Appendix GDivision Information/Reflective Satements Each unit was invited to prepare a review of their area that would convey both challenges and accomplishments. This information is intended to supplement the capacity and preparatory review report.
The Division strategic plan was completed and ready for implementation beginning in the 2000-2001 academic year and continues through the 2004-2005 academic year. The plan's, and the Division's, mission is to be R.E.A.L. (Relevant, Entreprenurial, Accountable, Leaders). The plan consists of three strategic directions: 1) Develop a Living-Learning Environment that Fosters Retention and Student Identification with Campus, 2) Build a More Effective and Agile Organization, and 3) Generate New Funding to Give the Division Increased Flexibility and Independence. The goals, objectives, and accompanying action items for these strategic directions focus staff in all division departments on specific operational and service delivery goals. While the assessment and strategic planning were in process, the Division has continually focused on its R.E.A.L. mission and on its major goals, objectives and initiatives that set a framework within which all departments and units worked. Student Affairs is also an active participant in the California State University (CSU) system major goals and objectives. Among the CSU Student Affairs Divisions, ours was the only one to publish and distribute a document that delineated the role and responsibility of Student Affairs in “Cornerstones”—an early system planning document aimed primarily at the academic division of the university. Another example of Division participation in major CSU initiatives is the active part it plays in the Quality Improvement initiative. This initiative is largely based in the administrative division of the university. The vice president sits on the system steering committee, and several Division departments participate regularly in process mapping, benchmarking, performance measurement, customer satisfaction and other business process activities coordinated by the CSU Quality Improvement initiative. Additionally, the vice president sits on the CSU Budget Advisory Committee. A nurse practitioner in the Student Health Services department serves on the CSU Pharmacy Advisory Board. These are just a very few of the many examples of the active involvement of Division staff in the work and major initiatives of the CSU system office. As a major partner and team player on campus, Division staff members have gone above and beyond by being enthusiastic and committed partners in SJSU premier initiatives. A couple of examples will show how our Division partners with the campus. Student Affairs was the only Division that participated in the campus “Heritage Gateway Campaign”, a major fundraising project which financed the construction of “gates” at each of the identified main pedestrian entries to the campus. Department heads also ardently responded to the results of a campus wide employee satisfaction survey, and have continued their commitment to addressing the issues raised by the results of that survey, such as its applicability to Student Affairs employees. Participation in the “Heritage Gateway Campaign” was the first step of the initiation of a fund development component within the Division. Steady progress has thus far resulted in the retaining of a fund development consultant during the 2002-2003 academic year. Given the atmosphere of decreasing state funding and the scarcity of funding resulting in the Division not receiving adequate fiscal support at the campus level, this Division component is an attempt to meet its fiscal needs through external funding. In 1999, the Division created the Student Emergency Fund in order to address critical, family-related, emergency funding needs of our students. To date fundraising efforts for that fund and some expected grant writing efforts have been most successful. Student Affairs has begun an intense focus on the use of technology to more effectively and efficiently deliver services and educational programs. The launching of the first Division website in August 2003 was a major accomplishment and an important first step in this process. The Division technology committee continues to focus on this objective and to make excellent progress. Campus Climate is a critical factor in the quality of campus life for students and other members of the campus community as well. MOSAIC, our multicultural center, (recently renamed “cross cultural center”) deserves major credit for the dynamic and successful efforts SJSU has experienced in the last five years. MOSAIC, through partnering with individual faculty, academic departments, Student Affairs departments, community organizations, student organizations and others, has introduced to the campus cross-cultural and diversity educational programming. The Division’s primary role is to be an active partner in student learning, particularly as it involves learning that is external to the classroom. In our role of supporting the academic mission of the university, partnerships and collaborative activity with faculty as well as co-curricular and extra-curricular programs and activities are central to our operational activity and delivery of services. These partnerships continue to develop and increase in number. The Division focuses on student learning, support of the academic mission, and student development. Our work is to create leaders who are critical thinkers; aware of their social, cultural and psychological development; civically engaged in their local and the wider communities; and who value and appreciate learning. We also address the students’ physical well-being by providing basic medical care as one of our student services. Making our University totally accessible for our disabled campus community, including our employees, is a commitment our Division has met for over twenty-five years, and that commitment continues to grow.
