final version of the self-study document - Keuka College's Middle ...

The Taskforce on Academic Program Prioritization (TAPP), charged with conducting a
costs/benefits, opportunity, and quality analysis of the academic programs, ranked a number of
programs as weak or strong on the grounds of enrollment and quality measures (Appendix 2.2
TAPP Final Report June 6, 2012). Those programs marked as weak were extended a “get-well
card,” with the expectation that they would work to address the problems identified in the TAPP
Final Report; the VPAA and division chairs have begun to develop action plans for this set of
programs. Discussion continues on the opportunities identified in the TAPP reports. In addition
to making specific recommendations regarding the programs that currently comprise the
academic portfolio, TAPP contributed three overarching recommendations in support of
academic excellence to the long range strategic planning work: 1) significantly improve the
quality of Keuka’s academic programs and the College’s reputation for academic quality, 2)
invest in faculty resources to deliver a high quality educational experience, and 3) provide a 21 st
century infrastructure to meet the needs and expectations of faculty, staff, and students in support
of a high quality educational experience as identified through a comprehensive master plan.
In a similar vein, critical assessment of the College’s administrative services and practices by the
Taskforce on Administrative Services Review (TASR) generated multiple recommendations now
incorporated in the draft of the Long Range Strategic Plan. These recommendations include
increasing institutional resources, improving ongoing institutional assessment, improving
diversity practices, developing sustainability efforts in the day-to-day operations of the College,
and improving the College’s administrative structures and services. To these recommendations,
the Taskforce on Academic Support Services (SUPP) added ones focusing on the need to
develop stronger benchmarking of student support services, to improve collaboration between
College units, and to improve the strategic advantage of technology across the campus.
Aligned with the theme of transformation and the new mission, vision, and value statements, the
Taskforce on Revitalizing the Curriculum (CURR) focused its efforts on developing innovative
ideas that promise to change significantly the general education curriculum. Their
recommendations address digital technology, sustainability, intentionality and integration, and
leadership and citizenship. In particular, this Taskforce has emphasized the need to rethink our
approach to experiential learning, keeping in place our hallmark Field Period, but also
developing a core curriculum conceived as a series of interdisciplinary seminars combining
traditional with experiential learning, co-curricular, and extra-curricular activities.
As recommendations have been developed and forwarded to the Long Range Strategic Planning
Steering Committee for consideration, some have already been taken up by the appropriate
governance structures for further discussion and/or implementation. For example, the Faculty
Liaison Committee has charged a working group to examine faculty workload, the Curriculum
Committee has charged a working group to begin the research and development stage of a new
general education program, and the Academic Division Chairs, as charged by the Faculty Liaison
Committee, prepared a preliminary proposal for the administration that recommends adoption of
a dean/school structure, so as to create an academic administrative structure that supports
growth, increased collaboration, interdisciplinarity, and innovation. Further work on these major
initiatives is planned for Spring 2013.
Page 2 of 23 Chapter 2: Planning and Resources