TESU's Self-Study for MSCHE

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Established in 1972, TESU is celebrating its 50th Anniversary as one of New Jersey’s senior public institutions of higher education. An early innovator in serving working adults, the University was founded for the purpose of providing diverse and alternative methods of achieving a collegiate education of the highest quality for these students. TESU remains one of the leading public Universities in this area, offering associate through doctoral degrees with the vast majority of our students at the undergraduate level, and continues to place adult students at the center of its programs and services.

THE SELF-STUDY PROCESS The MSCHE self-study has provided an opportunity to build upon the planning processes initiated by TESU’s fourth President, Dr. Merodie A. Hancock. The Standards Based Approach was selected to facilitate the evaluation of the specific MSCHE standards, build upon the institutional history of continuous quality improvement, and align the study with the new and evolving priorities of the institution.

The Self-Study was initiated in March 2020, leveraging three tiers of organizational leadership to conduct its decennial self-study process with a focus on four self-inquiry domains: Student Success, Academic Enhancement, Service and Operational Effectiveness, and Financial Stewardship.

Through the discourse of this self-inquiry process, more than 100 individual staff participants (roughly one-third of TESU’s workforce) were engaged.

Additionally, mentor representation permeated all levels of inquiry from steering committee and working group presence to participation in interviews and lines of inquiry exploration. TESU’s stakeholder participation included Board of Trustees, current students and alumni from both undergraduate and graduate education, and mentors from a wide array of disciplines.

Standard I TESU remains one of the leading public Universities in adult education, offering associate through doctoral degrees with the vast majority of our students at the undergraduate level, and continues to place adult students at the center of its programs and services.

The current version of the University’s mission was most recently revised in 2018 symbolizing both a new administration and a reflection of the University’s focus on adult education, with the recognition of learning through myriad assessment opportunities.

Opportunities • Increase student engagement in strategic and operational information gathering and direction planning.

• Continue to evolve the infrastructure surrounding data utilization within the University.

• Continue the development of workforce-focused academic programs.

Standard II The University operates with ethics and integrity infused throughout its strategic, operational, and daily efforts.

TESU is committed to complying with the highest level of ethics and integrity in all its institutional operations and in the interactions of its staff members with internal and external stakeholders. The expectations are exhibited by leadership, communicated publicly, and with specific constituency focus on campus publications.

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In addition to the clear policies and practices of the University, TESU’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) can be seen in the initiatives to promote opportunity and success for all students and staff as well as our greater community of stakeholders. In 2019, Dr. Hancock charged each member of her cabinet to identify ways in which their divisions could strengthen the University through enhanced DEI efforts both within the division and across the university.

Opportunities • Continue to develop dynamic systems to apprise and capture student acknowledgement of the many student support service options available to them at the University.

• Continue to evolve and streamline the University’s Website.

• Continue to evolve and refine the University’s policy and procedure infrastructure.

• Continue to build upon its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion including developing and implementing self-assessment in this area.

Standard III The University has been committed to the education of adult learners, the recognition of collegiate learning, and the convergence of both in designing, offering, and supporting its educational programs.

The TESU model ensures rigor and coherence across multiple delivery modalities and assessment opportunities.

With a centralized design process there is a consistency of student learning experience across courses, programs, and certificates with a heavy focus on the assessment of student learning.

Opportunities • Continue the focus on identifying and addressing barriers within online courses to support student success.

• Continue to expand the use of OER and Zero Textbook Cost (ZTC) initiatives within online courses.

• Continue to refine the cadre of student support structures including but not limited to, tutoring, counseling, and career services.

• Redesign and evolve the monitoring and evaluation of mentor performance.

• Continue to review cyclically and objectively all General Education and Academic Programs.

Standard IV Thomas Edison State University provides mission-driven educational opportunities and student success services that are designed to serve adult students. The University’s recruitment and admission criteria are congruent with the University’s mission to deliver accessible, flexible, high-quality cost-effective programs that meet the evolving needs of today’s adult learners, their employers, and their communities. Committed to student retention and completion, the University provides an effective ecosystem to foster student success through an array of programs and services.

The University’s working Strategic Plan, Reimagine. Reinvest. Resurge., outlines a vision for student success and establishes the goal to reinforce the University’s student success infrastructure to best serve students and to support effective student engagement.

Opportunities • Continue to assess and focus on student support/student success initiatives.

• Continue to identify and address all barrier issues for military students.

• Develop and align University Policies, Procedures, and Guidelines relative to retention and graduation goals and the initiatives supporting those goals.

• Expand communication pathways for academic assessment and support/administrative unit assessment results and corresponding action plans.

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Standard V Assessment has been at the core of all University functions for our full 50 years. Educational effectiveness assessment planning, processes, and scheduling reside in the Division of Academic Affairs and cascade throughout the University using coherent and well-defined assessment processes, methods, and instruments.

The University proudly continues its leadership in academic assessment, prior learning assessment, and the missiondriven goal of recognizing collegiate learning wherever and however it may occur, creating pathways for adult learners to demonstrate their knowledge.

Opportunities • Create transparent communication pathways between all units/divisions relative to assessment results and action planning.

• Align academic and support/administrative unit assessment efforts with business process mapping activities.

• Develop and/or refine University Policies, Procedures, and Guidelines that direct or codify assessment efforts and their communication across the institution.

Standard VI The University has institution-wide objectives that are tied to its mission, clearly stated, and assessed through goals developed during the strategic planning process. The working strategic planning document is titled “Reimagine.

Reinvest. Resurge.” and guides the University’s strategic and operational directions. Institutional planning processes, resources, and structures are aligned to fulfill its mission by continuously assessing and improving its programs and services, and by responding effectively to opportunities and challenges.

Opportunities • Continue business process mapping efforts and include all appropriate areas of University operation.

• Develop and implement business process improvement systems based on support/administrative unit assessment efforts and business process mapping.

• Continue to evaluate University operations, academic offerings, and student support systems in light of the challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Standard VII The state of New Jersey established the University in 1972 for the purpose of providing diverse and alternative methods of achieving a collegiate education of the highest quality for mature adults. Today, TESU fulfills its established purpose through its mission to provide “distinctive undergraduate and graduate education for selfdirected adults through flexible, high-quality collegiate learning and assessment opportunities.”

The University’s well-defined governance structure facilitates the effective achievement of the University’s mission and goals as evidenced by its evolution over the last 50 years.

Opportunities • Continue to assess and improve information transparency and accessibility to staff and students.

• Develop and implement a cyclical review of bylaws for both the University Academic Council and Board of Trustees.

• Continue to implement efficacy self-assessment at the Board of Trustees level.

• Finalize and formalize the University’s updated strategic plan.

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Introduction

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Student Demographics........................................................................................................1 Accreditation History......................................................................................................... 2 Self-Study Organization..................................................................................................... 2 Self-Study Objectives.......................................................................................................... 4 Institutional Strategic Priority Alignment................................................................ 5 Guide for Readers................................................................................................................. 6 Standard I: Mission and Goals

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Introduction............................................................................................................................ 8 Mission and Goals.............................................................................................................. 10 Constituencies......................................................................................................................11 Governing Body Engagement....................................................................................... 12 Mission-Driven Resource Allocation......................................................................... 12 Staffing and Resource Allocations............................................................................... 12 Additional Resources for Student Success.............................................................. 13 Program and Curricular Development...................................................................... 13 External Funding in Service of Student Success................................................... 14 Scholarly and Creative Activity.................................................................................... 15 CLT Course Design............................................................................................................ 15 Stakeholder Communication......................................................................................... 15 Impact of Revised Mission and Goals........................................................................ 15 Institutional Goals.............................................................................................................. 16 Student Learning and Continuous Improvement................................................. 16 Periodic Assessment......................................................................................................... 16 Support and Administrative Unit Assessment....................................................... 18 Summary of Institutional Strengths & Opportunities for Improvement........................................................................... 18 Institutional Strengths.............................................................................................. 18 Opportunities for Continuous Improvement and Improvement Plan........................................................................................... 19

Standard II: Ethics and Integrity 21 Focus on Diversity..............................................................................................................22 Academic Freedom and Integrity................................................................................23 Climate of Respect.............................................................................................................24 Grievance Procedures.......................................................................................................24 Conflicts of Interest........................................................................................................... 25 Employee Practices............................................................................................................26 Public Information............................................................................................................. 27 Accessibility and Affordability.....................................................................................28 Funding Options.................................................................................................................28 Required Disclosures........................................................................................................29 Requirements of Affiliation............................................................................................29 Substantive Change...........................................................................................................30 Compliance with MSCHE Policies..............................................................................30 Periodic Assessment.........................................................................................................30 Summary of Institutional Strengths & Opportunities for Improvement...........................................................................30 Institutional Strengths............................................................................................. 30 Opportunities for Continuous Improvement and Improvement Plan.......................................................................................... 31 Standard III: Design and Delivery of the Student Learning Experience 33 Degree Programs at TESU..............................................................................................33 TESU Courses.......................................................................................................................35 Outcomes-First Program and Course Design and Alignment...........................35 Mentors...................................................................................................................................36 Mentor Demographics......................................................................................................36 Academic Programs........................................................................................................... 37 Learning Opportunities and Resources.................................................................... 37 The New Jersey State Library (NJSL).................................................................. 37 Online Tutoring..............................................................................................................38

Promoting Original Work...........................................................................................38 Barrier Course Project.................................................................................................38 School Specific Student Support /Success Efforts...............................................39 W. Cary Edwards School of Nursing and Health Professions...........................39 School of Business and Management....................................................................40 Heavin School of Arts, Science, and Technology..............................................40 General Education..............................................................................................................40 Graduate Education & Research, Scholarship, and Independent Thinking.................................................................................... 41 Doctoral Programs.............................................................................................................42 Doctor of Nursing Practice........................................................................................42 Doctor of Business Administration........................................................................42 Master’s Programs..............................................................................................................42 School of Business and Management....................................................................42 John S. Watson School of Public Service..............................................................43 W. Cary Edwards School of Nursing and Health Professions...........................43 Heavin School of Arts and Sciences......................................................................43 Heavin School of Applied Sciences and Technologies...................................43 Third Party Learning.........................................................................................................44 Periodic Assessment.........................................................................................................44 Assessment of Programs and Student Learning...............................................44 Support and Administrative Unit Assessment..................................................44 Summary of Institutional Strengths & Opportunities for Improvement...........................................................................44 Institutional Strengths............................................................................................. 45 Opportunities for Continuous Improvement and Improvement Plan.......................................................................................... 45

48 Standard IV: Support of the Student Experience Recruitment and Admissions Processes...................................................................49 Enrollment Management.................................................................................................49

Expenses, Financial Aid, and Scholarships..............................................................50 COVID-19 Response - Financial...................................................................................50 Student Success and Retention Activities............................................................... 51 Student Development....................................................................................................... 51 Retention Programs, Orientation, and Advisement............................................52 Student Support Services: Distinct Populations...................................................53 Student Support Services: Technology.....................................................................54 Student-Centered Processes..........................................................................................54 COVID Response – Student Accommodations......................................................54 Processes Designed to Enhance Successful Achievement of Educational Goals........................................................................54 Career and Alumni Services.......................................................................................... 55 Academic Community Impact Program and Honors.......................................... 55 Transfer Processes and Alternative Learning........................................................56 Transfer...................................................................................................................................56 TESU/NJ 3+1 Pathways Program............................................................................56 Experiential Learning..................................................................................................56 Professional Learning Review (PLR)......................................................................56 TECEP® and Other Exams.......................................................................................... 57 Portfolio Assessment..................................................................................................... 57 Student Record Management........................................................................................ 57 Athletic, Student Life and Extracurricular...............................................................58 Institutional Review of Third-Party Student Support Services...........................58 Assessment of Programs Supporting the Student Experience...........................59 Summary of Institutional Strengths & Opportunities for Improvement.......................................................................... 60 Institutional Strengths............................................................................................. 60 Opportunities for Continuous Improvement and Improvement Plan...........................................................................................61

