Strategic Plan

Division of Academic Affairs, SUNY Brockport
Final Draft 5/10/23

Introduction

In 2022, an Academic Strategic Plan was produced that was the culmination of years of work on developing a review of the University’s program array. It represented the complex, consistent work, and thoughts of hundreds of colleagues at SUNY Brockport that began in 2015. The 2022 plan concentrated on undergraduate and graduate programs. The plan represented the culmination of work from previous years that began and focused in 2020 with the design of an “Academic Master Plan” and was refocused into an “Academic Strategic Plan” in July 2021. The 2022 plan provided a critical curricular review of undergraduate and graduate programs and focused primarily on the evaluation and classification of undergraduate and graduate programs into four categories: Growth, Augmentation, Reconfiguration and Discontinuation. Beginning in 2022 and continuing in 2023 work has been done to update undergraduate and graduate programs, particularly those classified as reconfiguration. Work on creating new, high demand programs has also occurred. In taking a thorough and careful look at the academic programs, the important work reflected in the 2022 Academic Strategic Plan can be used to inform decisions about future growth, resource allocation and enrollment prospects. The 2023-2028 Academic Strategic Plan expands the work done in 2022 to provide a more comprehensive strategic plan by describing an overarching vision for Academic Affairs. It establishes specific goals and clear objectives for the division over the next five years. It includes a method for prioritizing new academic programs and guiding principles in developing programs. This plan also describes the tools for assessment and continuous improvement of programs to be employed in preparing for future academic strategic planning activities.

This 2023-2028 Academic Strategic Plan represents the hard work and contributions of many colleagues. The 2023-2028 Academic Strategic Planning Committee was composed of faculty and staff representatives from across the division. Members included, Mark Noll, Eric Owusu, Denise Copelton, Jennifer Hecker, Cathy Houston Wilson, Kathy Peterson, Natalie Svrcek, Claudette Brown-Smythe, Sandeep Singh, Carson Young, and Dana Laird. Associate Dean Monica Brasted chaired the committee. Input into the plan was sought from stakeholders across the division through a survey to which there was a response rate of over 40%. The Committee solicited feedback about the plan through open forum presentations and the use of a Mach form.

Overview

SUNY Brockport is part of the State University New York higher education system that involves 64 campuses in administrative processes and with unionized personnel. This University, SUNY Brockport, is one of the 13 “comprehensive” institutions that are limited to offering only the bachelor and master’s degree level of instruction. Brockport is the comprehensive University exception with one clinical doctorate (Doctor of Nursing Practice - DNP) approved in 2020. Institutional enrollment in spring 2023 is around 6,000 students and with an annual state funded budget of $62,993,621 (2022-2023 year). Most students (98%) come from the State of New York; are predominately white (74%); about 0.5% are international students; 80% receive some financial aid or scholarship assistance of which 48% receive Pell Grants; and 63% of students complete their bachelor’s degree within six years. The Division is composed of about 637 faculty and staff, with 91.6% of tenure-track faculty holding terminal degrees. The Division of Academic Affairs comprises about 62% (estimated at $40,717,000) of the institution’s annual State budget. Academic Affairs comprises $4,083,575 of the $4,281,093 external funding expended during 2021-2022. Most recently, SUNY Brockport placed 75 out of 181 ranked institutions by US News and World report as a northern regional university, which is an improvement on previous rankings. The institution’s enrollment has decreased – from 1,258 entering Full-Time Freshmen in 2017 to 1,011 entering Full- Time Freshmen in fall 2022 – a roughly 20% decline.

Strategic Vision and Mission

University’s Vision: Building meaningful lives and vibrant communities.
Academic Affairs Division’s Vision: Promoting student success and creating lifelong learners.
University’s Mission: SUNY Brockport is an inclusive learning community that inspires excellence through growth, engagement, and transformation.
Academic Affairs Division’s Mission: Provide academic excellence with experiential learning in professional programs and the liberal arts and sciences rooted in a commitment to student success
University’s Values: Excellence, Community, Inclusion, Transformation, and Engagement
Academic Affairs Division’s Values Statement: Creating a caring, student-centered, and inclusive learning community that fosters student achievement.

