University of Wisconsin-­‐‑Stevens Point School of Business & Economics Strategic Plan Academic Year: 2015-­‐‑2016 UWSP SBE Strategic Plan Academic Year: 2015-­‐‑2016 SBE Mission The UWSP School of Business & Economics educates and inspires students and prepares graduates for success in positions of leadership and responsibility. We serve the students, businesses, economy and people of the greater central Wisconsin region. Our students achieve an understanding of regional opportunities that exist within the global economy. Evidence of our graduates’ level of preparation will be found in their ability to: • Analyze and solve business and economics problems • Understand the opportunities and consequences associated with globalization • Appreciate the importance of behaving professionally and ethically • Communicate effectively To attain these outcomes and support the missions of the School of Business & Economics, the College of Professional Studies, UWSP, and the University of Wisconsin System our faculty will: • Pursue excellence and innovation in teaching • Engage in scholarly activities that increase understanding in the fields of business, economics and accounting, as well as their appropriate pedagogy • Sustain an active record of service – 1 – Strategic Planning Process – Overview – 2 – Results of Strategic Planning Committee Meeting: July 6, 2015 On July 6, 2015, the School of Business & Economics held its annual strategic planning meeting. This meeting was facilitated by Professor Chris Sadler. Attendance Strategic Planning Committee All regular strategic planning committee members were present with the exception of Caz McChrystal, Chair of the Executive Committee and Accreditation Coordinator. Attendance: UWSP/CPS Administration, SBE Faculty and Staff In addition to the strategic planning committee, Provost and Vice Chancellor, Greg Summers, attended the first part of the meeting. Dean Marty Loy of the College of Professional studies attended the entire planning session. There were also seven SBE faculty and staff members as well as 1 full-­‐‑time academic staff faculty, one part-­‐‑time teaching academic staff member and the SBE’s Director, Outreach and Student Issues. A complete roster appears on the last page of this document. Welcome: Gary Mullins, Associate Dean, College of Professional Studies and Head, School of Business & Economics Mullins welcomed everyone to the Strategic Planning meeting and especially welcomed the representatives of the SBE’s outside stakeholders. He stated that the usual strategic planning process for 2014 had been displaced by the program prioritization process initiated by UWSP’s upper-­‐‑level administration. As part of this process, the SBE reviewed its areas of concentration and decided to eliminate some programs with low enrollments. The SBE also decided to add certificate programs and an additional minor. Introduction by Strategic Planning Facilitator: Christopher Sadler, Professor and Assistant Chair of Communication Professor Sadler began by noting that he had been our facilitator for the first of our annual strategic planning sessions in the summer of 2008. Professor Sadler stated that he was impressed by our remarkably ambitious plans established at that time. He also noted that the SBE had accomplished virtually all of the plans developed in 2008 and, even more impressively, we had kept track our objectives to evaluate our performance. He then reviewed the process for this meeting, which would involve opening comments by administrators followed by an open-­‐‑ended discussion of future objectives by small groups. – 3 – UWSP -­‐‑Wide Initiatives: Provost and Vice Chancellor, Greg Summers Provost Summers opened his presentation with an overview of UWSP’s current state. He stated that UWSP needs increased enrollment to replace reduced money due to the current budget year’s projected reduction in state support and that UWSP must maintain its standards despite the need for additional enrollment. The state budget is in the finalization stage and it appears that the reductions will be somewhat less severe than originally announced. Also, differential tuition for UWSP is in the current budget, but may not survive the line-­‐‑item veto process.1 Despite these positives, the overall state support is down. The good news for the current year is that the freshmen class is up. This includes an uptick in out-­‐‑of-­‐‑state enrollment as well as an increase in the number of international students. Unfortunately, overall enrollment for UWSP has declined from previous years’ levels for a number of reasons. First, this decline is due to students being able to graduate in a timelier manner because of reform of our general degree requirements. Additionally, student retention between the first and second years is not as high as for the rest of our students’ college experience. Finally, the number of transfer students has declined somewhat. A number of initiatives in the School of Business & Economics will help on the enrollment front. These include the SBE’s AACSB accreditation efforts, our outreach programs to non-­‐‑
