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Clif’s Notes for Dec. 20, 2016

December 20, 2016 by Clif Smart

Clif's Notes

Our Board of Governors met last week. They took up several important matters.

Board recognizes Citizen Scholars and service to university

The board recognized this year’s Citizen Scholar Award recipients:

2016-17 Citizen Scholars
Jaggar Deeds, Kimberleigh Eng, Caroline Finnell, Alexis Jemes, Michelle Pellegrino and Victoria York

You can find more information about our 2016-2017 Citizen Scholars. Please join me in congratulating these students on a job well done.

The board also recognized the board service of Governors Peter Hofherr and Steve Hoven, whose terms expire at the end of the year. Governors Hofherr and Hoven have made a lasting impact on Missouri State, and Missouri State University is better because of their service on the board.

19210_3038-West-PlainsLooking to the future of the West Plains campus

The board also approved the long-range plan for the West Plains campus. Similar to the Springfield campus, we have also developed a set of measurable goals for the West Plains campus to ensure accountability. The particular goals are set forth below.

Degrees and certificates awarded annually (July 1 – June 30)
FY12 FY13 FY14 FY15 FY16 Goal FY22
333 302 309 297 300 350
Three-year graduation/transfer rate for first-time full-time students (statewide average in parentheses)
2009 cohort in 2012 2010 cohort in 2013 2011 cohort in 2014 2012 cohort in 2015 2013 cohort in 2016 Goal fall 2022
40.7% (39%) 38.5% (34.6%) 35.5% (35.6%) 44.2% (NA) 47.7% (NA) 50%
First year to second year retention rate (fall to fall) for first-time full-time students (statewide average in parentheses)
F11 to F12 F12 to F13 F13 to F14 F14 to F15 F15 to F16 Goal fall 2022
43% (49.7%) 45% (49.4%) 43% (58.8%) 42% (56.2%) 49% (NA) 55%
Three-year graduation/transfer rate first-time full-time students by subgrouping (n= total beginning number of students in cohort)
2009 cohort in 2012 2010 cohort in 2013 2011 cohort in 2014 2012 cohort in 2015 2013 cohort in 2016 Goal fall 2022
Hispanic/Latino 14% (7) 50% (8) 0% (2) 33% (6) 36% (11) = or > annual rate for total pop
Black African-American 70% (10) 63% (8) 64% (14) 68% (22)  65% (23) = or > annual rate for total pop
First year to second year retention rate (fall to fall) for first-time full-time students by subgrouping (n= total beginning number of students in cohort)
F11 to F12 F12 to F13 F13 to F14 F14 to F15 F15 to F16 Goal fall 2022
Hispanic/Latino 50% (2) 33% (6) 73% (11) 25% (12) 56% (16) = or > annual rate for total pop
Black African American 14% (14) 50% (22)  35% (23) 46% (24) 48% (29) = or > annual rate for total pop
Annual percent of full-time faculty and staff who are international or members of historically underrepresented groups, defined to include minority, veteran and disability
Fall 2012 Fall 2013 Fall 2014 Fall 2015 Fall 2016 Goal fall 2022
7.38% 9.45% 8.03% 11.19% (15/135) 10.08% (13/129) 13.0%

We are excited for what the next five years will hold for our faculty, staff and students in West Plains.

Agriculture studentChanges in agriculture

The board approved a resolution changing the Darr School of Agriculture to the Darr College of Agriculture. This is an important change that highlights the growth of Missouri State’s agriculture programs and the important role they play at the university, in the state of Missouri and throughout the world. I want to thank Anson Elliott and his team for developing Missouri State’s agriculture programs to what they are today. We know that the Darr College of Agriculture will continue its upward trajectory under Ron Del Vecchio’s leadership, and we are excited for what the future holds for our agriculture programs.

19024-9565-clifs-notes-winterMeeting performance measures on both campuses

The board also received reports from Frank Einhellig and Drew Bennett on the university’s performance as part of the state of Missouri’s performance funding framework. We are happy to report that the Springfield campus and the West Plains campus met all five of their performance measures. You can find additional details about the performance measures online.

The Springfield campus has met all five of the performance funding targets every year since the performance funding framework was established. The university’s success is thanks to the hard work of all of our faculty, staff and students.