Strategic Scan

As a member of the SUNY system of higher education (one of the best in the nation), SUNY Brockport faces the following demographic reality: there are far fewer potential undergraduates in the traditional age cohort of 18-24 years in residence in the State of New York. The number of new births in the State of New York declined by 19% between 2000 and 2020. Overall enrollment at SUNY Brockport is 6013 as of spring 2023, down from 7765 in spring 2018. A smaller pool of traditional aged students has resulted in increased competition for students. Another reason for increasing competition, particularly from SUNY R1 institutions, is the ongoing decline in the international student market segment. International undergraduate student enrollment at SUNY comprehensive colleges declined by 35%, from 1591 in 2017 to 1031 in 2022, and with such students representing the loss of out-of-state tuition revenue. During this same time, international undergraduate student enrollment at SUNY R1 universities declined by slightly more than 31%, from 7,856 in 2017 to 5398 in 2022, again reflecting the loss of out-of-state tuition dollars. The number of transfer students has also declined as first-time student enrollment at community colleges in the State of New York declined by almost 28% during the last five years. Three of SUNY Brockport’s highest transfer volume community colleges (MCC, GCC, and FLCC) combined have lost 31% of their combined enrollment during this five-year period, with about 55% of incoming transfer students at Brockport enrolling from these area community colleges.
Enrollment in graduate programs at SUNY Brockport has been steadily increasing. Overall enrollment in graduate programs at SUNY Brockport is 1327 as of spring 2023, up 91 from spring 2019. The 2022 Academic Strategic Plan identified eleven graduate programs, involving eight different departments that offer enrollment growth opportunities for SUNY Brockport. Enrollments in these programs are strong, growing, or stable in all cases and there are qualified applicants waiting for admission in some programs. Most of these programs are completely online and thus exist in a more competitive and dynamic market space.
The enrollment picture for SUNY Brockport is further complicated by a fairly high attrition rate between incoming freshmen and their continuation as junior level students. Since 2015, student persistence has declined. For the freshmen class in 2015, 72% were re-enrolled as juniors while for freshmen entering in 2019, only 60% returned as juniors in the fall of 2021. SUNY Brockport is addressing this decline in the rate of attrition through a comprehensive organizational response in the form of the Strategic Enrollment Management plan. This plan includes more focused academic advising.
As students enter college today, their overall readiness for college is quite different and thus the instructional, success services and support systems must become different. Students will need and will request additional mental health services, tutoring (especially in mathematics), career development, and residential support. Their instructional patterns must become more individualized and based on assessment outcomes. College readiness for some students can be fostered through summer bridge programs, freshman cohorts, mentors, early and often academic advising, affinity classes, and experiential learning options – all of which create community relationships among those experiencing higher education for the first time and are anxious in this unfamiliar environment.
The Division of Academic Affairs is committed to fully incorporating Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Social Justice (DEISJ) throughout all decisions and actions. Academic Affairs can do more work associated with DEISJ in clear, measurable ways to better support students, faculty and staff. We are committed to fully incorporating Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice in Academic Affairs, in who we are and what we do.
Online courses and degree completion programs are becoming increasingly popular for both undergraduate and graduate education. An estimated 2.18 million New Yorkers have earned some college credits yet still lack formal undergraduate degrees while an additional 1.16 million have an associate degree but no bachelors. SUNY Brockport has had notable success in this area which has been to bring back Brockport students who stepped out (760 graduates over 5 years with over $1,715,000 generated in tuition and $127,547 past due balances recovered). The number of online degree completion programs at SUNY Brockport is slowly growing as well. Opportunities to increase online course offerings and degree completion programs should be explored. This would attract more students not in the immediate area including students already settled into a particular community with work, family obligations, and personal relationships.
Micro and/or stackable credentials where students select courses, credits, and certificates directly related to specific outcomes for job acquisition and/or career advancement has been around for years. Micro and stackable credential places the emphasis on student learning outcomes rather than time- based courses or semester classes for degree completion. Micro and stackable credentialing is an alternative to the traditional progression through general education with courses taken each semester toward degree completion. Many other SUNY schools have developed excellent micro-credentialing programs. SUNY Brockport has not yet developed a robust program of micro and/or stackable credentials.
SUNY Brockport’s university senate adopted a new general education program at the end of the fall 2022 semester. However, these revisions did relatively little to address some of areas of concern with the existing general education program: lack of coherence within the general education program, lack of student understanding of the value of general education, lack of integration between the general education program and courses within students’ major. Too many students experience Brockport general education as a random assortment of disconnected requirements.
As Faculty have been asked to do more and more over the years, it is important that the broad range of research and creative activities that faculty engage in be recognized and counted toward reappointment and promotion. Gilbert et al. (1987), in The Core of Academe: Teaching, Scholarly Activity, and Service, provide a succinct definition of scholarly activity as being composed of research, scholarship and creative endeavors. It is important, when considering the diversity of academic disciplines at the University, to be inclusive of performing and fine arts. In a review of similar institutions’ definitions of faculty scholarship, the definition provided Gilbert et al. (1987) is commonly used. This is likely due to the definitive inclusion of creative endeavors as a form of scholarly activity. For comprehensive institutions, it is important to recognize a broad range of scholarly activities. Gilbert et al. (1987) provide useful examples of a broad range of scholarly activities, as does Boyer (1990.)

