September 2018 Provost Report to Faculty Senate

Provost's Report to Faculty Senate

September 2018

The devastation resulting from the recent storm has been apparent to our sister institutions and residents across our state. Thank you for accommodating our students' needs during this difficult time. Fayetteville State University, UNC Pembroke, and UNC Wilmington suffered the most impact and will be dealing with the after-effects for quite some time. All campuses should be reopened by October 1st.

UNC System - Chief Academic Officers' Meeting

Faculty Compensation o Discussions around faculty salaries; include start-ups, labor market adjustments, benefits, etc. o Annual allocation of $500K recurring/retention and $500k non-recurring/recruitment (total for all 17 campuses). Allocations of retention and recruitment funds to campuses based on a formula of # overall faculty; $10k minimum/campus. o Each HR unit has a faculty attrition database that provides reasons for departure. Turnover data available from HR.

Institutional Peer Groups under review by the System o Last updated in 2011. o BOG Personnel and Tenure Committee requested updated list. o Original purpose of peer institutions was for compensation and program comparison--salary and compensation have not been useful because of NC stipulations.

Equal Opportunity and Diversity o Review that was requested by the State Legislature has garnered no formal action. o BOG report requiring a system-wide diversity and inclusion policy is underway; common definitions and metrics will be included. o Anticipate January 2019 to share goals, metrics, monitoring (at the BOG level), etc.

North Carolina School of Science and Math o Western site will open in 2021 in Morganton; construction underway.

120 Credit Hours Maximum per Degree o Requests for exceptions will go through Boards of Trustees and still need System vetting.

AP (Advanced Placement) Credit o Ongoing deliberations over implementation guidelines for accepting scores of 3 (in addition to 4, and 5). New policy. o Use College Board data to do peer comparisons.

Digital Learning o 9K UNC Online students currently; 345 students taking online courses at our institutions through consortium. o 40K NC students (UNC and non-UNC) taking online courses outside NC. o There are five military bases in NC. o Goals of digital/online learning: answer Higher Expectations/system strategic plan; support military and veteran students; meet campus goals and metrics around distance and online education; increase in out of state subsidizes in-state.

Outdoor Economy Conference

The North Carolina outdoor industry has a $28 billion impact on the region, with more than $8.3 billion in salaries and wages supporting over 260,000 jobs. In addition, the outdoor industry provided for $1.3

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billion in local and state taxes. This is a significant impact on our region and partly motivates WCU to host this inaugural event.

The Outdoor Economy Conference will be held on October 5, 2018, beginning at 8:00a.m. in the University Center, highlighting partnerships and roles in the outdoor economy. Over the past two years, the Colleges of Engineering and Technology, Business and the Rapid Center have partnered on projects with the outdoor industry including manufacturing, retail, design, and adventure companies involving nearly 100 students. Many WCU graduates have started outdoor-related businesses like Landmark Learning, Dillsboro River Company, Outdoor 76, and Gnarcissist Sunglasses. In addition, WCU is in the process of developing innovative curricula, e.g., the master's degree in Experiential and Outdoor Education.

The conference will provide resources for businesses in the areas of marketing, financing, and positioning as well as providing myriad networking opportunities. Base Camp Cullowhee will host a networking activity, "speed networking", provided throughout the day during various networking breaks and at the reception from 5:00-6:30p, the conclusion of the conference. The reception is sponsored by Innovation Brewing and Buchi Kombucha.

More detailed information and registration can be found at outdoor@wcu.edu. If you have questions or interest in a specific session and not the entire event, faculty may contact Courtney Holder, cholder@wcu.edu.

Student Assistance Program - Homebase

Homebase College Ministries has been very busy since its grand opening in February, 2017. Homebase has hosted and organized numerous events and services for independent and other non-traditional students within the Western Carolina University community. Example events include holiday dinners, social events such as "breakfast for dinner," a grilled cheese and game night, and numerous movie nights. Additionally, Homebase has hosted multiple donation drives and collected school supplies, clothing, hygiene products and food for WCU students in conjunction with multiple WCU student organizations. From January to August 2018, Homebase provided 805 meals, 650 overnight accommodations, 1,455 services (laundry, computer/printer, shower use, transportation, coaching), and 1,076 forms of outreach to the WCU community through tours and presentations.

Administrative Searches

The Office of the Provost will post information regarding administrative searches within the Division of Academic Affairs. Information provided will include search committee membership, leadership statements and position descriptions. As campus interviews commence, candidate materials will be posted until the conclusion of the search. The link to Administrative Searches is at .

