Learning Resources

This is a SCUP Fellow Research Project Final Report for the 2019–2020 program. Online education should not be perceived as a distraction of the mission—rather, an enhancement of it.

Abstract: Online academic programs can bring your institution's mission to life . . . but it won't happen by accident. You need processes that intentionally integrate your mission into course design and development. This research examines these processes at Jesuit institutions, using a maturity model to evaluate how the mission is considered and acted upon during instructional design. The insights and advice shared can help any institution, from community colleges to research universities. Learn how you can start bringing your mission to life in your online courses.

Planning Types: Academic Planning
Tags: Assessment / Analytics, Mission / Vision / Identity, Online Learning, Original Research, Planning Processes

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Mission-Aligned Online Academic Programs at US Jesuit Institutions

Identify and Implement Practices That Mature the Development of Courses

By: Royce L. Robertson, EdD

A custom survey measured the process maturity involved in planning, implementing, and evaluating online offerings that reflected the principles of Ignatian Pedagogy.

From Volume 49 Number 4 | July–September 2021

Abstract: The purpose of the research was to observe process maturity associated with the design and development of mission-aligned online academic programs at Jesuit institutions in the United States. Twenty of the twenty-seven American Jesuit institutions were represented, including respondents who were most responsible for implementing the process used to design and develop online courses and programs. A custom survey was created to measure the process maturity involved in planning, implementing, and evaluating the design and development. The research design focused on narrative analysis of each institutional mission, which identified themes and keywords that were included in the custom survey.

Planning Types: Academic Planning
Tags: Assessment / Analytics, Implementation, Measuring the Plan, Mission / Vision / Identity, Online Learning, Original Research, Planning Processes

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Conference Recordings

Published
July 13, 2021

2021 Annual Conference | July 2021

SCUP Fellow Presentation | Designing and Developing Mature, Mission-aligned Online Academic Courses

By: Pamme Boutselis, Southern New Hampshire University | Antoinette Farmer-Thompson, Arizona State University | Kathe Lehman-Meyer, St Mary's University | Royce Robertson, Le Moyne College

In this session, we’ll: 1) explain how process maturity and instructional design interact, 2) review basic elements of institutional missions, and 3) consider ways that mission statements get translated into instructional strategies.

Abstract: Your institutional mission is an important element of what makes your institution distinctive. The rapid expansion of online course and program development may compromise that distinctiveness if there are not mature, intentional, mission-aligned practices put in place to ensure that the mission comes to life in the online classroom. We’ll: 1) explain how process maturity and instructional design interact, 2) review basic elements of institutional missions, and 3) consider ways that mission statements get translated into instructional strategies. There are implications for institutional planning when you attempt to design and develop mission-aligned online courses and programs.

Planning Types: Academic Planning
Tags: Alignment, Mission / Vision / Identity, Online Learning, SCUP 2021 Annual Conference, Teaching and Learning

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Keep on Keepin’ on

Customized Retention Practices Helped Low Income and Single Mom Students to Persist

By: Andrew J. Smith, EdD, and Jennifer Vamvakas, EdD

A support program for low-income and/or single-mother students to improve their persistence and retention was revisited 15 years after it had been launched at Charter Oak State College. Did follow-up with the graduates show that the effort had aided the former participants in obtaining their college degree? Had the collaboration between the institution’s Academic Services, Enrollment Management, and Financial Aid departments—and the support they offered—help the students to persevere? Based on survey results, was the program still of value, and what improvements needed to be made?

From Volume 49 Number 2 | January–March 2021

Abstract: This article is based on follow-up survey research from a doctoral case study that highlighted effective retention practices for low-income and/or single mothers who were students within the Women in Transition (WIT) program at Charter Oak State College. The concept of retention in this instance is an enrollment management practice aimed at maintaining a student population while aiding the institution in sustaining organizational success. Emphasis is placed on the retention concepts of social and academic integration that enabled the specific population to persist and succeed.

