Strategic Plan
Annual Report
October 11, 2010
Initiative 1
Offer competitive, high quality, rigorous academic programs and services that provide students
the versatility to shape a changing world and support the state and regional economies.
Action Plan
Outcomes
A Continue the focus on
 The Student Learning Outcomes Assessment Committee
discussion of student
will continue providing peer reviews of department and
learning expectations,
program assessment of student learning. Its website will
assessment of student
be updated to show the history of department/program
learning outcomes and
assessment activities and resultant learning
competencies, and
improvements based on assessment data.
resultant program
 MSUM will administer the ETS Proficiency Profile
improvements.
assessment to its first year and senior students, as part
Communicate these
of the Voluntary System of Accountability.
results across the
 Assessment of university-wide general education
University and to the
assessments will continue. Last year's data from the
community.
writing intensive course assessment will be reviewed,
communicated, and acted upon.
B Continue work on
 The School of Business received prestigious
specialized program
accreditation from the American Association of Colleges
accreditation as
and Schools of Business.
applicable.
 The Construction Management program received
reaccreditation.
 Two faculty members are involved at the national level
(American Society of Biochemistry and NSF) within
biochemistry and molecular biology education to
establish foundational concepts and skills for the
discipline and to promote student-centered teaching
approaches and training for the workforce. This
ultimate goal will be to lead to the first accreditation
program for undergraduate biochemistry programs,
which will likely be piloted at MSUM.
C Achieve accreditation
 We decided to postpone the site visit until the next
from the Higher Learning
academic year in order to assure the highest level of
Commission for online
preparedness.
offering.
D Increase the number of
 In 2010, we offered 254 hybrid and online courses
online and hybrid courses.
compared to 182 in 2009 for a 40% increase. Of this
increase 31% was in Fall and Spring courses, and 67%
was in Summer courses.
E
Continue the strong focus
on and support for faculty
mentoring and engaged
learning (e.g., student
academic research
conference, student
participation in regional
and national
competitions).














Over 500 undergraduate students presented their work at the
annual Student Academic Research conference.
MSUM students received a regional Emmy from the Upper Midwest
Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences on
September 25 for the television documentary titled Inspired by
Nature, produced by the Fall 2009 Broadcast Documentary Class
and broadcast on Prairie Public Television. This is the fourth year in
a row that MSUM students have received an Emmy award.
MSUM students had one national winner and five finalists in the
Society of Professional Journalists 2008 Mark of Excellence Awards,
recognizing collegiate work published or broadcasted during 2008.
This year, student journalists submitted more than 3,600 entries in
39 categories. Only three other schools received more awards than
MSUM, including Arizona State University, 10; University of
Maryland, 7; University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, 7; and MSUM
with 6. National winners and finalists were previously recognized by
receiving first place in one of the SPJ’s 12 regional competitions.
Two book cover designs created by Graphic Design students for
New Rivers Press were selected winners in the 2010 American
Inhouse Design Awards by Graphic Design USA. Only 15% of the
4,000 entries were recognized with awards of excellence.
Students from Construction Management placed third in the
Commercial division of their regional competition, ahead of NDSU,
Kansas State, MSU-Mankato, and 4 other universities.
Film Studies students presented their work at a number of regional
festivals and conferences, including the South Dakota Film Festival
and the Fargo Film Festival.
Theatre Arts students won numerous awards at the regional
Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival and two
students won awards at the national festival in Washington, DC in
April.
Six History students presented papers at the Phi Alpha Theta
conference at the University of South Dakota last spring. One
student won the medieval prize for her paper.
Three Philosophy students presented papers at the 2010 Minnesota
Philosophical Undergraduate Student Conference at St. John's
University.
Three English students presented papers at the Northern Plains
Conference on Early British Literature last spring at the University of
Mary.
Two Art & Design students won national awards for their book
covers for the New Rivers Press.
MSUM students from three departments won 18 of the 29 Student
ADDY awards from the American Advertising Federation of North
Dakota.
3 students won $400 travel awards at a regional undergraduate
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology meeting (co-organized by
MSUM, NDSU and Concordia) to attend a national American
Chemical Society or American Society for Biochemistry and
Molecular Biology Meeting.
4 students presented at the national American Society for
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology meeting.