Standard V: Educational Effectiveness Assessment 63 Assessment and Institutional Strategic Planning................................................64 Assessment Mapping........................................................................................................65 MyCourses/MyMaps.........................................................................................................66 Support and Administrative Unit Assessment Overview.................................67 Closing the Assessment Loop.......................................................................................67 Assessment and Specialized Accreditation.............................................................68 Institutional Learning Outcomes (ILOs)..................................................................68 Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs)........................................................................68 Organized and Systematic Assessment....................................................................69 PLOs....................................................................................................................................69 ILOs.....................................................................................................................................69 Academic Program Review........................................................................................70 Faculty and/or Appropriate Professionals...............................................................70 Curricular Goals and Standards...................................................................................70 Institution-Level Indirect Assessment......................................................................70 Surveys...............................................................................................................................70 Process for Workplace Alignment............................................................................... 72 Closing the Loop................................................................................................................. 73 Academic Program Review............................................................................................. 73 Support and Administrative Unit Assessment....................................................... 73 Professional Development.............................................................................................. 73 Planning and Budgeting.................................................................................................. 74 Key Indicators...................................................................................................................... 74 Retention................................................................................................................................ 74 Third-Party Assessment.................................................................................................. 75 Periodic Assessment......................................................................................................... 75 1. Learning Outcomes Assessment Program Audit............................................ 75 2. Capstone Review........................................................................................................76 3. Use of Evidence Index (UEI)..................................................................................76

Business Process Mapping.............................................................................................76 Summary of Institutional Strengths & Opportunities for Improvement........................................................................... 77 Institutional Strengths............................................................................................. 77 Opportunities for Continuous Improvement and Improvement Plan.......................................................................................... 77 Standard VI: Planning, Resources, and Institutional Improvement 80 University-Wide Goals and Objectives.....................................................................80 Individual Units Goals and Objectives...................................................................... 81 Service Standards.......................................................................................................... 81 Staff Evaluations............................................................................................................ 81 Planning and Improvement Processes...................................................................... 81 Business Process Mapping......................................................................................... 81 Internal Audit..................................................................................................................82 Other Improvement Processes..................................................................................82 Budget Overview.................................................................................................................82 Budget Processes................................................................................................................83 Fiscal Resources..................................................................................................................84 Facilities and Technical Infrastructure......................................................................85 Human Resources...............................................................................................................85 Decision Making.................................................................................................................85 Physical Facilities...............................................................................................................85 Information Technology..................................................................................................86 Annual Audit........................................................................................................................87 Institutional Resource Efficiency.................................................................................87 Data Governance.................................................................................................................88 Periodic Assessment.........................................................................................................88 Human Resources...............................................................................................................88 Financial.................................................................................................................................88

Facilities..................................................................................................................................89 Technology............................................................................................................................89 Summary of Institutional Strengths & Opportunities for Improvement...........................................................................89 Institutional Strengths............................................................................................. 89 Opportunities for Continuous Improvement and Improvement Plan......................................................................................... 90 Standard VII: Governance, Leadership, and Administration 92 Governance Structure.......................................................................................................92 The University Board of Trustees................................................................................92 University Academic Council........................................................................................95 Administration.....................................................................................................................96 Mentors...................................................................................................................................97 Staff...........................................................................................................................................97 Students..................................................................................................................................97 Periodic Assessment.........................................................................................................98 Summary of Institutional Strengths & Opportunities for Improvement...........................................................................98 Institutional Strengths..............................................................................................98 Opportunities for Continuous Improvement and Improvement Plan.......................................................................................... 99

Figure 1: TESU FY2020 Race/Ethnicity of Students.........................................................................1 Figure 2: Self-Study Leadership Hierarchy.......................................................................................... 3 Figure 3: TESU 2020-2022 Self-Study Intended Outcomes and Strategic Institutional Priorities............................................................................ 4 Figure 4: TESU House of Strategy........................................................................................................... 9 Figure 5: FY 2022 Term Census Data....................................................................................................17 Figure 6: TESU’s Multiple Modalities of Learning.........................................................................34 Figure 7: Standardized Program Catalog/Website Format........................................................ 37 Figure 8: TESU ADDIE Instructional Design Model.....................................................................39 Figure 9: Scholarships Awarded 2017-2020.......................................................................................50 Figure 10: Sample of TESU Student Resources................................................................................ 51 Figure 11: TESU COVID Special Accommodations by Month..................................................54 Figure 12: TESU’s Support and Administrative Unit Assessment Workflow......................59 Figure 13: TESU’s Cyclical Assessment Model................................................................................63 Figure 14: TESU’s Continuous Improvement / MSCHE Standards Model..........................65 Figure 15: TESU Hourglass Outcomes Alignment Model ..........................................................66 Figure 16: Aqua Rubric Scale...................................................................................................................69 Figure 17: Graduation Outcomes - Undergraduate FY 10-20 by Cohort............................... 74 Figure 18: Quarterly Retention Power BI Dashboard.................................................................... 75 Figure 19: LOAC Dashboard FY 19........................................................................................................76 Figure 20: TESU CFI Scores FY18-FY21..............................................................................................76

Table 1: TESU Strategic Institutional Priority Alignment with MSCHE Standards.......... 5 Table 2: Strategic Goals in Reimagine, Reinvest, Resurge............................................................ 9 Table 3: Mission Revision ..........................................................................................................................11 Table 4: Board of Trustee Strategic Plan Discussions.................................................................. 12 Table 5: University Scholarships............................................................................................................ 14 Table 6: In State Per-Credit and Full-Time Tuition – Five Year Change...............................29 Table 7: TESU Certificate and Degree Offerings At-A-Glance..................................................34 Table 8: Awarded Professional Learning Review Credits 2020-2021...................................... 57 Table 9: OIR Surveys & Reports w/ Descriptions........................................................................... 71 Table 10: TESU CFI Scores FY18-FY21................................................................................................83

ACE – American Council on Education AoS – Area of Study APR – Academic Program Review Technology CBE – Competency Based Education CLT – Center for Learning Technology CLO – Course Learning Objective COAST – Curriculum Outcomes Steering Team ETS – Educational Testing Service Heavin – Heavin School of Art, Science, and Technolgy MFT – Major Field Test (ETS) NCCRS – National College Credit Recommendation Service NUR – W. Cary Edwards School of Nursing OER – Open Educational Resources PLA – Prior Learning Assessment PLR – Professional Learning Review PLO – Program Learning Outcome SLO – Student Learning Outcome SME – Subject Matter Expert / Mentor SoBM – School of Business and Management TECEP – Thomas Edison Credit by Examination Program TESU – Thomas Edison State University WATSON – John S. Watson School of Public Policy ZTC – Zero Textbook Course

INTRODUCTION Established in 1972, Thomas Edison State University (TESU, the University) is celebrating its 50th Anniversary as one of New Jersey’s senior public institutions of higher education. An early innovator in serving working adults, the University was founded for the purpose of providing diverse and alternative methods of achieving a collegiate education of the highest quality for these students. TESU remains one of the leading public Universities in this area, offering associate through doctoral degrees with the vast majority of our students at the undergraduate level, and continues to place adult students at the center of its programs and services.

The University’s mission is: “Thomas Edison State University provides distinctive undergraduate and graduate education for self-directed adults through flexible, high-quality collegiate learning and assessment opportunities.”

In fulfilling its mission, TESU provides open acceptance at the associate and bachelor’s levels for individuals 20 years of age or older who hold a high school degree, offering its curriculum to students worldwide through the distance education modality with only an accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree program offered partially face-to-face. Most students enter the University with credit from prior college/university attendance and many enter with college-level knowledge they have gained from alternative learning experiences. To specifically meet the needs of this student population, the University offers a flexible transfer credit policy and a wide range of courses and credit earning options.

Student Demographics Almost 14,000 students are enrolled in our distance learning programs. The average age of our students is 35, and the student population is racially and ethnically diverse as seen in in Figure 1.

Figure 1: TESU FY2020 Race/Ethnicity of Students

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TESU students reside in all states across the U.S. and many foreign countries. New Jersey residents account for 36 percent of University enrollments and students from other U.S. states make up 63 percent. The international student population is small, making up just 1 percent of enrollment. Fifty-nine percent of the students are male. The out-of-state and gender ratios are reflective of the relatively high military student population. More than a quarter (27 percent) of TESU students are pursuing their degree while serving as active-duty members of the military. The University has extensive experience working with active-duty military members and tailors programs and services to accommodate this population.

Central to the implementation of the University mission is its recognition of learning wherever it occurs. In addition to offering degrees in more than 100 areas of study across a breadth of disciplines, the University has developed innovative programs to assist working adults attaining their degree including Professional Learning Reviews (providing college credit for professional training and certification programs), prior learning assessment, and 3+1 Pathways and other articulated transfer programs in partnership primarily with New Jersey community colleges to serve the needs of our in-state residents.

Building on its history of helping learners complete degrees through course work and assessment of learning from diverse sources, TESU accepts transfer credit from accredited institutions alongside a long-standing tradition of accepting training and courses evaluated and recommended for college-level credit by the American Council on Education (ACE) and the National College Credit Recommendation Service (NCCRS). TESU is the largest recipient nationwide of ACE credit. The University also accepts transfer credit that has been earned through a variety of examination programs, including its own TECEP® examination process.

TESU offers courses of study through its four schools as follows: the Heavin School of Arts, Sciences, and Technology; the School of Business and Management; the W. Cary Edwards School of Nursing and Health Professions; and the John S. Watson School of Public Service. Each school is headed by a Dean. The University maintains programmatic accreditations with the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP), the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), the Council for the Accreditation of Educational Preparation (CAEP), and the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP).

As part of the unique nature of its founding and mission, TESU has evolved a model of digitally delivered, selfcontained courses developed by a combination of experts in the course subject matter, instructional design, instructional technology, and assessment of learning. In delivering the courses and in supporting the evaluation of learning, programs, and curriculum, as well as participating in the institutional governance, the University uses the services of individual subject matter experts, called Mentors. TESU uses the term “Mentor” to denote a deconstructed faculty role and to emphasize the intended relationship between Mentors and TESU students/ staff/stakeholders. Rather than teaching in a traditional sense, “Mentors” are engaged to guide and assess student learning, and to develop course materials and curricula through participation on instructional design team as well as membership in standing school-based curriculum committees and on the University Academic Council.

Accreditation History TESU was first granted accreditation by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education in 1977 and has remained in good accreditation standing since that time. The last full accreditation reaffirmation project took place in 2012. TESU’s history of accreditation actions (INT.1).

Self-Study Organization The MSCHE self-study has provided an opportunity to build upon the planning processes initiated by TESU’s fourth President, Dr. Merodie A. Hancock, whose term follows a 34-year tenure of the former President. The Standards Based Approach was selected to facilitate the evaluation of the specific MSCHE standards, build upon the institutional history of continuous quality improvement, and align the study with the new and evolving priorities of the institution.

The Self-Study was initiated in March 2020, leveraging three tiers of organizational leadership to conduct its decennial self-study process as seen in figure 2.

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Figure 2: Self-Study Leadership Hierarchy

Dr. Merodie Hancock President

Executive Committee Steering Committee

Working Groups Membership of the Executive Committee included: • Dr. Merodie A. Hancock, President • Dr. Cynthia Baum, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs • Mr. Michael Mancini, Chief of Staff and Chief Operating Officer • Dr. Dennis Devery, Vice President of Enrollment Management • Mr. Chris Stringer, Senior Vice President of Finance • Dr. Jeffrey Harmon, Vice Provost of Strategic Initiatives and Institutional Effectiveness and Accreditation Liaison Officer (ALO) Membership of the Steering Committee included representatives of the Executive Committee and the Chairs of the Standards Working Groups: • Dr. Jeffrey Harmon, Vice Provost for Strategic Initiatives and ALO (Chair) • Mr. Michael Mancini, Chief of Staff and Chief Operating Officer (Co-Chair and Standard VII Chair) • Dr. Cynthia Baum, Provost and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs • Dr. Phyllis Marshall, Dean of the W. Cary Edwards School of Nursing and Health Professions (Standard I Chair) • Dr. John Aje, Dean of the Heavin School of Arts, Sciences, and Technology (Standard II Chair) • Mr. Matthew Cooper, Associate Vice President of the W. J. Seaton Center for Learning Technology (Standard III Chair) • Ms. Cathy Punchello, Associate Vice President and University Registrar (Standard IV Chair) • Dr. Michael Williams, Dean of the School of Business and Management (Standard V Chair) • Mr. Chris Stringer, Senior Vice President of Finance (Standard VI Chair)

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• Dr. Ann Marie Senior, Associate Vice President of Institutional Planning and Research (Requirements of Affiliation/Verification of Compliance Chair) • Dr. Johnathan Mellon, Mentor and President of the University Academic Council Membership of the working groups can be seen in the evidence inventory (INT.2).

