Annual Operating Plan Objectives 2018-2019

Elevate the academic profile of the University

2018-2019 University Academic Profile Objectives:

• Incorporate "best practices" for policies and procedures within Academic Affairs.
• Increase Faculty to support areas of strategic growth.
• Grow and develop key programs to attract intellectually and professionally motivated students.
• Review and revise the University Mission statement in accordance with Standard 1: Mission & Goals of MSCHE.
• Elevate stature of, and engagement with, the Point Park News Service for students and faculty.
• Develop the Center for Media Innovation to improve the understanding of journalism’s traditional values and its emerging technologies among college and high school students and professionals, through educational programming, professional partnerships, training workshops, and similar efforts.
• Develop the Center for Media Innovation to promote the public’s appreciation for journalistic storytelling and innovation through speaker events, public discussions, awards programs, symposiums, and other programming.
• Develop the Center for Media Innovation to increase community engagement in local journalistic storytelling through hands-on workshops, youth programs, and academic research into the emerging field of media deserts.
• Maintain full University Accreditation as well as accreditation for all discipline-specific programs.
• Review and establish standards of assessment of student learning for all academic programs and the core (including graduate-level and online).
• Provide opportunities and support for faculty and student research.
• Support high-impact practices in all academic programs.
• Undecided students have consistently been a challenging population to retain. The CSS recognizes the need for intentional support which assists students who have not declared a major at matriculation, or who indicate career uncertainty via entrance surveys.
• Improve intake and advising of students who register with disability services through the use of AIM software.
• Apply procedures to reduce the number of undergraduate student withholds that prevent registration.
• Put in place procedures to reduce the number of non-returning students through the Not Yet Registered initiative.
• Raise awareness of and promote Open Education Resources amongst faculty.
• Expanding the established Dean's Advisory board that financially contributes to the RSB.
• Expand School of Business dedicated endowments.
• Engage students through programming and activities to help them persist to graduation.

Expand high-quality online and hybrid programs to provide a Point Park education to populations underserved by the University's on-ground program.

2018-2019 Online and Hybrid Programs Objectives:

• Establish clear, consistent university-wide policies, procedures, and best practices for online education, including appropriate compliance with various state and international laws and regulations (e.g. Ensuring Point Park University complies with regulations to have online offerings in all 50 states).
• Expand and further develop high-quality online and hybrid programs for underserved populations.
• Develop and provide an effective and engaging virtual learning ecosystem.
• Research feasibility and develop curriculum for the online Ph.D. degree program in Community Engagement based on existing PhD curriculum.
• Research, analyze and assess the current Ph.D. program and make substantive changes to the curriculum to meet current needs and demands.

Create opportunities for innovative, integrated learning

2018-2019 Innovative, Integrated Learning Objectives:

• Ensure that every undergraduate student participates in interdisciplinary collaboration and/or programming.
• Develop the Pittsburgh Playhouse by creating a Center for Entertainment Management to build interdisciplinary synergies for academic programming and practice, and involve stakeholders from throughout the entertainment industry.
• Students will learn through both their inside and outside the classroom experiences to become well-developed individuals.

Elevate the regional and national profile of faculty

2018-2019 Faculty Profile Objectives:

• Foster an intellectual environment by providing opportunities for more dialogue and engagement among faculty across disciplines.
• The CIE will develop a variety of faculty training activities, ranging from pedagogical approaches to tenure and promotion workshops to grant funding.
• Market the Social Impact Grants & Scholars program to attract more applications for grants and expand the opportunities and requirements for grant recipients to present their work.

Promote Inclusive Excellence as a cultural and academic value

2018-2019 Inclusive Excellence Objectives:

• Increase the diversity of our faculty to reflect our evolving society and our student body's diverse cultural fabric.
• Last semester, we only saw a total of 5 people at the PD sessions offered by the CIE. Would like to get this number to 10.
• Create and staff a Diversity and Inclusion Office.

Implement and practice the tenants of shared governance across University operation

Connect every student with at least one meaningful experiential learning opportunity each year.

2018-2019 Experiential Learning Opportunities Objectives:

• Expand Internship, Co-op, and employment opportunities for RSB students throughout the Pittsburgh region and beyond.
• Research and propose a Service Learning designation for courses at the University.
• Leverage the University's location as an urban center and its proximity to the cultural district to infuse opportunities for experiential learning into all student affairs programming.
• Implement cooperative education across the University.