18322_7786-Clif's-Notes-ConcealStaff Service Awards

Please mark your calendars and plan to attend the annual Staff Service Awards and Appreciation luncheon on Jan. 11. at Hammons Student Center. It’s a special time to recognize those who have reached a five-year longevity milestone in their years of service to the university, those who have retired, those who have been selected for the Staff Excellence in University Service Award, those who have been selected for the Staff Excellence in Community Service Award and the winner of the My Ideas program.

Thanks for all you do for Missouri State!

 

Filed Under: Clif's Notes, Smart Tagged With: agriculture, Board of Governors, citizen scholars, performance measures, Staff Service Awards, West Plains

Clif’s Notes Vol. 4, No. 7

December 17, 2014 by Clif Smart

Coach Stec

Clif's Notes

In this issue of Clif’s Notes, I highlight the University’s achievement of its performance-based funding measures, provide information about the hiring of Coach Stec as our new head football coach, recap items discussed at the December Board of Governors meeting, summarize the CBHE’s coordinated planning process, and provide information about the University’s new weekly newsletter called Inside Missouri State.

Social work studentsState performance measures

This is the third year of Missouri’s performance-based funding model. In the past two years, Missouri State met all five of its performance measures at both campuses. We recently received confirmation that we have once again met all five of our performance measures for fiscal year 2014 on the Springfield and West Plains campuses. This means that if the General Assembly funds the performance-based funding model during the upcoming legislative session, we will receive the maximum available increase to our operating appropriation

Meeting these performance measures requires everyone at the University to work hard and achieve positive results. Thanks to everyone who helped Missouri State realize this significant success.

Coach StecHead football coach

On Sunday, December 14, Missouri State hired Dave Steckel as its new head football coach. Coach Stec (he prefers to be called “Stec”) has spent the last 14 seasons with the University of Missouri, completing his tenure as associate head coach and defensive coordinator. He was the only defensive coach among the five finalists for the 2014 Frank Broyles Award as the nation’s top assistant coach.

We have a five-year agreement with Coach Stec with a base salary of $270,000. Though this salary is $120,000 higher than the prior head football coach’s salary, no new University funds will be committed to the athletics department for Coach Stec’s salary. Sixty thousand dollars will come from salary savings due to the elimination of a position in the athletics department through attrition. The other $60,000 will be raised through private contributions from donors. You can find more information about Coach Stec in the official press release.

This is an exciting time for Missouri State’s football program. Please join me in welcoming Coach Stec to our University.

Missouri State Seal

Board of Governors actions

The Board met on Friday, December 12. I want to summarize four topics that were addressed at the meeting.

First, Governor Hoven, next year’s Board chair, announced his committee assignments for 2015. Governors Carmichael, Fry, Hofherr and Hoven (ex officio) will serve on the Executive Committee. Governors Hofherr (chair), Doyle, Miller and Seal will serve on the Programs and Planning Committee. Governors Fry (chair), Carmichael, Hoven, Kimbrough and Tergin will serve on the Finance and Facilities Committee.

Second, the Board discussed the University’s broadcast services. Tammy Wiley, general manager of KSMU and Ozarks Public Television (OPT), gave a multimedia presentation to the Board. I have received positive feedback about the presentation and about the important services KSMU and OPT provide to our region.

Third, the Board approved Faculty Senate’s nominations of Elise Crain and Tom Strong for honorary Doctor of Public Affairs degrees to be award at the May 15, 2015, commencement ceremonies. Ms. Crain and Mr. Strong have served as significant volunteer leaders to the Missouri State community and to our region. Ms. Crain’s passion for education and children provided the foundation for her work as one of the founders and volunteers for the Ozark Care to Learn program, providing new clothing, shoes, hygiene kits and access to medical care for children. Mr. Strong’s notable volunteer leadership at Missouri State has included serving as president of the Alumni Association, co-founder and charter member of the basketball booster club, member of the Board of Governors, and president of the Missouri State University Foundation. Ms. Crain and Mr. Strong are very deserving of this honor, and I want to personally congratulate them.

Finally, the Board passed resolutions honoring Governors Miller, Kimbrough and Tergin for their service to the University. The terms for these governors expire at the end of the year, but each of them will continue to serve on the Board of Governors until resignation or until the Governor nominates a replacement and the Senate confirms the nomination.