Ernest L. Boyer (1990) Scholarship reconsidered: Priorities of the professoriate. The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

James E. Gilbert, president, East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania, and the staff at Pittsburg State University (KS). (1987) The Core of Academe: Teaching, Scholarly Activity, and Service.
Expanding experiential learning opportunities and ensuring that all students participate in at least one will help to prepare students for success in their futures. Experiential learning is also an important component of two goals of the University’s strategic plan, a Great Place to Learn and Engagement with the Community. An examination of past Experiential Learning efforts at the University level reveals a wide array of experiential learning activities being implemented at the University. Experiential Learning can be contextualized using a previously adopted College Senate resolution.

The College Senate Resolution signed by President Macpherson on May 11, 2017 provides SUNY’s definitions of applied and engaged learning activities. These definitions can be used when expanding the availability of experiential learning opportunities. According to College Senate Resolution #18 2016- 2017:

Engaged Learning is a mechanism by which we can develop meaningful educational experiences that have high impact in that they increase a student’s chance for success. Often, but not always directly associated with one’s academic major, the skills learned are transferable to many aspects of life, including civic responsibility, global awareness and career readiness. The following definitions of specific Engaged and Applied Learning opportunities for students at Brockport are aligned with the SUNY Applied Learning Initiative (https://www.suny.edu/applied-learning/). Whereas Engaged Student Learning may incorporate some or all of the appended “High Impact Practices,” in order to be approved as Applied Learning, the activity must adhere to the applied learning criteria outlined by SUNY’s Applied Learning Committee:
1. that the activity is structured, intentional and authentic,
2. that the activity requires preparation, orientation and training,
3. that there will be monitoring and opportunity for continuous improvement,
4. that reflection is embedded in the activity, and
5. that the activity be accompanied by assessment and evaluation.
  
  Whereas all approved Applied Learning activities are instances of Engaged Learning, Engaged Learning Activities that lack one or more of the learning criteria outlined by SUNY’s Applied Learning Committee (for instance, the embedded student reflection on the experience), do not constitute SUNY-approved Applied Learning Activities.
  
