Chapter Two
Preparing for the Future
Chapter Two
In 2001, at the time of the university’s last accreditation visit, the primary structure
for university operations was the Institutional Effectiveness System (IES), designed
to integrate assessment, planning and budgeting. However, as the HLC review team
then observed, that model alone did not adequately address the institution’s need for
long-range strategic planning; designed to be responsive rather than truly forwardlooking, it did not allow for a sustained prioritization of communal goals flowing from
the university mission. Having taken to heart the visiting team’s recommendations
regarding strategic planning, the university undertook a strategic planning initiative in
the Spring 2003 semester; in Fall 2004, the university adopted and began to implement
the resulting comprehensive strategic plan, Plan 2008: Preparing for Cameron University’s
Second Century. As detailed in earlier parts of this report, that plan represented a major
milestone for Cameron University, establishing a set of core university values, a series
of seven university goals and a list of measurable objectives to be accomplished over the
ensuing five years.
In the wake of Plan 2008: Preparing for Cameron University’s Second Century, the
university has expanded its planning efforts through a series of tightly focused planning
documents that address specific components of that overarching plan. The Campus
Master Plan has been updated to prioritize upgrades to the university’s physical facilities,
and the university has instituted a three-year capital budgeting cycle for equipment
and maintenance. Cameron has adopted an Affirmative Action Plan for the recruitment
and retention of minority faculty, and a thorough review of the university’s student
recruitment and retention efforts resulted in the document known on campus as “The
Reasor Report,” which has served to guide initiatives in those areas over the last six
years.
At this point in time, the institution is well into its second five-year strategic planning
cycle. Having published a status report on Plan 2008: Preparing for Cameron University’s
Second Century in June 2007, the university unveiled the succeeding Plan 2013: Choices
for the Second Century, developed by a committee comprised of faculty, students, staff
and community members, in Spring 2008. Over the last ten years, strategic planning has
become a significant university strength rather than the Achilles’ heel it once appeared
to be. Its planning efforts have given the university structure and direction and have
incorporated all planning, evaluative and operational components of the institution as
exemplified in the strategic planning model. This new-found strength has been crucial
in helping the university to meet its goals in the face of significant environmental
threats. Maintaining an active student-centered learning environment, strengthening
institutional resources, improving effectiveness within the organization, providing safe
and inviting facilities supported by a modern technological infrastructure and offering
economic and cultural leadership to the surrounding communities are goals that prove
challenging at the best of times. Confronted with declining state appropriations and
a shrinking population of high school graduates within its primary service region,
the university has been able to meet those goals only by establishing clear priorities
and allocating resources in ways that are consistent with the mission and values of
the university. All constituents have contributed to the sound state of current affairs,
embracing the university’s core values and defining and supporting its common aims.
Core Component II.a - The organization realistically prepares
for a future shaped by multiple societal and economic trends.
Since the adoption of Plan 2008: Preparing for Cameron University’s Second Century in
2004, Cameron University has engaged in a continual process of evaluating its own
capacity to fulfill its mission, scanning the regional, state and national environments for
trends that might threaten or enhance that capacity, and setting realistic goals in light
58
Cameron University Accreditation Self-Study
of those analyses. The result is the following set of regularly updated documents that
guide university initiatives so as to secure a strong future for the university and assist it
in upholding its core value of responsible stewardship of public and private resources,
the public trust and Cameron’s future.
2008: Preparing for Cameron
University’s Second Century and 2013: Choices for the
Second Century
University Strategic Plans
As described in both the Introduction and Chapter One of this the report, Cameron
University is currently in the midst of its second five-year planning cycle since 2001.
In the first of its strategic plans, Plan 2008: Preparing for Cameron University’s Second
Century, adopted in 2004, the university established a set of seven university goals:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Ensure an Active, Student-Centered Learning Environment
Become the University of Choice in the Region
Strengthen Institutional Resources
Improve Institutional Management and Organization Effectiveness
Observe Cameron’s Centennial
Improve Institutional Communication
Provide Safe, Accessible and Inviting Facilities and a Modern Technology
Infrastructure
Cameron University
PLAN 2013
Choices for the Second Century
These goals were established in a series of sessions involving faculty, staff, students
and administrators, and responded directly to information the institution had
gathered both about itself and about ongoing environmental changes. At that
time, the university’s fiscal reserves were weak, it was not receiving significant
allocations from state bond issues, its administrative overhead was high, its
facilities were aging and faculty and staff had expressed significant concerns about
institutional communication. The university had also by that time received the
first of the budget cuts that have plagued it throughout the past decade, and it
had established that the number of local high school graduates was declining.
At the same time, it was clear that the university had the faculty and technology
resources to provide a quality educational experience and to attract a much higher
number of traditional-aged students than it had in previous years. The goals
of that strategic plan sought to build on the university’s strengths, address its
weaknesses and prepare the university to face both environmental threats and
environmental opportunities.1
The university’s current strategic plan, Plan 2013: Choices for the Second Century, builds
on the goals of the earlier plan by establishing four goals of its own, as described in the
introduction to this self-study; Plan 2013: Choices for the Second Century commits the
university to
• Becoming the University of Choice by providing students a top quality education
• Offering the College Experience of Choice by fostering a traditional
collegiate atmosphere
• Being the Location of Choice for community and regional events, and
• Being the Partner of Choice by expanding existing and developing new
community and area partnerships that will contribute to the growth and
prosperity of southwest Oklahoma
These goals provide even more tightly focused responses to environmental trends,
prioritizing the development of quality educational programs and facilities that will
attract traditional-aged students while continuing to foster relationships with the
1. Plan 2008, 2004 (Planning)
www.cameron.edu/selfstudy
59
Chapter Two
southwest Oklahoma community, regional businesses and other institutions of higher
education in order to maximize university resources at a time of shrinking state
allocations.
Key initiatives described in the most recent stragegic plan target the development
of academic distinction, recruitment of a diverse faculty, effective use of appropriate
technologies and improvements in quality of student life.2
Institutional Academic Plan
Perhaps the most vital to the university’s core mission of all the annual documents
guided by the strategic plan is the university’s academic plan. Each fall, the university
prepares an institutional academic plan for submission to the Oklahoma State Regents
for Higher Education (OSRHE). In that document, the university both reports on the
current status of statewide issues identified by the OSRHE and informs them of the
institution’s plans for the future. In describing its future plans, the university lists its
academic priorities for the upcoming year as well as the planned activities that will be
used to achieve those priorities. It also provides a three-year projection for headcount
enrollment and annual Full-Time Enrollment (FTE), both graduate and undergraduate,
and addresses future plans relevant to the issues identified by the OSRHE in the first
part of the academic plan. All future plans are detailed with reference to the university’s
strategic plan, which is included with the report. The academic plan is also accompanied
by a budget needs request.
The academic plan is prepared by the Vice President for Academic Affairs (VPAA),
who begins the process by soliciting information from department chairs and deans
concerning anticipated curriculum changes, including new program requests and
program deletions, for the upcoming year. The VPAA then measures that input against
the goals elaborated in the university’s strategic plan and the results of the university’s
environmental scanning in order to establish priorities among the various initiatives.
Through this report, the university thus continually monitors its current academic status
and establishes academic priorities based on environmental conditions and consistent
with the institution’s strategic plan.3
Enrollment Management Planning (“The Reasor Report”)
Conscious of the declining number of high school graduates in southwest Oklahoma,
Cameron’s own relatively low retention rate, and prevailing trends in enrollment
management, the university hired Dr. Virginia Reasor in 2002 to prepare a Report of
the Current Practices Associated with Recruitment and Retention. The report examined the
strengths and weaknesses of Cameron’s prevailing recruitment and retention practices
and made recommendations for the improvement of those practices.4
“The Reasor Report” identified three principle concerns, namely
2. Plan 2013, 2009 (Planning)
3. Academic Plans, 2001-2009
(Planning)
4. Report of the Current Practices
Associated with Recruitment and
Retention, 2002 (Planning)
60
• Lack of a systematic, integrated planning process for enrollment management
functions
• Need for an organizational structure charged with the responsibility of
promoting student enrollment from pre-matriculation through graduation of
program completion
• Need for an effective process to collect, analyze, compare and report institutional
data to facilitate informed decision-making on the part of all university
constituencies.
