December 13, 2012
University Planning Council
Minutes for December 13, 2012
Present: Buffy Bagwell, Jeff Brown, Jessica Dunsmore, Shannon Earle, Jane Fernandes, Catherine Frank, Eric Gant, Archer Gravely, Bill Haggard, Julie Heinitsh, Blake Hobby, Benjamin Judge, Gregg Kormanik, Ann Martin, Ted Meigs, Dave Peifer, John Pierce, Anne Ponder, Keith Ray, Christine Riley, Leisa Rundquist, Stephanie Watkins-Cruz
Absent: Melodie Galloway, Christy Williams
Guests: Janet Cone, Ed Katz, Debbie Griffith, Greg Carter
UPC met on December 13 from 8:00-9:30. in HIG 104.
1. Chancellor Ponder’s campus update focused on three items.
UNC Asheville had a major triumph at the SACS annual meeting earlier this week where we received our ten-year reaffirmation with no recommendations, no suggestions, and no follow-up requirements. She stated that the Provost’s call to develop a culture of evidence gave us a leg up on embedding institutional effectiveness in our strategic plan. UNC Asheville is now seen as an institution others can learn from. Dr. Fernandes stated that hundreds of faculty and staff were involved and we should all take credit for this achievement. Dr. Dunsmore reported that among institutions completing five-year reports, only twelve percent don’t have follow-up reporting requirements and half are required to improve institutional effectiveness processes.
Chancellor Ponder reviewed a series of recent presentations on campus. The Undergraduate Research program invited area business and economic leaders to attend student presentations. The Family Business Forum had its largest gathering and Chancellor Ponder noted that 80% of businesses in Asheville have five or fewer employees and many are family-owned. UNC Asheville also hosted a listening tour session for the UNC Board of Governor’s Strategic Planning process that focused on what the business and economic community needs from the UNC system. She reported that the business community expressed interest in graduates that are lively, creative, and flexible rather than specific talents in X or Y. There seemed to be a deep appreciation for the liberal arts. At yesterday’s annual Holiday Party, we had 200 faculty and staff attendees and approximately 20-50 guests.
2. Ms. Riley presented an overview of the development of the Strategic Plan Benchmarks and UPC’s role in the annual update process. She reviewed the dashboard concept and color coding system and noted that institutional effectiveness has helped us think more about outcomes than inputs. The benchmarks are a work-in-progress and have improved over time. Ms. Riley reviewed the definitions, results, and target values for all benchmarks as shown on the planning web site: http://www3.unca.edu/spcms2/. Suggestions and recommendations made by UPC members will be communicated for consideration by the strategic plan working groups responsible for each benchmark.
3. Dr. Dunsmore gave a brief presentation on the alignment of institutional effectiveness reporting for both academic and administrative units with Strategic Plan Goals. Her analysis confirmed considerable linkages between unit level assessment and strategic plan goals, but Dr. Dunsmore noted that we were understating some of these connections. She stated that she will work with Institutional Effectiveness coordinators to improve data reporting in the TracDat database to more accurately reflect these connections. Chancellor Ponder asked Dr. Dunsmore to work with the Vice Chancellors to resolve these data reporting issues.