Mission of the Academic Division at San José State University Provost’s Statement: Division Philosophy San José State University’s Academic Affairs Division is commited to its role and responsibilities as the metropolitan university that is “Powering Silicon Valley.” The Division points with pride to its emphasis on and success in serving the needs of myriad constituencies: business and industry, underserved and underrepresented communities, the campus and its surrounding areas, high school graduates and community college transfers, graduate students, lifelong learners, non-profit and civic groups, the City of San José, Santa Clara County, and countless others. Academic Affairs constantly seeks a balance between the traditions and conventions of an institution that has existed for almost 150 years, and a constant need to innovate, experiment, and evolve in order to achieve what will be needed as the 21st century unfolds. To accomplish its goals this Division seeks new ways to interconnect with the community, the state, the nation and the world. This demands that the entire division – faculty, staff, administrators, and students – demonstrate imagination and drive that will create vital new educational, occupational and research opportunities for students and faculty. Programs, institutions, collaborations, and other enterprises that
breathe new life into the campus and integrate talent from across the
university are sought as the hallmarks of the division and the university
as a whole. Finally, Academic Affairs holds diversity, broadly defined,
as one of its critical core values. SJSU is a muscular multicultural
institution, demonstrating on a daily basis that a robust mixture of
individual differences – from race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual
orientation to national identity, disability, religious beliefs, and
educational background – is the formula for great success. SJSU
not only understands and supports the vast differences among its community
members, it embraces and builds upon them as strengths that many other
institutions cannot begin to emulate, strengths that enable SJSU to
develop curricular and co-curricular programs that produce exceptional
educational experiences and thus college graduates ready to enter and
work in today’s world. It is our intention to gain international
recognition for innovative curricula, global outlooks, centers of excellence,
and partnerships. Overview of the Academic Division, 1994-2004 Academic Affairs is the raison d’etre of a university, charged with ensuring the currency and quality of instruction. At SJSU this responsibility falls to the Provost, Associate Vice Presidents, College Deans, and a variety of other critical academic leadership positions. Within the administrative structure of the Division, three offices are most immediately responsible for currency and quality of instruction on a daily basis. These are:
Linked to each element of this overview are activities either recently carried out or underway in support of the Division’s scholarly, service and educational missions. Many activities, referred to as “Initiatives” within the Division, support multiple aspects of the mission, but are here placed in a primary category only. Details of each Initiative are elaborated in Appendix AAD1. Faculty Initiatives The heart of a university is its faculty, who are responsible for developing the curricula and creating learning opportunities, and for ensuring that high levels of student achievement are taking place. At SJSU, a senior institution with richly varied academic programs, permanent faculty are expected not only to have appropriate terminal degrees for their disciplines (usually the Ph.D. or Ed.D.) but to be active scholars and lifelong contributors to their professions, as defined in Retention, Tenure and Promotion guidelines. The Division is also responsible for ensuring, through Deans and Chairs, that faculty engage in a continuing process of self-evaluation and improvement wherein the attainments of SJSU’s students are systematically matched against the campus’s well defined educational missions and goals. The primary task of the Division is to hire, nurture, and retain
faculty of the highest quality, who are prepared to work intensively
and collaboratively on campus and beyond, often far beyond, to carry
SJSU’s rich history in education, scholarship and service into
a challenging future. Student Initiatives. Within criteria determined by the CSU, the Division has an obligation to recruit and enroll students best suited to the university’s academic programs. It must also collaborate with other Divisions to provide academic and personal services that will foster student retention and ultimately their lifetime success as individuals, as civic and professional leaders, and as “educated persons” in the most profound sense of those words. Student Recruitment Student Support Research and Education Support. The Division undertakes changes in existing spaces, or creates new spaces, on and off the campus, that support educational and scholarly programs. Community partnerships in these endeavors recognize the interdependence of the university and its neighbors. The Division appreciates the crucial importance of an outstanding support staff, and develops incentive and award programs that develop staff morale and motivate high levels of achievement, most often at the College and Department level. • Center for Innovative Technology Academic Affairs Vision – SJSU’s Future. Division leadership is charged with encouraging and sustaining SJSU’s academic “vision,” its hopes and dreams for itself as it continually adapts to a world undergoing rapid change in technology, communications, educational strategies, an evolving range of partnerships in education, and a world critically in need of multicultural and global perspectives that serve all peoples