Significantly, these observations were consistent with the findings of the 2001 NCA
visiting team, as detailed in the introduction to this report.
Cameron University Accreditation Self-Study
In response to these concerns, “The Reasor Report” also
made three recommendations for university action:
• D
evelop a Cameron University Enrollment
Management Plan outlining institutional policies
and procedures associated with marketing, recruiting,
admissions and enrollment, financial assistance,
student success and retention, related research
activities and legal considerations
• C
onsolidate existing key campus operations and
future retention functions under an Office of
Enrollment Management, accountable to the chief
academic officer and charged with the responsibility
of managing college enrollments from the point of
contact to the point of graduation
• A
ssign responsibility for collecting, analyzing, comparing and reporting
institutional data to the Office of Institutional Assessment and Planning
The report additionally contained a list of recommended action strategies for each
area defined in the first bullet above, which, taken collectively, form the basis for an
institutional enrollment management plan. These recommendations have provided
guidance as the Office of Enrollment Management, created in response to “The Reasor
Report,” has attempted to enhance its recruitment of traditional aged students in
particular and improve its retention of all segments of the student population, including
the non-traditional and military students who have for so long been an important part
of the Cameron community.
Campus Master Plan
Aware of its aging facilities, desirous of creating a more traditional campus atmosphere
in order to attract traditional aged students, and eager to make the campus a more
inviting location for community events, in 2004 Cameron University hired LWPB
Architects and Planners to conduct a campus site analysis and prepare a facilities master
plan, both of which are detailed in Campus Master Plan 2015.5 The site analysis looked
specifically at vehicular and pedestrian circulation, commons areas, the South, Central
North and Unity Plazas, campus lighting, campus image,
campus gateways and entries, spatial organization,
site furnishings and Cameron Stadium Complex, and
reached the following conclusions:
5. Campus Master Plan 2015, 2005
(Planning)
• While the main university entrance was visually
pleasing, other entrances were less well defined,
and the university road system created confusing
circulation.
• The main pedestrian corridor was pleasing and
heavily traveled, but the campus was divided by a road
that created pedestrian conflicts and required the
development of additional crosswalks.
• Commons areas needed to be enhanced to create
inviting gathering spaces and unite the pedestrian
network.
• The area in front of the administration building needed
to be developed as a plaza rather than a parking lot.
www.cameron.edu/selfstudy
61
Chapter Two
• A
dditional campus lighting was needed in many areas
across campus, including parking lots.
• The campus needed to develop better defined boundaries,
expanded signage and more plantings around parking
lots to de-emphasize the large areas of asphalt in the
middle of campus.
• Campus entries needed to be better developed and
more hospitable.
• Site furnishings needed to be updated and a common
standard for site amenities developed.
• The Cameron Stadium Complex needed to be upgraded
to meet the codes and functions for which it was designed.
With this analysis in hand, the firm developed a campus
plan that suggested the following changes while seeking
to preserve some of the traditional stylistic elements of the
campus and to build on existing strengths:
• B
etter definition of the existing entries to campus, with
emphasis on the primary entrance at University Drive
and Gore Boulevard
• Addition of edgescapes to better define campus
boundaries
• The creation of buffers and screening to create defined
spaces and screen parking lots
• Situation of new buildings to better define campus axial
views
• Standardization of site furnishings
• Continuity of lighting design
• Removal of parking lots in front of Administration
Building and North Shepler Towers
• Addition of sidewalks
• Redesign of parking lots
• Construction of new student union, library, CETES
Phase II and student wellness center
• Remodeling and renovation of Physical Science Building, old student union,
Shepler mezzanine, Nance-Boyer and gymnasium
As can be seen from the discussion of facilities changes since 2001 in the introduction
to this report, the university has used this plan to prioritize capital projects. Although
some projects have been delayed because of budget cutbacks, Campus Master Plan 2015
has enabled the university to maintain a steady focus and to track its progress as it seeks
to become both the College Experience of Choice and the Location of Choice for
Southwest Oklahoma.
Three-Year Capital Plan
Since 2006, the university has utilized a three-year capital plan, updated annually,
to prioritize its capital spending. This plan is the primary means by which academic
departments and support units obtain new instructional technology and manage the
regular updating of equipment not covered by the university’s operating budget.
The plan was developed via a call for lists of three-year projected capital needs consistent
with the university’s mission and strategic plan. Those lists were compiled by academic
department chairs and supporting unit heads, with input from faculty and staff, and
62
Cameron University Accreditation Self-Study
reviewed by the appropriate deans and directors who prioritized needs for the units
under their supervision. The resulting requests were further reviewed by the appropriate
vice president who prioritized in accordance with the university’s mission and strategic
plan and with the current best practices in higher education; vice presidents submitted
the resulting requests to the Vice President for Business and Finance for inclusion in
the capital plan. Each year the plan is reviewed and updated to reflect progress and
maintain a three-year projection.6
Recent state budget cuts have made regular progress on the capital plan difficult and
capital allocations to individual departments and units have been less frequent than they
were previously. The existence of the capital plan, however, has made it possible to track
priorities even through interruptions in funding, and helped the university to ensure
that capital outlay remains focused on strategic goals regarding student learning and
the campus environment.
Campus Master Plan of Capital Projects
Prior to the beginning of each fiscal year, the university submits for approval to Cameron
University’s governing board, the University of Oklahoma, Cameron University and
Rogers State University Board of Regents (OU, CU and RSU Board of Regents),
Cameron’s Campus Master Plan of Capital Projects, a report which provides an annual
update on projected capital expenditures, thus integrating and operationalizing Campus
Master Plan 2015 and the three-year capital plan.7 Following approval by the OU, CU
and RSU Board, the Campus Master Plan of Capital Projects is submitted to the OSRHE
for inclusion with all other institutions of higher education in its report to the State
of Oklahoma’s Long-Range Planning Commission. The report to the Long-Range
Capital Planning Commission provides detailed information on all anticipated capital
projects. Projects must be included on the report in order to obtain lists of architects or
construction managers from the Oklahoma Department of Central Services or to use
capital funding provided by the State to pay for the project. The Campus Master Plan of
Capital Projects includes a summary of capital projects both by priority and by project
number. In addition, the report contains information for each project detailing project
life, justification, economic impact and estimated expense. In this way, the institution
provides information to the state to assist them in strategic planning for capital outlays.
It also allows the university to communicate to its governing board its strategic planning
for capital outlays. The annual review of the plan by the university helps ensure the that
changes in the university’s strategic plans are incorporated into its capital planning in
a timely manner.
Affirmative Action Plan
As part of its commitment to recruiting and retaining a faculty and staff that reflect the
diversity of the student body and the surrounding community, the university developed
an Affirmative Action Plan in 2004, as detailed above in the introduction to this report.
Updated every year, the Affirmative Action Plan annually evaluates the ethnic and gender
composition of the university faculty and staff and sets targets based on the availability
of qualified potential employees.8
Technology Plan
One of the university’s strategic objectives for becoming the Location of Choice is to
“provide a fast and reliable state-of-the-art information technology infrastructure.” In
keeping with that objective, the university’s Information Technology Services (ITS)
unit maintains a technology plan that governs the regular replacement and updating
of the institution’s instructional technology. That plan defines rotation cycles for faculty
computers, student lab computers and smart classroom equipment.9
6. Three-Year Capital Plan, 2009-2011
(Planning)
7. Campus Master Plan of Capital
Projects, 2011-2015, 2010
(Planning)
8. Affirmative Action Plans,
2004-2010 (Planning)
9. Information Technology Annual
Plans, 2001-2010 (Planning)
www.cameron.edu/selfstudy
63
Chapter Two
Even with recent budget cuts, information technology has remained one of the
institution’s top capital priorities, and each year the first step in making progress on
the capital plan is adherence to the technology plan, ensuring the annual purchase of
computing and related equipment.