A few days after the Board meeting, on Tuesday, December 16, the United States Senate confirmed Governor Bough as a Federal District Court Judge for the Western District of Missouri. Accordingly, Governor Bough has resigned from the Board of Governors.

I want to say thank you to Governors Bough, Miller, Kimbrough and Tergin. I have enjoyed working with each of you and you will be greatly missed.

Students on campus

CBHE’s coordinated planning process

Missouri’s Coordinating Board for Higher Education (CBHE) recently began a process to develop a new coordinated plan for the state’s higher education system titled Preparing Missourians to Succeed: A Blueprint for Higher Education. CBHE anticipates that the plan will focus on accessibility, affordability, quality and completion with regard to the state’s higher education system.

To facilitate the planning process, CBHE has appointed a steering committee and scheduled hearings throughout the state to receive testimony from higher education leaders, employers, business leaders and others. Dr. David Russell, commissioner of higher education, has appointed me to the steering committee, and I will actively participate in the hearings. Missouri State will have an opportunity to testify as part of this process during a June 2015 hearing scheduled to take place in Springfield.

Please feel free to send any comments you have about this process to my office.

Carrington HallInside Missouri State

This will be the last issue of Clif’s Notes that you will receive directly from me. Beginning next semester, all faculty and staff will begin receiving a weekly employee newsletter called Inside Missouri State. The newsletter will come out on Tuesdays and is intended to replace most campus wide emails.

Inside Missouri State will become the primary means of communicating with employees on a University-wide level. It will incorporate regular communications that currently go out by individual offices, including:

  • Clif’s Notes
  • Provost Communiqué
  • Diversity Perspectives Newsletter
  • Employee Wellness Newsletter
  • Human Resources announcements

Inside Missouri State will also include:

  • Featured events
  • Information on University benefits and perks
  • Information about promotions, new hires, office name changes and retirement receptions
  • News about faculty and staff accomplishments
  • Featured blog posts

I hope you will take time each week to read Inside Missouri State. I also hope that you will help us reduce the number of campus wide emails by submitting items for campus distribution to University communications.

Information pertinent only to a certain college, department or division should continue to be sent by existing methods of communication. Notices that are required by law or policy to be sent to employees will continue to be sent by individual email.

Conclusion

I hope all of you have a good holiday break and come back to campus ready to accomplish big things in the spring semester. I plan to read; see the new movie “Unbroken,” which will be released on Christmas day; enjoy family and travel to Florida for a few days. I hope your days off are also filled with joy and happiness. Thanks for all you do for Missouri State University.

Clif Smart

—Clif

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Telling the Missouri State story

The Missouri State University Board of Governors designated six students as the 2014-15 Citizen Scholars at their meeting last week. These students were selected for their dedication to the public affairs mission of the University through course work, activities and service-learning opportunities.

18016-5067-TMSS-Citizen-Scholar-Awards

2014-15 Citizen Scholars

  • Jared Bajkowski, a senior entrepreneurship major from Lee’s Summit, Missouri
  • Brittany Donnellan, a senior international business major with a Spanish minor from Springfield, Missouri
  • Jordan McGee, a senior economics and organizational communication major from Ellisville, Missouri
  • Samantha Nichols, a senior religious studies major with an Ozarks studies minor from Stilwell, Kansas
  • Konnor Temple, a senior international business major with minors in Mandarin Chinese and logistics and supply chain management from Springfield, Missouri
  • Jared Cates, a graduate student in the student affairs in higher education master’s program from West Plains, Missouri

Each student received a crystal globe in recognition of the award, and their names have been added to the Citizen Scholar wall in Plaster Student Union.

Please join me in recognizing the accomplishments of these remarkable Missouri State students.

Filed Under: Clif's Notes, Financial Outlook, Legislative Session, Smart Tagged With: athletics, CBHE, citizen scholars, football, Inside Missouri State, performance measures

Clif’s Notes Vol. 2, No. 4

November 20, 2012 by Clif Smart

Faculty-student interaction

Clif's Notes

In this issue of Clif’s Notes, I discuss filling the provost position, outline the performance measures for Missouri State, review our budget situation for fiscal year 2014 (next year), and provide several other updates.

