Strengthen Students, Faculty and Staff
Shaping Our Future 2011-14 Strategic Plan
“Leaders establish the vision for the future and set the strategy for getting there.” — John P. Kotter, Professor, Harvard Business School
Trustees and Administration
Board of Chosen Freeholders
College Administration
Thomas J. Mastrangelo, Director
Dr. Edward J. Yaw, President
David Scapicchio, Deputy Director
Dr. Dwight L. Smith, Vice President of Academic Affairs
Douglas R. Cabana
Karen VanDerhoof, Vice President of Business and Finance
John Cesaro
Dr. Bette M. Simmons, Vice President of Student Development and Enrollment Management
Kathy DeFillippo John Krickus Hank Lyon
Joseph Vitale, Executive Director for College Advancement and Planning and President of the CCM Foundation Roger Flahive, Executive Director of Information Systems (CIO)
as of January 2014
Thomas Burk, Director of Human Resources and Labor Relations
Board of Trustees
as of February 2010
Stanley T. Omland, P.E., P.P., Chair *
County College of Morris Foundation
Jeffrey M. Advokat, Esq., Vice Chair Dr. Joseph L. Ricca, Jr., Treasurer Paul R. Licitra, Secretary
Joseph T. Vitale, President Jessica Ecker, Director of Development
Laurie Bogaard, Esq.
Board of Directors
Dr. Barbara L. Hadzima
William McElroy ’83, Chair
Dr. Rosalie S. Lamonte
John C. Parry, Jr., Vice Chair
J. Richard Rajoppi
Robert Zajac, Treasurer
William Schievella
Eileen Paragano ’91, Secretary
Michael A. Van Allen
John Beyel, Esq., Assistant Secretary
Dr. Joseph S. Weisberg * Carlos Herrera, Alumni Trustee Sandra Geiger, Trustee Emerita W. Thomas Margetts, Trustee Emeritus William T. McNerney, Trustee Emeritus as of July 2014 All trustees also serve concurrently as members of the CCM Foundation. Members noted with an * serve on the Foundation Board of Directors.
Marilyn Ayres Joseph Bilotti ‘88 Jack M. Farris, Esq. Carol Fitzpatrick ‘86 Sandra Geiger Thomas F. Hayes Allan Iskra, Esq. Edward Nelson ‘72 Keith C. Riddiford Brandi Robinson Everton Scott Gil Zweig
2
County College of Morris
The County College of Morris’s mission is to deliver dynamic, challenging, high-quality and accessible academic programs and services that support the individual’s quest for lifelong learning and professional development.
“To accomplish great things we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe.” — Anatole France
Our Values Commitment to the Academic Mission of the College
One important facet of our striving for excellence is our ongoing strategic planning – in academic programs, facilities and operations. The 2011-2014 Strategic Plan established milestones in anticipating student academic needs before and during their time at CCM: increasing integration of our online and in-classroom learning; synchronizing program, technology and facilities planning with budgetary planning cycles; and making the best use of our facilities and outdoor spaces.
Message from the President
Our Mission
Since County College of Morris opened its doors in 1968, more than 45,000 graduates – each nurturing his or her own dreams and aspirations – have passed through our halls. During those decades, the plans and actions of many passionate students, administrators and faculty have contributed to CCM’s expansion into one of the finest community colleges in the country.
The results are better academic preparation for students, the expansion of college programs to meet the demands of today’s job market, more efficient use of technology to save money and ensure a greener campus, and a financially strong institution. This report presents some of the many accomplishments from our 2011-14 Strategic Plan. These successes reflect the efforts of our trustees, administrators, staff, faculty and community volunteers. Through their dedication, CCM has steadfastly held to the mission of our founders – to be an institution for lifelong learning, and to serve the community by offering an outstanding, affordable education to all.
Commitment to Honesty and Integrity Commitment to Accessibility Commitment to Diversity Commitment to People
Dr. Edward J. Yaw President, County College of Morris Strategic Plan 2011-14
3
Emphasize Student Success
Emphasize Student Success Anticipating Academic Needs
Strengthening Academic Skills
A majority of students entering CCM as freshmen require at least one course in remedial math or English. The Early Assessment Program was created to evaluate those skills in high school juniors and seniors headed for college. The program is designed to identify academic weaknesses so secondary school teachers can work with students to bring them up to college level before they graduate. Since the need for remedial support is increasing, it is hoped that over time participating high schools will adjust their curriculum to address trends identified in their students. High schools currently working with CCM on this pilot program include Butler, Jefferson, Kinnelon, Morris Hills, Morris Knolls, Mt. Olive, Randolph and Roxbury.