Decisions concerning lab status as to expansion, consolidation, or reduction are made
by the Vice President for Academic Affairs. This centralized approach for distribution
of computing resources has proven to be efficient and better accommodates both faculty
and expanding student needs. The VPAA also heads a steering committee for oversight
of all information technology initiatives. The Information Technology Advisory
Committee, a university standing committee, serves as an advisory and recommending
body to the Director of Information Technology Services and other appropriate
administrators regarding the development of policies and plans related to computing
and all aspects of information technology.
The latest Information Technology Annual Plan (submitted July 2009) earmarks
approximately $12 million for future technology expenditures. Key components
of the allocation are continued implementation of Banner ($2.8 million), desktop
virtualization for student labs ($2.6 million) and a laptop initiative for traditional high
school students entering Cameron ($1.5 million). The plan includes $270,000 to replace
campus computers according to a four-year rotation schedule.
Physical Facilities Plan
Several of the university’s basic maintenance functions, including landscaping, painting,
mechanical upkeep and vehicle maintenance are governed by a preventative maintenance
plan that determines regular maintenance cycles for all equipment and facilities. This
plan assists the university in its goal to become the Location of Choice for southwest
Oklahoma by ensuring that all university facilities function efficiently and reliably.10
Ultimately, the internal self-examination and the environmental scanning that underlie
each of these plans allow the university to prioritize its efforts and, as the next section
of this report demonstrates, its resources, in order to effectively fulfill its mission and
efficiently and responsibly serve all of its constituents.
Core Component II.b - The organization’s resource base supports
its educational programs and its plans for maintaining and
strengthening their quality in the future.
Budget Overview
10. Web TMA Preventative Maintenance
Plan, 2010 (Planning)
11. E&G and Auxiliary Budget, FY09
(Budget)
64
Cameron University recognizes that in order to be able to provide quality learning
experiences for all of its constituents, the institution must allocate the appropriate
resources, yet serve as careful stewards of the resources it has available by ensuring that
all expenditures are mission driven. In FY09, approximately $23 million (or 39%) of the
university’s approximately $5.7 million in available revenues was spent to support the
institution’s instructional budget, with another $10 million spent on student scholarships
and fellowships. Additional resources tied directly to student learning included $2.13
million spent on academic support, while another $4.8 million was used to fund student
services. Overall, approximately 66% of the university budget was thus used to directly
or indirectly support student learning.11
In addition to its regular expenditures, the university is advised to maintain an operating
reserve equal to a minimum of 8.33% of the Educational & General (E&G) Budget,
as stipulated by the OSRHE. For FY10, the budgeted reserve was approximately $3.6
million, or 9% of the E&G budget, providing a cushion of unallocated reserves. These
Cameron University Accreditation Self-Study
unallocated reserves not only provide the institution with some security in the case of
an economic downturn or unexpected shortfall but also allow the university to take
advantage of unexpected opportunities. The following chart indicates the university’s
success in exceeding the OSRHE minimum requirements for the past six years:12
Fiscal Year
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
Operating Reserve as
Percent of
Educational and
General Budget
7.45
7.00
6.72
6.00
8.33
9.90
8.33
8.33
8.33
9.00
Recent years have presented some considerable challenges regarding available resources,
as detailed in the introduction to this report, and in order to offset the reductions and
losses caused by decreased state appropriations and declining military enrollment,
the university has become increasingly effective in its efforts to target other sources
of revenue. Concerted efforts to recruit traditional high-school and international
students, increase concurrent enrollment of high school students, and expand access to
education through online and off-campus programs have successfully offset the military
enrollment losses. Due to these efforts, Cameron has experienced a 20% increase in
overall credit-hour production since 2001. Combined with several tuition increases,
these actions have resulted in a $10 million increase in tuition and mandatory fee
revenue, which has helped to offset the reduction in state appropriations.13 In addition,
the institution has recognized a greater need to raise private monies and has expanded
its development activities, nearly tripling in 2007 the funds raised in 2001. Although
private donations have slowed since the end of the “Changing Lives” Campaign, the
university has continued to pursue private funding as a complement to state monies.14
Cameron University Foundation Revenue
2001 - 2009
Year
Private Gifts and
Contributions
Investment
Income
Totals
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
$1,024,927
$505,075
$926,239
$872,433
$1,139,844
$1,785,203
$2,932,958
$1,652,890
$1,051,836
$467,966
$520,852
$523,305
$532,482
$545,130
$555,881
$613,549
$628,252
$641,008
$1,492,893
$1,025,927
$1,449,544
$1,404,915
$1,684,974
$2,341,084
$3,546,507
$2,281,142
$1,692,844
Total
$11,891,405
$5,028,425
$16,919,830
Even with these adjustments, resources have been tight in recent years, as the university
has tried to minimize the impact of state economic retrenchment on the student
population while maintaining a standard of quality service to all of its constituents.
12. E&G and Auxiliary Budgets,
2001-2010 (Budget)
13. E&G and Auxiliary Budgets,
2001-2010 (Budget)
14. Cameron University Foundation
Statements, 2001-2009
www.cameron.edu/selfstudy
65
Chapter Two
What follows is a discussion of some of the ways in which the university has sought to
target resources to specific strategic initiatives, as well as some of the challenges it faces
as it strives to fulfill its mission and make progress on its strategic plan.
Human Resources
The university recognizes that accomplishing its mission and reaching its goal of
becoming the University of Choice depends upon the effective use of its human resources,
and thus upon the successful recruitment, development and retention of quality faculty
and staff, as specific objectives listed in Plan 2013: Choices for the Second Century clearly
indicate. In order to do so, the university invests heavily in faculty and staff salaries,
benefits and training, with 75.3% of the university budget devoted to personnel costs.
Each year, the university prepares a report comparing average salaries by rank and
discipline to those of Oklahoma and aspirational peer institutions obtained from College
and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR) data. In
August 2008, Cameron’s faculty salaries ranged from 86% to 97% of the benchmark
institutions’ mean faculty salaries across faculty ranks and disciplines.
Salaries of Full-time Faculty Members July 2000
Academic Rank
Mean
Highest
Lowest
Professor
$54,223
$73,077
$43,248
CollegeProfessor
and University Professional
Association
for Human Resources
Associate
$45,357
$68,752
$37,908
2006-07 National Faculty Salary Survey (August 17, 2008)
Assistant Professor
$40,734
$65,004
$30,792
Comparison Group: OSRHE Peer Institutions
Instructor
$28,965
$38,520
$20,004
Rank
Business
Education and Liberal Arts
Science and
Behavioral
Technology
Salaries of Full-time
Faculty Members Fall 2009
Sciences
Academic Rank
Professor Professor
101%
Associate Professor
Associate Professor
111%
Assistant Professor
Assistant Professor
115%
Instructor Instructor
105%
106%
All Ranks
Mean
$64,575
83%
$57,641
85%
$48,619
94%
90%
$36,583
91%
Highest
Lowest
$101,250
84%
$95,000
102%
$85,000
99%
95%
$51,568
95%
93%$52,000
92%$46,000
93%$36,015
91%$23,158
93%
All Schools
89%
96%
96%
93%
94%
Salaries used to calculate reported percentages do not include benefits.
Cameron University School Salaries by Rank as a Percentage of CUPA-HR
College and University Professional Association for Human Resources
2006-07 National Faculty Salary Survey (August 17, 2008)
Comparison Group: Aspirational Peer Institutions
Rank
Professor
Associate Professor
Assistant Professor
Instructor
All Ranks
Business
Education and
Behavioral
Sciences
Liberal Arts
Science and
Technology
All Schools
90%
103%
108%
N/A
97%
77%
82%
92%
N/A
86%
84%
100%
98%
92%
96%
87%
89%
88%
95%
90%
86%
93%
94%
94%
92%
Salaries used to calculate reported percentages do not include benefits.
