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WSSU Academic Portfolio Review

Introduction

Winston-Salem State University (WSSU) is engaging in a critical project to develop an appropriately data-informed framework to review our academic portfolio. Doing so will allow us to understand how aligning available resources supports our mission and student success more fully.

Interim Provost, Dr. Kathy Stitts and Chief Financial Officer Lisa McClinton will co-lead these projects. They will be fully supported by the members of the project’s Steering Team, and Data Team Program in partnership with rpk GROUP (rpk). rpk was selected as WSSU’s partner in this work because they have a proven history of building the capacity of university faculty and staff to design replicable processes that reflect institutions’ priorities and values and use a data-informed framework to inform decision-making beyond the timeframe of the project. Additional input regarding the project and its outcomes will be provided by the stakeholder groups detailed below.

The framework that will be developed because of this project will allow WSSU to facilitate the changes necessary to remain a vibrant student-centered institution in a dynamically shifting higher education landscape. This project will also create additional internal capacity for continuous improvement in fulfillment of WSSU’s commitment to its students, faculty, staff, alumni, and community.

Project Goals

A review of WSSU’s academic portfolio and resources is designed to:

  • Proactively respond to declining enrollments that negatively impact the sustainability of WSSU’s operating model.
  • Create a replicable and sustainable framework that can be populated annually for regular review and maintenance of academic offerings, which is consistent with industry best practices and aligned with accreditation standards and attuned to emerging opportunities.
  • Shift from focusing only on how we spend money to helping us ask and answer the question: “Are we serving students and fulfilling mission best with the resources we have?” 

 

Project Members

Steering Committee

The Steering Committee is charged with being the first ‘sounding board’ as the framework is drafted and shared for review. Steering Committee members have broad, working knowledge of the WSSU’s academic offerings and an ability to represent and share multiple stakeholder groups’ understanding of the data and findings. The Steering Committee will meet monthly throughout the project’s duration.

Members of the Steering Committee are:

  • Anthony Artimisi, Associate Provost for Institutional Effectiveness and Academic Strategy
  • Leslee Battle, Dean, School of Health Sciences
  • Manju Bhat, Dean, College of Arts, Sciences, Business, and Education
  • Montrale Boykin, Interim Dean, the Graduate School
  • Myron Brown, Chair, Department of Music
  • Yolanda Edwards, Chair, Department of Rehabilitation Counseling
  • Clay Harshaw, Associate Professor. Department of Health, Physical Education and Sport Studies
  • Frank Ingram, Associate Provost for Academic Budget, and Faculty Affairs
  • Anthony Graham, Provost & Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
  • LaVie Leasure, Interim Associate Provost of Undergraduate Education and Dean of the University College
  • Jennifer Martin, Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Physical Therapy
  • Lisa McClinton, Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration
  • Elijah Onsomu, Associate Professor, Division of Nursing
  • Cheryl Pollard, Associate Vice Chancellor for Enrollment Management
  • Keisha G. Rogers, Professor and Chair, Faculty Senate
  • LaMonica Sloan Wilhelmi, Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Dean of Students (Acting)
  • Tracey Worthey, Associate Vice Chancellor for Human Resources

Data Team

The Data Team is the core functional unit of the project and is comprised of individuals at the institution who have working knowledge of common data systems (course data, faculty data, financial data, and student data) and appropriately represent the institution’s academic structure. The Data Team is responsible for supporting data collection as well as developing and refining the approach to the framework. The Data Team will meet regularly throughout the project, with individual members of the Data Team meeting more frequently based on access to data and specific knowledge of data.

Members of the Data Team are:

  • Anthony Artimisi, Associate Provost for Institutional Effectiveness and Academic Strategy
  • Shelly Barnes, Associate Professor of Psychological Sciences, College of Arts Sciences, Business and Humanities
  • Dana Dupree, Assistant Vice Chancellor of Financial Services
  • Georgette Crawford-Crooks, Director, Student Success Collaborative
  • Clarissa Jackson, Director of Institutional Assessment and Research
  • Marquita Graves, University Registrar
  • Cindy Isler, Business and Technology Application Specialist
  • Mariam Lackey, Human Resources Specialist
  • Lisa McClinton, Vice Chancellor for Finance and Administration
  • Elija Onsomu, Associate Professor of Nursing, School of Health Sciences
  • Cheryl Thomas, Social/Clinical Research Specialist
  • Christine Whitaker, Business and Technology Application Analyst

Stakeholder Engagement

To facilitate awareness and transparency regarding this critical work, regular project updates will be shared with the Board of Trustees, the Provost’s Cabinet, and the Faculty Senate. Additional opportunities for the broader WSSU community to learn about the project and its progress will be offered, starting with a town hall on April 10, 2024. These opportunities are designed to allow constituents to share feedback or ask questions related to the project.

Timeline

The project begins in Spring 2024. With respect to faculty that are off-contract during the summer, the project’s work during that time will be limited to data collection and meetings with the Data Team and Steering Committees. We anticipate this process to include the following milestone events:

Spring

Project launch

Summer

Data collection

Fall

Data utilization for framework development

 

The timeline is dependent on the availability of data and may be adjusted accordingly to ensure appropriate collaboration and stakeholder awareness.

 

WSSU Project Updates

October 2024

Members of the Data Team and Steering Committee reviewed the draft faculty/instruction analysis. This draft analysis focuses on the instructional activity of WSSU’s faculty and offers the metrics of faculty full-time equivalent (by type and rank) and average student credit per faculty full-time equivalent. Academic deans are reviewing the draft data supporting this analysis.

The project’s feedback form remains available. Questions asked to date have been answered in the FAQ section of the project’s website.

