Division Level Goals for Student Affairs

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1 Overview The following division level goals have been created by Student Affairs. During the summer 2016, each department will create a set of strategic objectives that align with the division and university goals. Once reviewed and approved, the division and department goals and objectives will be displayed on the Student Affairs site (Strategic Planning and Assessment link). I) Increase Graduation Rates and Decrease Time to Degree During his address at the beginning of the academic year, President Nelsen re-affirmed the need for Sacramento State to focus their collective efforts toward increasing our four-year freshmen and two-year transfer graduation rates. After evaluating the results of the recent graduation initiative (especially the four-year rate for freshmen), it became readily apparent to everyone that our graduation rates would not increase substantially without considerable and urgent change. For the next student success initiative, the campus is proposing the following stretch goals for 2025: 6-Year Freshman Graduation Rate 4-Year Freshman Graduation Rate 4-Year Transfer Graduation Rate 2-Year Transfer Graduation Rate Outcome of 2015 GI Goals Campus GI Goals for 2025 Percent Change 49% 60% 11% 9% 30% 21% 70% 81% 11% 27% 38% 11% Achievement Gap-URM 5.5% 0% -5.5% Achievement Gap - Pell 5.7% 0% -5.7% The class of 2025 will enter the university in the fall of 2021 (only five years from now). We must create and institutionalize remarkable changes in the institution s culture, our processes, policies and procedures, advising interventions, student success strategies and curriculum to prepare for this entering class. For this to work, we need to make substantive changes and see incremental improvements each year. To that end, Student Affairs is committed to the following division-level goals: 1) Reducing the Need for Remediation The division is working to reduce the number of freshmen required to take first-year remedial courses by half in the next three years (from 55% in fall 2015 to 27.5% or less in fall 2018). For the second year of this goal, the division s objectives are to: 1

2 Decrease the Number of Freshmen Required to Take Remedial Courses to Less Than 40% of the incoming class for fall Through the College Ready Initiative, staff are executing a series of strategies to target more students with effective interventions to help them become college ready before their first term. Increase Second Year Retention Rates for Remedial Students Increase the number of students who successfully pass their remedial courses during their first year at Sacramento State by 5% for fall 2017 (compared to fall 2016) Create Dual Enrollment/Admission Pathways Collaborating with local community colleges to develop a dual admission program by spring 2017 which allows students who test into the lower quartile of remediation and complete these courses at the community college during their senior year of high school or, as a back-up, while taking other lower division courses at Sacramento State Increase the Number of Exemptions from Remediation through the Early Assessment Program (EAP) Collaborating with the Center for College and Career Readiness (CCR) and regional school districts, facilitate the adoption of the Expository Reading and Writing Course and the Fourth Year Math Course in the majority of high schools throughout the Sacramento Region. The actual fall 2017 goal will be set in August 2017 with CCR after determining the final exemption count for fall ) Assess Academic Advising and Develop Recommendations During the year, the Academic Advising Task Force will assess the current state of advising throughout the campus, develop a set of recommendations for improvement as follows: Inventory of Current Advising Practices Complete an inventory of all current advising strategies by department and assess which strategies comply with existing advising policies Assess the Current Academic Advising Policy Review and assess the current policy (from 2007) in collaboration with the Faculty Senate and develop a set of recommendations for change Develop Best Practice Advising Recommendations Evaluate best practices in advising (especially those focused on increasing graduation rates and decreasing time to degree) and develop a set of recommendations for the campus 3) Increase Retention and Decrease Time to Degree for all Students Through a series of collaborative initiatives, Student Affairs staff will strive to increase retention rates for students at all class levels and decrease time to degree. These initiatives will include: Implementing Online Degree Roadmaps In collaboration with Academic Affairs and Information Resources and Technology, complete the initial launch of online degree roadmaps in fall 2016 and then full implementation in spring

