More than 50 Ohio University faculty, staff members and interested individuals attended the latest public forum in OU's ongoing strategic planning initiative yesterday in Walter Hall, one of the first meetings held to discuss the planning document after it was submitted and approved by the university's Board of Trustees.
The strategic plan was created by a 46-person task force composed of representatives from a broad cross-section of the university community. The document provides a guide for the academic and logistical future of OU. The forum served as an open venue in which faculty, staff and students could discuss university-wide issues.
In an attempt to submit a finalized working document to OU President Roderick McDavis by October 15, the meeting focused on undergraduate and graduate academic priorities. Topics of discussion ranged from campus safety to graduation rates of incoming freshmen.
Journalism professor Guido Stempel voiced interest in seeing campus-wide graduation rates of incoming freshmen increase from 45 percent to around 60 percent.
Some faculty members raised concern about the strength of the plan's language. Suggestions included changing the language so that it could more prominently express OU's commitment to and priority of research.
Priorities like significant research activity provided a core model from which Ohio Vision's strategic plan was developed, said David Ingram, a professor of physics who also serves as chair of the Undergraduate Curriculum Council and vice chair of Faculty Senate. Other requests to clarify language pertained to defining the core expectation of a common intellectual experience sought for each freshman student.
The issue of faculty advising of students dominated the academic priority discussions. Faculty advising is listed within the 17 core values and guiding principles of the Ohio Vision draft document. Advising discussions touched on the issue of professors balancing advising duties with research responsibilities, in-class teaching time and staff and other meetings.
Discussion was aimed at improving the effectiveness of student advising, a faculty service that has contributed highly to the enrollment of many of OU's students over the years, Krendl said. Introducing students to advisors during summer orientation was suggested as a means to expedite the student/advisor relationship and to improve overall student satisfaction and graduation results.
Ingram praised Krendl for extending the original June deadline for a draft document. Ingram said this has enabled the document to evolve gradually.
It's beginning to pull together
he said.
Ingram contributes the evolution to a change of perspective of faculty members. He explained that the planning process was slow to develop, as many faculty did not see it as a wholly inclusive process and were not aware that they had much voice in its development.
Krendl explained that plans for the strategic plan are to make it a living document. She reiterated a popular phrase, saying that a strategic plan that is never consulted or revised is one that is not worth much.
The latest draft of the strategic plan is available at http://www.ohio.edu/outlook/. Anyone at OU can make online comments to the document. 17
Archives
John Mueller
