Access to Quality Planning Document for South Dakota's Public Universities

Planning has had a long history in the South Dakota Board of Regents System, beginning with a U.S. Office of Education survey conducted in 1918. Subsequent efforts were made in 1922, 1953, 1960, 1963, and 1970. The current effort, which culminated in the adoption of the orignal edition of this document, was initiated at a Board retreat in the summer of 1990. The process was considered highly participative by the presidents of the universities and the Executive Director as assumptions and directions were developed in a series of several working sessions of the presidents and the Executive Director. Top-down efforts were determined to be problematic, and the grass-roots, bottom-up approach was deemed to be inordinately time consuming; therefore, the collegial approach using the team of chief executive officers in the system was adopted. The document was reviewed at several points in its development and in the final stages, was reviewed by faculty and staff at the various campuses for suggestions. Campus suggestions were reviewed collectively by the university presidents and the Executive Director, and the final document was recommended to the Board of Regents for adoption at its September 1992 meeting.

The document includes a chapter on the environment in which public higher education must operate in South Dakota as well as assumptions in a variety of areas. Assumptions were grouped into nine categories: Mission and Planning, Statewide, Governance, Student, Program, Staffing, Finance, Facilities, and Intergovernmental Relations. In each category, statements reflect what is expected to occur in the immediate future, and also included in several categories is an identification of a number of "misperceptions" held by various citizens in South Dakota which must be addressed.

The final section includes a listing of twelve directions which are to be pursued. Included are directions relative to undergraduate education, graduate and professional education, the teaching and learning environment, areas of excellence, pluralism, management flexibility, collaborative relationships, public awareness, funding, competitive compensation, facilities and equipment, and use of technology. It is acknowledged that the directions for the university system, common directions for uncommon times, are ambitious and will require additional resources to accomplish all of them. However, resource limitations were not deemed to be a deterrent to charting a proper course for the system -- rather a factor which could slow the pace of progress toward the directions.

In August 1994, the Board of Regents asked the Executive Director and institutional presidents to review the 1992 plan and make appropriate revisions. Throughout subsequent months, the Executive Director, with the institutional presidents, made numerous changes in the document. These changes reflected an updating of Assumptions (page 16) about the higher education environment. Further, the Directions (page 29) have been revised to reflect current expectations about the requirements for higher education to the end of this century, including the addition of a new direction on Access to Educational Opportunity. To provide guidance on the successes of Regental institutions, the revised Access to Quality provides a framework for measuring indications of progress. Twenty-one Benchmarks of Achievement (page 42) are identified for use in making on-going assessment of institutions and system efforts. The revised Access to Quality document was presented to the Board of Regents for approval at its May 1996 meeting.

DIRECTIONS

Given the background and the process, the following directions are identified in light of the system's needs and the state environment in South Dakota.