3 Increasing Second Year Retention and Success Through the Second Year Advising Program, PERSIST, the DEGREES Project and in collaboration with academic departments, Student Affairs will develop and begin to implement strategies to improve the retention rate of second year students by the end of fall 2016 Increasing the Number of Transfer Ready Students and Maintain a Two Year Graduation Rate above 52% The number of ADT/AST students admitted continues to grow each year. As these numbers move from hundreds of students to thousands, each cohort will need to be tracked and supported to maintain a two-year graduation rate above 52% (the 2025 goal). Current graduation rates for the first three cohorts are being verified and will be available for final reporting after summer 2016 grades are processed 4) Implementing Cohort-Based Interventions by Graduating Class Implement a series of interventions targeted at junior and senior graduating cohorts in order to increase graduation rates and decrease time to degree. The graduation cohorts targeted for are fall 2016, spring/summer 2017 and fall 2017 / spring To measure success, rates should increase for each cohort each year. Specific annual objectives will be set in conjunction with the approved graduation stretch goals for II) Increase Students Sense of Belonging Based on the final report and recommendations of the Diversity Task Force, and in collaboration with Dr. Robin Carter, Interim Executive Director for Diversity, the new Diversity Council and all other diversity programs on campus will develop a set of strategies that can be implemented and assessed each year. The initial set of strategies should be identified and approved by the end of fall Meanwhile, each department within the division has been asked to evaluate their objectives in relation to this university / division level goal. Thus, by early fall 2016 Student Affairs will also develop and begin to implement a set of departmental objectives aimed at creating more welcoming and inclusive environments (physical and virtual), increasing students sense of belonging, and fostering campus engagement. III) Focus on the Safety and Wellbeing of our Students During the past 18 months, Student Affairs staff have been developing a comprehensive strategy to help ensure the safety and wellbeing of our students. Through collaborative strategies, staff in Student Conduct, Case Management, Victim Advocacy and the Student Health and Counseling Services have created partnerships with University Police, The Office of Equal Opportunity / Title IX, University Counsel and Academic Affairs to build a comprehensive set of strategies focused on student safety and wellbeing. Four of these strategies involve cross-department teams working on specific areas of concern and prevention. These programs are described below: 3

4 1) Crisis Intervention Team This team brings together the departments responsible for student safety and wellbeing across the campus to review and monitor worrisome students cases which have not met the threshold to go through the student conduct or Title IX processes. 2) Sexual Violence Awareness Team This team brings together the staff directly involved in Title IX implementation across the campus. Together they review our processes, procedures and policies. This group also reviews and implements on-going changes to Title IX. 3) Student Case Management This service was developed in Student Affairs and launched in fall The student case manager acts as a resource for all members of the campus community for referral of student cases with significant challenges (e.g. sudden financial disasters, becoming homeless, etc.). The case manager works with these students and connects them with programs and services to help. The case manager is also a first point of contact for the campus community when a student exhibits unusual or disconcerting behavior. This position coordinates the Crisis Intervention Team. 4) Bias Incident Response Protocol This new initiative was born from the work of the Diversity Task Force and should be finalized and implemented in fall The intent is to provide more standard strategies for responding to incidents of bias on-campus and training for the campus community. 5) Hornets Help Bystander Intervention Program This program, set to launch in fall 2016, is focused on creating a Sac State culture of active bystanders who will take action when they see situations, such as sexual or dating violence, that threaten individual or campus safety. Hornets Help is coordinated by Student Health and Counseling Services Centers for Diversity and Inclusion, Athletics, ASI, and other campus partners. The program is supported by ASI grant funding. In , Student Affairs will conduct an assessment of all five strategies to determine current effectiveness and develop recommendations for changes or additions. This work will involve members of all four areas and will be completed by January That will provide the opportunity for recommendations which may require more resources (funding or personnel) to be considered with the budget proposal. IV) Enhance Student Engagement, Health and Wellness Promotion Student Affairs staff actively promote co-curricular engagement, health and wellness, and community service to provide students with a well-rounded university experience. The division will work on the following goals for : 1) Develop a series of strategic initiatives to increase student engagement in one or more activities outside the classroom by 9/2/16 (focus special attention on groups of students who have reported being less engaged, e.g. commuter students, new transfer students, etc.) 4