September 2024

Members of the Data Team and Steering Committee reviewed the draft course analysis. Additionally, academic deans reviewed the draft methodology related to the metrics of average section size and fill rate and approved the approach.

WSSU identified internal inconsistent data governance practices related to tracking and updating student status as students moved from pre-programs to degree granting programs. As a result, degree production at the undergraduate and graduate level will be the only metric related to academic programs for the first phase of the framework being developed.

A draft analysis of degree production for undergraduate and graduate programs was shared with the Data Team and Steering Committee.

The project’s feedback form remains available.  Questions asked to date have been answered in the FAQ section of the project’s website.

 

August 2024

rpk GROUP provided a project update and facilitated a conversation during WSSU’s Educational Leaders Advancement session on August 5th, 2024. The focus of the conversation was assessing WSSU’s academic portfolio for future impact on student success outcomes.

Work with the Data Team and Steering Committee during August focused on developing the draft course analysis and reviewing academic program data.

The project’s feedback form remains available.  Questions asked to date have been answered in the FAQ section of the project’s website.

FAQs

“Will this project analyze the potential impact of current Department Chair duties and contracts?”

The scope of this project does not involve an in-depth review of WSSU's current academic department chair structure. Department data related to faculty activity as understood through student credit hours and expenditures may provide new insights into how departments are currently utilizing available resources. 

July 2024

In addition to meeting regularly with the Data Team and Steering Committee since the last update, rpk GROUP facilitated a virtual information for the WSSU campus community on June 25, 2024. The questions from this well-attended session as well as those asked through the project’s feedback form have been answered in the FAQ section of the project’s website.

Work with the Data Team and Steering Committee has resulted in a confirmed list of WSSU’s current academic offerings and a complete mapping of course subjects to academic departments.

Representatives from rpk GROUP will be attending WSSU Educational Leaders Advancement Session on August 5th, and facilitating a conversation on Assessing WSSU’s Academic Portfolio for Future Impact on Student Success Outcomes.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

This FAQ will be updated throughout the project to reflect any comments or questions received from the WSSU community through the feedback form.

 

What is an Academic Portfolio and Resources Review?

As higher education has developed its response to changes in the external environment, institutions have begun the difficult and important work of reviewing their academic portfolios. The goals of this project should be to move away from an emphasis on cutting (budgets, people, programs) and shift to an investment lens. That lens must consider the financial business model, but also includes assessments of quality, student demand, and equitable outcomes.

 Our work will help us determine where program investments can be made, reallocations can occur and explore how to maintain high quality instruction that leads to student success. 

 

Why is WSSU conducting this project now?

WSSU must look carefully at and understand how it uses existing resources. This review will help WSSU enable good stewardship of resources by identifying opportunities to harvest and reallocate efforts toward strategic goals.

 

How will this project be conducted?

WSSU selected rpk to assist us with this project. rpk has previous experience working with institutions nationally to develop replicable frameworks that leverage institutional data. rpk will work directly with WSSU’s project leaders, and members of the project’s Data Team and Steering Committee.

 

Is this project focused on the elimination of academic programs?

Program elimination is not a focus of this project. The project will provide a framework and tools to allow stakeholders to understand the entire academic portfolio, including student success across programs and how current academic offerings and structures contribute to WSSU’s financial health. Any decisions regarding the academic portfolio will follow WSSU’s established governance procedures.

 

How long will this project take?

We anticipate that the total project will take approximately eight months.

 

How is research funding incorporated into the analysis framework?

Research funding and/or expenditures will be incorporated into the framework. However, no final methodological decisions have been made as to how this will be represented. The Data Team and Steering Committee will work to formulate informative and transparent approaches and share those with the WSSU community.

 

How will this project impact enrollment?

The focus of this project is not on enrollment strategies. Institutions engaged in similar work have benefitted from insights related to what programs are attracting students, how students are succeeding in courses related to student paths to graduation, and how academic offerings are aligned with projected labor market demands.

 

What are some measures or ways to understand the impact of WSSU on the community?

 The quantitative data informing this project - particularly for programs with direct, on-going engagement (i.e., Nursing, Education) with the Winston-Salem community may speak to WSSU's impact on the community. Additionally, the sharing of qualitative and contextual data from the WSSU community is encouraged to ensure a broad and holistic understanding of how WSSU's academic offerings extend beyond the classroom.

 

Realizing our limited resources, how will this data really be applied to support departments, offices, students, etc.? More importantly, what is the ROI in this process?

 This project will yield a focused and streamlined method for WSSU to continuously make informed decisions about its academic portfolio. The framework will also highlight opportunities for allocation of resources (people, time, and money) in support of growth and student success.

 

Could you please explain how the review of the Academic Portfolio and Resources impacts Retention and Student Support Services, particularly in the area of Tutoring?

 While not a direct focus of this project, the units and people supporting the success of WSSU's students outside of the classroom may gain additional knowledge and insights related to student success patterns. This may present opportunities to reallocate resources, adjust available services to align with emerging student needs, and strengthen existing relationships with academic departments.

 

Will the data collection illuminate how many EHRA positions (or “faculty lines”) are held by administrators, how many are held by faculty who teach, and how many are held by researchers? The utility of the data collection would be improved if expenditures in BOTH academic and administrative units are considered. The academic portfolio may not be the area that offers lackluster ROI. It may be unfair to make recommendations about the fate of academic units, unless evaluating administrative units happens with exactly the same level of scrutiny.

 The net revenue analysis portion of this project will bring forward the expenses related with both academic and administrative units. To best facilitate WSSU's understanding of its academic portfolio, this project is designed to structure an academic department-level view of the number and type of faculty in each unit.