equitably and with deep respect for individual human lives. Many such initiatives involve creative educational partnerships that benefit SJSU’s faculty, students and constituents, both locally and at a distance. Regional Beyond the Region Quality Execution of SJSU’s Fundamental Academic Mission While the Division engages aggressively and creatively with its future it must also tend to fundamentals. Over the past decade, the following university-wide academic efforts are notable among what might be called the day-to-day nurturance of students and faculty. • Distance Education. SJSU has become a leader among CSU campuses in the number of courses and number of students being educated wholly or partially online. • Remedial Education. In 1997 the CSU mandated that entering freshmen be remediated wtihin one year of entry. SJSU responded with an aggressive remediation program to track remedial students and ensure their enrollment in proper classes, as well as to provide advisement and other support structures. • Diversity. In the Essay associated with WASC Standard 1, SJSU’s response to the increasing diversity of its students is presented as a Case Study in University Integrity. In addition, SJSU continues to be recognized as a major producer of degrees for students from underserved populations (e.g. Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education) • Faculty Support. The expansion of the Center for Faculty Development and Support has addressed faculty needs in diversity, assessment, scholarship, teaching, and many other aspects of faculty responsibility. • Scholarship. Many faculty publications are compiled in a university Library database. Recent funding for scholarly activities is summarized on an SJSU Foundation financial page, and is documented by SJSU’s success in increasing its extramural funding. • New Faculty Orientation. This program has expanded markedly both in response to positive feedback from participants and from encouragement by Chairs and Deans, who have seen the positive effects it has had. • New Student Orientation. As an outcome of a 2001 New Student Task Force, the Division collaborated with Student Affairs in a conceptually new, overnight, New Student Orientation program for new freshmen, successfully conducted for the first time in Summer, 2003, as a step to enhance both first year and long-term retention. • General Education. A 1998 SJSU GE policy ushered in an era of course-embedded assessment of student learning that has been presented at national meetings [CAPS annual conference, 2000 and 2001, AAHE Assessment Conference, 2002, and a 2004 AAC&U assessment meeting in California]. The model has been well received and is being emulated at several CSU campuses. In addition to the overall missions and activities of Academic Affairs, the individual Colleges also document specific points of pride for the past decade, and for their futures (Appendix AAD2). Office of Governmental and External Relations The Office of Governmental and External Relations was established in October 2002 as a separate office dedicated to governmental and external relations. This function had been the responsibility of the Division of University Advancement as an overload for several managers. The Offices of Communication and Public Affairs and the Alumni Office continue to be involved as members of the campus legislative liaison team in their specialty areas. With just one year of experience, the following reflects the first year activities, outcomes and future directions. Collaterals Developed: Website:
Brochures:
Weekly Legislative Updates:
Town Gown Newsletter:
Organizational Representatives:
(1) Educate deans, chairs and faculty on the process of developing
projects appropriate for federal earmarks. Future Issues: External Relations (1) How much time is allocated to organizations that work in the public policy area (external relations) versus time allocated for non-public policy organizations (community relations)? (2) Develop a more robust structure for the President’s Advisory Board to include several committees: Government Relations, Fundraising and Heritage. State Government Relations During the past legislative session, San José State worked closely with the Office of Governmental Affairs on issues associated with AB 491 sponsored by members Cohn and Diaz from our delegation. Our campus has done a timely and cost effective implementation of CMS and was able to demonstrate a positive model to Mr. Diaz. Activities included: sending senior administrators to support Chancellor Reed during Sacramento hearings on CMS, holding a CMS Roundtable at the campus, regular home office and Sacramento visits with members, letters supporting the system position and support from the President’s Advisory Board. This bill took more time than any other bill over the course of six months. The system was successful in mitigating the most severe impacts of this measure. Our campus was able to secure appropriate votes or abstentions at key junctures. The Indian Burial Site bill that came to a head at the very end of the session required a number of last minute efforts. OGER managed to keep Mr. Simitian off this bill and out of the final vote count. Home office visits over the past year have emphasized the need to protect the education core in higher education. The delegation representing the region has been aware that SJSU and the rest of the CSU would have to stretch to provide seats and courses for their constituents given budget realities. The message to avoid “boutique” legislation for special projects or additional unfunded mandates was embraced by the delegation once they understood the potential impact on access and quality. By keeping the delegation up to date on the tuition history of the CSU, we received little push back when fees were increased twice in a six month period. Federal Government Relations This was the first year working with an advocacy firm in DC. Until