1 student presented at the national Developmental Biology
meeting.
A Biology major with a Psychology minor won the prestigious
National Collegiate Athletic Association Postgraduate Scholarship.
She maintained a 4.0 GPA and was a letter-winner volleyball player.
She was accepted into Pacific University College of Optometry.
The American Chemical Society (ACS) student chapter at MSU
Moorhead was selected to receive an Honorable Mention Award for
its activities conducted during the 2008-2009 academic year.
60% of the 2010 Economics graduating class has been accepted to
post-graduate programs across the U.S. including those at Purdue
University, University of Illinois, Claremont Graduate School,
University of Utah and William Mitchell Law School.
The Model UN Team made a strong showing at the 34th Arrowhead
Model United Nations Conference in River Falls WI April 15th-18th
and 8 students received best delegate awards.
4 Economics majors and a faculty member attended the 2010
Eastern Economic Association Annual Conference in Philadelphia
PA. Two students presented their research.
A 2010 Political Science graduate, received a $5,000 Federal Public
Service Fellowship from the Timothy J. Penny Program for
Minnesota State College and University students participating in
public service internships and for those committed to community
service. The student worked with N.D. Senator Kent Conrad in
Washington DC.
Political Science graduates went on this year to: Harvard Law
School , University of Minnesota Law School (2 students), Creighton
University Law School, St. Thomas College Law School, Univ. of
California Riverside, Political Science PhD program, University of
Georgia Political Science Master’s Program, University of Georgia
International Studies Master’s Program.
Students from Psychology presented at the annual Red River Valley
Psychology conference.
Four students from Sociology presented at a national meeting in
their discipline.
MSUM teacher candidates have been volunteering at White Earth
Circle of Life K-12 tribal school for the 2009 - 2010 school year.
Students and their faculty have taken a leadership role in the
development of a partnership whereby students and faculty have
been able to work with children in grades one through four in math,
reading, and creative writing. The classroom teachers have used this
time away from the classroom for collaboration, assessment, and
planning a guided reading resource center. Teacher candidates will
present on this project as an outreach and information poster
session at the 2010 MSUM Academic Conference.
Fourth year students in education traveled to Detroit Lakes,
Madison Elementary School in Fargo, and the Spring Prairie
Hutterite Colony to teach integrated lessons to area elementary
students for five Wednesdays each semester.
Community Health and Nursing students collaboratively worked
together to promote, educate and provide immunizations for the
MSUM Seasonal Influenza Immunization and H1N1 clinics on

F
Develop a sustainability
major or concentration.

campus. More than 800 MSUM students were immunized for
Seasonal Influenza and H1N1.
Four Speech Language Pathology students had their graduate
projects accepted for presentation at the November 2009 ASHA
Convention in New Orleans, LA. Presentation topics included voice,
stuttering and augmentative communication.
A sustainability concentration is under development and
should go to through review this Fall.
Initiative 2
Increase enrollment and student success, including underrepresented students. The number of
enrolled students should reach 8,000 within the next five years with continued improvements in
student success indicators.
Action Plan
Outcomes
A Increase enrollment and
On this one, we can report good news and bad news.
related tuition revenue by 6%
 Right now, our FTE, which determines to large
by Fall 2011 from the base of
extent tuition revenue, is relatively stable and 1.3%
Fall 2008 through a
above 2008. We did not expect a large increase this
combination of increased new
year due to the presence of two unusually low
freshmen, increased transfers,
freshmen classes (06 and 09) in the pipeline. Each
and improved retention.
low class contributes to lower numbers of
returning students for at least 5 years.
 However, we have just had our largest class of new
entering freshmen (NEF; 1238) since Fall 2004. We
expect our continued emphasis on NEF as well as
increased transfer emphasis to enable achievement
of our Fall 2011 enrollment targets.
B Develop a plan to improve
 In addition to increased attention to graduation
graduation rates (4, 5, and 6
and retention rates in the colleges, we now have a
year) across colleges.
joint administration and IFO task force on
graduation and retention rate improvement.
C Increase recruitment and
 From Fall 2008 to Fall 2009, overall enrollment of
retention of underrepresented
underrepresented students increased from 659 to
students.
743 for a total increase of 13%. However, overall
year to year retention for these students decreased
from 68% to 66%.
 MSUM held its first Summer Bridge program for
underrepresented students. Eighteen students
completed the program and 16 are currently
enrolled at MSUM. The program's components
included several retention interventions such as
faculty mentoring, community building, and study
skills.
 The Office of Multicultural Affairs has initiated an

D
E
F
G
Promote the benefit of the
new tuition and fee structure
through proactive advising and
selective course development.
Increase the number of living
and learning communities and
the number of students
participating in such
communities.

Consult with students and
work towards implementation
of the Residential Life Master
Plan to renew our facilities and
support recruitment and
retention.
Build MSUM's market position,
identity and brand to leverage
its competitive strength.




