Central Missouri State University

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Central Missouri State University

• Foundations of Excellence
• in the First Year of College
• September 2005 May 2006

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Project Description

• Foundations of Excellence is a comprehensive
  self-study and improvement process for the first
  year that enhances an institution's ability to
  realize its goals for student learning, success,
  and persistence.
• The project is guided and supported by staff and
  technology resources from the Policy Center for
  the First Year of College, under the direction of
  Executive Director John Gardner.

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Project Description

• The centerpiece is a model for first-year
  excellence comprised of a set of principles that
  are termed Foundational Dimensions.
• Developed in collaboration with over 300
  institutions
• Guide measurement of institutional efforts and
  provide an aspirational model for the entirety of
  the beginning college experience from initial
  contact with potential students through
  admissions, orientation, and all first-year
  curricular and co-curricular experiences.

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Project Description

• At CMSU, a task force, with broad representation
  from across the campus (faculty, staff, and
  students) is guiding the implementation of the
  Foundations of Excellence model.

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Project Goal

• Substantially improve the quality of the first
  year experience of students at CMSU, thus,
  preparing students for a positive undergraduate
  experience.

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Scope for the project

• CMSU is one of 27 four-year institutions
  currently engaged in this project (33 community
  colleges are also participating)
• Nationally, 971 people are actively engaged in
  FoE
• At CMSU, 34 people (so far)
• The general task is to evaluate CMSU across the
  nine dimensions that impact students during the
  first year of college and develop aspirational
  action plans
• Project runs until May, at which time a report,
  including action recommendations, will be
  submitted to university administration

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Nine Foundational Dimensions

• 1. Philosophy- Institutions should approach the
  first year in ways that are intentional and based
  on a philosophy/rationale of the first year that
  informs relevant institutional policies and
  practices.
• Performance Indicators
• Whether the institution has a philosophy/rationale
  for the first year of college
• Whether the philosophy has influence on
  policy/practice
• Whether the philosophy is disseminated throughout
  the institution

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Nine Foundational Dimensions

• 2. Organization - Institutions should create
  organizational structures and policies that
  provide a comprehensive, integrated, and
  coordinated approach to the first year.
• Performance Indicators
• Whether organizational structures for the first
  year exist
• Level of funding for organizational structures
• Whether the organizational structures provide an
  integrated approach
• Role of organizational structures in facilitating
  faculty/staff development in the area of the
  first year student experience

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Nine Foundational Dimensions

• 3. Learning - Institutions deliver intentional
  curricular and co-curricular learning experiences
  that engage students in order to develop
  knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors
  consistent with the desired outcomes of higher
  education and the institutions philosophy and
  mission.
• Performance Indicators
• The existence of learning outcomes
• Quality of instruction in high-enrollment courses
• Measures of out-of-class learning
• Appropriate course placement
• Sub group contacts Steve Boone,Linda Lynam, Mike
  Grelle

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Nine Foundational Dimensions

• 4. Transitions - Institutions facilitate
  appropriate student transitions through policies
  and practices that are intentional and aligned
  with institutional mission.
• Performance Indicators
• The quality of the institutions communication to
  students
• The quality of communication to support networks
• Helping students establish connections
• Academic advising
• Sub group contacts Sonny Castro, Matt Melvin

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Nine Foundational Dimensions

• 5. Faculty - Institutions are characterized by a
  culture of faculty responsibility for the first
  year that is realized through high-quality
  instruction in first-year classes and substantial
  interaction between faculty and first-year
  students both inside and outside the classroom.
• Performance Indicators
• Institutional or unit encouragement of faculty
  involvement
• Expectations at the point of faculty hire
• Faculty rewards for first-year involvement
• Sub group contacts Steve Boone, Michelle Melvin,
  Linda Lynam

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Nine Foundational Dimensions

• 6. All students - Institutions serve all
  first-year students according to their varied
  needs the anticipating, diagnosing, and
  addressing of needs is an ongoing endeavor that
  is subject to assessment and adjustment through
  the first year.
• Performance Indicators
• What the institution knows about the needs of
  particular students
• What is done to meet those needs
• How well needs of all students are met
• Sub group contacts Michelle Hendricks, John
  Louder, John R. Jones, Keyon Gaskin

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Nine Foundational Dimensions

• 7. Diversity - Institutions ensure that all
  first-year students experience diverse ideas,
  worldviews, and cultures as a means of enhancing
  their learning and preparing them to become
  members of pluralistic communities.
• Performance Indicators
• Students exposure to diverse ideas
• Students exposure to diverse people
• Whether the institution conveys standards for
  behavior in a civil and open environment
• Sub group contacts Patrick Bradley, Keyon Gaskin

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Nine Foundational Dimensions

• 8. Roles and purposes - Institutions promote
  student understanding of the various roles and
  purposes of higher education, both for the
  individual and society.
• Performance Indicators
• How well the institutions notion of purpose is
  communicated to students
• Whether students are provided the opportunity to
  explore their motivation for higher education
• How well the institutions rationale for its
  curriculum is communicated
• Sub group contacts Sonny Castro, John Louder,
  John R. Jones, Kari Spinks

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Nine Foundational Dimensions

• 9. Improvement (assessment) - Institutions
  conduct assessment, specific to the first year as
  a unit of analysis, and maintain associations
  with other institutions and relevant professional
  organizations in order to achieve ongoing
  first-year improvement.
• Performance Indicators
• The practice of assessment
• The use of assessment for improvement
• Other strategies for improvement
• Sub group contacts Mike Grelle, Beverly
  Rollings, Josette Ahlering, Steve Boone

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The Tools

• Technology
• A powerful on-line software
• Modules
• Resource center
• Current practices inventory
• Dimensions evaluation
• Survey data
• Report writer
• Evidence library

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The Tools

• Current Practices Inventory
• An internal audit of six key elements of an
  institutions first year experience produced the
  Current Practices Inventory (CPI). The audit was
  conducted by task force members.
• The six components of the CPI
• Programs and interventions
• Committees and councils
• Policies
• High enrollment courses
• Data and assessment
• Demographics

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The Tools

• Surveys
• Data obtained through two Educational
  Benchmarking, Inc. on-line surveys (one for
  faculty/staff and one for students) are being
  used to guide responses to dimension assessment
  questions.
• Nationally, 27,000 students and 12,000 faculty
  staff have participated.
• CMSU response rates for the surveys were 67
  (326/490) for the faculty/staff survey and 41
  (203/500) for the student survey.
• The executive summary report is available at
  www.cmsu.edu/foe.

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The Tools

• People resources
• Six sub-groups made up of members of the task
  force produced the CPI database.
• Nine sub-groups will work on the Dimensions.
• Non-task force members that have expertise in
  areas being investigated are included in the
  Dimensions sub groups.
• To date 15 task force members and 19
  faculty/staff from across the campus have been
  involved the CMSU self study.

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Current Project Status For on-going project
status reports visitwww.cmsu.edu/foe

• The current practices inventory was completed
• The surveys were completed
• The philosophy dimension report is completed. A
  philosophy statement has been developed
• The organization dimension has completed its
  report and has received feedback from the Policy
  Center
• The learning dimension sub group has started the
  evaluation process

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• The first year of college is a university-wide
  responsibility.
• To get involved in any aspect of the project
  contact any member of the Task Force.
• To get involved in a sub group contact one of the
  Task Force members listed.

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• For more information,
• visit www.cmsu.edu/foe