Develop a sense of community and pride throughout the University

2018-2019 University Community and Pride Objectives:

• Formally recognize and promote student, staff, and faculty achievements within and outside the Point Park University community.
• Formally recognize and promote alumni achievements within and outside the Point Park University community.
• Integrate and engage non-traditional students, transfer students, and graduate students in the full student experience.
• Implement a consistent series of events and activities to facilitate interaction among students, faculty, staff, and alumni.
• Enhance the image of the Athletic department among the student population.
• Focus on student's performance in the classroom to increase the success of the student-athlete.

Promote the connection between the liberal arts foundation and preparation for careers now and
throughout the lives of Point Park students.

2018-2019 Liberal Arts Foundation and Career Prep Connection Objectives:

• Promote core curriculum learning outcomes and competencies as the signature components of the Point Park student experience.
• Utilize senior capstone projects to demonstrate the integration of the liberal arts core with the career preparation of the major.
• Provide opportunities for students to reflect on the impact of their co-curricular experiences as part of their comprehensive university experience.
• Develop foundational programs to teach the basic concepts and skills necessary for life-long learning and the translation of knowledge to practice to ready our students for experiential learning opportunities and careers.

Foster a culture of respect, civility, and inclusivity in the Point Park community for all students,
staff, faculty, alumni, and administrators.

2018-2019 Culture of Respect, Civility, Inclusivity Objectives:

• Develop theme weeks to discuss social issues. Weeks would potentially include programming, speakers, activities, and service-learning.
• Encourage and support a campus climate that values multiple perspectives and experiences.

Assure the highest quality of life on campus

2018-2019 Quality of Campus Life Objectives:

• Expand the Pioneer Pantry to include fresh produce and other offerings as well as programming
  Expand the Point Closet facilities to include a physical shopping space.

Develop and implement an ongoing, rolling three-year strategic enrollment plan that ties directly
to a rolling three-year financial plan that clearly demonstrates the operational vitality of the
University and generates enough resources to reinvest in the University according to the Strategic Plan.

2018-2019 Strategic Enrollment Plan Objectives:

• Strengthen and improve processes around strategic enrollment and revenue planning (SERP).
• Incorporate a modeling product that can help prioritize outreach from the Office of Admission to new applicants.
• Work with various offices on campus to improve communications after a student makes a tuition deposit.
• Target graduate readmits population to increase enrollment.
• Expand recruitment strategies to include the Caribbean for diversifying international enrollment at Point Park University. 
• Increase prospective student/parent engagement throughout the recruitment cycle by effectively using the web, direct marketing, social media, and marketing partnerships.
• Provide COPA dept. chairs with guidelines (forecast) for spending on recruitment events, including but not limited to, on and off-campus auditions, showcase events, masterclass/workshops. 
• Develop a recruitment-based network with the top, region-based high schools that offer opportunities in performing and visual arts studies, specifically for the area of theatre production, in order to increase our local applicant pool by establishing a professional, working relationship with their constituents.
• Use financial aid to secure targeted prospective students identified through enrollment management strategy.

Leverage the University's brand to promote being on the cutting edge of innovation in
communications, media, technology, business, and the arts, inside and outside of the classroom.

2018-2019 University Innovation Brand Objectives:

• Deliver a clear, consistent brand messaging to elevate recognition, nationally and internationally.

Adopt models of resource development and constituent engagement that align and support the
University's strategic initiatives.

2018-2019 Resource Development and Constituent Engagement Objectives:

• Promote foundation, corporate, and government funding opportunities with faculty, staff, and administrators to strengthen the "grants and funding" culture University-wide.
• Develop and implement a multi-year plan to review partnerships and internal operations.
• Build a culture of philanthropy through the tenets of informing, engaging, investing, appreciation, and stewardship of all University constituencies.
• Invest in a new fundraising database (w/conversion and annual maintenance costs), assess usage of current technology and software systems (Crescendo/Alumni App), and explore innovative social media fundraising platforms (i.e. crowd rise) and constituent engagement and management systems (i.e. modules).
• Reframe fundraising messaging and solicitation strategies for the new Pittsburgh Playhouse from a brick-and-mortar campaign to a focus on innovative, programmatic, educational, and emerging industry-based initiatives.
• Project and measure annual baseline revenue through growing the comprehensive annual fund program monetarily by 4-6% and participation rate by .5%-1% annually over five years.
• We will develop a formalized compliance program and will focus initial training on critical regulations.

Grow the Board Designated Reserve Fund by 35 percent.

Implement integrated strategies and systems designed to increase workplace productivity by
developing improved processes for attracting, developing, retaining, and utilizing people with the
required skills and aptitude to meet the University's current and future needs.