H
Continue to build strong
Athletics programs that
promote recruitment and
retention as well as positive
student and community
engagement.

academic success program to address retention in
which student participants are required to
frequently meet with faculty, participate in social
activities and address financial and social issues
with staff.
A full-time diversity recruiter is on board and under
the supervision of the admissions office. This
recruiter will focus on all underrepresented
students, paying particular attention to American
Indians and Latinos.
Preliminary review of data last year showed an
increase in the average credit load of freshmen and
sophomores.
Last academic year, we continued the existing
honors living learning community and offered four
more, serving a total of 147 students. This year,
including Honors, we are offering 10 living learning
communities and one learning community to a
total of 270 students.
The implementation of the Residence Life Master
plan is moving forward. Grantham Hall was
renovated over the summer, and the Dahl Hall
renovation is in the design stage with Phase One
beginning in summer of 2011.
We have completed brand research with STAMATS
and work on our visual identity with Larsen Design.
After campus input, we will launch our new visual
identity in Spring along with a new look for our
website.
In addition, working with Noel Levitz and Royall we
have begun to recapture admissions market share
in Fargo/Moorhead and the Twin Cities as well as
to develop new markets.
This past summer, Athletics held a summit with
campus leaders and key alumni. The result was a
strategic plan that is now in the implementation
stage and involves plans to improve the quality of
our current programs and increase the engagement
of our alumni in scholarships.
Initiative 3
Strengthen our relationships with key stakeholders, including alumni, other donors,
neighborhood groups, and the business community.
Action Plan
Outcomes
A Continue positive visibility in
 We have continued to have good visibility and
local community and expand to
press locally. However, it has not extended very far
surrounding areas.
beyond the immediate area, with the exception of
the excellent work of Admissions in the Twin Cities
and Suburbs.
B Develop programs to engage
 This year, we established a Millennial Alumni Group
new alumni and increase
to better engage recent graduates. They are
regional and programmatic
already communicating regularly and having events
alumni groups.
both in the local area and in the Twin Cities.
 We are in the process of developing a Twin Cities
Regional Advisory Group to complement the FM
Area Regional Advisory Group.
C Develop student/alumni
 A new student mentorship program is being piloted
mentorship and internship
through the Academic Resource Office. Students
opportunities.
are paired with faculty, staff, and administrators
with expectations for periodic contact to occur
during the year to assist with opportunity
identification, engagement, and problem solving.
D Continue development of
 Working together, the Office of Student Activities,
Homecoming as a campus wide
Athletics, the Alumni Foundation, and Marketing
event to celebrate and support
increased participation of administration, faculty,
the university.
staff, students and alumni in the planning and
execution of homecoming week.
E Increase the frequency, quality,  The Alumni Foundation has created new templates
and relevance of alumni
for all written communication to alumni and
communication, including
friends. The written communication plan also
special group updates.
includes new formats for the monthly e-news, the
biannual Alum News magazine, department
newsletters and all other written communication to
prospects and donors.
 In addition, the Foundation has established
measurable goals established for the number of
times we communicate with the alumni and the
number of times they respond to electronic
mailings.
 Using an email tracker firm, they have increased
the number of usable emails from 17,000 to
28,000.
F
Increase the number of donors
by 5% over the baseline of
FY08.


G
Increase the amount of money
for scholarships by 10% over
the FY08 baseline.


H
Engage surrounding
neighborhoods and community
in the campus facility master
planning process

The goal was to increase the number of donors by
5% from the year 2008, or from 7104 to 7459. The
Foundation phonathon callers, increased the number
of donors to the Dragon fire walk, added two
written appeals this year to donors who have not
participated before, and increased the number of
events three fold.
Over 1000 first time donors responded to these
appeals, but in spite of the new strategies, the total
donors decreased to around 6000. We will need to
look at other strategies but market improvement will
help and perhaps the new strategies take time to
really work. We are currently reviewing strategies
to see what we need to do differently.
The Foundation raised more money this past year
for scholarships than ever before, bringing in
$1,058,024 in Endowed and $369,902 for annual
scholarships. This will be very good for the future
as it built the endowment very nicely.
However, they were only able to pay out 2% of the
endowed funds last year due to the loss in the
market. Therefore, the Foundation paid out $546,
816 in total scholarships from the Foundation.
The campus master plan has been completed and
included several meetings with neighborhood
leaders as well as open community meetings.
Initiative 4
Continue to develop infrastructures that are sustainable through difficult economic times as well
as consistent with the caring community that is MSUM.
Action Plan
Outcomes
A Decrease base budget
We do not have a structural deficit, and we are on track
personnel costs by $1M
to have a balanced budget for FY 2012, hopefully
through
without layoffs. Our approach has been three fold:
i. stronger fiscal controls  We tightened fiscal controls with much closer
on hiring that directly
control over all hiring. In addition, we used more
restrict expenditures
conservative assumptions in the budget planning
to levels consistent
process.
with current and
 We decreased base budget through hiring
predicted revenue.
restrictions, early separation incentives,
ii. early separation
reorganizations, and energy refits. We gave 27 BESIs
incentives coupled
and 10 enhanced contractual ESIs since Spring 09.
B
C
with replacement at a
lower salary level
and/or unit
reorganization for
efficiencies, which
would be marked by
fewer overall FTE
and/or lower paid
positions.
Increase revenues through
increased effort and
accountability in marketing,
enrollment management,
fundraising, and residential
life with special attention to
increasing new first time
freshmen and new donors.
Continue focus on efficiency
of expenditures (e.g.,
department cost recovery
ratios) and operating budgets.