traditional students (i.e., our night program), outreach to place-­‐‑bound students in Wausau, WI as well as our online and hybrid coursework. An MBA program being evaluated by our faculty also has the potential to increase enrollment, which will replace reduced support from the State of Wisconsin. On the negative side, UWSP is down by 20 fewer faculty members – 9 in CPS alone. The provost noted campus concerns about potential reductions in UWSP’s Career Services and the Student Academic Advising Center (SAAC). During the next month, the UWSP’s budget situation will clarify and administration will finalize the changes necessary to meet our budget situation. College-­‐‑Wide Initiatives: Dean Martin Loy CPS Dean Martin Loy stated that the SBE is expected to continue its growth and help with the CPS’ health care initiatives. Dean Loy also reiterated CPS’ support for accreditation and a future MBA program as well as our outreach programs. Like Chris Sadler, Dean Loy recounted the SBE’s major accomplishments. Dean Loy stated that the SBE has shown a remarkable record of continuous improvement and that we must seize the significant opportunities for growth not only for the good of the SBE, but for the good of UWSP as a whole. 1
Both the modest increase in state support and differential tuition survived the budget process. To be adopted,
differential tuition must be approved with clear student support.
– 4 – In universities similar to UWSP, the student body’s enrollment in programs offered by the SBE is approximately a third of the total university enrollment; this implies that there is additional room for growth in the SBE and that such growth will be important considering UWSP’s budget issues – especially as UWSP transitions into its new status as an enrollment-­‐‑
driven, tuition-­‐‑financed institution. Further, we should focus on converting some of our areas of concentrations to majors and we should move forward on the MBA. In addition to our opportunities, the SBE is facing some difficulties. We have improved in our ability to recruit high-­‐‑quality faculty. Unfortunately, it has been more difficult to retain such faculty, which is, in part, a result of the UW-­‐‑System’s budgetary situation. The budgetary situation also causes us to lose FTE – in both SBE faculty and academic staff positions. Dean Loy added that this is an incredibly important moment in time. In addition to UWSP’s goal of having an MBA program, we are faced with the effort to convert our areas of concentration into majors and eliminating our low-­‐‑enrollment areas of concentration, we have the challenges of continuously improving the School of Business & Economics both in terms of increasing enrollment and improving the quality of our programs. Input from Central Wisconsin’s Business community: Wayne Ashenberg, Chair of the SBE’s Business Advisory Council Like the School of Business & Economics as a whole, the SBE’s Business Advisory Council is experiencing changes. Due to term limits, the BAC replaced approximately one-­‐‑third of our members. The challenge in replacing our lost members is maintaining the overall quality of the Council. To do this, the BAC and the SBE need to focus on the candidate’s qualities as a person rather than simply look at a person’s job title. Similarly, a major challenge for the SBE is producing quality graduates that meet the needs of the employers of Central Wisconsin. Continuing in that vein, Wayne stated that the BAC will not support an MBA until they fully understand the program and how it meets the needs of our business community. Wayne recommended that we should set up small groups within the BAC. These groups could discuss issues such as: • The UWSP/SBE budget • The SBE’s class design and programs (e.g., better connecting with our business community in the classroom, incorporating outside presenters, adjunct faculty, etc.) • Curricular issues. – 5 – Advising/Student Feedback: Max Trzebiatowski,2 interim Advising Director, School of Business & Economics In the advising area, there were a number of innovations. Due to the increase in the demand for the SBE’s courses, we implemented a permission required process a number of years ago. Although the process worked, its lack of automation produced a large volume of paperwork. Last year, the advising center automated the Permission Required process. It will also focus on deepening the student advisors’ knowledge of career options as a way of supplementing potential shortfalls in UWSP’s centralized advising and career services. The advising area also performed a survey of the SBE’s students. Much of the survey had to do with advising processes and internships. Of the 50+ students who responded, approximately 89% stated that their experience in the SBE’s programs were good to outstanding.3 Remainder of the Meeting: Remaining Attendees For the remainder of the meeting, the remaining attendees split into small groups and discussed the following issues: • Items completed within the last two years • Items to be completed for the next 1-­‐‑2 years. We were expecting to look at the to-­‐‑do list for a more long-­‐‑term horizon, but we ran out of time. This will be something for the SBE to examine during the coming academic year. The attendees developed several issues that the SBE should focus on during the short and intermediate term. • Continue our improvement so that we may become AACSB accredited.4 • Evaluate a potential MBA program • Curricular issues - Converting our BS major to a BBA - Converting some of our areas of concentration into majors - Overall faculty load – including number of preparations for faculty • Developing and propagating the SBE’s brand • Advising and the overall student experience • “Small wins” for the faculty The school must have the technology and technological understanding to address these issues. 2
Max was later hired to fill the vacant Advising Director’s position.
