ACADEMIC AFFAIRS STRATEGIC PLAN
2015-2020

Approved by the Faculty on March 4, 2016

VISION

Academic Affairs will be the driving force by which Cayuga Community College provides excellent academic programs and superior teaching within a supportive environment.

MISSION

To provide relevant and contemporary programs that enable students to reach their academic and career goals.

GOALS OR THEMES

  1. Provide and Sustain Excellent Academic Programs.
  2. Develop and Support Superior Teaching.
  3. Maintain a Supportive Environment.

1. PROVIDE AND SUSTAIN EXCELLENT ACADEMIC PROGRAMS

1.1 Ensure the College’s ability to provide and sustain excellent academic programs through the strategic hiring of full-time faculty.

  1. Assess strategic needs in programs and disciplines
  2. Align full-time hiring with enrollment patterns and budget considerations
  3. Maintain the ratio of faculty to FTE comparable with best practices and similarly sized community colleges

1.2 Provide the structure, oversight, and advocacy to research and develop programs

  1. The Program Development Committee will maintain and annually update a set of resources to help faculty with the research and design of new curricula.
  2. In the beginning of each academic year, the PDC will produce an annual report that summarizes the activities of the committee and informs the faculty of the committee’s charge.
  3. The Academic Programs Office will distribute a summary of actions taken by the Curriculum Committee in that year.
  4. Every 5 years the PDC will prepare an evidence-based report on new program opportunities within workforce development.
  5. Every 5 years the PDC will prepare an evidence-based report on new transfer program opportunities.

1.3 Provide ongoing review and assessment

  1. Every 5 years, each academic program will conduct a comprehensive self-study and program review.
  2. Faculty will create and implement an action plan to address program review findings.
  3. Program reviews will be presented to the Board’s Educational Services and Program Development committee.
  4. Faculty will complete course assessment plans for all major courses by December 2015 and thereafter engage in yearly assessment of student learning outcomes.

1.4 Build a culture of modification of programs

  1. Faculty will review and update course syllabi at least every three years.
  2. Faculty will review program requirements on a yearly basis.
  3. Each AAS program will conduct an annual industry advisory committee meeting to ensure programs provide necessary workplace skills.
  4. Faculty review student learning outcome data annually on Assessment Day and modify courses and programs as appropriate.
  5. Faculty and transfer staff will review articulation agreements of four-year institutions with at least every three years.

1.5 Provide state-of-the-art instructional facilities that foster connections between theory and practice.

  1. Division chairs submit equipment and technology requests annually based on program review, current trends, and innovations.
  2. Division chairs will participate in the development and updating of the facilities master plan to ensure alignment with academic program requirements.
  3. Division chairs and administration will develop and annually update a five-year equipment and replacement schedule.

1.6 Provide opportunities for leadership training and development.

  1. Provide training and development for Program Coordinators as appointed each year.
  2. Provide training for newly appointed division chairs as appointed every three years.
  3. Current division chairs will develop a manual of procedures for newly appointed division chairs by the end of the current term of appointment.
  4. The division chair who serves on the Academic and Student Affairs Council and the Executive Team respectively will update division colleagues on current topics for discussion.

1.7 Foster mission-appropriate academic partnerships.

  1. Division chairs will review institutional list of partnerships and identify opportunities for enhancement and development by the end of 2015-16.
  2. Division chairs will review and assess partnerships with faculty, administration, and partners at least every three years.
  3. Division chairs and faculty will review and update internal and external advisory board memberships annually.

1.8 Promote academic programs.

  1. Division chairs and faculty will review program promotional materials by the end of 2015-16 academic year and make recommendations to enrollment management staff.
  2. Division chairs and faculty will work with enrollment management staff to develop program-specific promotional strategies.
  3. Division chairs will encourage faculty to attend open houses and orientations.
  4. Division chairs and Admissions Counselors will meet twice a year to share information on program and curriculum developments.
  5. Program Coordinators will develop strategies for K-12 program-specific outreach with high school faculty each academic year.

1.9 Ensure alignment of instructional environment with academic mission.

  1. Instructional environment is defined as the conditions conducive to learning in the classroom including the comfort in the classroom, up-to-date and consistent classroom technology, and learning management systems.
  2. Use the program reviews to identify strengths and weaknesses in the instructional environment.
  3. Use the closing-the-loop report to create an action plan to address any identified instructional environment issues.