66
Cameron University Accreditation Self-Study
College and University Professional Association for Human Resources
2006-07 National Faculty Salary Survey (August 17, 2008)
Comparison Group: OSRHE Peer Institutions
Rank
Professor
Associate Professor
Assistant Professor
Instructor
All Ranks
Business
Education and
Behavioral
Sciences
Liberal Arts
Science and
Technology
All Schools
101%
111%
115%
105%
106%
83%
85%
94%
90%
91%
84%
102%
99%
95%
95%
93%
92%
93%
91%
93%
89%
96%
96%
93%
94%
Salaries used to calculate reported percentages do not include benefits.
Cameron University School Salaries by Rank as a Percentage of CUPA-HR
To successfullyCollege
compete
in attracting
qualified
facultyforthrough
national searches, the
and University
Professional
Association
Human Resources
university has a stated
goal
of increasing
faculty
salaries,
minimum salary levels
2006-07
National
Faculty Salary
Survey
(Augustand
17, 2008)
were raised in FY05, FY07
and FY10.
guidelines
are established by referencing
Comparison
Group: Salary
Aspirational
Peer Institutions
College and University Professional Association for Human Resources (CUPA-HR)
Ranksalary surveys
Business
Education
andandLiberal
Arts
Science
and organization
All Schools
data, annual
from the
OSRHE
disciplinary
professional
Behavioral
Technology
salary surveys (e.g. AACSB, ACS, AMS, etc). For FY10, faculty salaries were increased
Sciences
to a floor of $42,000 for assistant professors, $46,000 for associate professors and
$52,000
for full professors.
In FY06,77%
a minimum84%
instructor salary
of $30,000
was
Professor
90%
87%
86%
established
and adjunct pay
$50,000. From
Associate Professor
103%was adjusted
82% at a cost of
100%
89% 2001 to 2008,
93% 3%
cost-of-living
raises supplemented
by additional
merit-based
increases
in
Assistant Professor
108%
92%
98%
88% were awarded
94%
Instructor
five
out of eight years; merit-based
stipends
raises were95%
awarded in FY02
N/A
N/A in lieu of
92%
94% and
86%
96%FY06 and90%
All Ranks
FY08.
Equity adjustments97%
were implemented
in FY05,
FY07, in the 92%
amounts
Salaries
used
to
calculate
reported
percentages
do
not
include
benefits.
of $36,093, $86,576 and $14,313, respectively.
While much has been done in recent years to improve faculty compensation as a means
of recruiting and retaining quality faculty, Cameron faculty salaries have continued to
lag behind the regional average in some disciplines, particularly at the full professor
level. In part as a response to this fact, additional market adjustments were made at the
Instructor and Professor levels in Summer 2010.
Low annual and promotion raises have also traditionally placed Cameron at a
significant disadvantage in faculty retention, as Cameron faculty members receive a
$500 pay increase for promotions, compared to a statewide average of $4,000 to $6,000;
in response the university has recently unveiled a plan to significantly step up promotion
increases over the next three years.
Benefits for both faculty and staff include health insurance, life insurance equal to
two times annual salary, long-term disability equal to the employee’s annual salary up
to $72,000 and contributions to Oklahoma Teachers’ Retirement System (OTRS).
Cameron is the only state university in Oklahoma to make OTRS contributions on
behalf of faculty and staff (currently 7% of total compensation).
The university also devotes considerable resources to faculty and staff development,
recognizing that the quality of its human resources depends upon fostering as well
as recruiting talent. In recent years, the institution has expanded its new employee
orientation efforts, devoting both money and effort to ensuring that employees have
a basic understanding of university culture, policies and procedures before beginning
employment. A two-day new faculty orientation, for which new faculty receive
compensation external to their annual contract, provides information on university policies
and student services. 15 In addition, both the President and Vice President for Academic
15. New Faculty Orientation Agendas,
2000-2010 (Employee Recruitment
and Development)
www.cameron.edu/selfstudy
67
Chapter Two
Affairs meet with new faculty in their
first year. Similarly, an orientation and
handbook developed for adjunct faculty
communicates information related to
the university’s academic policies and
procedures.16 An orientation for new
staff is in the planning stage.
Additional funding is available for
on-going faculty and staff development.
Faculty and staff research projects and
innovative instructional projects are
funded through the Academic Research
Support Center. Each year, $25,000 is
available to be used in support of these
projects. The Center strives to support
all pre-award aspects of the proposal
development process and to serve as a liaison between external funding agencies and
internal departments including Payroll, the Vice President for Academic Affairs and
the Office of the President. Since 2003, approximately 27 grants averaging $922 each
have been awarded each year.17
Cameron also has 71 endowed faculty positions, more than any other regional public
university in Oklahoma. This program has been made possible by the contributions
of donors and a dollar-for-dollar match by the OSRHE. Through April 2010, the
McCasland Foundation provided matching funds. The following funds have been
provided by endowed lectureships since 2004:
Endowed Faculty Positions
Endowed
Fiscal Year
Lectureships
2001
$50,801
2002
$50,802
2003
$50,803
2004
$44,704
2005
$72,705
2006
$72,765
2007
$103,607
2008
$87,263
2009
$144,509
2010
$141,110
16. Adjunct Faculty Orientation
Agendas, 2001-2010; Adjunct
Faculty Guides, 2007-2010 (Institutional Policies and Governance)
17. Intramural Grant Applications,
2007-2010 (Research)
18. Endowed Faculty Positions, 2010;
Endowed Lectureship Awards,
2003-2010 (Research)
19. E&G and Auxiliary Budgets,
These positions make a direct contribution to Cameron’s mission by enabling academic
endeavors that would not otherwise be possible.18
In addition, the university provides opportunities for faculty and professional staff to
remain current in their respective disciplines through financial and institutional support
for research and professional meetings and conferences. In FY06, academic department
travel budgets were set at a minimum of $500 per faculty member, substantially
increasing the funds available for faculty travel as shown in the table below.19
2001-2010; Memo from VPAA
Buckley, 2005 (Budget)
68
Cameron University Accreditation Self-Study
Academic Department Travel Funds
Fiscal Year
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
Travel
Allocation
$148,252
$145,747
$140,747
$160,502
$165,727
$253,760
$314,074
$317,074
$311,596
$288,596
Professional staff in academic support units are allocated travel monies based on annual
budget requests that anticipate travel to professional conferences and meetings during
the upcoming year.
Other professional development support includes sabbaticals and in-house training
opportunities. Four merit-based faculty sabbaticals have been granted since 2001. The
university provides in-house opportunities for faculty and staff training in the areas
of public safety and health, legal issues related to employment, web course delivery
training and other topics of interest. The university also provides tuition assistance for
up to six hours of credit per regular semester for all faculty and staff.20
Overall, the institution devotes the single largest portion of its resources to the
recruitment, compensation, development and retention of quality faculty and staff.
Although tight budgets have presented challenges in recent years, the strategic
centralization of decisions regarding the allocation of faculty positions and faculty and
staff development and training have helped to ensure the efficient and effective flow
of recruitment and development resources in support of the university’s mission and
strategic planning initiatives.
Academic Programs
Over the last several years, the university has consciously shifted resources and sought
new resources to meet its strategic planning goals relevant to the development of
academic programs. In section 1.11 of Plan 2013: Choices for the Second Century, the
institution set as a goal the building of academic distinction in Criminal Justice,
Information Technology and Communication. A new faculty line was added in Criminal
Justice in 2007. That same year, a new faculty line was added in Public Relations, one
of the Communication programs. In order to support Communication initiatives
regarding the development and advancement of Convergence Journalism and Digital
Media, additional grant funding of approximately $300,000 was sought and obtained.
The institution has also dedicated approximately $650,000 to Information Technology
facilities upgrades. In addition, positions were added to the Education Department
to support the extension of the Elementary Education program to Rogers State
University, in support of the university’s goal to seek new academic partners. Cameron
also supplies adjunct instructors for some Cameron transcripted courses at Comanche
Nation College, a small local tribal college currently seeking initial accreditation.