5 2) Create an assessment strategy to measure progress on the strategies listed above and have the assessment strategy published on each department s website by 10/1/16 3) Create a proposal for development of a comprehensive, public health-based campus wellness initiative for Sac State, and present it to the President and President s cabinet during fall 2016 (for launch in spring 2017) 4) Create an assessment strategy to measure progress on the campus wellness initiative described above and have the assessment strategies published on each department s website early summer 2017 (assuming the proposal is approved) V) Fully Implement the Career Ready Initiative In , the Career Center developed a Career Ready Program designed to provide students with progressive support throughout their academic career (and beyond). All five levels of this new initiative will be completed and marketed to students before the end of the academic year. In addition, Career Center staff will develop an assessment tool for the new services and begin reporting on utilization and student/employer satisfaction after the first year of full implementation. It is important to note that Student Affairs will be recruiting and onboarding a new Career Center Director during the first part of the year. 1) Career Ready Program The program is designed around five levels of service targeted at specific student needs. The levels are not necessarily in chronological order and can be explored according to individual student needs. 2) Internship Coordination Charge a working group co-led by Academic Affairs and Student Affairs to review the findings of the Academic Affairs Task Force and the internship needs and opportunities from all other parts of the campus and to develop a set of joint recommendations for moving forward. Given the current vacancy of the Career Center Director, the target date for completion of this goal is the end of the spring 2017 semester. VI) Develop a Proposal for a Financial Literacy Center One of the most pressing needs for students at Sacramento State is to develop skills and strategies for dealing with their finances. With a high need student population (more than ½ of the undergraduate students are Pell eligible) which includes a large number of first generation students, staff often report that students struggle with some of the most fundamental aspects of managing money (creating a bank account, building a budget, staying out of credit card debt, etc.). Several universities have established financial literacy programs. Typically, these programs are a collaborative effort between Student Affairs and the College of Business. These programs utilize upper-division accounting and finance students as peer-coaches (though the positions are open to students from any major). One such program is Money Smarts at Indiana University. This program 5

6 is quickly becoming one of the more recognized programs in the country. The link to their website is: ( Student Affairs staff plan to reach out to the College of Business to see if they are interested in codeveloping this program. Our goal is to develop a proposal to create a Financial Literacy Program at Sacramento State. The proposal will be ready by February 2017 so it can be considered with the budget proposals. VII) Implement an Integrated Enrollment Management Strategy For the year, Sacramento State is on track to receive another record number of admission applications. The College Year Resident FTES Target for is 22,745 annualized FTES. To make sure that Sac State students can improve progress to degree and timely graduation for all students, Student Affairs will collaborate with Academic Affairs to implement integrated enrollment management strategies. These include: 1) Increasing Average Unit Load (AUL) Student Affairs staff, in collaboration with Public Affairs and Academic Affairs, will formally launch the Finish in Four campaign in summer Orientation and Academic Advising will again work to increase the number of students taking 15 units. Specific goals are currently being developed as part of the assessment plans for Admissions, Orientation and Advising. 2) Evaluating Impaction and Examining Alternatives Campus and program level impaction have created hurdles and roadblocks for students and academic programs. Last year, Academic Affairs created a task force on impaction. We understand their final report is available. Student Affairs (enrollment management) would like to partner with Academic Affairs staff to consider alternative enrollment management strategies that could avoid and/or alleviate issues with impaction (saving impaction for only the most severe situations, e.g. Nursing). Our goal would be to offer alternative strategies starting fall ) Implementing Developmental Advising (pre-and post-admission) Most students have a very limited understanding of the academic programs available at the university and the multiple career opportunities available. By spring 2017, Admissions, Academic Advising and the Career Center staff will develop a Developmental Advising Model for pre- and post-admissions to help guide students through the multiple options available to them. VIII) Data Governance and Standardized Data Reporting One of the more complex challenges the university is working to address is our decentralized data governance structure and the non-standard reporting data sets and procedures used throughout the campus. Effective use of standardized data is essential for understanding student issues, making decisions on programs and services and providing quality assessment and reports. President Nelsen has charged his cabinet to create a new data governance structure and begin work on standardizing 6