Through the discourse of this self-inquiry process, more than 100 individual staff participants (roughly one-third of TESU’s workforce) were engaged. Additionally, mentor representation permeated all levels of inquiry from steering committee and working group presence to participation in interviews and lines of inquiry exploration. TESU’s stakeholder participation included Board of Trustees, current students and alumni from both undergraduate and graduate education, and mentors from a wide array of disciplines.

Self-Study Objectives This Self-Study provided TESU with an opportunity to critically self-assess University performance and achievements within a four-domain context: 1. 13th Edition of the Middle States Commission on Higher Education Standards 2. Intended Outcomes of the Self-Study 3. TESU Strategic Institutional Priorities 4. Self-Study Lines of Inquiry During the Self-Study design phase, TESU worked closely with its assigned MSCHE liaison to develop Lines of Inquiry or research-style questions to give direction to the self-inquiry process. The purpose of layering an additional set of guiding questions was to ensure that TESU’s Self-Study process addressed the MSCHE Standards and Criteria while simultaneously probing into areas of University performance relative to Strategic Institutional Priorities. The Lines of Inquiry, in essence, serve as a bridge between the MSCHE Standards and Criteria and TESU’s Strategic Institutional Priorities. As such, each subsequent chapter will begin with a restatement of the Lines of Inquiry utilized by the working group participants.

Figure 3 identifies and aligns two of the four self-inquiry domains, i.e., Intended Outcomes of the Self-Study and TESU Strategic Institutional Priorities, situated within a standards-based self-study inquiry method.

Figure 3: TESU 2020-2022 Self-Study Intended Outcomes and Strategic Institutional Priorities

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Institutional Strategic Priority Alignment In its Self-Study Design document, TESU aligned the four institutional strategic priorities with the MSCHE Standards. The alignment between the MSCHE Standards and TESU’s institutional strategic priorities is visible in table 1. A “primary” and “secondary” alignment indicate was used to reflect the MSCHE standards’ influence upon TESU’s current strategic institutional priorities.

Table 1: TESU Strategic Institutional Priority Alignment with MSCHE Standards Aligning MSCHE Standards for Accreditation with TESU Strategic Institutional Priorities MSCHE Standards

Priority 1:

Priority 2:

Priority 3:

Priority 4:

Student Success

Academic Enhancement

Service and Operational Effectiveness

Financial Stewardship:

Improve engagement, persistence, and graduation rates across all student populations through diversified academic and student support.

I. Mission and Goals

Enhance the student experience by leveraging technology, strengthening instructional engagement models, refining academic degree offerings, and enhancing institutional assessment.

Demonstrate continuous improvement of services to students and internal stakeholders by utilizing data, technology, and employee development and training.

Primary

II. Ethics and Integrity

Maximize the University’s impact by growing a strategic enrollment portfolio, diversifying revenue streams, and managing costs to create affordable educational opportunities and ensure financial stability of the University.

Secondary

Secondary

Secondary

Secondary

III. Design and Delivery of the Student Learning Experience

Primary

Primary

Secondary

IV. Support of the Student Experience

Primary

Primary

Primary

Primary

Secondary

Secondary

Primary

Primary

V. Educational Effectiveness Assessment VI. Planning, Resources, and Institutional Improvement VII. Governance, Leadership, and Administration

Primary

Primary

The University’s working strategic plan, Reimagine, Reinvest, Resurge (INT.3) reflects four main topics Student Success, Financial Strength, Internal Processes, and Organizational Capacity. These four main topics reflect an evolution, aligned with the very concept of a working strategic plan. University leadership intends for the strategic plan to be iterative and has codified this intent in titling it as a “working” strategic plan. The institutional priorities seen in Table 1 reflect a time-based snapshot of the University’s priorities from almost two years prior.

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Guide for Readers This Self-Study report contains an introduction, conclusion, and eight chapters in between. Each chapter is oriented around a specific Standard as well as one for the Requirements of Affiliation and Verification of Compliance.

The narrative portion of each chapter focuses on key findings stemming from the self-inquiry process reflecting the voice of all TESU constituencies and serving as performance self-assessment and influencer of the working Strategic Plan.

Each chapter contains: • Statement of the MSCHE Standard/Criteria • Statement of Lines of Inquiry • Narrative assessment of TESU’s performance and key findings, including contextual alignment with TESU’s Institutional Strategic Priorities • Alignment between key findings and MSCHE Standard/Criteria via evidence citation and hyperlink to the evidence inventory:

• Citations/hyperlinks are included throughout the document and labeled to reference the Standard, Criterion, and number of the evidence item.

• Example: V.2.a.1 – Standard V, Criterion 2a, Evidence Item #1

The Evidence Inventory reflects a master list of all examples of evidence collected, analyzed, and utilized in the selfinquiry process. There are subsets of the master Evidence Inventory with appropriate MSCHE Standard/Criterion labels for ease of review.

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STANDARD I: MISSION AND GOALS The institution’s mission defines its purpose within the context of higher education, the students it serves, and what it intends to accomplish. The institution’s stated goals are clearly linked to its mission and specify how the institution fulfills its mission.

Introduction Thomas Edison State University is in full compliance with Standard I: Mission and Goals including all the standard’s subsequent criteria. In addition, TESU also meets the MSCHE Requirements of Affiliation that map to Standard I, specifically requirements 7 and 10.

During the Self-Study design phase, TESU worked closely with its assigned MSCHE Liaison to develop Lines of Inquiry or research-style questions to give direction to the self-inquiry process. The Lines of Inquiry, in essence, serve as a bridge between the MSCHE Standards and Criteria and TESU’s Strategic Institutional Priorities.

The Lines of Inquiry for Standard I are: Standard I – Lines of Inquiry • How are the mission and goals periodically assessed for relevance?

• How do the mission and goals guide the University’s decision making?

• How does the Strategic Plan align with the mission and goals of the University?

Thomas Edison State University was established by the state of New Jersey and chartered by the New Jersey Board of Higher Education in 1972. The University and its Board of Trustees are responsible for oversight of the institution and of its affiliate, the New Jersey State Library. The University was founded for the purpose of providing diverse and alternative methods of achieving a collegiate education of the highest quality for mature adults. Since the founding of the University, the unique mission of the University has guided the development of programs and the activities of the University. The mission of the University (I.Intro.1) states: Thomas Edison State University provides distinctive undergraduate and graduate education for self-directed adults through flexible, high-quality collegiate learning and assessment opportunities.

The mission of TESU provides a clear description of its purpose as related to its founding and continued development. The Mission influences and informs the institution’s working Strategic Plan, short-term planning and goal setting, policy and procedure development and application as well as the daily decisions of University staff. It requires innovation and exploration with nontraditional educational methods while adhering to rigorous academic standards. The University fosters academic programs that address the needs of adult learners and accommodate the priorities and challenges of adult life. These learner-centered programs are convenient and flexible and include a variety of assessment methods to allow for the demonstration of proficiency of learning outcomes as developed by the programs and the institution (I.Intro.2).

Following the arrival of TESU’s fourth president, Dr. Merodie A. Hancock, in March 2018, a new strategic planning process was launched in May 2018 utilizing the Balanced Scorecard Approach (I.Intro.3). The timing coincided with the end term of the previous Strategic Plan and followed a 34-year tenure of the previous President. This provided an opportunity to engage the TESU community in creating a strategic re-envisioning of the University’s future involving virtually all constituencies of the University.

The review and assessment of the University began with Dr. Hancock engaging with the TESU Board of Trustees (Board) as a group and individually, surveying TESU leadership, and conducting departmental meetings across the University. With this initial assessment process completed in late May 2018, the strategic planning process began with open forums with staff to discuss the University’s mission and opportunities for improvement and growth.

During this time, the Strategic Management Team (made up of the President’s Cabinet) met over several half-day retreats to discuss the University’s mission, strategic priorities, and themes, considering the feedback garnered during staff open forums. Through this, the below House of Strategy (I.Intro.4) was built as a guiding structure for future planning (Figure 4).

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Figure 4: TESU House of Strategy

In September 2018, Dr. Hancock presented the strategic themes and planning process to the Board and the Board affirmed a revised University mission statement. This revised statement serves as the current mission of the institution and was ratified by the TESU Board of Trustees (BOT) at the September 14, 2018 meeting (I.C1.a.1 ,p4).

In September and October 2018, staff from across the University met to discuss the established strategic themes of Student Success, Innovation, Operational Excellence, and Service Excellence. In these conversations, staff discussed ideas for achieving the themes as well as any barriers to success. Through this conversation, a working Strategic Plan (I.Intro.5) was developed with five overarching goals, as detailed in Table 2 below.

Table 2: Strategic Goals in Reimagine, Reinvest, Resurge The overarching goals of the Thomas Edison State University 2025 Strategic Plan are: • Growth in new student enrollments (10% growth goal) • Increase in retention of continuing students (5% growth goal) • Increase in graduate student enrollment (10% growth goal) • Creation of a suite of marquee workforce-focused academic programs (including applied sciences, technology, health professions, and experiential and community-engaged learning) • Provision of best-in-class experience and service to prospects and students In March 2019, the President previewed this plan with the University in a mid-year update and discussed it with the Board of Trustees at the Board meeting that same month. In that Board meeting, it was decided that the focus of the next year would need to be narrowed to improving enrollments and stabilizing the University’s finances and an endorsement of a full five-year plan was postponed until the University was through the presidential transition.

The themes and strategic objectives identified and presented to the Board and institution in March 2019 continued to guide the University’s annual goals and plans. The President presented her overall goals for FY2020 during the September 2019 Board meeting and similarly in September 2020 for FY2021 and September 2021 for FY2022. These

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bridging plans provided guidance for budgeting, operational plans, and Middle States Reaffirmation alignment. They have also yielded a number of prioritized initiatives, falling under four major themes as follows (I.Intro.6).

Student Success: • Build an infrastructure for a comprehensive student success program to best serve students and support effective student engagement • Develop diversified academic and student support services to drive retention Financial Strength: • Maximize the University’s impact through enrollment growth and increased retention, leveraging technology to enhance student recruitment and retention strategies • Develop strategies to increase prospects and conversion rates/yield across the enrollment funnel from prospect to first enrollment • Create a suite of marquee workforce-focused programs including applied sciences, technology, health professions, and development of experiential and community-engaged learning and communities ofpractice • Develop statewide 2+2 and 3+1 community college partnerships with seamless transfer programs Internal Processes and Organizational Capacity: •Enhance Adaptive Learning Technologies to deliver innovative methods of student support and instructional assistance •Establish a comprehensive strategy for academic program growth through new academic and enrollment master plans •Enhance flexible pathways to earn a degree with the development of a Competency-Based Degree Strategy and Programs •Build capacity and optimize staff time and resources through process improvement, training, professional development, and technology to achieve operational efficiencies and build student support It should be noted that the very nature of the “working” Strategic Plan, Reimagine. Reinvest. Resurge., (I.Intro.7) at times reflects evolutions in the language. For example, within the prioritized initiatives above there are three main topics, i.e., student success, financial strength, internal process, and organizational capacity. However, in Table 1, four institutional priorities (goals) appear. The “working” Strategic Plan descriptor was intentionally used to provide TESU’s new leadership an opportunity to iterate as the University moves toward a longer-term Strategic Plan. The nature of the University’s working Strategic Plan carries with its inherent iteration of strategic priorities and the goals, objectives, and operational plans embedded within.

Since the presentation of the initial strategic planning document, the University’s financial situation has stabilized and is strong. Considering several years of declining new enrollment, the University has shown the smallest decrease in enrollment since 2015, and new student enrollment grew in FY2021 (I.Intro.8). There have been significant improvements in student retention as well. Given these positive key indicators of institutional health, the President recommended to the Board that we refresh the Strategic Plan to incorporate our current environment and proceed with a full implementation.

To that end, the Board has held two retreats, in October and December 2021, to discuss the strategic direction of the University (I.Intro.9). Through these two meetings a smaller group of trustees has formed an Envisioning Committee that will meet in more depth with University leadership. From there a full plan will be presented to the Board in summer/early fall 2022.

