On June 25, 2007, the Cabrini College Board of Trustees endorsed a new Strategic Agenda for the institution. This document, titled "Defining the Contemporary Cabrinian Education through Excellence, Social Justice, and Transformational Learning" will serve as the foundation for the College's operational planning through 2012.
With our vision of defining the contemporary Cabrinian education through excellence, social justice, and transformational learning informing all that we do, over the next five years we shall:
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Steward our resources while investing wisely in our future
We will ensure that we remain fiscally prudent, manage our existing infrastructure thoughtfully, search aggressively for diverse new sources of revenue, and reallocate resources to those areas that will best serve, attract, and retain students.
#1: Clarify our mission, define our identity and establish our brand in the marketplace
We will work collaboratively as a community to clarify and focus our mission and identity - rooted in our Catholic Cabrinian heritage and commitment to academic excellence and student success - and then communicate them effectively both internally to members of our community and externally to the marketplace.
We will clarify, integrate, share and assess the expression and implementation of our Catholic Cabrinian mission and identity. While each of our existing internal mission-related documents is clear and inspiring on its own, we must interpret and effectively communicate our central messages to overcome the confusion that these disparate documents sometimes cause. In addition, we must continually examine, and consciously relate to our own mission, key Church documents such as Ex Corde Ecclesiae and pastoral letters on Catholic Social Teaching from the Vatican and U.S. bishops. Finally, we must be more explicit and communicative about the mission implications of Cabrini's ongoing relationships with organizations such as Catholic Relief Services and the Association of Catholic Colleges & Universities.
We will rededicate our efforts to integrate mission into all segments of campus life, including increasing both internal and external communications about the growing number and quality of mission-related initiatives at Cabrini College. And we will develop instruments to record and assess mission-related initiatives and programs, using the results to communicate our successes and make changes where room for improvement is indicated.
Our identity is defined by how we choose to organize ourselves and behave as an institution in accomplishing our mission - and, ultimately, by how we are perceived in that pursuit. As we define and clarify our mission, we will also actively define our own identity in a way that can be intentionally communicated to, and shape the perception of, the marketplace. We will create the images and messages of a distinctive Catholic Cabrinian education - linked specifically to our unique culture, values, and signature programs - and use them as the foundation of our marketing and branding efforts.
With this foundation, we will enhance the image and perception of Cabrini College in our regional marketplace and expand our image and name recognition into national and international markets. We will integrate this into our ongoing branding initiative and develop a comprehensive marketing plan. This plan will integrate seamlessly with our Admissions function and focus on the continued administrative and financial development of our marketing department, the upgrade of the College's Web site (a crucial recruiting tool for today's student), and the exploration of new opportunities to elevate the College's image and brand promise, "Do Something Extraordinary." All of our marketing efforts will focus on positioning Cabrini uniquely among our competitors, giving the College a competitive edge in recruiting both undergraduate and graduate students, and employees as well.
#2: Create a contemporary, innovative teaching and learning environment
We will build a transformational teaching and learning environment that is grounded in interdisciplinary programming, a commitment to scholarship and deep learning, contemporary teaching methods, and leadership of the heart.
We will establish a culture of academic excellence and innovation by rewarding and implementing creative new ideas, rigorously assessing student learning and institutional effectiveness, and using these assessments as the foundation for substantive improvements. We will create an academic culture that is rich with opportunities to change the lives of our students. This culture will create transformational environments that extend beyond the classroom to include living and learning communities, collaborative capstone experiences, service learning and other experiential learning opportunities, and faculty-student research venues.
Within the learning community, faculty have the pivotal role in establishing trust and building developmental environments in which information is shared, extended, then negotiated through pedagogies that encourage group interaction and caring relationships among students. In order to deliver this transformational learning environment successfully while achieving manageable faculty workload, we will need to grow the size of our faculty appropriately within the limits of our resources. In so doing, we will be required to develop greater clarity about what constitutes appropriate faculty workloads.
We will use emerging and existing technologies to create a dynamic technology-supported learning environment using virtual communities, electronic portfolios, and multimedia pedagogies that provides a foundation for our commitment to a curricular focus on interdisciplinary studies. We will create virtual communities that will enable us to become a more learning-centered college and communicate this shared purpose. We will incorporate electronic portfolios for students that will provide a record of achievements, encourage selfreflection among all members of the Cabrini community, and facilitate lifelong learning.
We will identify our strongest, most innovative and/or unique programs and look for ways to promote them as flagship programs at the College. A signature academic program must strongly express the values and mission of Cabrini College and be fully integrated into the marketing messages we promote to the community and potential students. We will establish signature initiatives in the areas of interdisciplinary and experiential learning, with an ambitious and progressive Honors Program, a Center for Engaged Humanities, and a new core curriculum that are at the vanguard of these developments. In so doing, we will communicate an institutional "sea-change" from a compartmentalized and parochial disciplinary culture to one whose hallmark is genuinely shared inquiry and provocative collaboration. We will consider signature initiatives in the area of Social Justice/Common Good in the general education program, in the disciplines, and in Graduate and Professional Studies.