  Specific definitions included in the CS Resolution #18 2016-2017 are in the Appendix.
Quality, high-demand programs are needed to attract students. The Academic Innovations Task Force (AITF) Final Report of May 2021 (see appendix) provides a means for prioritizing new academic programs and guiding principles in developing programs. The forms created by the AITF to assist with adding new programs and expanding programs that include an evaluation of market data and cost ratios. These forms should be utilized as part of the University Senate process. The AITF also produced a Compression Report. (See appendix). This report discussed the possibility of 12-month program offerings at SUNY Brockport. This would save families over $11,000 on room and board and would expedite students’ entry into the work force. This also could differentiate SUNY Brockport’s offerings from those at other campuses. To date these recommendations have not been acted upon.

Academic Strategic Planning and Program Review

The 2022 Academic Strategic Plan and this plan combine to provide a comprehensive vision for the next five years (2023-2028). Strategic planning is an ongoing process with data collected annually to assess continuous improvement and progress toward the achievement of our goals. Efforts will be made to reduce redundancies in work between the academic strategic plan, periodic program review, etc.

It is recommended that a revised Program/Department Annual Report be used each year to ascertain information on program and department status for all programs, not just those in the augmentation and reconfiguration categories. This will allow the university to collect consistent data on all programs on a yearly basis.

Programs will identify goals and objectives for their programs on the Program/Department Annual Report (PDAR). Within the report, they will set annual goals for the following year as well as long-term (5-year) goals. Each year they will be asked to comment on how they have done with meeting the prior year’s annual goals as well as progress toward meeting long-term goals on a rolling basis. Information regarding successes as well as challenges will be addressed. Metrics will be based on the annual and long-term goals identified by each program and will be measured based on the degree of success in meeting their intended goals.

Further, collaboration with the Office of Assessment and Accountability should occur to see, where possible, Academic Strategic Planning could coordinate with the Periodic Program Review and Assessment processes. The proposed Program/Department Annual Report can also include any questions needed by the Office of Assessment and Accountability.

Academic Strategic Plan Assessment & Accountability Plan

Over the course of the fall 2023 semester, an assessment plan will be developed to evaluate data on progress toward achieving the Academic Strategic Plan goals. The plan will identify individuals/units responsible for implementation of strategies, timeline for implementation, KPIs/metrics, and assessment plans. The Program/Department annual report process described above will be part of the larger assessment and accountability plan.

Future Academic Strategic Planning

The academic strategic planning process will be repeated on a regular cycle. The work on the new Academic Strategic Plan will begin one year prior to the conclusion of the existing plan. As recommended by the College Senate last year, “Since Strategic Planning is widely understood to be an ongoing process, and because that process has serious fiscal and personnel implications, as well as implications for students, a well-designed process should be worked out and shared widely within Academic Affairs in advance of the end of the period for which the current Strategic Planning initiative is designated.” It was further recommended by the Senate “to refine and possibly expand program classifications to include a wider number of categories that better reflects the health and vitality, resource needs, and growth potential of existing programs. The existing four categories may not sufficiently differentiate programs, as reflected in the placement of over 60% of existing programs in the “reconfiguration” category.” The 2028-2033 Academic Strategic Plan should refine and expand the program classifications and clearly communicate the criteria for placement in each category.

Succeeding in Our Goals

University’s Goal 1: To be a Great University at which to Learn

Academic Affairs Divisional Goal 1: Provide a diverse array of high quality academic programs that foster intellectual growth and creative expression in an inclusive and welcoming environment.