Mission and Goals

I.1

This institutional mission is clearly defined, aligned with the purpose of its founding and continued development, and was reviewed and revised through the University’s process of strategic planning and assessment. The University used a comprehensive and inclusive planning process as described above addressing all aspects of the University and starting with the mission. It was clear during numerous meetings that the mission required an update to more clearly articulate how the University had transformed, reflecting the change from “collegiate learning opportunities” to a

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University that offers undergraduate and graduate programs. Table 3 below presents the prior and current revision of the University’s Mission that, while subtle, reflects the present state of the TESU core activity in the assessment of prior learning and articulates the growth into graduate and doctoral education, with opportunity for future endeavors. The mission was approved by the University Board of Trustees in September 2018 (I.C1a.1).

Table 3: Mission Revision Previous Mission Thomas Edison State College provides flexible, highquality, collegiate learning opportunities for selfdirected adults.

Revised Mission TESU provides distinctive undergraduate and graduate education for self-directed adults through flexible, high-quality collegiate learning and assessment opportunities.

These discussions, looking at future state, led to an evolving vision of the University that guides the development of programs and efforts aimed at student success. The vision states: As a premier provider of flexible, high-quality collegiate learning and assessment opportunities for adult students, Thomas Edison State University drives innovation and student success, empowering self-directed adults to make significant, positive and immediate impacts in their lives, professions and communities (I.C1a.3) In developing the working Strategic Plan, the University was able to reimagine its vision, reinvest in key functions that drive student success, and develop strategies to resurge to national prominence as a leading educational institution in providing meaningful opportunities for adults. The new Strategic Plan, with five overarching goals identified above, Reimagine. Reinvest. Resurge (2018) was the result.

Constituencies In order to effectively reach across the state of New Jersey and beyond and provide innovative and collaborative educational opportunities for adult learners, TESU continually works with strategic partners within the higher education, workforce development, community, and public sectors to bring the greatest academic opportunity to underserved students. Examples of these partnerships and initiatives can be seen in Standards III, IV, and V, with our 3+1 collaborations, Professional Learning Reviews, and Registered Apprenticeship partnerships.

Both internal and external constituencies and contexts are addressed through the mission, goals, and Strategic Plan.

All four goals are interrelated, and the University is required to reach outside of itself to be successful. External constituencies include prospects, partners, community members, legislators, board members, regulators, other educational institutions, and employers.

External assessment through discussions with legislators, employers, and community members indicates the University is sensitive to its constituencies. The development of academic programs that demonstrate experiential and community-engaged learning is well underway. Examples include the award of the Provident Signature Grant in 2019 (I.C1b.1), which funded the development of a service-learning component to a senior-level liberal arts capstone course allowing students to work with local non-profits to solve a key issue in their organization, and the NJ PLACE Pathways Program, recognizing and applying academic credit to individuals in registered apprenticeships in order to create a pathway to an associate’s degree.

Another example is the participation of students working together to answer a need during the pandemic. The local Trenton Health Department and mayor’s office reached out to the University to request assistance in the fight against COVID-19, resulting in nursing staff and students volunteering as vaccinators in this vulnerable community. The initiative marked its one-year anniversary in February 2022 and continues with more than 12,000 vaccines delivered (I.C1b.2).

Internal constituencies include staff, students, and mentors who participated in the planning processes and are working to increase retention of students through newly created processes in both the academic and other divisions throughout the University.

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Governing Body Engagement As described above, the Board of Trustees approved changes to the University mission in 2018. In March of 2019, the President previewed the Strategic Plan with the University in her mid-year update and discussed it with the Board of Trustees at the Board meeting that same month. In that Board meeting, it was decided that the focus of the next year would need to be narrowed to improving enrollments and stabilizing the University’s finances. An adoption of a fiveyear plan was postponed until such time as the University was through the presidential transition and enrollments and finances were better understood.

Since that time updates to the Board of Trustees and the University Foundation Board, as seen in Table 4, have been ongoing, with more focused implementation and support for academic programs, retention, and enrollments.

Table 4: Board of Trustee Strategic Plan Discussions Date

Discussion Topic

September 2018

Closed out of previous Strategic Plan/presentation of new planning process/approval of revised mission

March 2019

Review of working Strategic Plan and move forward with strategic direction and annual goals vs adoption of long-term plan

September 2019

Annual goals are presented as part of the Annual Report

September 2020

Annual goals are presented as part of the Annual Report

September 2021

Annual goals are presented as part of the Annual Report

October 2021

Full Board retreat on strategic planning (with President’s Cabinet)

December 2021

Full Board retreat on strategic planning (with President’s Cabinet)

February 2022

Board Envisioning Working Group meeting

March 2022

Report to Board on Board Envisioning Working Group meeting

Mission-Driven Resource Allocation The mission, vision, and strategic goals guide decision making throughout the institution. At the center of all decision making is student success.

Staffing and Resource Allocations The allocation of positions within the organization since 2018 clearly outlines this commitment to student success.

In 2018, a comprehensive assessment of University processes identified a need for a more cohesive model of support for students. Business process mapping occurred in many units in the University resulting in the identification of redundancies and inefficiencies, and a clear indication that student needs were changing and a more comprehensive approach to services adopted (I.C1d.2). To address these concerns, Dr. Hancock approved the reallocation of five members of the enrollment management team to form a student support unit within Academic Affairs. Originally called the Enrolled Student Services Team, the now named Student Success Team, was started to provide enhanced service to enrolled students and provide a single, direct point of contact to answer questions or resolve administrative issues. Issues addressed by this department include assistance with course registration, financial aid, tuition payments, and other administrative roadblocks students might face during their enrollment.

In the Division of Academic Affairs, a new full-time position was reallocated in the Office of the Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs for a Chief Student Success, Equity, and Inclusion Officer. This position focuses on the resources, practices, and experiences needed by today’s students to support success and increase service to them (I.C1d.3). The position was filled in January 2021, and the officer is charged with developing, leading, and

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overseeing the University’s comprehensive approach to the student experience, with a focus on student retention and academic success, including degree completion. Responsibilities also include the design, implementation, and provision of ongoing support for University-level efforts that enhance the student experience and that meaningfully promote access and inclusion. Offices such as the Office of Academic Advising, Office of Mentor Administration, Office of Military and Veteran Student Success, and the Office of Accessibility Services have all been consolidated under the direction of this position as a Center for Student Success. Most recently another reallocated position, Director of Career Services, was hired to assist students to better prepare for career development. This position is another example of mission-driven staffing resulting from the new strategic goals to focus on the development of student success and career-ready programs. As of the writing of this study, an additional position in being recruited to serve as the Assistant Director or Student Success, Equity, and Inclusion to assist in expanding the initiatives of the Center (I.C1d.4).

In the Division of Enrollment Management, recruitment of new students is also based on the strategic goals and is mission driven. Adult students are the key population the University seeks to educate. Military students, who bring with them various levels of credits and certificates are also sought. The multiple methods of credit earning and prior learning assessment are in alignment with the mission. The FY2021 Enrollment Management Plan (I.C1d.5) demonstrates the focus on adults and health professions programs, as is articulated in a strategic goal. New recruitment positions have also been approved in the Division of Enrollment Management to assist in meeting the new student enrollment goals of 10 percent growth over the five-year strategic plan period.

Additional Resources for Student Success The focus on assisting students to succeed and continue to degree completion has placed a renewed priority on retention. Strategies to support students include regular outreach, more proactive advising based on well-researched metrics suggesting lack of engagement or not meeting academic thresholds, redevelopment of the new student orientation, and identifying barrier courses (high rates of drop, failure, and withdrawals) that may frustrate student success.

Implementations of these strategies has required a significant investment of resources. The University is implementing a new customer relationship management system (CRM) to provide the capability for outreach to students using a more comprehensive approach. An upgrade to a new enterprise resource planning system (ERP) has been initiated to provide better and integrated processes for staff to serve students and improve business processes more efficiently and effectively. The identification and remediation of barrier courses (high DFW) has involved a significant dedication of staff time and a prioritization or resources to impact student success.

Additional retention strategies include the use of new processes and a division-wide focus on access to data that accurately describes student enrollment patterns in a timely manner and the development. The development of interventions such as sustained outreach to remedy any student issues that might impact enrollment has been fueled by the strategic goal of 5 percent growth in retention over the life of the plan with the aim of increasing graduation rates.

Program and Curricular Development As described in Standard III, distinctive program delivery and curricular development are implemented with a very adult-student oriented perspective and a clear focus on student learning outcomes and assessment. Each course provides the essential elements for student mastery and its development begins with a strong foundation (outcomes and curriculum development), relies on concerted application (instructional design), requires a sophisticated collection process (outcomes assessment tool), and drives evaluation and continuous improvement (program and course revision). Furthermore, learning is scaffolded throughout courses and programs utilizing Bloom’s Taxonomy.

As students move through their course work and program, they will encounter more learning opportunities at higher Bloom’s levels.

Decision making regarding new program offerings is guided by the needs of the adult student market. The implementation of the Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) in 2020 was influenced by market demand evidenced by industry and academic leaders for this professional doctorate. The recently launched MS in Cybersecurity serves to help prepare working adults for careers in a highly needed and rapidly growing field.

Likewise, the current development of a BS with an area of study in Cloud Computing not only provides preparation for the increasing workplace needs in this area but is tied directly to industry certifications (I.C1d.6).

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External Funding in Service of Student Success As outlined in Standard VI, TESU is heavily tuition dependent. The University is increasing revenue-stream diversity through contributions and external grant funding in order to fulfill our mission and meet the changing needs of our students.

Funding for student and University initiatives is key to the success of adult students and the development of new and innovative programs. The Thomas Edison State University Foundation (Foundation) has been a key supporter of new programs in the University over the years, including the two doctoral programs in business and nursing and the master’s program in cybersecurity. The Foundation most recently funded the revision of the Accelerated BSN Program to provide much-needed pathways into nursing for adult students without prior baccalaureate degrees. This revision, aligned with the mission, provides opportunities for career and economic mobility for students who in the past were unable to advance into the nursing profession. The original Accelerated BSN Program, funded by the Foundation more than 10 years ago, also fostered the close partnership between the University and a key local health system.

Aligned with the strategic goal to create a suite of marquee workforce-focused academic programs including applied sciences, technology, health professions, and experiential and community-engaged learning, the University launched an innovative service-learning project supported by Provident Bank. The Academic Community Impact Program (ACI) provides the opportunity for students to complete a field project that directly meets the needs of a communitybased nonprofit organization. This partnership between the University and nonprofit agencies provides agencies with solutions to current challenges they face. Students attracted to this service-learning capstone create change in human service organizations and develop important public service partnerships in the community (I.C1d.8).

Additional external funding was secured in 2021 to support student success. To further enhance tutoring options, the University was awarded an Opportunity Meets Innovation Challenge Grant (IV.C1c.38) from the state of New Jersey in the amount of $483,000 to 1) develop a peer coach/peer tutor program focusing specifically on adult learners and underrepresented minorities, and 2) to expand and scale Prior Learning Assessment for New Jersey students. The University was also awarded a grant from the New Jersey Department of Labor (NJ PLACE Grant) in the amount of $849,000 to evaluate registered apprenticeship training programs for University credit and to provide scholarships to the apprentices to complete their associates degree.

The University continues to provide opportunities for scholarship support for students. Table 5 below presents scholarship data over the last four years. The discrepancy between funds raised and awarded is accounted for by several reasons including requirements of several grants, including Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) grants to be awarded over two years or requirements for endowed grant distribution of a percentage of funds (I.C1d.9).

Table 5: University Scholarships Scholarships 2018

2019

2020

2021

Raised (including NRC)

$194,337

$657,187

$443,588

$618,401

Awarded (including NRC)

$369,571

$385,537

$455,100

$555,320

Also, in FY2021, significant funding was distributed from the COVID relief grant. As of Dec. 31, 2021, 914 awards from the Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) and Higher Education Relief Fund (HERF) totaling $369,377.79 were distributed to students (I.C1d.10).

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Scholarly and Creative Activity The mission of TESU calls for a constant focus on serving the needs of adult, working students. It is within this context that TESU’s scholarly inquiry and creative activity exist. Funds for professional development are provided through the Office of the Provost for academic leadership staff, which focuses on maintaining currency with one’s discipline as well as developments in adult and on-line education (I.C1e.2).