Remedial math and English courses are essential to the success of the eight out of 10 incoming freshmen at CCM who require pre-college academic support. As part of our Strategic Plan, the college updated its approaches to remedial instruction to enhance student success rates.
80.6 %
Incoming Freshmen Requiring One or More Remedial Courses
4
County College of Morris
80.6 %
85.5%
In math, CCM conducted a pilot program with Emporium – interactive computer software that students use in computer labs under the guidance of their teachers. The theory behind this approach is that students learn math by doing math. Before this one-semester, selfpaced approach was introduced, students placing lowest in pre-testing had to take three courses before taking college-level math. Following the introduction of the Emporium program, student success rates in math rose 30 percentage points, from 29 percent to 59 percent in the pilot classes. CCM’s English Department also created a developmental writing course, ENG 022, which is designed to be taken in a short timeframe, allowing students to complete the remedial course and a college-credit English course within one semester. Previously, those students were placed into a semester-long, developmental course, putting them behind their classmates. Following the introduction of ENG 022, student success rates in English have risen 20 percentage points, from 68 percent to 88 percent.
Strengthen Students, Faculty and Staff Project Success Pilot
84%
(108 students) taken off academic probation through the Project Success Pilot
Supporting Student Success Every year, out of the approximate 8,600 students who attend CCM, about 7 percent are placed on academic probation after their first year. Project Success was developed to allow those students to succeed. Each student is assigned to a member of the counseling staff and receives a year of support in academics, time management and self-exploration. An individual plan is created to identify the obstacles holding those students back and to develop strategies to overcome them. In the first year the program was initiated, 130 students participated. An impressive 84 percent were taken off probation and remain in good academic standing.
Improvement in Student Success with New Remedial Courses
59%
16%
(22 students) on academic probation
After
29%
68%
88% After
Before
Before
Math
English
Success Rate
Success Rate
Strategic Plan 2011-14
5
Establishing Writing Standards Because writing skills are critical for success, CCM’s English department developed a scoring system for composition to be used by both faculty and students to establish writing standards. Faculty members outside the English department use the scoring system as a basis for grading papers assigned in their classes. At the end of English Composition II, students are assigned a research paper. That project is evaluated using the scoring system, and students receive feedback to help them better understand the elements of writing a good research paper. Those components include understanding the audience, mastering the mechanics of writing and developing topics.
Evolving Professional Standards
To maintain academic continuity, it is essential for colleges to establish and communicate teaching standards. CCM created two faculty orientation programs – one for full-time faculty and another for adjunct faculty. These programs establish the definition of effective teaching and provide advice on how best to help students learn. With the addition of more than 30 new, full-time faculty in recent years, continuity of teaching excellence is fundamental to Y maintaining excellence in education. As new generations of teachers enter the ranks and new technologies impact various fields of study, the orientation programs will evolve to remain relevant and challenging.
An important element in professional development is the capacity to reflect on current practices so they can evolve and improve. That is the philosophy behind Course Portfolios, which develop a sense of self-awareness in the process of how faculty are teaching their students. The Faculty Fellows Program of CCM’s Center for Teaching Excellence asked instructors to create their own electronic Course Portfolios showcasing how they ST teach students, how their methods help U students learn, examples of student work and analyses of the success of their approaches. The practice of creating Course Portfolios is fostering a culture for improved teaching at CCM.
6
FAC
County College of Morris
TS
STAFF
EN
UL
T
Maintaining Teaching Excellence
D
Strengthen Students, Faculty and Staff
Strengthen Students, Faculty and Staff
Integrate Strengthen PlanningStudents, and Budget Faculty Process and Staff
2013
43%
2012
43%
2011
40%
2010
2008
37% 30%
Class attendance is linked to financial aid. Verifying class attendance has long been a hurdle for the roughly 40 percent of CCM students receiving financial assistance. CCM has eliminated the paper system by having faculty directly input attendance into a software program that automatically submits information to the Financial Aid office. The information is received immediately, enabling financial aid for students to be processed more rapidly.
Turning Vision into Reality
39%
2009
Paperless Attendance
Percentage of Enrolled Students Receiving Financial Aid
The vision of any academic institution rests in its strategic planning. The ability to carry out that plan lies in successful financial planning. To bring the two into alignment, CCM accelerated its fouryear strategic planning cycle to be in sync with its two-year budget cycle, ensuring that every strategic planning initiative is referenced in the annual operating budget in a transparent way. This enables the college to more efficiently apply to government and private funding sources in support of specific projects. That, combined with generated income and fundraising campaigns, secures the financial resources for everything CCM needs to grow and prosper – staffing, building and renovation projects, updating technology, maintaining equipment, supplying furniture and more.