Objective 1.1: Adjust offerings of high quality, high-demand undergraduate and graduate academic programs and majors to alter the academic portfolio to meet regional and national needs. Evaluate current programs to eliminate those that are no longer viable.
- Strategies: Use the Academic Strategic planning process to identify undergraduate and graduate programs for growth and expansion.
- Strategies: Develop and add high demand undergraduate and graduate academic programs based on market demand.
- Strategies: Annual assessment process to ensure programs are meeting goals and continually improving.
- Strategies: Consider taking a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics) approach instead of just STEM-focused.
Objective 1.2: All undergraduate and graduate students will graduate with at least one Experiential Learning Activity.
- Strategies: Use CS Resolution #18 2016-2017) and the SUNY definitions contained in it as a foundation for defining experiential learning broadly.
- Strategies: Embed experiential learning experiences within the undergraduate and graduate curriculum and co-curricular academic experience as defined by SUNY (i.e. project based learning, field experience, research, internship, etc.)
- Strategies: Establish a process to track and assess the experiential learning experiences within each department.
Objective 1.3: Foster a sense of belonging by creating a welcoming and engaged environment.
- Strategies: Offer inclusive and identity-conscious activities to support student’s sense of belonging.
- Strategies: Offer faculty/staff development related to DEISJ to better understand and appreciate the strengths of our diverse student population. Incorporate it with other activities; for example, use the Provost Welcome or department meetings to increase participation.
- Strategies: Departments should host department-specific events for majors.
- Strategies: Department chairs and advisors should increase points of contact with students throughout the semester.
- Strategies: Create more spaces for student interaction.
Objective 1.4: Demonstrate our commitment to Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Social Justice (DEISJ) by more fully incorporating it throughout all decisions and actions.
- Strategies: Enrich our learning environment through increased and sustained recruitment and retention of diverse students, faculty, and staff.
- Strategies: Intentionally implement DEISJ within the classroom to create an inclusive classroom experience. Develop workshops and other professional development activities to support all faculty to better understand and achieve inclusive teaching practices.
- Strategies: Continue to encourage faculty, staff and student participation and attendance at EDI events including the Annual Diversity Conference, to promote open-mindedness, celebrate diversity, and promote awareness of divergent views on our college campuses and within our communities.
- Strategies: Work with UUP to identify opportunities to revise the Annual Report for full-time faculty (instructional and non- instructional) to incorporate the reporting of DEISJ activities throughout teaching, scholarship, and service.
- Strategies: Foster the ability of members of the SUNY Brockport community to engage in the free and open exchange of ideas.
Objective 1.5: Increase students’ understanding of the value of general education by creating more coherence and intentionality in the program.
- Strategies: Collaborate with the Senate and the Senate General Education committee to examine critical thinking and the possibility of creating coherence through common critical thinking content.
- Strategies: Through the university senate process, develop clearer guidelines for determining whether a course is eligible for the general education program.
- Strategies: Collaborate with the Senate General Education committee to review the SUNY DEISJ general education guidelines and work with the main faculty and departments involved in the new DEISJ general education category to ensure that they meet the learning outcomes in an intentional and coherent way.
- Strategies: Collaborate with the Director of General Education on ways to communicate better to students about why general education is intrinsically valuable and helps prepare them for success in their majors and careers.
- Strategies: Increase collaboration among faculty to support and promote the general education program.

University’s Goal 2: To be a University Engaged with its Community

Academic Affairs Divisional Goal 2: Increase community engagement within the curriculum to support the needs of our students, Brockport, Greater Rochester, New York State and beyond.