As described in Standard 3, mentors are required to demonstrate currency in their fields through scholarship and professional activity, which is documented thought an updated vita bi-annually.

CLT Course Design Areas of scholarship and creativity can be seen in the Center for Learning and Technology (CLT). Creative activity in the CLT is visible in the project-based phased design and development model, as well as the new Learning Experience Design (LXD) initiative. Courses are designed by assembling multidisciplinary teams to complete a two-phase design and development process. These teams are led by an instructional designer and include an assessment developer, a subject-matter expert (SME), a representative from the school, and often an instructional technologist as well. In Phase 1, the team creates a course design document (CDD) that scaffolds important information in the course, like learning outcomes and module objectives, topics covered, course materials, and a general layout of assessments and activities. The CDD is then taken to the curriculum committee for approval. Upon approval, the instructional designer initiates Phase 2 of course development, where the team fills in the scaffold of the CDD to create a full course. Each team member engages from their domain expertise and with a focus on mission and strategic priorities.

This multidisciplinary engagement allows for creativity in the design and development of every course. The new LXD initiative for course revisions layers an evaluation of nine areas using standard rubrics that guide the development of the CDD (I.C1e.1).

This multidisciplinary engagement has recently resulted in the development of new hybrid courses for the W Cary Edwards School of Nursing and Health Professions where the team worked closely to create a new format that included clinical, simulation, and didactic features. These courses include clinical portals and virtual simulation experiences and are mapped to several sets of professional standards and criteria, and programmatic as well as institutional outcomes. The LXD is being used for the revision of barrier courses and is in process.

Stakeholder Communication The University Mission and goals are widely known and publicized across the University. The mission is clearly stated on the University website, catalog, handbooks, and other publications, including the back of staff business cards. Staff readily acknowledge their efforts are mission-driven in the ways they carry out their work to support adult learners. Numerous meetings were held with staff participation in the development of the revised mission.

Impact of Revised Mission and Goals The revised mission attempts to highlight both undergraduate and graduate opportunities at the University.

Increased graduate enrollment is one of the University strategic goals and enrollment in graduate programs has increased steadily over the past three years. It is a focus of the Division of Enrollment Management as well as the Division of Academic Affairs as new programs are developed.

The addition of assessment opportunities is also critical. Historically the University was a leader in prior learning and providing students with opportunities to transfer credit earned through work, professional certifications, or other methods. The future direction of the University not only continues that initiative but is committed to developing new strategic pathways for assessment of credit for transfer. Examples include new partnerships with edX to assess credit from various universities presented on their platform for credit and creating “micro bachelors” degree opportunities (I.C1e.5) The Office of Professional Learning Reviews is active in seeking out new license and workplace learning opportunities to assess for credit.

Progress on the four strategic goals is evaluated at least quarterly each year and adjustments and new programs are implemented accordingly to meet those goals. Examples include the creation of retention reports to better track quarter-to-quarter retention. These reports have provided the data required to identify our retention levels and evaluate retention initiatives. This data collection and analysis has resulted in increased engagement with students

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including standard communication plans for outreach as well as new initiatives to identify barrier courses and strategies to address and prioritize revision of those courses.

Institutional Goals

I.2

The four strategic goals are realistic, appropriate to higher education, and consistent with the mission. The goals were developed during the strategic planning process that was implemented by the new President who arrived in March 2018. Due to faltering enrollments and financial concerns, the priorities for the institution swiftly were determined to be the improvement in both areas. A significant reorganization of the enrollment management team was undertaken that included the appointment of a new Vice President for Enrollment Management, the establishment of a recruiting department with an Undergraduate and Graduate recruiter, and changes in processes with revisions to the customer relationship management system and the realignment of and establishment of territories for the admissions counselors.

The development of new programs in the health professions and technology is based on market research and Bureau of Labor Statistics data and designed to meet student and employer demands. Health professions and technology professions occupations are projected to grow from 2020 to 2030, 16 percent and 13 percent respectively (I.C2.1, I.C2.2).

The University currently has strong programs in these areas and sees growth potential by the offering of new programs, such as the MS in Cybersecurity (in development) and new nurse practitioner program (under consideration). The reorganization of allied health programs across schools better aligns the curricula and optimizes the strengths of each school to focus on the development of new programs. The W. Cary Edwards School of Nursing and Health Professions has created new pathways on both the associate and baccalaureate degree levels with the existing AAS in Applied Health Studies and the new area of study in the Bachelor of Science degree, Health Studies, to provide opportunities for allied health personnel to improve professional and economic mobility (I.C2.3, I.C2.4).

Student Learning and Continuous Improvement

I.3

The University is fully committed to the success of its students. Over the past four years significant changes have been made to focus activities on that goal. In 2018, with the arrival of the new President and the development of the new Strategic Plan, numerous programs began to take shape.

The creation of the Student Success Team (SST) was one of the first initiatives to increase service and support to students. The SST is a resource and solutions center for students who are enrolled in courses to receive personalized service. Staff are available to assist students with questions regarding accessing student portals, password resets, navigating the University website and the course space, and all basic technical support. Staff are also trained to assist with general questions about financial aid, financial accounts, registration, and can troubleshoot enrolled student issues and connect students with the appropriate, subject-matter experts in other departments to handle any escalated concerns. Prior to the development of this central resource, students were more likely to become confused in the complex web of requirements and individual departments (I.C3.1).

Another initiative is the commitment of the University to the development of no or low cost quality academic resources to students. The rising costs of textbooks have been identified as a barrier to student success. Students in many instances do not purchase the required text for the course because of the cost, leading to withdrawal or unsuccessful completion of courses. The CLT has undertaken a project to review courses and identify no or low cost alternatives for a suite of courses and identifies those courses to students. Two research librarians have been added to the staff of CLT specifically for this initiative (I.C3.2).

As described above, the reallocation of staff resources and the hiring of a Chief Student Success, Equity, and Inclusion Officer provided a comprehensive and coordinated approach to serve student populations. This is a key step in the implementation of the goal to improve student retention and provide excellent experiences and service to students.

Periodic Assessment

I.4

The most recent assessment of the mission occurred in 2018, with the arrival of the new President and the start of the new institutional planning process. As described above, the mission was reviewed and revised to better reflect the current and future states of the University (I.C4.1).

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The strategic planning process also resulted in new University goals that are regularly assessed. The need for accurate data and tools to capture that data was immediately identified. This need resulted in major efforts to develop these systems including an Academic Affairs dashboard for assessment of goals.

Key indicators were developed or refined to assess the persistence of students to graduation. These included start of the term to census date registrations and course completion rates. FY2021 census data demonstrates the percent of traditional and nursing students retained at census date ranging from 85.6 percent to 95.2 percent through June 2021, as compared to a baseline of 81 percent. Currently, FY2022 data (Figure 5) continues to reflect successful outreach and retention strategies for traditional students. The lagging census retention for military students has created an opportunity for a review of enrollment and retention processes, currently being undertaken. The information is shared with all academic departments involved in these retention efforts.

Figure 5: FY 2022 Term Census Data (I.C4.3)

Another key indicator to monitor retention is quarter-to-quarter activity by students. The Quarter-to-Quarter Retention Dashboard, which identifies and tracks student enrollment activity each quarter, was created to identify cohort trends in student activity from initial enrollment and attempts to discover barriers to retention and solutions to attrition (1.C4.4). The development of this tool as well as the work of CLT to create a dashboard to identify student drop, withdraw, and fail (DWF) activity has led to new initiatives to improve retention. One is the Barrier Course Project that identifies courses with high DWF rates (I.C4.5) and has led to an examination of those courses to attempt to find reasons for the high rates. Additionally, schools have identified replacement, higher success courses for students to enroll in as first-time students.

The use of this tool has also resulted in increased focus for outreach through planned communication to specific groups of students at key points in their educational journey. New processes have been developed for admissions counselors to register students into their first courses. The student is then “handed off” through the CRM to the Office of Academic Advising where outreach occurs to ensure the student is “course ready” with textbooks, resources, library card, etc. The next touchpoint is during the course experience, if the student is having any difficulty, submits papers late, or is not engaged. All these efforts are tracked formatively and examined using the new tools.

Attention was also given to business process mapping of each unit to identify areas for improvement and redundancies. Many units within the University participated in these activities that resulted in changes to increase operational efficiencies and identify and address barriers to student success (I.C4.6).

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The Working Strategic Plan itself is a dynamic document and progress is assessed annually toward the achievement of University goals through each division. The University’s financial outlook has stabilized and enrollment and retention efforts are well underway.

Summary of Institutional Strengths and Opportunities for Improvement The University is clearly mission driven. The review of the mission and development of goals was a collaborative process and inclusive of the entire University. It is well-publicized, and staff are guided by that mission to focus on service excellence and student success. Both internal and external constituencies are aware of the mission to serve adult learners and provide varied educational and assessment opportunities, which attracts them to the University.

The mission and goals are appropriate, realistic, and consistent with the aims of higher education. There is a strong academic assessment component on student outcomes and programmatic excellence and there has been a robust effort to develop new strategic initiatives and assess their effectiveness.

In meeting the Standard I and associated criteria requirements, the University also meets Requirements of Affiliation 7 and 10.

The University’s exploration into Standard I, associated criteria, as well as identified Lines of Inquiry, emphasizes specific institutional strengths along with opportunities for continuous improvement.

Institutional Strengths • Evidence suggests that TESU has a clearly defined mission that is consistent with its founding as a innovator in adult education and is regularly reviewed and responsive to the evolving needs of adult learners.

• Evidence suggests that TESU’s mission influences high-level strategic decisions, goals, and resource allocations, and guides decisions made on a daily or hourly basis in ongoing University operations and everything in between. The mission appears to permeate every aspect of University business.

• Evidence suggests that TESU’s efforts at renewing a strong commitment to service excellence and student success are paying dividends. With the addition of the Center for Student Success, The Zero Textbook Cost Initiative, Learning Experience Redesign, Barrier Course Project, increases in Professional Learning Reviews, and a vigorous institution-wide focus on retention efforts, TESU is investing heavily in student success.

• TESU is, and has been, known for its innovation and leadership in the field of assessment in myriad contexts. From learning outcomes assessment at the program level, to academic program review and support/administrative unit assessment, TESU is focused on leveraging data-driven decision making for continuous improvement activities. Additionally, assessment within the context of prior learning remains a critical ingredient in the operationalization of the TESU mission.

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Opportunities for Continuous Improvement and Improvement Plan Opportunity

Improvement Plan

The Self-Study revealed an opportunity to increase student engagement in strategic and operational direction/information gathering.

The University plans to embed a “student voice” opportunity in future business process mapping as well as viewing additional methods of capturing student feedback for strategic and operational activities.

Students have historically served on the Board of Trustees and most recently a student voice was added in the strategic visioning process. This student will lead the visioning discussion at the March meeting of the Board. Additionally, the Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, conducted a review to ensure that the University Academic Council and committees of the UAC include student appointments per bylaws requirements. The Bylaws of the UAC are scheduled for review in FY23 and consideration will be made for increased student participation.

Data collection and analysis should continue to be developed.

The University has launched a data governance initiative and continues to develop and refine reports and data collection through Power BI.

Continue to develop new workforce-focused academic programs.

TESU has always been committed to providing careerrelevant education and learning opportunities. The COVID 19 pandemic disruption to the workforce and to higher education has crystallized this commitment to the TESU mission. Reallocation of resources has enabled TESU to more closely align its programs and prior learning assessment opportunities with industry.

However, additional work remains to create a seamless education/workforce paradigm in which studentemployees do not differentiate the two. To this end, TESU is heavily investing in apprenticeship and preapprenticeship partnerships with community colleges and technical high schools to create pathways from preapprenticeship technical programs through to graduate degrees in industries such as Healthcare, Construction, Renewable Energy, and IT Infrastructure.

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STANDARD II: ETHICS AND INTEGRITY Ethics and integrity are central, indispensable, and defining hallmarks of effective higher education institutions.

In all activities, whether internal or external, an institution must be faithful to its mission, honor its contracts and commitments, adhere to its policies, and represent itself truthfully.