Institutions Mentioned: Charter Oak State College
Planning Types: Academic Planning
Tags: Assessment / Analytics, Attracting and Retaining Underrepresented Students, Measuring the Plan, Original Research, Student Retention, Student Success, Student Support Services, Underserved Students

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Conference Recordings

Published
March 8, 2021

2021 Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference | March 2021

The Kitchens

How a Culinary Arts Program Supports Community Revitalization

By: Charles Tilley, Quinn Evans | Elizabeth Littlefield, Reynolds Community College

In this session, you'll learn how RCC delivers culinary workforce training and academic programs in a satellite facility at the heart of a poverty-concentrated area, pushing back economic isolation and promoting learning and health.

Abstract: The Kitchens at Reynolds Community College (RCC) exemplify a developing national model, featuring public and private organizations in a successful collective effort to boost economic development and healthier outcomes in a historically under-resourced community. Integrated planning for The Kitchens involves community partnerships and collaboration in education, health and wellness, workforce training, and economic revitalization. In this session, you'll learn how RCC delivers culinary workforce training and academic programs in a satellite facility at the heart of a poverty-concentrated area, pushing back economic isolation and promoting learning and health.

Institutions Mentioned: J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College
Planning Types: Academic Planning, Strategic Planning
Tags: Community College, Community Engagement, External Collaboration / Partnerships, Health and Wellness, Measuring the Plan, Public-Private Partnerships (P3), SCUP 2021 Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference, Workforce Development

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Example Plans

Published
March 5, 2021

Strategic Plan

Private Master’s College or University (Alabama, United States)

The university’s strategic plan details five broad goals with supporting strategies and measures for success. Focus centers on student success and leveraging technology for the 21st-century learning experience.

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American University of Beirut’s Meta-Assessment Framework

Rubrics Improve Evaluation Processes, Set Clear Expectations, and Help in Decision-Making

By: Hiba Itani, M.Ed, MEM, Dania Salem, M.Ed, MEM, and Ali El-Hajj, PhD

In a higher education setting, it is important to evaluate assessment processes, establish clear expectations, and efficiently make decisions. Doing so will support program and unit outcomes and periodic program and unit reviews, aligning with the institution’s strategic plan and optimizing budget allocation.

From Volume 49 Number 2 | January–March 2021

Abstract: This article presents a framework for developing a meta-assessment process for evaluating assessment practices in higher education institutions. Meta-assessment is important for improving assessment processes, setting clear expectations, and efficient decision-making. The comprehensive literature on this topic that is included in this article suggests that developing meta-assessment rubrics is an effective method for evaluating assessment. The meta-assessment results can be used in combination with qualitative resources to encourage program self-improvement. At the American University of Beirut, different meta-assessment checklists were developed based on best practices for evaluating program learning outcomes assessment, unit outcomes assessment, periodic program review, and periodic unit review.

Institutions Mentioned: American University of Beirut
Planning Types: Academic Planning
Tags: Academic Program Review, Administrative Program Review, Assessment / Analytics, Measuring the Plan

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Developing a Mission Statement for a Faculty Senate

By: Derrick E. D'Souza,Terry L. Clower,Kim Nimon,Elizabeth A. Oldmixon,Frances S. van Tassell

The mission statement stakes the faculty’s claim in the institutional decision-making process.

From Volume 39 Number 2 | January–March 2011

Abstract: If faculty senates are to maintain a place in the modern university, then they must be both effective and viewed as such by faculty, administrators, and other campus stakeholders. One way to shape faculty senate efforts is to create and exploit a clearly defined mission statement. In this article, we offer a four-step, committee-driven, technology-assisted process to develop a mission/vision statement that is anchored in the theory. The proposed process is efficient and easy to administer and can be used at other universities. We also discuss our experience with the process and offer recommendations for other university faculty senates.

Planning Types: Academic Planning
Tags: Faculty, Governance, Mission / Vision / Identity

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