Objective 2.1: Cultivate relationships with alumni and partners that positively impact our academic community.
- Strategies: Increase outreach/engagement with alumni.
- Strategies: Create and utilize advisory boards at the department, school and division levels.
- Strategies: Assess the needs of our students and strategically increase community partnerships that can meet those needs (i.e., internship sites, field placements, etc.)
Objective 2.2: Celebrate and effectively communicate the excellence of our faculty and their accomplishments within the division and externally
- Strategies: Develop a communication plan that highlights faculty achievements.
- Strategies: Utilize the collection of points of pride from each school to promote faculty successes. Use University communications (Daily Eagle, etc.) and Divisional communications (Provost’s monthly email) to communicate our successes to internal audiences.
- Strategies: Work with University Communications to market and promote accomplishments to external audiences.
- Strategies: Explore ways to celebrate successes (i.e., a divisional reception, use of green and gold awards, etc.)
- Strategies: Create a faculty expertise database and promote it to media outlets.
Objective 2.3: Celebrate and effectively communicate the excellence of our students and graduates.
- Strategies: Develop a communication plan that highlights student achievements.
- Strategies: Utilize the collection of points of pride from each school to promote student and graduate successes. Use University communications (Daily Eagle, etc.) and Divisional communications (Provost’s monthly email) to communicate our successes to internal audiences.
- Strategies: Work with University Communications to market and promote student accomplishments to external audiences.
- Strategies: Review and increase ways to celebrate and promote student academic achievements.
Objective 2.4: Use the talents and resources of the division to meet the economic and societal needs of our region
- Strategies: Increase the use of Brockport Downtown to meet the needs of the Rochester Community.
- Strategies: Identify how the experiential learning activities of our students can help address the needs of the region.
- Strategies: Encourage more service-learning activities in appropriate academic areas.
- Strategies: Work with Advancement to create more scholarship funds and ensure that new and existing scholarships can be effectively awarded to students.
- Strategies: Increase the use of the Small Business Development Center to meet community needs. Engage faculty and students in the work of the SBDC.

University’s Goal 3: To be a Sustainable and Thriving University for the 21st Century

Academic Affairs Divisional Goal 3: Produce graduates prepared for success in a contemporary society.

Objective 3.1: Utilize support services and ensure outstanding academic advising to strengthen student success and retention.
- Strategies: Improve awareness and opportunities for students to take advantage of academic support services.
- Strategies: Modify the ways in which we deliver tutoring to increase accessibility, utilization and effectiveness.
- Strategies: Review and assess current academic advising practices to determine best practices. Use technology to support advising practices.
- Strategies: Provide advisement training that addresses mentoring and multicultural aspects of advising. Increase participation in advisement training.
- Strategies: Ensure that all students know their advisors and interact with them on a regular and ongoing basis.
Objective 3.2: Use assessment to refine curriculum and increase the success of our students.
- Strategies: Utilize the Academic Strategic Planning process to regularly evaluate our academic program array to ensure that it effectively meets students’ needs.
- Strategies: Ensure all undergraduate and graduate students have an engaging experience that promotes success and belonging within their academic program.
- Strategies: Use career awareness/pathways to help students stay focused on their educational goals.
Objective 3.3: Continue to develop and maintain a diverse array of high demand programs that meet student and labor market needs.
- Strategies: Invest in programs identified as growth areas. Evaluate opportunities to support programs identified for reconfiguration and augmentation.
- Strategies: Determine opportunities for adding new programs and expanding programs based on evaluation of market data and cost ratios. Integrate usage of the program review forms formulated by the Academic Innovation Task Force into the Senate Review process to assist in this effort.
- Strategies: Develop, identify and market distinguishing features of academic programs.
- Strategies: Determine the feasibility of developing accelerated programs, beginning with the recommendations from the Academic Innovation Task Force Compression Report.
Objective 3.4: Examine ways to expand educational opportunities/access for students.
- Strategies: Establish a committee to research, operationalize micro credentialing within the general education program and throughout the curriculum, and introduce micro credentialing by the fall of 2024.
- Strategies: Increase the number of online degree completion programs.
- Strategies: Establish a committee to examine the proper mix of delivery modality for undergraduate programs.
- Strategies: Increase the use of Open Educational Resources (OER) in courses.
- Strategies: Collaborate with REOC in preparing HS students for college- tutoring, support services, college exploration.
Objective 3.5: Support Enrollment management to achieve a robust transfer class.
- Strategies: Increase engagement with community colleges.
- Strategies: In select programs, consider offering critical classes online or at community colleges to promote seamless transfer.
- Strategies: Create a more robust database of course articulations.
- Strategies: Departments and faculty take a more active role in recruitment/enrollment efforts.
Objective 3.6: Help the University to increase enrollment by International Students
- Strategies: Amend undergraduate programs across campus to include components of STEM programs to be able to receive CIP designation.
- Strategies: Add at least one STEM graduate program with at least 50% of instruction in person.
- Strategies: Engage the International Faculty and Staff Association in efforts to increase the number of international students.
- Strategies: Develop agreements with international partners to expand opportunities. (i.e., 3-1-1 programs)
Objective 3.7: Help the University to Increase the number of new graduate students
- Strategies: Add new programs and grow graduate programs based on the Academic Strategic Planning process. Provost and Deans’ office to assist in the creation of new graduate programs, considering market trends, labor needs and University’s resources.
- Strategies: Update graduate programs that are low enrolled to attract additional students or phase out.
- Strategies: Streamline the application and admissions process for graduate programs.
- Strategies: Increase research funding to enhance graduate student research activities.
Objective 3.8: Restructure the division of academic affairs to better support efficiency, promotion of programs, recruitment, and retention of students
- Strategies: With University status, designate the schools as Colleges. Departments currently designated as large could be distinguished from other departments by designating them as schools. Additional administrative support in the form of assistant chairs who receive a course release and/or stipend should be considered.
- Strategies: Establish a Task Force to research what restructuring should be and to execute a plan for restructuring into the appropriate number of Colleges (schools). Reconfigure and reallocate academic departments if needed. The restructuring plan to be completed by May of 2024.
- Strategies: Review, update and align the first year seminar course and career development activities within the academic experience.