Learning Support Services
In order to enhance the quality of instruction it provides and achieve its stated goal of
raising retention and graduation rates, the university devotes considerable resources to
20. Tuition Assistance Policy,
2010 (Institutional Policies and
Governance)
www.cameron.edu/selfstudy
69
Chapter Two
its academic support facilities, offering library, technology and tutoring resources to all
of its students, while providing additional support resources to those students classified
as “at-risk.”
University Library
To effectively fulfill its mission and enhance student learning opportunities, the university
invests in a working library collection, as well as the physical and technology resources
needed to support that collection. As the library allocates the resources allotted to it in
the face of escalating costs, moreover, it consistently seeks to focus its resources in ways
that support the university’s strategic goals for student learning, student and faculty
access to current technology and the creation of a pleasant and supportive learning
environment. Librarians work with academic departments to update existing resources
and acquire new ones to best meet student research and study needs. Over the last ten
years, the library has greatly expanded its electronic resources; between 2005 and 2009,
the library increased its electronic book collection by over 56,000 titles and its media
collection by almost 600 titles, and since 2001, the library has added access to JSTOR
Arts and Sciences Collections, Direction of Trade Statistics, Morning Star Investment
Research Center, Opposing Viewpoints Research Center, Communication and Mass
Media, Biological Abstracts, American Chemical Society Publications, LexisNexis
Academic, SAGE Psychology, Issues and Controversies, National Criminal Justice
Reference Service Abstracts, Opposing Viewpoints Research Center and Consumer
Reports.org.
The library also invests resources in upgrading library services and environments to
encourage and to facilitate the use of scholarly materials. Over the last ten years, the
library has upgraded seating areas and added group study and media use rooms, a food
and drink area and seating conducive to portable computer use. In order to increase the
website’s usefulness to students and faculty members, the library has also regularly updated
its web page as new technology becomes available. Installation and implementation of
software that connects patrons directly from citation to full-text information now provide
enhanced electronic access to interlibrary loan materials. In addition, library personnel
provide individual and group information literacy instruction both in-person and using
communication technologies that assist with use of library materials.
Tutoring Labs
Cameron allocates approximately $150,000 annually for the support of five student
tutoring labs: the Center for Writers, the Speech Lab, the Math Lab, the Reading Lab
and the Computer Science Lab. These facilities provide assistance with basic writing,
public speaking, mathematics, reading and computer skills to all students, regardless
of major. The writing and math labs are staffed by both dedicated full-time personnel
and student tutors, while the speech lab and the computer science lab employ student
tutors under the direction of department faculty. The reading lab is staffed by Education
Department faculty members, a part of whose load is dedicated to that facility. Staff
members monitor facilities usage to ensure that operating hours and services provided
are adequate to student need.
Student Support Services
The Office of Student Support Services provides additional tutoring and other resources
for first-generation, traditionally underrepresented and/or low-income students and
for students whose high school preparation has left them in need of remediation;
approximately 5% of Cameron’s student population is currently enrolled with Student
Support Services. The office is funded primarily through a Title IV grant, with additional
monies provided by the institution. In FY09, the Title IV grant provided approximately
$325,000 in support personnel costs, including salary costs for professional tutors in
70
Cameron University Accreditation Self-Study
math, English and science, as well as for office support staff.21 Student Support also
provides $40,000 per academic year in supplemental grant aid to qualifying students. In
addition to the tutoring it provides, Student Support Services offers student workshops
in study skills, time management and other college survival topics.
Recruitment and Retention
To reach its goal of making Cameron University the University of Choice in southwest
Oklahoma, the institution has invested significantly over the last several years in
enrollment management and prospective student services. Combined, those units
have a total budget of approximately $635,000.22 Much of that money has been used
for recruitment; in addition to funding the position of Associate Vice President for
Enrollment Management, which has oversight for recruiting, the university maintains
four full-time recruiters and a recruitment coordinator who have significantly increased
the university’s contact with prospective students. In addition, Prospective Student
Services staff produce centralized recruitment literature, attend recruiting fairs across
the state and in Texas, and provide campus tours for prospective students through
the Aggie Ambassadors Program. Cameron’s increased investment in recruitment
has reaped substantial dividends, as mentioned in the introduction to this report;
enrollment has increased approximately 20% since 2001, and the increase in traditional
aged enrollment, in particular, has helped to offset both the loss of military enrollment
in the aftermath of 9/11 and the decrease in state funding that has plagued Oklahoma
institutions throughout the decade.
Because student retention has traditionally been a challenge for Cameron University,
the institution has also been attentive to the need to ensure the academic success of the
students enrolled, and especially of those enrolled in remedial courses, who are lost in
greatest numbers. Data suggest that students lost from Cameron are not, for the most
part, transferring to other colleges and universities, but are dropping out of the higher
education system altogether, and so, in addition to the student support resources listed
above, recent initiatives have targeted at-risk freshmen and remedial students, in
an effort to improve their persistence rate. In Spring 2010, the university awarded
approximately $21,000 in tuition waivers to students who successfully completed a
one-credit Introduction to University Life course in Fall 2009;23 students encouraged
to enroll in that course included first-time full-time freshmen and those requiring
multiple remediations. In addition, a Spring 2010 initiative requires mandatory
one-on-one tutoring for students who have unsuccessfully attempted a particular
remedial course two or more times; in Spring 2010, approximately 70 students enrolled
in mandatory tutoring at an approximate cost of $8,100. Success rates for students
completing mandatory tutoring will be tracked. The university recognizes that the cost
of retaining students is significantly lower than the cost of recruiting, and so such
programs, if successful, should help both students and the university to realize their
long-term goals.
Campus Life
As the number of full-time, traditional aged students enrolled at Cameron University
has increased over the last several years, the institution has increased its investment in
student activities, in order to create a campus environment attractive to young full-time
students and to reach its goal of providing students the College Experience of Choice.
Cameron has hired additional personnel in the student activities area, including a
Director of Student Activities, and the institution provides funds for campus lectures
and concerts, for other student activities programming and for student organizations
and clubs.24 Other areas funded by student activities include the Cameron University
Fitness Center, university athletics, the campus newspaper (The Cameron Collegian),
the university’s Speech and Debate Team and CUTV, the campus television channel.
21. Title IV Grant for Student Support
Services, 2010 (Budget)
22. E&G and Auxiliary Budget, FY09
(Budget)
23. E&G and Auxiliary Budget, FY10;
Introduction to University Life
Student Incentive Memo, 2009
(Budget)
24. E&G and Auxiliary Budgets,
2001-2010 (Budget)
www.cameron.edu/selfstudy
71
Chapter Two
Overall, the institution devotes approximately $1.2 million (exclusive of student
housing) to maintaining a rich and diverse campus experience for its students and for
the southwest Oklahoma community.
Physical Facilities
Both the university’s stated goal of becoming the Location of Choice for southwest
Oklahoma and the actualization of its Campus Master Plan 2015 hinge upon the
institution’s ability to continue to invest in its physical plant and capital resources.
The success of recent bond issues at the state and local level and aggressive public and
private fund-raising efforts on the part of the institution have helped the university
to make significant progress on planned facilities and capital improvements. Several
campus master plan projects have been funded through Oklahoma Section 13 and
Section 13 Offset Capital Equipment funds. In order to receive funds, a project must
be on the campus master plan. The following table provides a brief summary of recent
capital projects, including the amount of resources dedicated and the source of funding
for the project.
Summary of Recent Cameron University Capital Projects
Project
CETES I
CETES II
School of Business
McMahon Centennial Complex
Bentley Gardens
Cameron Village
Additonal Capital Improvements
Total
Funding
$2,500,000
$2,700,000
$8,600,000
$14,000,000
$1,300,000
$12,900,000
$12,400,000
$54,400,000
Funding Source
Private Gifts
Grants and Lawton Bond Issue
Bonds
Bonds and Private Gifts
Private Gifts
Bonds and Private Gifts
Bonds
In addition to these recently completed projects, the university was granted permission
in November 2009 to begin planning for the future construction of additional apartment
style housing, which current and enrollment housing trends suggest will become
necessary within the next few years.25
The university also allocates some of its physical resources in support of existing
partnerships providing space at little or no cost to both community and higher education
partners. Start-up businesses in CETES pay rent below the going rate for southwest
Oklahoma, and the university absorbs that cost as part of its mission to provide economic
leadership for southwest Oklahoma. Additionally, both the University of Oklahoma
Health Sciences Center and the Western Oklahoma State University nursing program
occupy campus facilities at no cost or below the regional rate per square foot. For each
of these businesses and higher education partners, Cameron also provides services,
maintenance and technology free of charge, enhancing its attractiveness as the Partner
of Choice for southwest Oklahoma.