Through grant support, we will expand Cabrini's visibility and leadership in teaching and implementing Catholic Social Teaching by establishing an Institute on Catholic Social Justice Education. This Institute could make a distinctive contribution to American Catholic higher education and provide professional development and global immersion experience on social justice to our faculty. It might also offer a journal and a regular conference dedicated to engaging other educators in developing pedagogies of social justice suited to our 21st Century world and students.
We will expand graduate and professional studies programs that build upon the College's existing academic programs and integrate with our efforts to define signature programs. We will consider a "shared-team approach," with the Graduate division becoming a blended component of the entire campus community, rather than as a stand-alone unit. This will be critical to accomplish truly integrated growth and development. The key to successful program integration will be to build relationships with faculty and to solicit their ideas and resources. A newly formed Graduate Education Advisory Council, working closely with the Dean of the Graduate Division, is poised to lead our efforts in the achievement of this and other future goals in graduate program development. Further, we will need to continue the use of market research to help determine additional programs to offer to the adult graduate population. Key resources required to build these programs are already in place, including the SET Building, new campus technology, and a skilled and dedicated faculty.
All of our academic programs - existing and new, undergraduate and graduate, classroom based or from a distance - must achieve the appropriate balance between quality, mission fulfillment, vision integration and financial viability.
#3: Provide a vibrant, engaging campus environment and attract and retain a talented and diverse student body
We will create a campus environment that is comfortable and welcoming; engages our undergraduate, graduate, and non-traditional students in interesting and informative co-curricular activities; and will attract and retain a diverse student body that will thrive while on campus and remain committed alumni when they leave.
This will require a new focus on student life at Cabrini that includes changes to our programs, services, facilities, and recruiting strategies. We will review and enhance our approach to providing student activities, programs and events to increase student engagement on campus among undergraduate, graduate, and non-traditional students alike. We will redouble our efforts to ensure that our campus is attractive and comfortable for students, faculty and staff, providing an environment that has inviting social gathering areas. We will build a Campus Center that will serve as the hub for student activities and events and develop rich a student life program to take full advantage of the new facility. We will engage all students in activities like on-campus service projects to benefit and beautify the campus and build community. And we will develop measures of our performance in student life and student services, and use those measures to determine which student programs to offer.
We will evaluate and improve our academic and student support services and centralize all student administrative functions at "one stop," using available technology as well to simplify student/administrative interactions.
To foster an environment for student success, we will set clear expectations for the successful student at Cabrini College prior to matriculation as part of an integrated marketing plan and Admissions process. We know that satisfaction with the college experience and retention begins with admitting the right students and recruiting them with the right financial aid packaging. We will provide faculty development workshops that provide training on the appropriate pedagogies to engage first-year students through the Teaching and Learning Center. We will enhance procedures for students, faculty, advisers, and staff to effectively plan for and respond to early-term student feedback.
We will broaden our approach to identifying the "right" students by using a new multi-dimensional merit award system. While continuing to recognize GPA and standardized test scores, our improved merit system will also take into account other important and desirable factors such as geographic region, diversity, which we will collaboratively define and communicate, and students with special backgrounds such as interest or experience in community service. We will continue to expand our recruitment efforts geographically beyond our current regional market, initially targeting states whose students do not have access to a large number of small private colleges. Additionally, we will target states such as Florida, Texas, and California which have large populations, are expected to continue to grow, and have significant Catholic populations.
We will continue to emphasize the athletics program in our marketing strategy. We have had great success with student-athlete retention rates and our successful athletics program contributes immensely to the campus culture. We will continue to pursue cost-effective strategies to make our athletics programs even stronger in the future.
#4: Cultivate a Cabrinian culture of leadership, collaboration, communication, diversity and community development
We will reinvigorate our community by actively creating a sense of common purpose, collaboration, and trust among all members of the community, by demonstrating a commitment to open communications and shared responsibility, and by creating the diverse and inter-connected campus culture we value and desire.
We will create an institutional environment characterized by trust and collegiality by making decisions openly and transparently, inviting participation across the campus community as appropriate. Cabrini College has evolved from a small institution where informal decision-making practices prevailed to a more formalized and professional institution. The ongoing challenge for the College is to negotiate this basic tension, while recognizing the importance of both.