The actual term on the survey was unbelievable. Unfortunately, could have a mixed connotation, so for this report
it was changed to outstanding for clarity’s sake.
4
At this time, our initial accreditation request had been submitted, but not approved.
3
– 6 – Other items were also raised. For example, our assessment process has progressed through our other Program Learning Objectives (PLO’s) but hasn’t come to terms with our globalization PLO. Assessing this is important because our current strategic niche is, “Understanding the regional implications of the global economy,” which ties directly to our globalization PLO. This strategic niche has been useful, but it was developed approximately five years ago, and it may be time to reevaluate this niche. The attendees saw a need for: • Peer-­‐‑to-­‐‑peer mentoring • Improving the SBE’s reputation by - More effort in consulting opportunities - More effort in interacting with area organizations - Service organizations - Developing a speakers’ bureau - Connecting with:  Area high schools  2-­‐‑year institutions  Technical schools (Northcentral and Mid-­‐‑State Technical Schools) - More effort in providing consulting opportunities Mission: Was reviewed and reaffirmed during the 2015 Strategic Planning Session. However, it was agreed that the SBE should re-­‐‑examine its mission in the near future. Strategic Objectives from the 2013 Strategic Planning Session:5 1. Develop and maintain the School of Business & Economics’ quality and standards so that the SBE will achieve AACSB accreditation 2. Strategic niche – International Business/Global Economy 3. Maintain personnel adequacy 4. Increase enrollment for SBE 5. Adopt Best Practices based on: a. AACSB guidelines b. Evaluation of other business programs c. Feedback from the greater Central Wisconsin regional business community d. Student input e. Faculty input 6. Address needs of non-­‐‑traditional students 7. Enhance connections to practitioners 8. Assure adequate financial resources and growth in financial resources to meet
SBE program objectives.
9. Develop financial resources to support the SBE’s strategic objectives.
5
The Program Prioritization process supplanted the 2014 strategic planning process.
– 7 – All the existing objectives were reaffirmed and no new objectives were added during
the 2015 strategic planning meeting. Based on the small group discussions, new action
items were developed where appropriate and added to previous action items that still
apply.
Action Items Derived from Strategic Objectives and Small Group Discussions 1. AACSB accreditation – action items: a. Continue following AACSB Accreditation Process concluding with a successful initial accreditation site visit. b. Revise the research rules to consider 2013 accreditation standards with respect to: i. Quality ii. Impact c. Improve/maintain faculty qualifications d. Assess International Program Learning Objective 2. Strategic direction: Regional Benefits from International Business/Global Economy – action items: Evaluate strategic direction 3. Personnel Adequacy – action items: a. Evaluate personnel adequacy for Accounting i. Financial accounting faculty member – replacement ii. Managerial accounting faculty member – replacement b. Personnel needs for business: i. Management Information Systems – replacement faculty ii. Data analytics c. Personnel needs for Economics – Monetary/Financial Economist 4. Increase enrollment for SBE – action items: Better connect with: a. High schools b. Two-­‐‑year institutions c. Technical schools 5. Adopt Best Practices – action items: a. Evaluate curriculum:
i. Evaluate additional coursework in professionalism for our students6 ii. Convert the our current degrees from BS to BBA iii. Convert the current areas of concentrations to majors within the BBA iv. Change low-­‐‑enrollment areas of concentration into certificates for appropriate areas of concentration v. Evaluate prerequisites 6
The Business Advisory committee has suggested that our students are lacking in professionalism.