Thomas Edison State University (TESU) is in full compliance with Standard II: Ethics and Integrity including all the standard’s subsequent criteria.

During the Self-Study design phase, TESU worked closely with its assigned MSCHE Liaison to develop Lines of Inquiry or research-style questions to give direction to the self-inquiry process. The Lines of Inquiry, in essence, serve as a bridge between the MSCHE Standards and Criteria and TESU’s Strategic Institutional Priorities.

The Lines of Inquiry for Standard II are: Standard II – Lines of Inquiry • What policies and procedures that relate to the nine criteria of Standard II are in place?

• To what extent does the institution empower and equip employees for optimal organizational performance?

• How are these policies and procedures communicated internally and externally?

• To what extent are these easily accessible, accurate, comprehensive, efficient, and consistent in all places they are communicated and how easy are they to understand?

• What organizational structures are in place to ensure the attainment of Standard II? • To what extent does TESU comply with the federal and state government reporting requirements for Standard II? TESU is committed to complying with the highest level of ethics and integrity in all its institutional operations and in the interactions of its staff members with internal and external stakeholders. The expectations are exhibited by leadership, communicated publicly, and with specific constituency focus on campus publications such as the University website (II.Int.1), Academic Code of Conduct (II.Int.2), Nonacademic Code of Conduct (II.Int.3), Undergraduate (II.Int.4) and Graduate (II.Int.5) catalogs, the Personnel Plan (II.Int.6), and grievance procedures (II.Int.7). Serving as a vehicle for communication of such policies, the University website is evaluated as part of an annual compliance audit to ensure accuracy and to provide information to students and the public regarding costs and resources available to students. Moreover, appeal and grievance policies are available to students on the University website.

The University follows all the policies and guidance of the state of New Jersey and federal governments related to ethics and integrity in providing high-quality education to students, honoring its contractual agreements and commitments, and being faithful to its mission. The University has appropriate organizational structures and processes in place to ensure compliance with the nine criteria of this standard, including governance structures such as the University Academic Council and Academic Integrity Committee, and staff accountabilities such as annual audits of various practices.

TESU has personnel, departments, and committees dedicated specifically to diversity, equity, inclusion, and respect within the University, e.g., the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council, Chief Equity, Diversity and Student Success Officer, Chief Human Resources and Employee Success Officer, ADA coordinator, and Title IX coordinator as seen in the organizational chart (II.Int.8).

The University continually assesses ethics and integrity, as evidenced by its strong board governance and changemanagement processes. Policies (and related updates) are adopted by the Board of Trustees or approved by internal senior management. Policies related to ethics and integrity include: Uniform Ethics Code (II.Int.9); Ethics Plain Language Guide (II.Int.10); Mandatory Ethics Training/Briefing (II.Int.11); Request for Approval for Attendance at Event Form (II.Int.12); Personnel Plan 2019 (II.Int.6); State of New Jersey Discrimination Policy (II.Int.13); Equal Opportunity and Diversity Policy (II.Int.14); Whistleblower Policy (II.Int.15); Confidentiality Policy Agreement (II. Int.16); Mentoring Expectations, Terms, and Conditions (II.Int.17); Academic Code of Conduct (II.Int.2); and CampusSecurity-Report-2020 (II.Int.18).

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Focus on Diversity In addition to the policies and practices described elsewhere in this Standard, the University commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) can be seen in the initiatives to promote success for all students, which are described in Standard IV. In 2019, Dr. Hancock charged each member of her cabinet to identify ways in which their divisions could strengthen the University through enhanced DEI efforts both within the division and across the university. In response to this charge, a Chief Student Success, Equity, and Inclusion Officer was hired in January 2020 to build upon the student success initiatives across the University and, specifically, to establish a Center for Student Success. Initiatives of this center are described in Standard IV. A search is currently underway for an Assistant Director of Equity and Inclusion to further advance these initiatives.

The University emphasis on inclusivity can be seen in the efforts to diversify our mentor and subject-matter expert (SME) pools, as well as our governance through our curriculum committees. Each Dean has prepared a plan for this diversification and early successes are apparent. For example, the natural science, social science, and humanities division of the Heavin School of Arts, Sciences, and Technology has engaged in enhanced recruitment efforts and has identified several new mentors with diverse perspectives and experiences to work on academic projects in the liberal arts. All are highly credentialed with experience in innovative strategies and pedagogies to work on an array of academic projects. The mentors/SMEs are committed to DEI and are involved in projects related to revision of barrier courses and the revision of our Master of Arts in Educational Leadership, which will include a focus on issues of cultural and identify pluralism, equity, and diversity of learning needs, and trauma-informed practices.

The Thomas Edison State University/New Jersey State Library (TESU/NJSL), Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Council (DEIC) was established in September 2020 to create a space to generate dialogue and engagement regarding DEI across and among the members of TESU/NJSL community. Charged by the University President, the DEIC demonstrates a commitment to increasing diversity, which is expressed in myriad forms, including race and ethnicity, gender and gender identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, language, culture, national origin, religious commitments, age, (dis)ability status, and political perspective. This concept of diversity encompasses acceptance and respect for, and appreciation of, differences among us. Additionally, the DEIC is charged with reviewing and recommending organizational policies that support fair treatment, access, opportunity, and advancement for all people, while striving to identify and eliminate barriers that may prevent the full participation of some groups within our organizations. The DEIC pursues deliberate efforts to ensure that our campus is a place where differences are welcomed, different perspectives are respectfully heard, and where every individual feels a sense of belonging and inclusion. The University believes that by building a critical mass of diverse groups on campus and creating a vibrant climate of inclusiveness, it will be able to more effectively leverage the resources of diversity to advance our collective capabilities.

The DEIC meets regularly and their initial work focused on development of a mission statement and charge, governance model, membership terms, and a logo to identify DEIC related events and efforts. In addition to those efforts, and in collaboration with the Office of Institutional Research, DEIC selected a staff climate survey, understanding that to measure the impact of the efforts we will put forth in the future, we must first measure where we are now.

In Spring 2021, University staff participated in that climate survey developed by the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) at UCLA to assess the baseline thoughts of our community’s climate, behaviors, and policies regarding DEI as they stand today. The University also engaged a consultant to analyze those survey results. Part of the work of the consultant in partnership with the University leadership will be to utilize the data to assist the DEIC in identifying growth opportunities and making recommendations to the University administration. The consultants will also be providing training to TESU/NJSL staff.

The DEIC also works on developing and supporting events that foster and expand the discussion regarding how we can actively and purposefully cultivate a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive culture at TESU. Sponsored events have included guest speakers for MLK Day, Black History Month, and various DEI centered sessions at Edison Day including Understanding ADA, DEI In Action, and Cross-Cultural Communication. These events vary in scope (such as one-day workshops, multi-day conferences, or single topic programs) and serve to educate, inform, and provide discussion and networking about DEI topics of interest and concern.

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The DEIC Training and Development Committee oversees and directs the growth and lifelong learning aspect of the DEIC and the TESU/NJSL community related to diversity, equality, and inclusion. The Committee identifies needs and develops programs for personal and professional development of the TESU/NJSL community. Additionally, this Committee develops and coordinates orientation, onboarding, and training for the DEIC members and current/new TESU/NJSL employees.

Academic Freedom and Integrity

II.1

TESU is committed to academic freedom, intellectual freedom, freedom of expression, and respect for intellectual property rights. This is communicated to students, mentors, and staff in several ways, such as the Preamble of the Nonacademic Code of Conduct (II.C1.1), Undergraduate (II.C1.2) and Graduate (II.C1.3) catalogs. Regarding the freedom of expression, the University states in these publications that it is, …dedicated to maintaining a scholarly community in which the freedom of expression both written and oral is greatly valued. Members of the University community are expected to interact with each other with respect, consideration and in a civil manner. Civility requires cooperation, tolerance, acceptance, inclusiveness, courtesy, and patience. It is expressed not only in the words that are chosen, but in tone, demeanor, and actions (Undergraduate Catalog and Graduate Catalog in Section 4, Nonacademic Code of Conduct, Preamble.) (II.C1.1, II.C1.2, II.C1.3) The University is firmly committed to and expects all members of its community to adhere to an academic integrity policy that will promote academic quality, excellence, and honesty. The Academic Code of Conduct policy states that, …students are expected to exhibit the highest level of academic citizenship. In particular, students are expected to read and follow all policies, procedures and program information guidelines contained in publications; pursue their learning goals with honesty and integrity; demonstrate that they are progressing satisfactorily and in a timely fashion by meeting course deadlines and following outlined procedures; observe a code of mutual respect in dealing with mentors, staff and other students; behave in a manner consistent with the standards and codes of their professions; keep official records updated regarding changes in name, address, telephone number or email address; and meet financial obligations in a timely manner. Students not practicing good academic citizenship may be subject to disciplinary action including suspension, dismissal, or financial holds on records.

All members of the community are responsible for reviewing the academic code of conduct policy and behaving in keeping with the stated principles (II.C1.4) The University ensures that students, staff, mentors, and subject-matter experts (SMEs) understand and honor its commitment to intellectual property rights. For example, the Academic Code of Conduct has sections on Academic Integrity and Plagiarism. The content of these sections is also reiterated in the Undergraduate and Graduate catalogs in Section 4, (II.C1.2; II.C1.3), and Academic Code of Conduct (II.C1.4), Academic Integrity. Moreover, intellectual property rights for consultants are clearly outlined in the Design Consultants Services Contract (II.C1.5) and in the Terms and Conditions document that is attached to the consultant contract (II.C1.6).

The University uses SafeAssign Plagiarism Prevention Services to help students check their writing assignments prior to submission and for course mentors to check assignments after submission (II.C1.7). Additionally, the Office of Academic Integrity provides resources for students to help them understand what plagiarism is and how it can be avoided via proper referencing (II.C1.8). Students are also provided with access to writing labs and tutoring sites (II. C1.9).

The University adheres to all Federal Copyright Laws (II.C1.10), especially regarding the development of its courses with its contracting SMEs (consultants). The course development contract emphasizes adherence to these laws in the Terms and Conditions document, which is attached to the consultant contract (II.C1.6). The contract states that the consultant attests that “any work submitted without citation is the Consultant’s original work, that no part of it has been previously published, and that no other agreement to publish it or a part of it is pending.” (II.C1.5).

The University has appropriate organizational structures and processes in place to ensure compliance with this criterion, including the University leadership including its General Counsel, Board of Trustees, University Academic Council, and the Academic Integrity Committee. These governance bodies and their responsibilities are described in Standard VII.

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II.2

Climate of Respect

University policies demonstrate the commitment to providing a climate that fosters inclusivity and respect amongst students, mentors, and staff as stated in the Preamble of the Nonacademic Code of Conduct, Members of the University community are expected to interact with each other with respect, consideration, and in a civil manner. Civility requires cooperation, tolerance, acceptance, inclusiveness, courtesy, and patience. It is expressed not only in the words that are chosen, but in tone, demeanor, and actions (II.C1.1).

Additionally, the University is “is committed to maintaining an academic environment free from discrimination and harassment” (Policy against Discrimination and Harassment (II.C2.2); Policy against Harassment, Intimidation, and Bullying (II.C2.3). Finally, the University’s adherence to a drug-free workplace and academic environment, Drug and Alcohol Abuse Prevention Policy, helps ensure a safe environment for staff and students (II.C2.4).

TESU is committed to hiring a diverse staff through its belief in and adherence to fair and just hiring practices. For example, as stated in the Equal Opportunity and Diversity policy the University, …is an Equal Opportunity institution. In the operation of its programs and activities (including admissions counseling and advisement), the University affords equal opportunity to qualified individuals regardless of race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, ancestry, gender identity or expression, national origin, ethnic group, affectional or sexual orientation, atypical hereditary or cellular blood trait, disability, marital/familial status, domestic partnership or civil union status, or liability for military service. This is in accord with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, and/or national origin), Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (which prohibits sex discrimination), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (which prohibits discrimination against otherwise qualified people with disabilities) and other applicable laws and regulations (II.C2.5).

TESU has personnel, departments, and committees dedicated specifically to diversity, equity, inclusion, and respect within the University, e.g., the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council, Chief Equity, Diversity and Student Success Officer, Chief Human Resources and Employee Success Officer, ADA coordinator and Title IX coordinator (II.Int.8).