2. DEVELOP AND SUPPORT SUPERIOR TEACHING

2.1 Support innovation and creativity

  1. The Committee for Advancing Teaching and Learning (CATL) will annually identify faculty needs and coordinate appropriate professional development activities. A summary of these academic activities will be shared with faculty at the end of each academic year.
  2. Faculty will be encouraged to apply for faculty development funds for the purpose of developing new and innovative teaching techniques. The faculty development fund committee will continue to notify faculty of fund availability each semester.
  3. Encourage faculty to develop proposals to implement innovative and creative teaching techniques that will be supported through existing release time provisions.

2.2 Establish best practices

  1. The Committee for Advancing Teaching and Learning will identify existing best practices being used within the institution by surveying faculty and conducting an external scan by the end of the 2015-16 academic year and update at least every three years.
  2. Best practices will be shared with appropriate audiences on an annual basis.
  3. The faculty mentoring committees will conduct classroom observations and meet annually with individual full-time faculty in the years before tenure and every promotional year.
  4. Program Coordinators and Cayuga Advantage mentors will assist individual adjunct faculty in implementing best practices every academic year.
  5. Each division will submit an application to appoint a faculty member to provide continuous mentoring for new faculty before the start of the semester.

2.3 Contextualize the curriculum

  1. Review curriculum maps as part of the program review process to ensure all programs provide opportunities to apply learning.
  2. Review course syllabi to identify and incorporate opportunities for applied learning at least once every three years on Assessment Day.
  3. Develop a schedule and method for review of course syllabi to identify and incorporate opportunities for applied learning in disciplines without full-time faculty by the end of the fall 2015 semester.
  4. Identify additional courses eligible for experiential learning designation annually.
  5. Faculty will work with the Experiential Learning Coordinator to increase the provision of experiential learning opportunities for students.

2.4 Assess teaching and learning regardless of delivery mode

  1. Create and implement course assessment plans for all program required courses by December 2015.
  2. Student learning outcomes will be analyzed during program review to determine what course and program modifications are required.
  3. The College-Wide Mentoring Committee in consultation with the Director of Assessment will review and recommend revisions to the classroom observation forms to determine efficacy regardless of delivery mode by the end of the fall 2016 semester.
  4. The College-Wide Mentoring Committee in consultation with the Director of Assessment will review and recommend revisions to the student course evaluation forms to determine efficacy regardless of delivery mode and align for adjunct and full-time faculty by the end of the fall 2016 semester.

2.5 Provide Professional Development

  1. Explore additional funding models that would allow more faculty to attend professional development opportunities such as national, regional and local conferences and workshops. Faculty will provide a summary of such professional activity and share with appropriate members of their department at the end of the semester during which the activity took place.
  2. The Faculty Association Professional Growth Committee will coordinate presentations each semester on innovative and creative teaching strategies by meeting on an annual basis with The Committee for Advancing Teaching and Learning (CATL) for a discussion of their upcoming plans.
  3. Notify faculty at the start of the spring semester of all the available opportunities for professional development including the faculty development fund, special project grants, and release time provisions. Include information on application deadlines and criteria.

3. MAINTAIN A SUPPORTIVE ENVIRONMENT

3.1 Small class sizes

  1. Conduct a review of relevant course class sizes based on national standards for pedagogy and safety by spring 2017.
  2. Maintain accepted caps on current class sizes in all courses.

3.2 Faculty interaction (advisement)

  1. Review the Academic Advisement Task Force report to determine action items that still need to be implemented by the end of the spring 2016 semester.

3.3 Access to faculty

  1. Develop a face-to-face option for online office hours by spring 2017.
  2. Explore best practices for adjunct student communication by spring 2017.
  3. Explore best practices for full-time faculty/student interaction regardless of the delivery mode by spring 2017.

3.4 Academic/student support services

  1. Functional Area Staff including Business Office, Financial Aid, Registrar’s, CAS, CSEAA, Assessment, and Library will provide information on services, processes and procedures to faculty on an annual basis.
  2. Assess the extent to which equitable student support services are provided regardless of delivery mode as functional area reviews are available.
  3. Assess the student interaction with Cayuga from the point of first contact through graduation and beyond via focus groups and surveys conducted by the Enrollment Council by spring of 2017.

3.5 Developmental support/transitional support

  1. Faculty will review College Placement policies and procedures at least every two years and then report to the Academic and Student Affairs Council for possible action.
  2. Produce an annual report on developmental course completion, persistence, and graduation rates as compared with institution-wide rates.
  3. Produce an annual report on CAY 100/101 completion, persistence, and graduation rates as compared with institution-wide rates.
  4. Produce an annual report on Office of Transitional Studies projects and initiatives.

3.6 Academic policies and procedures

  1. Division Chairs and Academic and Student Affairs Council will review and identify academic policies and procedures by summer 2016.
  2. Division Chairs and Academic and Student Affairs Council will review these policies and procedures on an annual basis and recommend changes as necessary.