– 8 – b. Develop new faculty orientation/mentoring program c. Review current administrative structure and support to achieve SBE objectives i. Evaluate staffing effectiveness in our internship program ii. Evaluate staffing effectiveness in our advising program iii. Allocate appropriate financial resources to effectively provide services and
support our programs within budgetary restrictions. d. Review and monitor programs for effective delivery – action item: Identify potential
issues and solutions related to growth and develop standards for class size based on pedagogical needs.
e. Continue managing teaching academic staff for effective program delivery f. Increase for-­‐‑credit enrollment in our internship programs g. Maintain admission process so as to select students that are most likely to succeed in our programs h. Continue monitoring advising process/outcomes to examine levels of provisional, dropped and accepted students as well as students who ultimately graduate. i.
Continue improving the SBE’s advising process to: i. Assist our students in proceeding through our program in an orderly fashion 1. Maintain advising handbook 2. Continue to measure benchmark statistics to measure advising effectiveness ii. Identify at-­‐‑risk students and help them find success in our programs or elsewhere 1. Maintain exit procedures for students unlikely to succeed as a major in the SBE 2. Maintain statistics to identify student issues early in their college career iii. Ensure LTE and student advisors model professionalism in the advising process j.
Increase student engagement – maintain SBE Events program k. Ensure appropriate placement for our students7 i. Review adequacy of career services resources for our students ii. Begin to develop statistics with regard to placement/salaries l.
Develop regular connection with alumni m. Regularize student-­‐‑related and other administrative duties i. Continue review of release time positions ii. Revise duties or level of release for release-­‐‑time positions as needed n. Address technology needs i. Enhance technology availability for teaching ii. Improve faculty training in technology 6. Address needs of non-­‐‑traditional students – action items: 7
The Business Advisory Committee has been asking very pointedly about this.
– 9 – a. Continue to evaluate a potential MBA program b. Continue to encourage growth in business program collaboration with University of Wisconsin-­‐‑Marathon county (UWMC), the two-­‐‑year institution in Wausau c. Enhance curriculum with additional online and hybrid offerings d. Ensure non-­‐‑traditional students can receive our coursework during night classes e. Evaluate: i. UWMC connection ii. Night class availability iii. Non-­‐‑traditional student class scheduling f.
Continue working with local technical colleges’ curriculum in business to facilitate transfer to UWSP g. Continue working with AACSB concerning local technical colleges’ curriculum in business 7. Enhance our ties with the practitioner community – action items: a. Improve reputation for SBE
b. Develop speakers’ bureau
c. Develop vision/expanded impact for CWERB
d. Develop plans for an integrated approach to maintain the SBE’s external image for
our outreach organizations
i. Business Advisory Council
ii. CWERB
iii. CEE
iv. Corporate Partners
e. Continue connection between UWSP’s SBE and the regional business community
i. Maintain Business Advisory Council
ii. Maintain Corporate Partners
f. Continue maintaining web page/social media presence
8. Assure adequate financial resources for current programs, as well as growth in financial
resources to meet SBE’s future program objectives and objectives – action item: a. Audit the financials of our Continuing Education classes
b. Identify financial resources to support the SBE’s growth objective – maximize SBE
enrollment.
9. Develop financial resources to support the SBE’s strategic objectives – action items:
a. Develop plans to increase financial resources to support the SBE’s strategic objectives
i.
Develop donor base to support faculty and research
ii.
Develop procedures for connecting faculty with consulting opportunities
– 10 –