Thus recognizing that its strategic planning goals can be met only if the appropriate
resources are targeted to effectively and efficiently achieve its aims, Cameron University
has managed, even in difficult financial times, to fund projects and initiatives that will
help it achieve its long-term goals and fulfill its commitments to all of its constituents.
25. OU, CU & RSU Regents Minutes,
November 2009 (Institutional
Policies and Governance)
72
Cameron University Accreditation Self-Study
Core Component II.c - The organization’s ongoing evaluation
and assessment processes provide reliable evidence of
institutional effectiveness that clearly informs strategies for
continuous improvement.
The university’s commitment to regular self-examination has produced evaluation and
assessment practices that foster strategies for continuous improvement and institutional
effectiveness. The university administration is proactive in ensuring that evaluative
data are available to its constituents and utilized in evidenced-based planning.
This overarching pledge to institutional effectiveness and continued evaluation and
improvement reaffirms the university’s culture of accountability.
Ideologically and operationally, the structure for planning, assessment and evaluation
within the university is defined by an updated Institutional Effectiveness Process (IEP),
which integrates the assessment, planning and budgeting cycles. A primary aim of the
IEP is to ensure that actions are taken based on institutional priorities and that there
is a systematic collection of data that guides decisions regarding the improvement
of the educational environment and student learning. The IEP also ensures that the
budget development process includes consideration of both the annual plans and the
evaluative data upon which those plans are based. Resources are allocated according
to the priorities established by the faculty and approved by the department chair or
program director and other appropriate administrators. Improving student learning, as
the university’s first core value would suggest, is the institution’s top priority.
The total IEP is composed of both annual and longer-term cycles. Annual IEP activities
include program assessment and development of the Institutional Accountability
Report. Strategic plans, five-year program reviews and various accrediting reports that
typically run on five- or ten-year cycles are also part of the continuous improvement
process at Cameron.
www.cameron.edu/selfstudy
73
Chapter Two
Numerous methods are utilized for gathering the data regarding institutional
effectiveness that fuels continuous improvement at Cameron University, and they
involve the efforts of all faculty and staff across the campus. Information gathered
is then distributed to internal and external constituencies of the university through
mandated reports, informational documents, committee reports, media outlets and
public presentations. These reports synthesize the use of evaluative data collected from
multiple sources to reveal the current state and direction of the institution.
Responsibility for Coordination of Evaluation and Assessment
Responsibility for coordinating the Institutional Effectiveness Process at Cameron
University is shared by two groups, one an administrative office, the other a faculty-run
committee forming part of the shared governance structure.
Office of Institutional Research, Assessment, and Accountability
In order that data gathered through various assessment and evaluation processes be
effectively collected and disseminated, many of these efforts are coordinated through
the Office of Institutional Research, Assessment, and Accountability which has the
following mission:
• C
oordinate program assessment of student learning
• Collect, organize, maintain, analyze and interpret statistical institutional data for
use by the management of the university as well as for external agencies involved
in the planning, policy formulation, decision making and administration of
institutes of higher education
• Provide timely, accurate and unbiased data to be of use in the development
of an information management system for purposes of meaningful display of
institutional data throughout the university
• Provide resources as necessary in support of university strategic planning and
assessment initiatives
• Provide planning support for the President’s Planning Committee
• Compile and prepare reports on institutional effectiveness and planning for
the OU,CU and RSU Board of Regents, the OSRHE and North Central
Association-Higher Learning Commission (NCA-HLC)
In July, 2010, the Office of Institutional Research, Assessment, and Accountability
(which had previously been the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment)
was assigned additional responsibility for accountability and institutional planning.
Duties added to its traditional mission include the conducting of staffing analyses
such as faculty workload, staffing comparisons and salary equity as well as analysis of
academic productivity to enhance the strategic planning activities of the campus. The
Director is responsible for providing recommendations to the upper administration
based on these analyses and providing evidence of the value and quality, as well as the
continuing improvement, of higher education at Cameron University to its external
stakeholders.
26. Institutional Research,
Assessment, and Accountability
Website, 2010 (Assessment)
74
These objectives are accomplished in accordance with the priorities established in the
approved strategic plan and are executed in compliance with Cameron’s Institutional
Effectiveness system. Data are collected from campus computer systems and reports,
and from state, regional and national data sources. Operationally, the Office provides
the data required to support the priorities set by the President of the university and
necessary for effective management of the institution. In support of the strategic
planning process, the Office provides historical data and develops projections that guide
the university’s decision-making processes.26
Cameron University Accreditation Self-Study
Institutional Assessment Committee
As part of the university’s shared governance structure, the assessment of student learning
and the evaluation of student services are coordinated by the Institutional Assessment
Committee (IAC), a university standing committee. The IAC reports to the Vice
President for Academic Affairs and is responsible for (1) identification of appropriate
assessment objectives for Cameron University, consistent with the policies and
requirements of the OSRHE and the NCA-HLC; and (2) university-wide coordination
of planning and implementation of entry-level assessment and placement, mid-level
(general education) assessment, program outcomes assessment and student satisfaction
evaluation programs which meet those same objectives and requirements. The IAC is
composed of a chair appointed by the Vice President for Academic Affairs, one member
appointed by and from the Faculty Senate; two faculty members appointed or elected at
the discretion of the Dean from each of the undergraduate schools, one representative
from Student Services, the Chair of the General Education Committee, the Director of
Institutional Assessment, the Vice President for Student Services and the Vice President
for Academic Affairs or his/her representative.
Reporting and Accountability
Some of the means by which the university, through the IAC and the Office of Institutional
Research, Assessment, and Accountability, monitors institutional effectiveness and
reports to its various constituents are as follows:
Program Quality Improvement Reports (PQIR)
Described in more detail in Chapter Three, the PQIRs are the primary means by which
all academic departments, some non-academic units (primarily those involved with
Student Support) and the general education program monitor their effectiveness. Those
units make annual presentations of their PQIRs to representatives from the IAC and
the dean or supervisor of the related program or department. A template is provided
to departments to ensure that requested data and analysis are presented in a consistent
manner. The information requested in each PQIR includes
• Stated student learning outcomes that are appropriate to Cameron’s mission
and to academic program and degrees objectives
• Quantitative evidence that students achieve stated course and program learning
outcomes
• Analysis of direct measurements of student learning
• A list of assessment instruments used and evidence that all faculty were involved
in the assessment process
• Evidence that annual operational planning and budgeting are driven by the
assessment process to improve program effectiveness and student learning.27
In response to faculty comments that timely feedback on PQIR would be helpful to
departmental planning efforts, evaluators provide comments and suggestions at the
end of each presentation and written comments are provided shortly thereafter.28 The
timeliness of the response allows for immediate dialogue to begin at the department
level regarding any improvement measures that need to be taken during the next
assessment sequence. After review by the IAC, the PQIR report is approved by the
Dean of the Academic School and the Vice President for Academic Affairs. PQIR
Reports for non-academic departments are approved by the administrative personnel
responsible for the programs.
Any new or continued departmental action items addressed in the PQIR will be
reviewed by the IAC the following year. Taken as a whole, these activities constitute the
Cameron University Continuous Improvement Cycle, as shown in the following chart.
27. PQIRs, 2001-2009 (Assessment)
28. PQIR Peer Evaluator Reports,
2007-2009 (Assessment)
www.cameron.edu/selfstudy
75
Chapter Two
Cameron University Continuous Improvement Cycle
The PQIR provide the data for initiating actions aimed at improving student learning
and collectively are the fundamental source of information for the institution’s
accountability reports that are submitted to governing boards and external agencies.