Strategic Plan 2011-14
Integrate Planning and Budget Process
Streamlining into
7
Improve Efficiencies in College Operations
Improve Efficiencies in College Operations
8
Enhancing Existing Facilities
Changing the Course of Time
Students have long had lounges throughout the campus to gather, work on projects or just rest between classes. So, when the college identified a need for more open-access computers for students, the most logical places to locate them were the existing student lounges. Renamed Student Technology Lounges, 20 open-access computers were installed in one and 10 in another. These lounges are open all hours of the day and night to accommodate the schedules of working and caregiving students. They are now so popular, the program has expanded to offer 24 more computers in the Health and Physical Education building and 10 in the Student Community Center.
In order to grow in the years ahead, CCM must find ways to accommodate more students who cannot attend classes during traditional hours.
County College of Morris
By beginning classes at 8 a.m. instead of 8:30 a.m., additional courses were added at the end of the day, expanding course offerings and making more efficient use of existing facilities.
Improving Support of Student Learning The Testing Center, Writing Center and Math Center used to be crowded into one space and the Science Center was located
in a separate area of the campus. But the Testing Center and tutorial centers provide services for completely different groups of students. The Testing Center provides placement testing for incoming students. The Writing, Math and Science Tutorial centers offer support for current students via computer-assisted modules or one-onone sessions with full-time instructors. To achieve efficiency and effectiveness, the Testing Center was moved into CCM’s newly renovated library and the Math and Writing Centers, along with the Science Center, were consolidated into one space in DeMare Hall, offering a convenient location for students seeking academic support.
Strengthen Students, Faculty and Staff
Solar Panels 8-Month Savings = $57,022 in Energy Costs
Saving Energy, Saving Trees Look across CCM today and you will see solar panels over several of the parking lots and on the roof of the Student Community Center. The panels generate 3,900,000 kWh annually, representing about 45 percent of the college’s yearly energy usage. In the eight months since the panels began generating electricity in October of 2013, they have saved the college $57,022 in energy costs.
$
$
119,400
128,000
In another move to save cost and paper, the processing and hand-delivery of paper paychecks were eliminated through direct deposits. This not only saved money, but contributed to making the college just a little greener.
$
61,000
$
40,600
$
Annual Savings from Purchasing Consortium Initiatives
10 20 1 20 1 12 20 13 20 14
Total Savings = $430,500
20
When it comes to purchasing, the old cliché of strength in numbers clearly applies. The college enhanced its purchasing power by joining the Middlesex Regional Purchasing Consortium to benefit from volume purchasing. For example, when CCM recently carpeted one area in a building on campus, consortium pricing saved $9,600. Multiply that across all purchasing costs spent in a year and the college is now saving hundreds of thousands of dollars.
81,500
Finding Strength – and Savings – in Numbers
Strategic Plan 2011-14
9
Total Savings = $2,539,178
2013
2012
2011
$
2014
Annual Savings Through In-House Maintenance Versus Outside Contractors
$ 620,091
$ 618,462
$ 817,138
483,487
Opening a Box Office Online What better way to support the arts than with technology? Using digital PayPal services, CCM established an online box office for its dance, music and theatrical productions. Attendees can now purchase tickets online and have them held at the campus box office. This enables the public to purchase tickets at their own convenience without having to stop off at the campus, saving time and making it easier to reserve seats.
10
County College of Morris
Keeping It in the Family The college employs electricians, mechanics and an in-house architect for updating classrooms, maintaining vehicles and more. This enables CCM to improve the functionality and aesthetics of classrooms without having to hire outside contractors. This pays off in time and money. The speed with which projects are finished builds morale across campus. Savings in this area have topped $2.5 million since 2011.
213,024
Meeting Workforce Demand
159,802 $
$
125,018
151,230
13
0
2 2 12
0 2 11
0 10
0
2
CCM is proud of its many state-of-the-art facilities. When they are not in use by the college, they are often rented to other schools. For example, the college’s Aquatic Center is rented to nine area high schools for swim practices and meets. The college also hosts county basketball and soccer tournaments, and its parking lots are often used for local festivals, such as Randolph’s Fourth of July celebration. In addition to high schools and sports leagues, organizations that have rented CCM facilities include the Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts and the YMCA. During the summer, almost $40,000 annually is generated through CCM’s Titan Sports Camps and Clinics. Another income source is derived from a small facility on campus, which is rented by the Morristown Utility Authority.