Service standards (II.C2.6) have been developed by each office that outline the expectations with regard to acting in a respectful manner. In addition, mandatory staff trainings that foster respect of diversity and respect of various perspectives are required upon hiring and on a yearly basis. These include mandatory training in certain areas, e.g., Sexual Harassment (via Safe Colleges Training online programs) and Ethics (via State Ethics Commission online programs) (II.C2.7).

The broader institutional commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion is described above.

Grievance Procedures

II.3

The University provides clear directions to students for filing a variety of academic and nonacademic appeals, complaints, and grievances; these are found in the University Catalog, University-Wide Policies, section Student Complaint Policies and Procedures, as well as Appeals and Waivers, which covers procedures for Academic Appeals, Academic Waivers, Administrative (Nonacademic) Appeals and Waivers, and Appeals related to Disability Accommodations (ADA) (II.C3.1, II.C3.2, II.C3.3). The catalog also has sections on how to file FERPA complaints, the University’s policy on Gender Designation Change in Academic Record, and the Policy Against Discrimination and Harassment and how to file complaints regarding it (II.C3.4, II.C3.5, II.C3.6).

Staff, both union and nonunion, have multiple avenues to file grievances. For example, the grievance policies for union, American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and Communications Workers of America (CWA), employees stated within their contract allow the filing of grievances through their respective union representatives. All employees are capable of filing complaints regarding alleged discrimination in the workplace (State of New Jersey Model Procedures for Processing Internal Complaints Alleging Discrimination in The Workplace), and ethics violations (Section XV Reporting Complaints in New Jersey Uniform Ethics Code) (II.C3.7). Additionally, employees are protected under the University’s Whistleblower Policy, which is in accordance with New Jersey’s Conscientious Employee Protection Act for any ethics or grievances filed (II.C3.8).

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The University requires mandatory training in certain areas, e.g., Sexual Harassment (via Safe Colleges Training online programs) and Ethics (via State Ethics Commission online programs), that provides employees with the information they need in the event that filing a grievance is necessary.

Conflicts of Interest

II.4

The University follows the New Jersey state laws, regulations, policies, and procedures with regard to conflict of interest or the appearance of such.

The New Jersey State Conflicts of Interest Law, N.J.S.A. 52:13D – 21.1, requires that every state employee, including all University and Library staff, complete ethics training annually. To comply with the requirements of the law, every University and Library employee must complete online training/briefing (II.C4.1).

The State Ethics Commission requires that University employees submit an ethics form, “Request for Approval for Attendance at Event,” prior to attending an outside event. An “outside event” includes, but is not limited to, a conference, meeting, seminar, speaking engagement, training, meal, open house, fundraiser, holiday party, social function, or similar event that takes place away from the employee’s work location and that is not sponsored by the University or another New Jersey state entity. An ethics form is required if the invitation is extended to the employee because of his or her official position or the employee is attending the event in his or her University capacity (II.C4.2).

State agencies are required to provide all new employees with training on the policy and procedures set forth in this section within a reasonable period after each new employee’s appointment date. Refresher training shall be provided to all employees, including supervisors, within a reasonable period. All state agencies shall also provide supervisors with training on a regular basis regarding their obligations and duties under the policy and regarding procedures set forth in this section (II.C4.3).

At time of hire, employees must complete an Outside Employment and Activity Questionnaire and are required to disclose any outside work, business, or volunteer engagements that they are actively involved in. This form is submitted to the University’s Ethics Liaison for determination of any conflicts. Staff are required to update this form should any new activities arise throughout their tenure (II.C4.5).

It has been TESU’s longstanding policy that no employee of the University or its affiliate, the New Jersey State Library, should be placed in a direct or indirect reporting relationship with any person related to him or her. Similarly, the New Jersey State Ethics Commission regulations (N.J.A.C. 19:61-5.7) and the state’s Uniform Ethics Code prohibit state employees from supervising or exercising authority with regard to personnel actions over relatives, persons with whom they live, or persons they are dating. Full-time employees, part-time employees, temporary employees, and student interns are covered by this policy. For these purposes a “relative” is defined as an individual’s spouse, civil union or domestic partner, or the individual’s or spouse’s or partner’s parent, child, brother, sister, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, grandparent, grand-child, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, stepparent, stepchild, stepbrother, stepsister, half-brother, or half-sister, whether related to the individual or the individual’s spouse or partner by blood, marriage or adoption (II.C4.6). This is additionally defined in the New Jersey State Ethics Commission regulations, N.J.A.C. 19:61-5.7 (II.C4.8).

Section III of the University’s Purchasing and Contracting Policy specifically addresses avoidance of nepotism, or appearance thereof, in the contracting of mentors and academic consultants. Prior to mentors and academic consultants being added as vendors, they must certify that they are not related to, dating, or cohabiting with any University or Library employee. They must also disclose any change in circumstances while they continue to contract with the University or Library (II.C4.7).

The University’s standard Consulting Services Contract also addresses the standards of prohibiting conflicts of interest in all contracts and purchase agreements entered by the University through outside vendors or contractors.

Finally, each member of the Board of Trustees is required to complete and affirm that they have no conflicts of interest when they begin their terms. In addition, Board members are sent a list of vendors quarterly to ensure that there are no conflicts that may have developed (see Standard VII).

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II.5

Employee Practices

It is the policy of TESU to recruit, hire, train, promote, transfer, and retain persons in all job classifications without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, creed, ethnic group, disability, marital/familial status, affectional or sexual orientation, atypical hereditary cellular or blood trait, or liability for service in the armed forces.

Adherence to this policy is ensured by the Office of Human resources through a review of all candidate pools prior to release to hiring managers and through regular review of employee actions.

The Personnel Plan is an in-depth policy that covers all areas of employment from recruitment through termination, which ensures fair, equitable, and impartial processes. The Personnel Plan is included in the offer package for all new hires and is available for all staff on the HRIS (human resources information system) platform for review at any time.

The Personnel Plan establishes acceptable procedure for search committees. When managerial or unclassified positions are to be filled, a search committee, either departmental or inter-departmental, is established by the Office of Human Resources to review applications, conduct interviews, and give advice to the appropriate appointing authority as to the selection. Only a diverse applicant pool, certified by the University’s Equal Employment Opportunity Officer, will be released to the search committee (II.C5.1).

Under the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, Title VII, the ADA, and ADEA, it is illegal to discriminate in any aspect of employment, including the following: • hiring and firing.

• compensation, assignment, or classification of employees.

• transfer, promotion, layoff, or recall.

• job advertisements.

• recruitment.

• testing.

• use of University facilities.

• training and apprenticeship programs.

• fringe benefits.

• pay, retirement plans, and disability leave.

• other terms and conditions of employment.

It is a violation of the New Jersey State Policy Prohibiting Discrimination in the Workplace to engage in any employment practice or procedure that treats an individual less favorably based upon any of the protected categories referred to in (a) above. This policy pertains to all employment practices such as recruitment, selection, hiring, training, promotion, transfer, assignment, layoff, return from layoff, termination, demotion, discipline, compensation, fringe benefits, working conditions, and career development.

All employees receive a copy of the Affirmative Action Policies and Procedures document and the New Jersey State Policy Prohibiting Discrimination in the Workplace during their new hire orientation. These policies are also hosted through the online HRIS platform for access at any time (II.C5.2, II.C5.3).

The University has contract agreements with two labor unions: CWA and AFT. Each union has defined policies and procedures for appointments, contracts, and reappointments to ensure fair, impartial, and equitable hiring, rehiring, and promotional opportunities for staff covered under these contracts.

All staff participate in an annual evaluation process. The procedures are intended to provide a systematic evaluation and are designed to assess overall performance and progress toward, or accomplishment of goals and objectives previously established. The process for managerial, unclassified, and classified evaluations is provided in full detail within The Personnel Plan (II.C5.1).

All staff members of TESU are expected to comply with reasonable standards of professional conduct and all University policies. Failure to do so may subject staff members to disciplinary action, which may consist of

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reprimand, suspension, or termination at any time during employment. All such actions, if taken, shall be consistent with standards of due process and in accordance with applicable state regulations and/or negotiated agreements.

Public Information

II.6

TESU’s communication processes include diverse internal and external audiences while maintaining transparency.

The TESU website serves as the major source of public information both externally and internally. The website includes the University Catalog and general institutional information including Family Educational Rights and Privacy (FERPA), student diversity, tuition and fees, transfer policies, financial aid information, the Drug and Alcohol Abuse Prevention Program, the Campus Security Report, Evacuation Plan, and information on disability support services. This information is reviewed for accuracy on an annual basis as part of the compliance review (II.C6.1).

The University’s website has evolved over many years with different departments being responsible for their own content. As such, information integrity was compromised on some webpages. Starting in 2021, the University has implemented SmartCatalog to ensure that all information on the website links to the appropriate University Policy and Procedures. The University conducted a web usability study in 2021 as part of the University’s continuous process improvement initiatives. All divisions of the institution, as well as applicant prospects and current students, participated in the study and were provided an opportunity to comment on the findings of the study and recommend website improvements. The University is currently developing a strategy to improve the website based on the related findings and recommendations.

University marketing materials are prepared by the Office of Marketing in accordance with the University marketing plan (II.C6.2) that is aligned with the University Enrollment Management plan (II.C6.3). These two plans use the University mission as their guiding principles and ensure that marketing efforts are focused on those student populations whose interests, abilities, experiences, and goals are congruent with TESU’s mission and educational offerings. The plans also ensure that the University is marketing to diverse groups of adult students, in alignment with the University’s mission, so that the University provides access and opportunity to the largest and most diverse population of possible students. Student marketing materials are vetted by the leadership of the Office of Marketing and the Division of Enrollment Management to ensure compliance with the Code of Federal Regulation 34 Education, Standard 6; Code of Federal Regulation 38 Veterans Affairs, Standard 1; Code of Federal Regulation 16 Commercial Practices, Standard 1; and the New Jersey Statutes NJ 18A-62 Public Institutions of Higher Education. Standard VI as well as Department of Defense Voluntary Education Institutional Program Policies, the Principles of Excellence enunciated in Executive Order 13607 and New Jersey statutes. The Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense conducted a comprehensive compliance review in 2020, asked that TESU clarify a few specific areas and, in January 2021, provided the University a letter stating that the University had successfully completed the compliance review.

The University uses various methods including phone calls, email, texting, and direct mail for outreach to prospective students, applicants, and admitted students. These messages are vetted by the Marketing and Enrollment Management leadership to ensure compliance with relevant codes and policies outlined above. Additionally, the various methods have been vetted by the Enrollment Management leadership team with the assistance of the Office of Management Information Systems (MIS) and in some cases the University Office of the General Counsel to ensure that TESU is in compliance with state and federal texting, emailing, and phone outreach laws and regulations.

Individuals are provided the ability to opt out of texting campaigns and can request to be put on the University do not contact list so that they are excluded from future University outreach.

Internal announcements to staff are delivered primarily through either the Capital Campus email or posted to the Capital Campus Staff Portal. An emergency alert system can be utilized as needed for broadcast messages delivered via text, email, and phone, most often for emergency weather closings. Emergency broadcast messages that are relevant to students or the public are also duplicated prominently on the website. These messages are developed by the Senior Director of Communications and vetted by the Chief of Staff and the appropriate area Vice President to ensure their accuracy and timeliness.

The University also uses a third-party broadcast email system to send communications emails to specific groups of students or alumni. Messages prepared for students are written in collaboration with and reviewed by the requesting office for accuracy and tone. Messages to alumni are vetted through the Office of Alumni Engagement. All email outreach to students is recapped in a section of the Capital Campus Staff Portal under Outreach so that all staff can be informed about these communications.

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Public relations news releases are issued as warranted to share news about the University with the public through various media outlets. Each press release is developed by the Office of Communications staff and vetted through the Chief of Staff and the appropriate area Vice President. Releases provide contact information for a member of the Communications staff to allow for follow up questions or clarifying details. Each news release is then placed on the front-page of the TESU website under the heading “Newsroom,” so that they are accessible to students, staff, alumni, and the public at large.

Various social media platforms are also used for outreach to students, alumni, and staff as well as the public. The Assistant Director, Digital Communications, makes all decisions about what is posted to social media using industry best practices and regulatory requirements. She also tracks all followers and engagement on each platform to inform our decisions about when and where to post to social media.