Dean, College of Health and Human Sciences A college-wide meeting was held on Wednesday, September 19th in HHSB 204 with video connection via Blue Jeans for all faculty and staff in the college to participate, including those assigned to the Biltmore Park Instructional Site. The Acting Provost and (Carol Burton) and chair of the search committee (Dean George Brown) hosted the meeting along with search committee members. The

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meeting provided an opportunity for faculty and staff to provide feedback regarding the future dean of the College of Health and Human Sciences. We plan to have a dean in place by July 1, 2019. Dean, College of Business The search committee for the next Dean of the College of Business has reviewed applicants and narrowed the applicant pool to 15 based on developed criteria. The committee will be meeting the first week of October to discuss the remaining applicants and select a short list to hold video interviews immediately following fall break. Based on the outcomes of the video interviews applicants will be identified to invite to campus for interviews. A search committee request for extending the timeline of the search, if needed, was recently granted. Director, Coulter Faculty Commons for Excellence in Teaching The search for the next Director of the Coulter Faculty Commons is underway, led by: o Brent Kinser, Department Head/Professor, Department of English, College of Arts and Sciences

(Committee Chair) o Jeanne Dulworth, Assistant Professor, Department of Social Work, College of Health and Human

Sciences o Annette Littrell, Director of Academic Engagement and IT Governance, Information Technology o Annette Parris, Executive Assistant, Coulter Faculty Commons o Scott Philyaw, Associate Professor, Department of History, College of Arts and Sciences o Terry Pollard, Instructional Developer, Coulter Faculty Commons o Damon Sink, Associate Professor/Faculty Senate Chair, School of Music, David Orr Belcher

College of Fine and Performing Arts o Gayle Wells, Associate Professor, School of Teaching and Learning, College of Education and

Allied Professions The committee anticipates holding the first round of video interviews after fall break. Campus opportunities to meet candidates will be shared as the search progresses. Associate Dean, Graduate School and Research The search committee (listed below) for the Graduate School and Research Associate Dean has begun meeting and has currently narrowed the pool of candidates in preparation for video interviews the first week of October. o April Perry, Interim Associate Dean/Assistant Professor (Department of Human Services, College

of Education and Allied Professions), Graduate School and Research o Alison Krauss, Interim Director for Sponsored Research, Graduate School and Research o Bobbi Smith, Administrative Support Specialist, Office of the Dean, Graduate School and

Research o Jan Stanfield, Administrative Support Specialist, Office of the Dean, Graduate School and

Research o Jeremy Hyman, Professor, Department of Biology, College of Arts and Sciences o Marianne Hollis, Assistant Professor/MHS Program Director, School of Health Sciences, College

of Health and Human Sciences o Tom Ashcraft, Distinguished Professor, School of Art and Design, David Orr Belcher College of

Fine and Performing Arts o Yanjun Yan, Assistant Professor, Department of Engineering and Technology, College of

Engineering and Technology o Thomas Rogers, Assistant Professor, School of Economics, Management and Project

Management, College of Business We anticipate posting of the Director of Sponsored Research position by December 1, 2018.

Currently, Alison Krauss is serving as interim director. The search committee will be composed of faculty from each academic college selected from the Research Council, as well as staff of the Office

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of Research Administration. We anticipate campus interviews during February/March 2019 and a start date by May 1, 2019. The search for the Associate Dean for Library Services is currently on hold.

Enrollment Update WCU's "unofficial" total Fall 2018 enrollment of 11,639 students represents a 5.5% increase over Fall 2017 total enrollment (11,034). Both new first-time full-time freshmen and new graduate students grew by over 10.5% each. New transfer students grew by 41%, and out-of-state students grew by 20.6%. The yield rate (percentage of freshmen enrolling of those admitted) increased for the 3rd straight year, to 28.7%. This represents a deviation from the nationwide multi-year yield rate decline trend. The 1st-year to 2nd-year retention rate improved 1.02% to 79.9%. The academic profile of new first-time full-time freshmen improved across all metrics: average weighted high school GPA = 3.92; average ACT composite = 23.1; average SAT total= 1,149. Fundable student credit hours grew by 6.44%. Other details of student enrollment can be viewed on WCU's Tableau data visualization site, , or at the UNC System Infocenter site, . *See addendum for DLP (Distance Learning Programs) Final Enrollment and Liberal Studies Data Fall 2018 *See addendum for Fall 2018 Census Statistics Fall 2019 Enrollment projections are under discussion with the Enrollment Planning Committee and Executive Council.

Budget Update The following charts depict results from the 2017-18 budget process at the institutional and divisional levels.

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