Annual Student Assessment Report
An annual academic assessment report is submitted to the OSRHE that provides data
on Entry-Level Assessment and Placement, General Education Assessment, Program
Outcomes Assessment and evaluation of Student Satisfaction. The report compiles data
from the Offices of Admission and Testing, the general education PQIR (including
Math and English CAAP tests), academic program PQIRs and the various student
satisfaction surveys employed by the university. The document also reports on licensure
and certification results, lists representative actions taken to improve student learning,
and provides information regarding the institution’s assessment budget.29
OSRHE Remediation Report
Each year Cameron University provides data to the OSRHE regarding the number of
first-time freshmen enrolled in remedial courses by subject area and on student success
in remedial courses by area. Those data are pooled with data from other institutions in
the state of Oklahoma and made public in the OSRHE’s Annual Student Remediation
Report. The report also includes a conclusions section which places the aggregate data in
context and lays out future plans for data collection and analysis.30
Five-Year Program Reviews
29. Annual Student Assessment
Reports, 2003-2009 (Assessment)
30. Annual Student Remediation
Report, 2007-2008 (Assessment)
76
The OSRHE requires the review of degree programs on a five-year cycle using specified
criteria. The reports are submitted to the OSRHE and summaries are published.
The OSRHE adopted minimum productivity standards for programs in 1995. Now
institutions are required to delete or justify programs with a low number of students and
graduates. Technical–occupational degree and certificate programs are subject to on-site
reviews conducted by external experts every five years. The five-year program review
Cameron University Accreditation Self-Study
process at Cameron integrates data provided by the Office of Institutional Research,
Assessment, and Accountability with departmental assessment data, including PQIRs,
to satisfy the OSRHE requirements. The rotational chart for individual programs is
posted on the intranet.31
Annual Budget Report
Each year the university provides a synopsis of its projected budget for the upcoming
fiscal year.The report includes information about both state allocations and expenditures,
setting both in historical context to provide evidence of budget trends and establishes
budget priorities based on available funds and strategic planning initiatives.
Each summer, the President presents the budget report to the OU, CU and RSU
Board of Regents for its approval; and then subsequently submits it to the faculty
and staff via e-mail in June followed by a personal presentation to the university
faculty and staff at the beginning of school each August. In addition, the report is
made publicly available as a “budget highlights” publication through the Office of
Public Affairs.32
Strategic Plan Status Reports
Each year, in addition to the annual budget report, the President of the institution
presents information to the OU, CU and RSU Board of Regents and to Cameron
University faculty and staff regarding progress made during the previous year on the
goals and objectives of the university’s strategic plan. Delivered to faculty and staff
in August of each year, the report provides both a printed list of strategic planning
objectives met, and a list of priority action items for the upcoming academic year. The
annual report thus has the dual functions of tracking progress on the university’s current
strategic plan and focusing university employees on upcoming initiatives.33
Additionally, in 2007, the university published the Plan 2008 Status Report, identifying
each of the strategic planning goals that had been met during the university’s first
five year planning cycle as well as those that needed to be carried forward into the
university’s subsequent strategic plan, Plan 2013: Choices for the Second Century. That
report was made available to the OU, CU and RSU Board of Regents, to CU faculty
and staff and to the general public through the Office of Public Affairs.34
Affirmative Action Plan
As described in the introduction to this self-study, the university’s Affirmative Action
Plan annually reports on the extent to which the institution has met the affirmative
action recruiting goals established in the previous year’s report and sets new goals for
the upcoming year. Cameron contracts with RPL Management Resources, Inc. to
perform the analyses, which are run using data from the university’s Office of Human
Resources. Included in the report is a work force analysis; which lists race, sex, job title,
job group, salary range and IPEDS code for all university employees by unit and serves
as the base data source for all other analyses; a job group analysis; an analysis comparing
incumbency to availability and placement goals; and an identification of problem areas.
Student Satisfaction Surveys
Data for the evaluation of student satisfaction are currently acquired through the
National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), the ACT College Student Needs
Assessment Survey, the Survey of Academic Advising and the College Outcomes
Survey.35 These surveys generate data that is important for improving services that
complement improved student learning. In addition, annual reviews of student living
facilities are completed to gauge customer service and identify areas that might need
improvement.36
31. Sample Program Reviews,
2001-2010 (Assessment);
Rotational Chart for Program
Review, 2010 (Assessment)
32. Budget Highlights, 2004-2010
(Budget)
33. General Faculty and Staff
Meeting Presentations, 2004-2010
(University Publications)
34. Plan 2008 Status Report, 2008
(Planning)
35. NSSE, 2008; ACT, 2006, 2008,
Survey Academic Advising,
2009; College Outcomes Survey,
2005-2007 (Evaluation)
36. Student Housing Surveys,
2008-2010 (Evaluation)
www.cameron.edu/selfstudy
77
Chapter Two
Those surveys are:
•
•
•
•
ducational Benchmark Institute Resident Survey - Online
E
Cameron University Student Housing Freshman Survey
Cameron Village Exit Survey
Exit Survey for Residence Halls
Results are reported through the PQIR process.
Internal and External Audits
All units of the university undergo regular financial audits by the University of
Oklahoma’s Internal Audit Department. During these audits, recommendations
regarding best practices are made to each unit and the unit responds with a course of
action that is subsequently verified by the auditors. In addition, the university’s Office of
Business and Finance is subject to an external audit of the university’s annual financial
statements, which results in an auditor’s opinion as to the fairness of financial statements
and related footnotes, as well as the compliance with government accounting standards.
The university has always received a “clean opinion” from the audits. An additional
annual audit is conducted by the State Auditors to verify that Cameron is complying
with state regulations in the processing of invoices which are paid by the state. Any
issues are corrected immediately. Results of all audits are made public on the OU, CU
and RSU Board of Regents website.37
Institutional Reports
To complement the aforementioned reports and to ensure the dissemination of
information to the decision makers who will use it, the Office of Institutional Research,
Assessment, and Accountability regularly provides the voluntary and mandated
reports that are dispersed to specific groups for purposes of review and evaluation or
accountability and peer comparisons. The primary functions of these reports vary, but all
are used for future short- and long-range planning efforts and continued improvement.
Many of these are internal and distributed to deans, chairs and directors for decisionmaking purposes. The university also participates in national surveys and studies that
report national normative results. A full list of reports is available in the appendix. Results of the Continuous Improvement Cycle
The following examples demonstrate some of the positive changes in the institution
that have resulted from the continuous improvement cycle.
• Th
e university library conducted a survey in Spring 2009 to gather supplemental
PQIR data for improving library services.38 The survey covered all aspects of
library services and resources, including availability, friendliness and helpfulness
of the staff. After reviewing the results of that survey, library employees have
implemented many improvements and have plans for others. Immediate action
was taken to reduce noise complaints by revising the student behavior policy
and by posting signs regarding the use of cell phones. The data also provided
additional budget justification for purchasing new books and requesting
extended library hours.
37. OU, CU & RSU Regents Minutes,
2001-2010 (Institutional Policies
and Governance)
38. Library Survey, 2009 (Evaluation)
78
• O
ther library surveys and studies have resulted in a variety of actions improving
library services, including enhanced library class instruction content and
teaching methods, resource reallocation that enabled increased electronic and
subscription access, web page redesign, reallocation of physical library space
to provide additional study areas, improved publicity of library resources and
services and increased in-person librarian presence at the Duncan learning site.
Cameron University Accreditation Self-Study
• Information Technology Services (ITS) is primarily evaluated through
accomplishment of its objectives, many of which are directly related to university
planning objectives. The ITS Help Desk (Aggie Tech Support) and Academic
IT Center/Computer Lab (Student Tech Support) handle an average of 11,466
work orders per year. These work orders include 2,139 on-site support, 4,744
phone support, 323 remote support and 4,260 student tech support. These
numbers do not include support figures from Cameron Computer Lab Support,
networking support, sysadmin/server support and
ITV/Smart Classroom support. By the summer of
2009, the department had installed 57 wireless access
points on campus, with 27 more being planned. The
approximately 90 smart classrooms on campus and
Duncan were installed by ITS tech teams instead
of contractors and consultants, thereby saving the
university thousands of dollars. Computer classroom
labs are continuously monitored to determine student
usage and computer availability. Based on Fall 2008
enrollment statistics, there was one computer available
for every nine students.