The College's Board of Trustees must continue its efforts to resolve issues of institutional authority and responsibility in relation to the sponsoring order of the MSCs, to ensure that the long-term interests and integrity of Cabrini College are consistent with "best practices" and trends in Catholic higher education. In addition, we will design new protocols to ensure timely and effective communication from the Board to the College community regarding significant decisions and actions.
We will develop a comprehensive communication plan that addresses multi-directional communication protocols among all constituencies, sets expectations, and holds members of the community accountable for their role in the communication process. We will provide opportunities for members of all constituencies to develop a heightened awareness of the importance of communication and the skills necessary to communicate effectively.
We will develop a mission-centered Code of Conduct, rooted in the core values of the College, which will apply to all members of the community and be implemented consistently throughout the College. Each member of the community will be held accountable for comporting himself or herself to the level of these standards and all faculty and staff will be expected to model our core values and standards in interactions with all community members. We will have well-documented policies and procedures for all levels of the organization.
Our mission and our long-term need to attract and educate for an increasingly diverse world demand that Cabrini College address diversity in sustainable and novel ways. We will develop a sustained program for achieving greater diversity among students, faculty, and staff - as well as administrative leadership and the board, and consider the appointment of a Director of Student Diversity Initiatives.
We will cultivate and invest in new community traditions and events, and promote existing traditions that offer opportunities to develop a greater sense of community. Such events will also be used to establish new and enhanced partnerships with external agencies and organizations.
Under the guidance of the Institutional Assessment Committee (IAC), a broadly representative group to be appointed by the president, we will design and implement a systematic and objective evaluation process that will enhance synergies, eliminate duplication, and ensure quality. Collectively we shall arrive at an institutional program mix that is financially viable for the long term. A newly appointed Coordinator of Assessment will focus on student learning outcomes by working with specific faculty members and departments to design assessment plans and achieve their assessment goals.
#5: Steward our resources while investing wisely in our future
We will ensure that we remain fiscally prudent, manage our existing infrastructure thoughtfully, search aggressively for diverse new sources of revenue, and reallocate resources to those areas that will best serve, attract, and retain students.
We will continue our practice of producing a minimum 2.5% margin of revenue over expenses, which we have exceeded every year for over a decade, and explore new relevant budgeting techniques and approaches to meaningful communications in this area. We will develop systems to evaluate the financial viability of all new and existing academic programs and other initiatives, and strategically reallocate resources as necessary to achieve our vision. And we will evaluate and pursue outsourcing and collaborative opportunities that can create cost reductions and other economic efficiencies. We will explore opportunities to develop revenues such as facility rentals to maximize underutilized capacity of the campus in the summers, weekends and academic breaks.
We will review and evaluate all space utilization across campus to address such issues as quality of facilities, adequacy of existing space to meet current and future needs, potential relocation of classrooms from the library, parking demand, rental opportunities, and a pedestrian friendly campus. We will monitor the surrounding environment for possible land acquisition and position the College to take advantage of opportunities that might allow for potential future growth and maintain the aesthetics of the present campus.
We will enhance our facilities to make the campus more active, inviting, and engaging. We will establish a Campus Center, which will greatly enhance the campus experience. We will renovate/restore the Mansion, the College's historically significant signature building and a unifying image for all Cabrini students and alumni. We will explore ways to begin to fulfill the vision of a Collaboratory by using existing space creatively or incorporating some of its collaboration concepts into designs as appropriate. We will continue to evaluate housing and other facility needs relative to enrollment growth.
We will conduct an evaluation of our information technology (IT) infrastructure and operations to assess internal needs and compare the effectiveness and cost of our technology services to those of our peers and aspirant institutions. We will continue to explore ways to enhance IT support that will provide students, faculty, and staff with instruction on how to most effectively integrate technology into teaching, learning, and administrative functions as well as client-centered services.
We will perform an analysis of employee functions and adapt staffing levels as appropriate and feasible to meet the service expectations of our growing student population. We will develop strategies to improve our ability to recruit and retain a diverse and highly qualified faculty and staff, including marketing our mission of social justice and service to applicants, and to ensure that salary and benefits of faculty and staff are competitive.
To keep those who are already here current in their fields and challenged, we will ensure that both faculty and staff are provided with both internal and external professional development opportunities, and we will integrate professional development programs with institutional succession planning goals. We will launch a new capital campaign based on a realistic feasibility study, with the goal of funding capital projects and endowment growth. We will establish a reasonable endowment goal relative to our annual operating budget within an achievable timeframe. We will make every effort to increase alumni annual fund participation with the goal of developing the Annual Fund as a significant source of revenue. We will also work to increase fundraising from the Board of Trustees. We will pursue a strategy of moderate growth in undergraduate enrollment and aggressive development of Graduate and Professional Studies. We will maintain competitive tuition, room and board rates and target an undergraduate discount rate that is consistent with Board-approved planning and budgeting guidelines. |