all the budget bills are complete, it will not be possible to evaluate
what impact they may have had on the campus’s earmark productivity Local Government Relations The Office of Governmental and External Relations works primarily with Cindy Chavez’s office since she represents the university on the City Council. Much of this work is done collaboratively with Vice President Kassing and his staff on issues of parking, construction, campus safety, etc. The rest of the city council is not included in the regular home office visit schedule, but there is substantial informal interaction with other members at community events. For example, Council Member Lezotte played golf in the Women of Sparta tournament for the first time last year as did staff members for several other members of the delegation. Linda Lezotte has become active on the Exceptional Women Executives Committee with Janet Redding. Members and their staffs are invited to campus events which might be of interest and are sought out at community events for informal interaction. Reports of useful information or upcoming events are sent to OGA. Future Issues: Governmental Relations
Review of the Advancement Division at San José
State University
and Recommendations for Improvement (from Vice President for Advancement) In anticipation of the need for increased success in advancement activities at San José State University, I reviewed current operations, the record of past achievement, perceptions and opportunities identified by campus leaders, and to a limited extent the public perception of the University. In this I was aided serendipitously by the release of a fund-raising feasibility study commissioned by the University’s Alumni Association. The findings identify some strengths upon which to build, as well as a number of challenges. The latter fall into two general categories – those within the Division of Advancement and those involving the University as a whole. University Issues In general, the University has a reputation for effectively training workers for Silicon Valley, and for offering opportunity for self-improvement for middle- and lower-class citizens. There is also a generally positive sense that the University is considerably less isolated from the community that it has been at times in the past. .Less recognized is the University’s role in creating a vibrant environment in the city’s center, nor the pervasiveness of its graduates in the civic, cultural and political life of the region. Indeed, the perception of the University as a place especially suited to less-advantaged citizens militates against it as a socially desirable affiliation in upper-class circles. This becomes problematic for the University as it seeks the financial, political and social support of the most influential people. Further, the University has an image of being unfocused and unclear about its direction. This is not necessarily a common perception, but it is a concern for the University. It is clear that the University needs to take firm steps to improve the public’s perception if SJSU’s requests for support are to be well received.. It is therefore crucial that the University’s leadership – and in particular the President and the Deans – be able to articulate their vision for a greater future for the University and its schools, as well as detailing their strategic plans for achieving that vision. Where the Division of Advancement plays an essential role in this
is in ensuring that the presentation of these dreams and plans is coordinated
in a manner that feels consistent and organized to the audiences. Without
this coordination to bring order to our many messages, the University
may not be viewed positively with respect to organization and direction Divisional Issues One of the great strengths of the Division is the commitment of staff to the University. Two of the three major units have had relative stability in personnel in recent years and programs in those areas especially have a high degree of efficiency. Nonetheless, a lack of staffing, particularly in development, but extending to all areas, limits the number and quality of programs and activities in virtually every area in Advancement. In addition, the decentralized nature of the institution has a dramatic impact on the workload and the ability of staff to perform their best. Unfortunately the Advancement Office was relatively underfunded before the current economic downturn. This means San José State must not only invest for growth; it needs to invest first just to catch up. Indeed, as my predecessor pointed out to the Budget Advisory Committee in planning for the 2002-2003 budget, San José State spends significantly less than the typical CSU campus on advancement activities. Development: It is clear that many deans and other academic leaders feel great pressure to increase private funding for their units. At the same time, it is true across the country that potential donors are most likely to become actual donors to units to which they feel most close. Someone who does not feel particularly close to the University, for example, may become interested in supporting the Art Museum or Electrical Engineering or Special Education because of their personal interests and life experience. This becomes especially important to an institution like San José State which does not have a well-developed pool of past donors nor a lengthy history of effective prospect solicitations. Thus, it becomes essential that the University reach out through its component units, rather than solely as a monolithic organization. The challenge however, is meeting this need with current, already overloaded staff. Advancement Services: To the extent the Advancement Division is configured as a service
unit to the campus, the Advancement Services unit is on the front line.