2018-2019 Workplace Productivity Objectives:

• Actively engage board members, administrations, and faculty leaders in a serious discussion of what shared governance is and isn’t. 
• Maintain a steadfast commitment to three-way transparency and frequent communication.
• Develop deliberate ways to increase social capital between board members and members of the faculty.
• Increase the effectiveness of contract management system (CMS) training by implementing online training that can be referenced as needed by University community members. Online training will also free up procurement staff from one on one training.
• Improve contract management competency skills of a pilot group of trainees who are directly responsible for managing contracts in their respective areas by developing and administering contract management training.
• Increase efficiency of Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) process among ERM stakeholders by implementing RiskWizard ERM Software. Measure using efficiency metrics (assessment metrics) within six months following assignment of first process task in software.
• Create an employment brand that showcases the University's strengths and attracts top candidates for open positions through competency-based advertising and interviewing.
• Purposefully plan for the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to achieve the University's Strategic plan through competency development and internal skill enhancement focused on building abilities and leadership aptitude for current employees.
• Onboard new employees to ensure that they quickly assimilate to Point Park's processes in order to reduce the time necessary to reach full effectiveness.
• Provide timely performance feedback that communicates expectations and developmental opportunities that optimize manager-to-employee communication.
• Cultivate an environment of awareness, mutual respect, and understanding in a workplace that is reflective of our diverse society.
• Generate clear, effective, and efficient communication with and among all internal stakeholders. Ensure timely crossover between internal and external communications.

Build the technological infrastructure to enhance our instructional and administrative needs.

2018-2019 Technological Infrastructure Objectives:

• Develop a system-wide technology infrastructure that includes internal programming capabilities to support the website and mobile-friendly/responsively designed applications, information and data sharing across the University, and automation of all business processes using the best available current and future technology.
• Implement a scanning and record filing/retrieval system that enables an enterprise-wide paperless process for all offices and functions.
• Assess and reengineer intranet.

Improve utilization of facilities and space.

2018-2019 Facilities and Space Utilization Objectives:

• To enhance the overall experience for students, faculty, and staff and to increase efficiencies of Building usage.
• Enhance the overall experience for students, faculty, and staff.

Develop a strategic planning assessment strategy to align resources with the plan.

2018-2019 Strategic Planning Assessment Strategy Objectives:

• Improve the PARA (Planning, Assessment, and Resource Allocation) process by demonstrating actual resource allocations based on prior planning and assessment.

Optimize the efficient use of University resources across all levels of operations.

Create opportunities for field studies to complement doctoral-level coursework.

2018-2019 Doctoral-level Field Studies Objectives:

• Utilize our facilities to engage campus communities.

Leverage partnerships with the Allegheny Conference on Community Development, government agencies to create relevant and impactful dissertation thesis project opportunities.

2018-2019 Dissertation Thesis Project Objectives:

• Include possible Dissertation Chairs list, theory roundtables, professional development modules, and other programming to help them succeed.

Utilize our facilities and programs to engage campus communities to advance our mission.

2018-2019 Campus Communities Engagement Objectives:

• Create an Advisory Board for the Department of Community Engagement which will consult on curriculum, programming, vision, and more. Advisory Board members should consist of alumni, current students, and community members from various industries.
• Potential partnerships include research studies for PCHE, City/County census work, Pittsburgh Citizen Police academy work, and more.
• Write a grant proposal to fund the institution of a Center for Community Engagement which would work in partnership with the existing Department of Community Engagement. The Center would focus on external activities and partnerships and continue to maintain and grow the Carnegie Classification required materials.
• Complete fundraising required for the renovation of the Student and Convocation Center.

Emphasize the University's mission and focus on community engagement by attaining the "elective" Carnegie Classification for Community Engagement.

2018-2019 Carnegie Classification for Community Engagement Objectives:

• Gather documentation implement programs and assessment mechanisms campus-wide and write application packet for the classification for April 1, 2019 deadline.

Establish influential and impactful constituent outreach and engagement.

2018-2019 Constituent Outreach and Engagement Objectives:

• My role is designed to ensure that the public is aware of Point Park University and its educational mission, as well as the integral role it plays in the Greater Pittsburgh community.

Strategic engagement with our alumni.

2018-2019 Alumni Engangement Objectives:

• Identify the diverse needs of Point Park alumni throughout the alumni lifecycle.
• Support the work of the Point Park University Alumni Board of Directors as leaders of the alumni community and with their efforts to promote engagement.
• Deliver engaging programming that strengthens the relationship between alumni and Point Park.