The total net base decrease at this time is
approximately $1M.
Energy costs decreased by $395,000 or 17% since
the last fiscal year.
As noted earlier, we have increase revenues from
the Foundation.
 Enrollment has increased 1.3% above 2008. With
the large freshman class of 2010 and increased
attention to transfers, we hope to meet our 2012
enrollment increase goal.
 We have an increase of 9% in students living on
campus this year over last.
 Summer session net revenue was $1.39M, as
compared with $1.25M in 2009 and .79M in 2008.
Two key committees help us to address efficiency of
expenditures.
 The Academic Affairs Budget Advisory Committee
(AABAC) is advisory to the president and VP and
includes deans and IFO representatives. On an
annual basis, the AABAC reviews departmental and
programmatic cost recovery ratios. Those programs
with lower ratios are required to demonstrate
improvement or face possible cuts. In addition, cost
recovery ratios will be one of the factors considered
in the prioritization of requests for resource
allocation when funds become available. In this
second Spring of AABAC meetings, we were
heartened to see significant improvements from a
number of departments that previously had low cost
recovery ratios.
 On the non-instructional side, we instituted a NonInstructional Budget Advisory Committee (NIBAC)
with VP and union representation. Like AABAC, this
committee advises the VP and the president. All
requests for permanent support and administrative
positions are presented to this committee for review
and prioritization. A critical consideration in
discussing positions is whether or not the unit has
D
E
F
Continue to improve the
quality and profitability of the
summer session.
Increase the reserves in order
to assure a more stable
operating environment during
this time of economic
uncertainty.
Continue to coordinate and
improve the technology and
communications
infrastructures.







G
H
In non-instructional areas,
continue to examine potential
for collaborations,
collocations, or
reorganizations in order to
promote efficiencies and
achievement of key goals. In
addition, use quality
improvement tools to involve
and empower employees in
the effort to continually
improve work processes.
Develop assessment plans for
all non-instructional units.



reorganized to address potential economies of scale.
For example, support positions now support more
than one office.
With the assistance of the summer session
committee, summer session continues to improve.
As noted earlier, net revenues have increased.
We have not yet increased the institutional reserves.
Rather, we are holding carryover funds for possible
board early separation incentives to reduce base
costs as well renovations to increase efficiency and
customer service through collocation.
We have incorporated a bi-annual test plan for the
campus generator – testing the power supply to the
campus data center to prepare for emergency
power outages.
We have implemented a Virtual Server farm which
has reduced our cost on purchasing server
hardware. It has also allowed us to operate in a high
availability mode for our most critical services.
The IT unit has implemented a Master Project List on
which has all of our IT projects.
We have successfully implemented the Image Now
Document Imaging System in Records, Financial Aid,
and Admissions. We will now move to the Business
Office and HR this coming year.
We are 90% complete with our Active Directory
Installation.
We are in the process of co-locating a number of
academic support offices at the Flora Frick
crossroads. Already, this has enabled sharing of an
office manager by the Deans of the Graduate School
and University College.
LEAN projects have been completed in printing, in
the readmissions process, and with the directory.
Although we have made some progress in Student
Affairs, work still needs to be done in Finance and
Administration.
I
J
Develop and implement a new 
campus facilities master plan
that positions the campus for
future growth and
sustainability.
Continue to engage students, 
faculty, and staff in campus
sustainability efforts.


The facilities master plan has been completed and
submitted to the Office of the Chancellor. It can be
found at
http://www.mnstate.edu/plans/facility/currentmfp.
cfm.
Dennis Jacobs is assisting the campus in
coordinating sustainability efforts.
Student participation and engagement continued
with the Sustainable Campus Committee to create
opportunities for developing “green” initiatives
throughout campus. Examples include installation of
many new campus bicycle racks, improving
residence hall recycling programs, holding
competitions for energy efficient designs for
campus.
We continue to participate in the State of MN B3
Benchmarking Program through reporting of energy
use and continuous improvement in campus'
efficient use of energy resources.