• Evaluation in the Department of Enrollment
Management demonstrates the infusion of forward
thinking and strategic planning objectives with
corresponding actions. An action item in Plan 2008:
Preparing for Cameron University’s Second Century
was to “Ensure that students receive quality academic
advisement and provide the appropriate courses
based on student’s preparation and classification.” At
approximately the same time that the strategic plan
was created, the University commissioned “The Reasor
Report” which led to several significant changes. In
Fall 2003, the President’s Action Commission on
student retention was created to monitor and make
recommendations for continuous improvement. Soon
thereafter, the Office of Enrollment Management was
established and the Office of Institutional Research,
Assessment, and Accountability was assigned the responsibility for collecting,
analyzing, comparing and reporting institutional data.39 In 2005, consultant
Dr. Nancy King was tasked with evaluating Cameron’s academic advisement
practices. One of her recommendations for early intervention in student progress
was implemented in the form of the university’s Early Alert System. Enrollment
Management has been a very active department over a relatively short span of time
as indicated in the following sample list of accomplishments:
• Maintaining enrollment in the face of massive military deployments
• Expansion of recruitment areas into central Oklahoma and the
Texoma region
• Establishment of a recruitment activity schedule
• Hiring of telecounselors to guide students through enrollment and
survey students about campus concerns
• Employment of a graduate recruiter to increase marketing and
advertising efforts, and develop and implement a comprehensive
graduate recruitment plan
• Establishment of Gold Rush orientation days
39. Organizational Charts, 2003-2010
(Institutional Policies and
Governance)
www.cameron.edu/selfstudy
79
Chapter Two
• Th
e Department of Physical Facilities engages in continuous evaluation of its
objectives and strategic planning. In 2008, as a result of concerns regarding the
tracking of work orders, the department implemented the TMA web-based
software solution that manages everything from work orders to planned vehicle
and equipment maintenance. Customized reports help the university track
valuable information such as labor costs, work order status and preventative
maintenance workloads.40
Improvements in Data Reporting
Mechanisms for data management over the past decade have improved due to
strategic planning and reacting to environmental changes. The university’s decision
in 2000 to use the University’s intranet for dissemination and archiving of data
was insightful at that time. Department directors, faculty members and staff were
afforded easy access to a host of information such as productivity data, demographic
data about students, retention and graduation rate data for internal and external
use in planning and decision making. As capabilities and demands have increased,
more sophisticated analysis and trend reviews have been made available via the
intranet. As part of its continuous improvement plans, the university is now working
toward the next phase of data management through the implementation of Banner,
as described in the introduction to this report. Comprehensive reporting, analytics
and performance management solutions give decision makers across the institution
the information and capabilities they need to achieve institutional goals in a more
efficient and effective manner.
Financial Support for Evaluation and Assessment
Because it recognizes the importance of having ample and accurate data to inform its
decision-making processes, the university provides significant resources for the support
of assessment and evaluation. The Office of Institutional Research, Assessment, and
Accountability accounts for most of that fiscal outlay.41
Any additional human or fiscal assets that are needed come primarily from individual
department resources. With few exceptions, there is no systemized mechanism for tallying
the total amount of faculty and staff time expended on assessment-related measures.
Cameron University is committed to continuous self-evaluation and, as the next
chapter discusses in more detail, the assessment of student learning. Its Institutional
Effectiveness Process, coupled with recent improvements in data entry and processing,
enable a series of reports that help the university to make informed decisions and
evaluate the effectiveness of its strategic initiatives, while enhancing its accountability
to its constituents and to its governing bodies.
Core Component II.d - All levels of planning align with the
organization’s mission, thereby enhancing its capacity to
fulfill that mission
40. WebTMA Screenshots, 2010
(Evaluation)
41. E&G and Auxiliary Budget, 2011
(Budget)
80
As the previous chapter demonstrated, all of Cameron University’s various levels
of planning align with its mission and enhance its ability to fulfill that mission.
The institution’s strategic plans, developed by committees representing all of the
university’s internal and external constituencies, have been informed by the
university’s core values, which in turn derive directly from the mission, and the
goals of those strategic plans echo, both in wording and in substance, the mission
and functions of the university. Cameron’s planning documents establish student
learning as the university’s top priority, and set forth goals that, as they are fulfilled,
both enhance Cameron’s ability to provide a quality education to a diverse group of
Cameron University Accreditation Self-Study
learners and prepare its students to meet the cultural and technological challenges of
a global workplace, as promised in the university mission.
In addition, planning processes are linked with budgeting processes at all levels to ensure
that the priorities laid out in the strategic plans are operationalized so that the university
may best fulfill its mission. All budget requests at all levels must be accompanied by an
explanation of how each expenditure aligns with university mission and strategic plan,
and the allocation of capital and human resources is made with reference to both the
mission statement and relevant strategic planning goals. Recent examples include the
Center for Emerging Technology and Entrepreneurial Studies, which provides economic
leadership for southwest Oklahoma; the new Business Building and the McMahon
Centennial Complex and the extensive refurbishing of many areas of the campus
physical plant and landscaping, which enhance the campus learning environment; the
successful implementation of the Banner record managements system, which provides a
technological solution to tracking student success, increasing faculty and staff efficiency
and improving student service; and the launching of Cameron’s portion of the Reach
Higher program, a program offering a diverse body of adult learners access to quality
higher education.
Annual status reports on the strategic plan, in conjunction with continuous
environmental scanning, allow the university a regular opportunity to take stock of
progress made towards achieving its strategic planning goals, to reflect upon its current
priorities and to reassess those priorities in light of changing environmental conditions.
In addition, its institutional effectiveness process allows the university to continually
evaluate its efforts, make periodic adjustments and when necessary focus resources to
overcome both internal and environmental challenges.
Ten years ago, strategic planning was perceived as a major weakness for Cameron
University. Today, the systems that the institution has in place prepare it well to meet
the challenges of a second century.
Summary of Planning for the Future
Over the last ten years, strategic planning has become one of the great strengths of the
university. Through systematic planning, implementation and evaluation, the institution
has been able to take advantage of new opportunities while maintaining a steady course
in trying economic times. The results of Plan 2008: Preparing for Cameron University’s
Second Century are well documented in the Plan 2008 Status Report, and yearly updates
on Plan 2013: Choices for the Second Century indicate that the university is well on its way
to achieving many of its current goals.
There is, of course, little doubt that state budget cuts over that same ten year period
have represented one of the greatest challenges to the university’s ability to carry out its
strategic planning goals, forcing the postponement of some initiatives and the refiguring
of others. As a result of repeated budget cuts, a student wellness center originally
scheduled to open in Spring 2010 will not open until fall of this year and faculty and
staff salaries continue to lag behind the state and regional average, making it difficult to
recruit and retain a qualified and diverse faculty. Yet in spite of the setbacks caused by
the reduction in state funding, the university’s recruitment and retention efforts have led
to a substantial increase in student enrollment, which jumped 13% in Fall 2009, helping
to offset the latest state cuts with new tuition dollars. In addition the state’s financial
retrenchment has encouraged the university to more aggressively court private partners.
Many of the university’s recent initiatives have been funded though private donations
rather than public dollars, and the University Advancement Office arguably operates
more effectively at present than ever before in the institution’s history. Limited budget
www.cameron.edu/selfstudy
81
Chapter Two
has also forced the university to explore partnerships with other institutions that may
well bear fruit long after the easing of the current economic climate. Thus, although
the university has experienced financial setbacks as it has sought to move forward, its
careful planning and its resultant ability to respond to challenges have simultaneously
created new opportunities for growth and development.
82
Cameron University Accreditation Self-Study