University’s Goal 4: To be a Great University at which to Work

Academic Affairs Divisional Goal 4: Create a diverse, inclusive, and supportive working environment that fosters faculty, and staff success.

Objective 4.1: Create opportunities for professional development for both faculty and staff
- Strategies: Create and offer professional development workshops for faculty, professional staff, and chairs.
- Strategies: Review, assess, and enhance the onboarding programing for new faculty, staff, and chairs.
- Strategies: Establish professional development funds similar to Faculty Scholarship Accounts for Professional Staff.
- Strategies: Develop a robust mentoring program to foster professional development and inclusion for new faculty and staff.
- Strategies: Review the funding level and scope of applicable uses for professional development to ensure that FSA funds are adequate.
Objective 4.2: Support a broader range of faculty scholarship and creative activity
- Strategies: Define scholarly activity to include a broad range of research and creative activities.
- Strategies: Review existing APT documents to update or include descriptions of the common forms of scholarship for their specific discipline.
- Strategies: Expand the types of scholarly and creative activities FSA funds can be used for. Examine how to change the FSA process so more funds can be made available.
- Strategies: Increase research funding opportunities. Explore where administrative responsibility for the Grants and Sponsored research office is best placed.
- Strategies: Consciously work to reduce unnecessary and unproductive service activities for faculty so that more time is available for scholarship.
Objective 4.3: Enrich the working environment by enhancing the diversity of our faculty, and staff
- Strategies: Work with the Affirmative Action Officer to support and uphold policies and practices to retain and recruit a more diverse workplace.
- Strategies: Continue to support and maintain PRODiG fellowships through SUNY to diversify our faculty.
- Strategies: Explore opportunities for cluster hires. “Cluster hiring can take multiple forms, but its goals and general structure are straightforward: Prioritize and invest in multiple positions in a broad field, or across a range of related fields, rather than hiring faculty members one by one in specific subfields” (Freeman, 2019, para. 7)
Objective 4.4: Foster a sense of belonging, dedication and teamwork among, administration, faculty, and staff
- Strategies: Create more activities at the department, school, and division level to promote community building
- Strategies: Create more collaboration across departments, schools and other areas within the division
Objective 4.5: Foster a culture that is inclusive, respectful and kind
- Strategies: Rewrite academic policies, working with the Senate, to center kindness and understanding in our interactions with each other and with students.
- Strategies: Create a common understanding of the value and importance of every academic department on campus.
- Strategies: Promote self-care and overall well-being.
- Strategies: Hold events that celebrate the uniqueness of people on campus. (i.e. Brown bag faculty lectures, international student celebration, etc.)
- Strategies: Explore creating a University common hour.