ENSURE THE QUALITY OF UNDERGRADUATE AND GRADUATE EDUCATION IN RESPONSE TO THE PROBABLE LEVEL OF FUNDING.
1. Maintain undergraduate programs at a level which will meet appropriate accreditation and licensure requirements.
2. Review the content, delivery and structure of programs throughout the university system on a systematic basis.
3. Expect entering students to meet standards consistent with national higher education expectations for entering students; for those students who are deficient, provide opportunities for addressing deficiencies.
4. Develop and implement mandatory systemwide assessment and placement for entering freshmen and transfer students.
5. Provide a rigorous contemporary undergraduate curriculum.
  1. Assure a quality core curriculum.
  2. Seek greater internationalization and globalization of the curriculum.
  3. Enhance undergraduate program opportunities in mathematics, science, writing across the curriculum, and computer literacy.
  4. Involve undergraduate students in research, scholarly, community service, experiential, and other capstone experiences.
6. Develop and implement a means of assessing student mastery of the core curriculum.
7. Develop undergraduate programs that will ensure that students acquire desired outcomes based on contemporary academic standards and outcome measures.
8. Assist students in timely graduation by management of schedules and improved advising.
9. Hire faculty who have attained terminal degrees or those who, at the time of appointment, have an acceptable plan for degree completion, and encourage and support faculty who do not have terminal degrees to pursue the terminal degree.
10. Strive to provide faculty with computers, laboratory and research equipment, materials, facilities, and other "tools of the trade."
11. Require and provide for continuing professional and pedagogical faculty and staff development.
12. Faculty will continue their significant participation in the teaching, research, and service components of the institution.
13. Ensure the transferability of the core curriculum and other appropriate courses among the Regental institutions.
14. Institutions will continue to review opportunities to enhance student learning by sharing instructional expertise within common disciplines.
15. Academic programs will reflect discipline needs for an effective learning experience while ensuring efficiency in program delivery.
FOCUS AND SELECTIVELY IMPROVE GRADUATE AND PROFESSIONAL PROGRAMS CONSISTENT WITH INSTITUTIONAL MISSIONS AND WHICH ADDRESS THE NEEDS OF THE STATE AND REGION.
1. Maintain graduate programs at a level which will meet appropriate accreditation and licensure requirements.
2. Ensure that graduate programs have a critical mass of students and faculty to provide breadth, depth, and quality faculty-student interaction.
3. Limit graduate programs to those areas which have research components or other scholarly activity appropriate to the discipline and require all graduate degrees to have a thesis or other scholarly activity appropriate to the discipline.
4. Shape campus research plans which are complementary across disciplines and appropriate to institutional mission.
5. Recognizing that faculty research and scholarly activity are basic components of a contemporary university, promote, where possible, faculty research and expertise that will be supportive of the state's overall development and solution of problems.
6. Ensure that graduate programs meet the needs of the State of South Dakota.
7. Develop strategies for supplemental external funding for faculty appointments to provide support for creative and scholarly activity.
8. Develop strategies to secure state funding for research programs with statewide impact.
9. Increase support for a sufficient number of competitively-funded graduate students.
10. Fund new graduate programs primarily through reallocation of existing resources.
11. Utilize the state's membership in WICHE to provide access to a greater variety of graduate programs at reduced rates without having to develop programs in South Dakota.
CREATE A QUALITY TEACHING AND LEARNING ENVIRONMENT THAT CULTIVATES THE INTELLECT, CHARACTER, AND SPIRIT THROUGH EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE.
1. Provide adequate library resources, computer laboratories and other technical resources.
2. Provide a set of intellectually stimulating co-curricular experiences.
3. Provide experiences which will enable students to develop a greater appreciation for the environment and the various contexts in which it can be viewed.
4. Provide opportunities for students as spectators and participants in a variety of cultural activities.
5. Accommodate students by providing a living/learning environment which is safe, aesthetically pleasing, friendly to the student, and conducive to learning.
6. Assure the availability of diverse residential facilities to accommodate a variety of living options.
7. Ensure that university and system policies are fair and equitable, and that expectations and consequences are clearly articulated.
8. Assign higher priority to advising, and in the evaluation of faculty, emphasize the importance of advising.
9. Provide flexible and practical alternatives for non-traditional students, including course schedules and support services.
10. Develop adequate student financial aid so that students can focus their efforts on their university experience.
11. Provide affordable health insurance options and emphasize wellness for the campus community as an important factor of life and as a means of reducing medical care costs.
12. Strengthen student organizations and encourage greater participation of students in the organizations.
13. Provide leadership development opportunities for students and staff.
14. Provide structured experiences which will enable students to include moral and ethical value perspectives on making decisions.
DEVELOP APPROPRIATE AREAS OF EXCELLENCE WHICH PROMOTE AND ENCOURAGE SCHOLARLY ACTIVITY.
1. Identify existing programs across the system which currently enjoy national or regional recognition.