Dr. Frank EinhelligProvost Frank Einhellig

At the December Board of Governors meeting, I will recommend that Dr. Frank Einhellig be named provost from Jan. 1, 2013, through June 30, 2014, when Frank plans to retire or return to the faculty.

Frank has served as interim provost since June 26, 2011, and proven to be a respected, effective leader. I know this recommendation has strong support from our administrative team, the academic leadership, faculty, and from others across campus.

I look forward to an additional 18 productive months with Frank as provost. We will conduct a national search for his replacement during the 2013-14 academic year.

Faculty-student interactionPerformance funding measures

We have now finalized the performance measures upon which Missouri State University will be evaluated by the Missouri Department of Higher Education. We anticipate that much of the new funds for higher education will be based on our success in achieving these goals. If we meet all five performance measures we would receive 100 percent of the funding identified. If we meet four of the five, we would receive 80 percent. And so on.

There are separate measures for both the Springfield and West Plains campuses. The measures will be evaluated on three-year rolling averages. There are two ways to achieve the measures: show improvement or achieve the “sustained excellence” level identified for each measure where available.

Below you will find the specific measures as well as the definitions for sustained excellence and the comparison groups for achieving that level. We are considering whether we should develop a website on the performance measures; we will update you on that in the near future.

Springfield campus

Performance measure Definition of sustained excellence
Student success and progress
First-time, full-time freshmen successfully completing 24 hours in their first academic year
Based on continuous improvement, since we do not have peer-group comparison data for a sustained excellence measure
Increased degree attainment
Six-year cohort graduation rates
At or above the 66th percentile for universities in the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities
Quality of student learning
Improvements on professional/occupational licensure tests
At or above 90 percent
Financial responsibility and efficiency
Percent of total education and general expenditures expended on the core mission (instruction, research, and public service)
At or above the 66th percentile for universities in the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities
University-specific
Increase the number of graduates in high-employment demand areas in Missouri (STEM, health care, other)
No sustained excellence target for this measure; only increasing over previous numbers

West Plains campus

Performance measure Definition of sustained excellence
Three-year completion/transfer rate for first-time, full-time students At or above the 66th percentile from the National Community College Benchmark Project
Percentage of developmental students who successfully complete their last developmental math course who then successfully complete their first college-level math course At or above the 66th percentile from the National Community College Benchmark Project
Percentage of developmental students who successfully complete their last developmental English course who then successfully complete their first college-level English course At or above the 66th percentile from the National Community College Benchmark Project
Percentage of career/technical graduates who pass their required licensure/certification examination At or above 90 percent
Using IPEDs data submitted by MSU-West Plains, measure improvement on the three-year rolling average for the number of credit hours completed per $100 in state appropriation dollars At or above 80 percent when compared to the 30-member national community college peer group

I wanted you to have these measures so you know that they are being taken seriously and so you know the targets we need to hit in order to receive the maximum amount of performance funding. I hope this leads to conversations in departments, colleges and other units across campus.

We learned Friday that we have achieved all five of the Springfield measures and four of the West Plains measures for this year; thereby assuring additional funding for next year if performance funding is adopted by the legislature. It is expected that new money from performance funding will be relatively small given the failure of Proposition B (see next section).

Avenue of Flags extends from Carrington HallFiscal year 2014 budget outlook

We have a plan for this fiscal year (FY13) that includes a 2 percent mid-year raise and no increase in the health plan premiums for calendar year 2013. There are no changes to those commitments. I want to give you a preview of next year, fiscal year 2014.

As you know, Proposition B (increased taxes on tobacco products) failed on Nov. 6. That would have increased funding for education and its failure was disappointing. Increasing our enrollment will more than ever be the main source for new revenue.

Further, we have learned that the University’s contribution to the Missouri State Employees Retirement System (MOSERS) will increase significantly for fiscal year 2014. Missouri State’s contributions will increase by $2.3 million.

In addition, we will have additional increases in on-going expenses such as utilities, rent of facilities with the completion of Brick City, scholarships and other areas.

Given these facts, and absent significant reallocation, I am not optimistic that we will be able to fund another salary increase for fiscal year 2014 beginning on July 1, 2013. We will be having discussions with the Executive Budget Committee to get its input.