This is the unit that handles gift entry and acknowledgment, stewardship,
interface with information technology, and prospect research. With these
responsibilities, it also underpins our relationship with donors and
major prospects. Marketing and Communications: Marketing and communications comprises writers and a designer for University publications and printed material, a media relations professional and a specialist in alternative media who struggles to develop and maintain a consistent professional set of upper-level web pages on the University’s site. These staff members are among the longest-serving members of the Advancement Division. Under able and steady leadership, they have found a way to provide support to University-level needs with minimal staff. Their dedication, has provided a level of success which may conceal some fundamental weaknesses. An ongoing challenge is the lack of clearly articulated University messages underlying all communications. This in part reflects the absence of a marketing presence in this area. Marketing is essential in providing an identity for the institution and for providing strategic direction for all communications. Results from the feasibility study make clear that an understanding of the University’s vision for itself, it’s own sense of identity, is essential before any significant progress can be made in attracting private support. The branding exercise, as current jargon would call it, is also important to attaining an internal unanimity of direction within the University. This internal agreement, the ability of each member of the organization to articulate the mission and vision of the institution, is essential to success in a competitive external environment. The re-accreditation process has the potential to provide a platform from which to begin such an effort, which will need to be lead by the President. Alumni Relations Besides the San José State University Alumni Association, there are seven other separately incorporated and recognized alumni organizations at SJSU. This multiplicity of independent alumni organizations can confuse alumni, who do not distinguish among them. Since alumni organizations seek not only dues but gifts, which may or may not be reported to the Development Office, further confusion and inaccuracy is likely to occur. It is important for academic units to have alumni support groups dedicated to those units.. It is also important that those alumni groups be managed well, and that alumni from all parts of the University have the opportunity to see the University as a whole, an entity which incorporates and exceeds particular components.
At the University Level:
Already work is beginning in Advancement to create a regular column in the Washington Square publication highlighting a dean along with his or her excitement for the college and dreams for its future. This is a step toward bringing this segment of the university into the spotlight. The long-term strength of the University will depend, in part, on our ability to support and coordinate the advancement activities of the colleges. Thus the long-term goal, toward which advancement investments and management should continually move, is to implant advancement functions within each college to the extent that colleges can take advantage of that support. That these “mini advancement offices” must remain centrally coordinated is a given. This will be a substantial undertaking. The challenges of making such a system work, however, must not be allowed to deter the University from moving in that direction. The role of the Advancement Division needs to evolve slowly into that of a centralized professional support unit, with the management skills to coordinate a vigorous and diverse set of advancement activities across many University components, and the advancement skills to provide thoughtful and effective professional counsel and assistance to academic leaders. As constituent advancement offices develop into dedicated and full-fledged component-based units, the central office needs also to evolve into a full-service professional consulting office. It is important to articulate this vision for advancement and the Advancement Division at this point in time, even if initial steps are small. This strategy will frame our staffing, policy and administrative decisions as the new foundation comes on line and as the Advancement staff is expanded. It will also help to shape the deans’s concept of their own responsibilities and the kind of expectations placed upon them. Such a statement will also provide the basis for establishing a new relationship between the Division and the units it is supposed to serve. A Final Note on Campaigns It has been suggested that the upcoming 150th anniversary of the founding of the University could be a reason to launch a major comprehensive campaign for the University. In general, such historic occasions in a university’s life need to be recognized and celebrated. But they do not in themselves offer any particularly compelling reason to give. If the University can establish a clear strategic plan, based on an articulate mission and inspiring vision for the future, and if it can make the necessary investments in advancement personnel and infrastructure, and if a methodical and professional marketing campaign has been conducted to brand and position the University appropriately, then it can launch a campaign successfully. If that happens to coincide with a special occasion in the history of the University, that occasion can provide a convenient hook for contextualizing the vision for the future. An historical milestone in itself does not provide a reason for a campaign. It is possible that, by investing immediately and moving quickly, the University will be ready to launch a major campaign in conjunction with its 150th anniversary. Given the budget situation, however, and the need to educate and train much of the University in the principles of advancement, the challenge will be considerable and it may be more productive at this point to anticipate using that anniversary as an important tool in the branding and positioning campaign that will precede the fund raising campaign
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