate and graduate nursing programs. The team leader for CCNE said that she had completed a number of accreditation reviews and this was “the best ... ever experienced.” All standards were fully met with no weaknesses noted. This is a strong affirmation of the quality of the curriculum, students, and professors in our nursing program! Strategic Planning and Diversity Planning: Chancellor James H. McCormick has made strategic planning a priority at the system level. This semester, the system office released its strategic plan. If you haven’t yet seen a copy, you can download a pdf file via http://www.mnstate.edu/president (click on strategic planning). This plan provides the overarching guidelines for our system-wide educational enterprise. I invite you to take the time to review it. At the University level, we are in the final stages of developing two planning documents – our own strategic plan that will function to provide the overarching guidelines at the local level, and the racial/ethnic diversity plan that will provide us our goals and strategies for addressing racial and ethnic diversity. As was announced via the “official” listserv, draft copies of the MSUM overall strategic plan and the MSUM plan for achieving racial and ethnic diversity are available via the President’s website. Both plans were distributed to your bargaining unit presidents and contact persons. The meet and confer processes for all bargaining units begin this month. I hope that you are able to take the time to review both documents and provide us with your feedback. Pending bargaining unit recommendations, we hope to forward the diversity plan to the Office of the Chancellor in January. The Chancellor must approve our diversity plan before it can go into effect. Fall Commencement: Ms. Tami (Fleshe) Reller, Corporate Vice President for Microsoft Business Solutions, will present the Commencement Address at our Dec. 20 ceremony at the Fargo Civic Auditorium. In 1987, Ms. Reller completed a bachelor of science in math at MSUM. We are noting a significant increase in the number of December graduates. At this point, we expect 393 to graduate in December 2002, with approximately 280 participating in the ceremony. The largest increase is in the number of candidates for the bachelor of science degree. Last year, we conferred 299 degrees (total). Campus Construction Update: Science Building Addition: We are on schedule for the targeted February 2004 completion of the addition to Hagen Hall. Construction crews are installing a retaining wall around the Weld Hall foundation to ensure there will be no damage. They are monitoring temperatures to make sure that frost does not get under the footings. Hendrix Health Center: By now you can see the walls of the transitional building. The roof tresses will go up this week, with the building fully enclosed in two weeks. We hope to be able to relocate Hendrix Health Center the end of January. Owens Hall: Dust is flying in Owens Hall. We hope to have the Alumni Foundation, Student Affairs, and Academic Affairs office areas completed by the first of the year. The Admissions Office area should be completed by late January. New Campus Sign: Our first new university sign is in its final stages of construction. The lettering is expected to arrive in about three weeks. Post-summer retreat and post-in service day update: Thank you for participating in the Oct. 25 Professional In-Service Day! Your comments and our post-event surveys indicate that the event was very well received. Many of you have asked whether we plan a similar event next year. Overwhelmingly, participants in the Professional In-Service Day indicated that they would like to see MSUM continue setting aside one day during the academic year, allowing us to engage in professional development opportunities together. I will forward a recommendation to the University Calendar Committee to do just that. Following the President’s Summer Retreat in June and the Professional In-Service Day, we have been pouring over the data generated in the small discussion groups. Once the data is thematically organized, I will ask the enrollment management committee to review the information and make recommendations for an action plan addressing student retention at MSUM. Math Learning Center: The Math Learning Center directed by Barbara Rath is now in its second year and preliminary reports indicate that the approach is working to address students’ need for math assistance. The Math Learning Center coordinates the tutoring, lab-work, and lecture for students enrolled in Math 090 Elementary Algebra, and Math 099 Intermediate Algebra. These are both non-credit courses designed to prepare students who would not otherwise succeed in college-level math. Students are identified for these courses based on their ACT scores and performance on the MnSCU math assessment test. This fall, 435 students were enrolled in Math 090 and 099, up from about 360 the previous year. Through the Math Learning Center, studentsparticipate in one-on-one tutoring provided by Ms. Rath, mathematics faculty lecturers, and a team of peer tutors from Math 416 Secondary School Methods and other upper-level math courses. Theindividualized attention ensures that the students – mostly new entering freshman – find connection at the University and the help they need to do well. I am proud of the Math Learning Center’s early success! Dragon Alumni and Bill Gates: On November 6, many of you took the opportunity to see Bill Gates present a keynote address hosted by Microsoft Business Solutions at the FargoDome. I’m sure that you shared my enthusiasm that the MSUM Dragons were such visible, integral participants in the event! Fred Hudson (1990 BS in English) produced the show and is a member of the executive communications team at Microsoft Business Solutions. Matt Gustafson (1990, BS in computer information systems) starred as the “opening comedy act” to warm up the crowd and he made several proud references to his alma mater. Jill (Niewoehner) Farden (1997, BS in speech communication and business administration), a product manager and Matt Gustafson interacted with Bill Gates before the crowd of 8,500 in a professional demonstration of the new Microsoft Notebook computer. Proudly, our graduates add value to the international enterprise led by Bill Gates. Fargo is the second-largest unit of Microsoft (after Redmond, Washington). Combined Charities Campaign: As you know, the MSUM Combined Charities goal for 2002 was set at $50,000. To date, we have raised $49,500, surpassing our giving for 2001. In order to reach our goal this year, we need only $500 more. The deadline for giving has been extended through December 2 for payroll deduction and through December 13 for one-time gifts. Please help us turn a very successful Combined Charities drive into a remarkable Combined Charities fund drive. Your support will ensure that our communities are prepared for tomorrow. To make your pledge or supplemental gift, please call Deb Lewis (2158), Ben Blair (2066) or John Tandberg (2566)
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