2. Identify potential programs for achieving regional and national excellence at each institution.
3. Ensure that centers of excellence programs are sufficiently supported with base funds to be housed and equipped adequately, and have appropriate technical support and O&M funds.
4. Fund research and scholarly activity in programs of emphasis at each institution consistent with institutional mission.
5. Expand selected research institutes that are appropriate for the institution.
6. Build upon initiatives like the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) to become nationally competitive and recognized in selected research areas.
7. Recognize that research is fundamental to graduate instruction and an essential complement to undergraduate instruction.
8. Strongly encourage interdisciplinary research and scholarly activity.
9. Ensure that institutional policies are supportive of creative and scholarly activity.
10. Create intrastate centers of excellence supporting South Dakota's economic development infrastructure and long term plans.
EMBRACE AND ENCOURAGE PLURALISM AND AN INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE.
1. Prepare students to live and function in a diverse world.
2. Seek student, faculty and staff profiles that reflect heterogeneity with respect to gender, race, and ethnicity.
3. Foster a greater understanding and appreciation of diverse cultures at the campus through campus cultural activities and general campus ambiance.
4. Provide appropriate support services to the student body which will enhance the success of students with diverse backgrounds and cultures.
5. Recruit faculty and staff with a view toward heterogeneity with respect to gender, race, and ethnicity, recognizing that additional resources may be required to recruit.
6. Sensitize faculty and staff to the need for greater understanding and appreciation of diverse cultures.
7. Reflect cultural diversity and an awareness in the core curricula of the multi�cultural dimensions of the nation and the world.
8. Seek opportunities which will provide students, faculty and staff with culturally diverse experiences.
9. Sensitize the general public to the need for greater student and faculty diversity on each campus.
10. Continue agreements and programs to attract a diverse student body at each of the Regental institutions.
PROVIDE INSTITUTIONAL FLEXIBILITY AND EXPECT RESPONSIBLE AND ACCOUNTABLE MANAGEMENT OF SYSTEM RESOURCES.
1. Complete the review of the Regents Policy Manual and campus policy manuals, and add policies where appropriate.
2. Expect senior management to develop procedural manuals for their respective positions and responsibilities.
3. Simplify and standardize data reporting with a view toward minimizing staff reporting requirements.
4. Refine and standardize administrative data systems and develop management reports that provide comparisons to regional and national data, as well as system and intra-campus reports.
5. While recognizing the uniqueness of the higher education enterprise, comply where appropriate with administrative rules and policies of state government in areas such as purchasing, and participate in statewide initiatives to improve administrative effectiveness.
6. Ensure that appropriate quality data are available as institutions assess qualitative goals, accreditation standards and demonstrate results for program improvement at the campus level.
7. Continue to refine the Fact Book and associated accountability reports.
8. Implement an internal auditing procedure across the system.
9. Ensure a reasonable level and adequate depth of administrative structure consistent with norms of peer institutions.
10. Improve systemwide, intra-campus, and inter-campus communications.
11. Strengthen the council structure used to staff issues across the system.
12. Improve in comparative rankings with respect to institutional support, academic support, and student support.
FOSTER COLLABORATIVE RELATIONSHIPS WITHIN THE REGENTAL SYSTEM AND WITH GROUPS AND INDIVIDUALS EXTERNAL TO THE UNIVERSITY SYSTEM.
1. Seek greater collaboration among Regental institutions and encourage mutual promotion of the system institutions.
2. Improve our working relationship with K-12 education by encouraging greater involvement of education and other faculty with K-12 problems and issues.
3. Provide better feedback to high schools in performance of graduates, consistent with statutory requirements on privacy.
4. Continue developing affiliation agreements with private, tribal and vocational- technical institutions.
5. Serve as partners with public and private entities which promote economic development of the state and seek to expand such partnerships.
6. Extend the services of various campus cultural entities to more citizens and communities in South Dakota.
7. Strengthen and maintain relationships with external organizations such as the American Council on Education (ACE), American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges (NASULGC), American Association of Colleges (AAC), North Central Association (NCA), National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA).
8. Involve our alumni and friends in advocacy, exchange of information, and campus participation as appropriate.
9. Develop means for ongoing dialogue with multiple partners with interest in higher education in South Dakota.
10. Develop a process for responding to questions of awarding academic credit prior to individual participation in educational activity outside of the Regental System.
INCREASE THE PUBLIC'S AWARENESS OF AND APPRECIATION FOR A QUALITY PUBLIC HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM.
1. Convey the importance of quality higher education to the public through a more proactive communications program.
2. Coordinate the efforts of the state's political and business leaders with Regental efforts to deliver the message of the importance of a quality higher education system to the state's quality of life and as a source of solution to the state needs.