$
Sharing Existing Facilities
$
153,693
$
The job market is constantly shifting. In response, CCM continuously reviews its academic programs and develops new offerings to meet student and workforce demands. Among the programs added in the last four years are Computer Science, Culinary Arts and Science, Nutrition and Occupational Therapy.
14 0 2
Maximize Sources Of Revenue
Strengthen Students, Faculty Maximize and Staff Sources of Revenue
Revenue from Renting Existing Facilities to Outside Groups Total 5-Year Revenue = $802,767
Strategic Plan 2011-14
11
Internal
Friends
$26,196
$98,625
Alumni
Accelerating Fundraising
$34,262
6%
29%
5% 19%
Current Sources of Giving Average = $523,984
31% 10%
Organizations/ Foundations $151,322
12
Boards
Corporations
$52,815
$160,764
County College of Morris
After considerable research and analysis, CCM staff and the County College of Morris Foundation Board of Directors developed a Long-Term Fundraising Plan. This comprehensive document includes strategies, incremental steps, benchmarks and deadlines for various fundraising efforts. Studies show that 80 percent of all donations raised nationally come from individuals. Only 10 percent is donated by corporations and private foundations. With that analysis in mind, the CCM Foundation set new goals for fundraising. Currently, the college receives 40 percent of its fundraising from individuals including alumni, faculty/staff, boards and friends. The new goal is to raise that level of individual giving to 50 percent over the four years of the plan, beginning with an active campaign to alumni, friends and parents. The Foundation has also introduced online giving and an easier way to benefit from employer matching funds. Ultimately, the Foundation’s goal is to raise $1 million per year.
Friends $310,000
Internal $55,000
Alumni $70,000
5% 7% 31% Future Sources of Giving Total = $1,000,000
20%
12%
25%
Organizations/ Foundations $252,000
Corporations
Boards
$200,000
$113,000
Strengthen Improve UseStudents, of Technology Faculty and Staff Helping Financial Aid Students
CCM is committed to incorporating the latest technology into the classroom – including the use of iPads as textbooks. Now, in addition to traditional classroom courses, the college has expanded into hybrid (part classroom, part online) and full online courses. These options in learning are particularly convenient to working students and those with family responsibilities. On the faculty side, instructors are being taught how best to redesign their classroom courses for online delivery, incorporating videos and interactive elements that work well in the digital environment.
In the past, Financial Aid students could not purchase books or other materials until their aid funds arrived. This often left them behind in their classwork and many never caught up. To remedy the problem, CCM implemented a new point-ofsale computer system in the campus store that tracks financial aid, allowing students to purchase materials from any register and to subtract their book purchases from their financial aid before it arrives. This enables students to have their books on the first day of class, boosting their attendance and, ultimately, their success in the classroom.
Strategic Plan 2011-14
Improve Use of Technology
Digitizing the Classroom
13
Future Planning 2015-18
Future Planning 2015-18
Good planning is a continuous process of setting goals and measuring results to meet the evolving needs of students and workforce trends. We accomplished many of our goals in the 2011-14 Strategic Plan and because many of those goals remain important, they have been incorporated into the 2015-18 planning cycle.
Emphasizing Student Success and College Completion
Improve Efficiencies and Quality of College Operations
Our objective is to have as many of our students successfully complete their course of studies as possible. To accomplish that objective, our goals are improved success rates in gateway and capstone courses and working with area high schools to offer developmental education courses to improve college readiness.
Key areas include making more efficient use of our facilities; continuing to take advantage of cost-saving consortium purchasing; and hiring, training and retaining highlyqualified faculty and staff.
Strengthen Student, Faculty and Staff Learning While our goals over the next four years include improving the success rates of our students, we will also continue to promote faculty and staff development to improve teaching and services to students.
Integrate Planning and the Budget Process We will assure that our 2015-18 Strategic Plan is aligned with CCM’s Mission and Values, while also aligning it with our budgeting timeline – directing resources to the priority areas of the plan.
14
County College of Morris
Maximize Sources of Revenue
Student Success and College Completion
Our goals over the next four years include executing a strategic fundraising plan to significantly increase gifts to the college and investigating the feasibility of new academic programs, both credit and noncredit.
Improve the Use of Technology We will continue to create a paperless environment at CCM – both in academics and in operations. This will include the elimination of paper files in most college operations and reduced textbook costs by utilizing online resources.
Student, Faculty and Staff
Revenue
Planning and Budget
College Operations
Technology
214 Center Grove Road, Randolph, NJ 07869 www.ccm.edu