My hope is that some of these factors change and that our enrollment increases above projections. If that should occur, we would try again to look at a mid-year raise.

I just thought it was fair to let you know how things look at this moment.

Volunteers supporting Meals a MillionUpdates

Meals A Million

I want to thank the hundreds of you who volunteered for the Meals A Million volunteer effort the weekend of Nov. 9-11. In the three days and with several thousand volunteers, a grand total of 1,092,130 meals were prepared for hungry people in the Ozarks, on the East Coast in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, and around the world. Good job to all.

Academic Affairs funding

Frank will provide additional details through the Provost Communiqué, but I wanted to let you know that he is in the process of distributing the $500,000 in ongoing funds for this fiscal year (FY13). After consulting and confirming with the Academic Affairs Budget Committee, the distribution to the colleges is being based primarily on enrollment growth. This fulfills a commitment that Frank and I made a year or so ago: that new and reallocated funds would be distributed to academic units based on increased enrollment.

Shared leave

Remember that you may contribute to the Shared Leave Program again in January for the calendar year 2013. To date, 180 employees have contributed a total of 4,656 hours, the value of which amounts to $118,118.05.

To contribute hours, go to the Profile tab at My Missouri State and then choose Shared Leave Pool in the Employment Details box. I hope you will consider contributing.

Conclusion

Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving break. You deserve it. Please know that I appreciate all you do for Missouri State University.

Clif Smart

–Clif

Telling the Missouri State story

Stephanie AndersonStephanie “Steph” Anderson has a skill that few people develop, and a talent that cannot be ignored.

Anderson, a senior Missouri State University print journalism major, stands on the sideline of Bear athletics games with her camera in hand, hoping to capture more than a picture.

She explained, “My goal is to evoke a feeling in the viewer that makes them relate to the image. That is the beauty of photojournalism; it brings light to issues or scenes that people may look past on a regular basis.

Demonstrating her ability, she placed third in the nation in the sports picture category of the Associated College Press Photo Excellence Awards on Nov. 4 with a photo featuring Missouri State swimmer Janke Engelbrecht.

“Photojournalism allows me to learn about other people while being creative. I have always enjoyed being creative and challenging myself with each project. Sports especially has a unique challenge because it is so easy to shoot only what is familiar, like a pitcher throwing the ball.”

Anderson initially came to Missouri State to play field hockey, but left the team to focus on photojournalism. She recently finished an internship with the Pittsburgh (Pa.) Tribune-Review, and now works as a photographer for The Standard and Missouri State photographic services.

“I am freelancing for the (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review) this winter break,” Anderson said. “I have made some great friends and mentors there who push me even harder than I push myself.”

Filed Under: Clif's Notes, Financial Outlook, Smart Tagged With: budget, compensation, FY14, Meals a Million, performance measures, shared leave, Smart

Dear Colleague Vol. 1, No. 7

February 24, 2011 by admin

Spring on Missouri State Campus

Spring on Missouri State CampusToday, we are posting revised and updated draft material for the 2011-16 Long-Range Plan. I invite you to review these items and provide feedback.

Strategic directions, objectives, performance measures and targets

This update focuses on the performance measures and targets for the objectives under each of the strategic directions. The chart for each strategic direction includes objectives which have been refined based on your input and further discussions by the work groups and Steering Committee.

The performance measures and targets for each objective also have been thoroughly discussed by the Steering Committee. Now, we need to have your input to further define them.

In some cases, you will note that we are still researching some baseline data. In other cases, you will see that the first initiative is to determine the target. All of this is expected and normal; the key is to determine the measures we wish to use, which we have done.

As a reminder, this is the document I will present to the Board of Governors as an update on the progress we have made on the plan.

We are already working on the next step, which is to develop specific tactics to achieve the performance measures and targets. These tactics will largely be determined by the colleges and other units that will be responsible for implementing them. We will share that draft with you when it is ready. And, a first draft of the narrative of the plan is in process.

So that we have the most complete information possible, I ask that you make every effort to provide your feedback on this draft by Friday, March 4.

 Sincerely,

James E. Cofer, Sr.

President

Filed Under: Cofer, Dear Colleague Letters Tagged With: Cofer, long-range plan, objectives, performance measures, strategic directions, targets

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