3. Ascertain the concerns or issues of South Dakotans and develop responses to address them.
4. Provide more systemwide support of public communications from the Board office with proper attention to system and using campus strengths and unique features.
5. Seek a greater understanding of how higher education relates to the day-to-day successes and concerns of South Dakotans and provide appropriate responses from the Regental System through the Board Office.
SEEK ADEQUATE FUNDING FROM A VARIETY OF SOURCES TO ACCOMPLISH INSTITUTIONAL MISSIONS.
1. Determine appropriate shares of state, student, and external support.
2. Preserve full funding of the instructional formula.
3. Seek a broader formula for securing funds for higher education to include more than the existing instructional support formula.
4. Seek funding to reach the goal of 90% of the average faculty salaries in the Oklahoma State University national survey; 90% of the average for exempt salaries based on a review of peers and current needs analysis; and 90% of the average for cooperative extension agents based on the USDA extension agent survey.
5. Encourage increased pursuit of external funding.
6. Increase successful grant applications.
7. Strengthen fundraising capability at each institution.
8. Continue long-term review of opportunities for system efficiencies.
SEEK COMPETITIVE COMPENSATION FOR REGENTS EMPLOYEES.
1. Pay competitive salaries based on the markets from which we recruit.
2. Provide benefits competitive with those customarily found in the profession.
3. Provide adequate faculty and staff development opportunities.
4. Ensure that faculty and staff are provided facilities and equipment consistent with reasonable professional expectations.
5. Explore additional support services or strategies such as day care to assist employees in job performance and satisfaction.
6. Develop a consistent salary policy and pay ranges for those employees not covered by COHE.
7. Ensure that the campus is a hospitable and affirming work environment, free from discrimination and harassment.
8. Provide personal and professional support to all employees.
PROVIDE AND MAINTAIN APPROPRIATE FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT.
1. Seek funding equivalent to 1.5% of the replacement value of institutional physical plants to provide for maintenance and repair.
2. Develop a formula factor to address adequate capital assets consistent with institutional program and mission.
3. Continue to explore new funding mechanisms and alternate debt structures for facilities and equipment.
4. Integrate current technology into the purchasing policies and procedures to enable a faster turnaround of approvals and to reduce paperwork associated with purchasing process, especially for research equipment.
5. Communicate the increasing cost of compliance with regulatory requirements such as handicapped renovation, Americans with Disabilities Act, asbestos abatement, or environmental standards from state and federal agencies and seek appropriate state funding to comply with those requirements.
6. Strengthen decision-making on new facilities through implementation of a process that provides greater emphasis on planning at earlier decision points.
7. Include facility and space utilization data as basis for determining institutional and system priorities for new facilities.
MAXIMIZE THE DELIVERY OF PROGRAMS AND SERVICES THROUGHOUT THE STATE THROUGH THE USE OF ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY AND OTHER INNOVATIVE DELIVERY SYSTEMS.
1. Provide a fully integrated Regental approach to extending access to higher education opportunities through cost effective and affordable telecommunications.
2. Work cooperatively with the state's educational television network to expand educational offerings.
3. Share faculty and staff expertise and facilities among institutions across the system to maximize services to students.
4. Provide appropriate instructional training for faculty in the successful use of new technology, especially interactive video instruction.
5. Provide maximum similarity in studio facilities at each campus to ease the utilization of these facilities by system faculty and staff in interactive instruction.
6. Anticipate changes in the assignment of work and in the employment of faculty from other institutions, other states, other nations as interactive technology is integrated into the system.
7. Participate with WICHE to further maximize educational opportunities for South Dakotans.
8. Utilize distance learning to strengthen partnerships with K-12 education.
9. Make the universities a tool for teleconferencing in support of other state agencies, as well as business and industry.
10. Support the automated library network system (PALS) and maximize its utilization across the system in reducing unnecessary duplication in library collections.
11. Integrate the use of technology in delivering instruction for on- and off-campus students.
PROVIDE ACCESS TO HIGHER EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES.
1. Ensure that South Dakota citizens have access to undergraduate and graduate degree program opportunities.
2. Provide access to residential higher education experiences for student populations.
3. Provide undergraduate and graduate programs through the use of alternative delivery methods to students who require instruction at times and locations convenient to the learner.
4. Extend access to undergraduate curriculum to high school students who are prepared to undertake college credit courses while completing their high school curriculum.
5. Seek means for extending student access to faculty expertise across the Regental System.
6. Continue the development of an integrated Regental System approach to public higher education in the Sioux Falls area.
7. Explore opportunities for additional cooperative programs.
8. Develop a long term plan for determining the participation in higher education by South Dakota residents.
9. Develop projections for on- and off-campus enrollments for the Regental institutions.

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