7 data sets, definitions and reporting procedures. Student Affairs staff will play an integral role in this activity. To support these changes, by August 1, 2016, we will assign a point person from the division to work with the Executive Director of University Initiatives and Student Success to develop a plan with specific goals and objectives to be accomplished in Goals and objectives will include: 1) Charge an internal group to begin working on standard data and report definitions on existing reports. 2) Perform an audit of all current reports to identify, define, and determine if they are still used (and if so, if they are current and accurate) 3) Create a list of categories based on the purpose of the report (operational, final outcome, predictive, etc.) 4) Collaborate with other divisions to design a report request procedure 5) Collaborate with other divisions to identify ways we can scan existing reports we could use as is (or with slight modifications) before asking for new reports to be created 6) Begin to design ways to standardize the information to be available to the campus 7) Begin to create strategies for faculty, staff or administrators to work with secure data sets (as agents of the university under FERPA) for analysis and internal reporting 8) Begin to create standard protocols for researchers with IRB approved data requests to gain secure access to their requested data sets IX) Increase Student Engagement and Build Affinity for the Hornet Family Increasing pride and a sense of belonging to the Hornet Family is a critical component of student success on our campus. During , Student Affairs will partner with Public Affairs, University Advancement (Alumni Affairs), Intercollegiate Athletics and many other divisions and departments to develop a campaign to create a series of strategic initiatives aimed at building Hornet Pride and increasing affinity for the university. Strategies include: 1) Implementing the Hornet Honor Code 2) Developing a series of strategic initiatives to increase student engagement in one or more activities outside the classroom by 9/2/16 (focus special attention on groups of students who have reported being less engaged, e.g. commuter students, new transfer students, etc.) 3) Increasing attendance at student events (athletic competitions, plays, musical performances, art exhibits, etc.) 4) Enhancing the university s communication strategies to better fit the needs of our students (e.g. exploring patterns in social media use, expanding the use of text messaging and messaging through other methods more commonly used by students vs. ) 7

8 5) Assessing the division s websites for access and usage by students (making them more student friendly and multilingual) 6) Creating an assessment strategy to measure progress on the strategies listed above and have the assessment strategy published on each department s website by 10/1/16 X) Construction Projects In addition to the activities outlined above, Student Affairs staff has expended considerable effort in the past year working with campus colleagues on multiple remodeling and new construction projects. They are as follows: Completion of the New Residence Hall This project is under construction. To meet the growing number of students who want to live on-campus, Sacramento State is building a new 416 bed residence hall which will include a faculty apartment, office, and classroom. The project is currently on time to open for fall Renovating Existing Resident Halls Housing is in the final phases of a $13M, six year renovation plan upgrading and making improvements to the traditional residence halls. These improvements should be completed by fall Union/Well Expansion Approved in spring 2015, the Union/Well fee was increased allowing the expansion of facilities to meet the ever-growing demand. The expansion is in the planning phase with construction estimated to begin November 2016 and completed by fall Testing Center Move or Remodel Staff have been working this past year to identify issues and challenges with the current Testing Center space. During , Student Affairs expects to move or remodel the Testing Center. Student Affairs will evaluate the space needs for this department and develop a final proposal by the end of summer 2016 for final campus consideration. Career Center Move or Remodel Currently, the Career Center and Academic Advising Center share the same space. As the need for more programs and services from both of these offices increased and staffing has been supplemented, the departments have outgrown their current space. Student Affairs will evaluate the space needs for these two departments and develop a proposal by February 2017 for the campus to consider with the budget proposals. Guardian Scholars Move or Remodel The Guardian Scholars serves former foster youth. In , the program lost their dedicated space as part of the previous VPSA s remodel of the Student Affairs suite on the 3 rd floor of Lassen Hall. Program staff is currently working out of a cubicle on the 2 nd floor of Lassen Hall. As a program that serves a population of high need students and has considerable fundraising capacity, it is critical to identify a different space to meet the program s growing needs. Student Affairs will evaluate the space needs for this program and develop a proposal by February 2017 for the campus to consider with the budget proposals. 8

9 Dreamer Resource Center Move or Remodel In , President Nelsen committed funds for the creation of a Dreamer Resource Center. The Center was integrated with the Riverfront Center s space with several other support programs (CAMP, The Serna Center, and The DEGREES Project). While the space is functioning for the moment, the center is quickly outgrowing the available space in the Riverfront Center. With nearly 1,000 undocumented students on-campus, more space is needed. Student Affairs will evaluate the space needs for this department and develop a proposal by February 2017 for the campus to consider with the budget proposals. Financial Literacy Center If the proposal to create a Financial Literacy Center on campus is approved, Student Affairs will begin working to identify an appropriate space. Final Thoughts All of the goals outlined in this document are designed to increase graduation rates, decrease time to degree and enhance the student experience at Sacramento State. While there are many challenges inherent to many of the goals, Student Affairs remains wholly committed to our students success. 9