II.7

Accessibility and Affordability

TESU was established to serve adult learners. Its mission is to provide “distinctive undergraduate and graduate education for self-directed adults through flexible, high-quality collegiate learning and assessment opportunities.”

The University is open access at the undergraduate level, accepting individuals who have a high school diploma or GED and are at least 20 years old (or are serving in the military or have earned a minimum of 24 credits from an accredited institution) (II.C7a.1). At the graduate level, TESU provides the opportunity for students who have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution with lower than a 3.0 GPA to provide a resume and personal statement for the consideration of a school Admissions Committee (II.C7a.1).

Additionally, in accordance with federal regulations, financial aid and loan information is provided on the University website, provided to students as part of the University annual notification letter that is typically sent out in September of each year and financial aid and loan information is provided to prospects and students as required.

Accessibility is also assured in the development and revision of our courses for students who may require accommodations. As described in Standard III, students who require additional accommodations may request these through our Office of Student Accessibility Services (II.C7a.2). b. to enable students to understand funding sources and options, value received for cost, and methods to make informed decisions about incurring debt.

Funding Options The TESU per-credit tuition is the lowest for in-state students of the New Jersey public four-year institutions. Moreover, the University has limited fees and those we have are clearly described on our website (II.C7b.1).

The University strives to remove barriers for students, which includes the cost of education. The Tuition and Fee Committee (Committee) compares our tuition to the other public institutions in New Jersey and with our national benchmark institutions. The Committee forecasts the enrollment for the following year based on trends, new program development, and corporate partnership, and makes tuition and fee recommendations to University leadership. One goal of the Committee is to maintain the lowest tuition in the New Jersey public sector. Tuition and fee setting, and the overall budgeting process, is discussed in detail in Standard VI. The University created a full-time tuition rate for the first time in fiscal year 2020. This full-time rate was subsequently lowered in fiscal year 2021. This new rate provides students with a savings at 9 credits or more. A fulltime student talking 12 credits will realize savings of $1,209 per term. The following is a summary of in-state percredit tuition and full-time tuition over the previous five years.

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Table 6: In State Per-Credit and Full-Time Tuition – Five Year Change Year

Per Credit Tuition

Full-time Tuition

2018

$396

2019

$396

2020

$399

$3,963

2021

$399

$3,579

2022

$399

$3,579

The majority of the University students are part time and pay a per credit tuition rate. That rate for New Jersey students has not increased in the previous two years. The University is a military-friendly institution that honors the $250 cap for the military branches. That tuition rate has not increased in more than a decade.

In addition to our online course tuition, the University offers several other low-cost alternatives to earn credit. Our TECEP® and PLA tuition afford cost conscience pricing as an alternate means of earning college credit. Students pay $150 to complete a 3-credit lower level (100-200) course; and $225 for a 3-credit upper-level (200-300) course. Our prior learning assessment allows students to earn up to 12 college credits for $389 in a semester. The University has a generous credit transfer policy. All pricing is transparent and clearly stated on the website.

Our commitment to affordability is clearly seen on our Zero Textbook Costs (ZTC) initiative, with the development of nearly 100 courses with zero textbook costs and more than 25 additional courses with textbook/materials costs of less than $25. During the 2020-2021 academic year, 30 courses were converted to ZTC and a savings to students of $1,627,767 in that year alone. Since July 2016, the total savings for students is approaching $4 million. Beyond monetary savings, students in these courses have immediate and full access to all materials required for successful learning, enabling mastery of content and forward movement in their degree programs. Plans call for creation of new ZTC courses at a minimum pace of 10 courses annually.

The University created a financial one-stop in March 2020. The one-stop includes six financial counselors who can answer any question regarding tuition and fees, billing, outstanding balances, payment options, available financial aid, and alternative funding sources as well as accept payments, providing clearer support for the financial questions raised by students. The counselors are able to advise students on the impact of debt. Prior to the creation of the onestop, students would be transferred between departments depending on the question.

To help students better understand the various funding sources and options available to them, the University’s Financial Aid Self-Service provides detailed explanations of the federal, state, institutional and private funds we administer. There is clear direction on how the Pell Grant is awarded and how the award is tied to the student’s enrollment.

If a student is accepting an unsubsidized loan, they are required first to accept their subsidized Federal Direct Loan, which is more favorable to them. To guide them on how possible student loan debt will affect them, there is a link on the Financial Aid webpage to the United States Department of Education’s Manage Loans website where there are many resources to help them understand student loan repayment and their options.

Required Disclosures

II.8

Required disclosures are published to the University’s website and made available through other reporting mechanisms. Reports are available to both internal and external constituents. Examples include annual financial statement audits (II.C8a.2), Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) data (II.C8a.3), the Key Numbers Report (which includes graduation rates and retention rates) (II.C8a.4), Persistence and Graduation Outcomes – Undergraduate Study prepared by TESU’s Office of Institutional Research for years 2009 - 2019 (II.C8a.5), and Certification/ Board Pass Rates for Nursing and CPA candidates.

Requirements of Affiliation The University complies with all the policies as stated in the Commission’s Requirements of Affiliation, which are thoroughly addressed throughout this document. It observes the principles of ethics and integrity in its mission and practices that impact students, staff, mentors, and all external contracts and commitments. Furthermore, it observes all applicable federal, state, and city legal requirements.

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Substantive Change Reporting of Substantive Changes are rigorously monitored internally and shared with the Commission on a timely basis. There have been eight substantive changes since the last self-study review. All eight substantive changes were submitted to Middle States and are documented in the MSCHE Institutional portal (II.C8c.1). There are no MSCHE substantive changes in process.

As stated in the New Jersey President’s Council (NJPC) Academic Issues Committee Manual (II.C8c.2), the NJPC has the responsibility to “review and make recommendations to the (Secretary) concerning proposals for new programs that exceed the programmatic mission of an institution or that change the programmatic mission of an institution” (N.J.S.A 18A:3B-8(b)) The regulations that govern programmatic mission are provided at N.J.A.C. 9A: 1-2.9, “Exceeding or changing programmatic mission.”

The senior leadership of the University ensures that the University complies with these state regulations when such changes occur. For example, in 2015, when the University decided to offer the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP), the first doctorate degree offered by the University, the proposal went through this approval process. After the proposal was approved by the University’s Board of Trustees, it was sent to the New Jersey Council of Presidents where upon approval it was sent to the New Jersey Office of the Secretary of Education for final approval.

Compliance with MSCHE Policies Commission Policies and Procedures are reasonable and followed by TESU. There are no outstanding reporting requirements or issues relative to TESU’s accreditation status (II.C8d.1).

II.9

Periodic Assessment

The University continually assesses ethics and integrity policies, as evidenced by its strong board governance and change management processes. Policies (and related updates) are adopted by the Board of Trustees or approved by internal senior management. Accountabilities for the implementation of these policies are clearly defined, as are mechanisms for monitoring compliance. The University is accountable to the State of New Jersey for ensuring compliance with state requirements, and the University has identified key internal leaders or offices for the monitoring of compliance and to whom any breaches may be reported (e.g., General Counsel, Human Resources, Registrar).

Summary of Institutional Strengths and Opportunities for Improvement In meeting the Standard II and associated criteria requirements.

The University’s exploration into Standard II, associated criteria, as well as identified Lines of Inquiry, emphasizes specific institutional strengths along with opportunities for continuous improvement.

Institutional Strengths • Evidence suggests that the University has published and adheres to the principles of academic and intellectual freedom alongside a strong institutional commitment to respect, diversity, equity, and inclusion.

• Evidence suggests that TESU has policies that address all relevant areas and are readily available to students and the general public.

• Evidence suggests that the University embodies its stated commitment to access and affordability in all areas of University operations including but not limited to tuition decisions, the acceptance of credit through transfer credit policies, articulation agreements, and prior learning assessment.

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Opportunities for Continuous Improvement and Improvement Plan Opportunity Many resources are made available to students in support of their academic achievement. However, some of these efforts appear to be uni-directional, i.e., required student acknowledgement appears low. Efforts should be made to develop student acknowledgement tracking systems for critical student resources, i.e., academic/ nonacademic code of conduct, TESU Policies and Procedures and other student support resources.

The University’s website has evolved over many years with different departments being responsible for their own content. As such, information integrity was and still may be compromised on some webpages.

Standardization of the website may assist in more accurate and clear transmission of information.

Improvement Plan

The University is currently making changes to its ERP that will allow the University to present key policies and track the acknowledgement of those policies.

The estimate date for rollout of this new feature is approximately six months.

The University recently acquired and implemented SmartCatalog by Watermark. This tool, which has been embedded into the University’s web presence in a seamless fashion, was intended as a first step to streamlining and standardizing the TESU web presence and information contained therein.

In phase two of an ongoing website overhaul, the University is focusing on a new site that will host all University policies, procedures, and guidelines. This site is currently being populated and will be launched in 2022 (II.Opp.1).

A usability study, including current and prospective students, has been conducted for the website that will ultimately guide the development of a new website for the University.

It was noted that some of the staff polices have not been reviewed or revised for some time.

As described in Standard VII, a process for policy review is in development, which will include a policy site that will organize polices with review cycle.

As described in this Standard, mechanisms are in place The University should continue to build upon its to continue to develop initiatives in this area. A baseline commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion including assessment of institutional culture has been conducted. developing and implementing self-assessment in this TESU will develop a plan to assess both the value of area. specific initiatives and their overall impact.

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STANDARD III: DESIGN AND DELIVERY OF THE STUDENT LEARNING EXPERIENCE An institution provides students with learning experiences that are characterized by rigor and coherence at all program, certificate, and degree levels, regardless of instructional modality. All learning experiences, regardless of modality, program pace/schedule, level, and setting are consistent with higher education expectations.

Thomas Edison State University is in full compliance with Standard III: Design and Delivery of the Student Learning Experience including all the standard’s subsequent criteria. In addition, TESU also meets the MSCHE Requirements of Affiliation that map to Standard III, specifically requirements 8, 9, 10, and 15.

During the Self-Study design phase, TESU worked closely with its assigned MSCHE Liaison to develop Lines of Inquiry or research-style questions to give direction to the self-inquiry process. The Lines of Inquiry, in essence, serve as a bridge between the MSCHE Standards and Criteria and TESU’s Strategic Institutional Priorities.

The Lines of Inquiry for Standard III are: Standard II – Lines of Inquiry • How is the student learning experience enhanced through technology, consistent with higher education expectations?

• How does the University’s strategic initiative of developing a competency-based degree strategy and programs aligns with the University’s design and delivery model?

• How does the University assess the strength of its instructional engagement model and ensure that this data informs the University’s academic design model?

The TESU model ensures rigor and coherence across all delivery modalities. With a centralized design process there is a consistency of student learning experience across courses, programs, and certificates. Collaborative teams work within project-based structures to design courses. These projects typically take several months from initial request to full implementation in the learning management system. There is close alignment among subject matter experts vetted and selected by the appropriate school Dean, instructional designers, assessment developers, and technology and media teams. Additionally, a credit hour analysis process, combined with rubrics aligned to course objectives, allow the project team to create consistently rigorous learning experiences. TESU provides multiple credit- and degree-earning modalities, as seen in Figure 6.

Degree Programs at TESU

III.1

TESU offers degree programs at the level of associate, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral. In addition, TESU offers both undergraduate- and graduate-level certificates. An overview of the number of programs at each level can be seen in Table 7. These programs are offered in a wide array of disciplines. Programs have been designed to allow students to move seamlessly between academic level, e.g., associate-to-bachelor’s and bachelor’s-to-master’s pathways. These degree programs are built with the unique needs of adult learners in mind, including incorporation of a flexible transfer credit policy, and the award of credit for licenses, certifications, and other industry-supported credit earning/award opportunities. The requirements and learning outcomes for the programs are clearly represented in the Undergraduate (III.C1.1) and Graduate catalogs (III.C1.2).

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Table 7: TESU Certificate and Degree Offerings At-A-Glance Academic Level

Credit Range

Number of Program Offerings

Undergraduate Certificates

12-30

21 (e.g., Certificate in Accounting)

Graduate and Post-Graduate Certificates

12-18

23 (e.g., Graduate Certificate in Homeland Security)

Associate Degrees

60

39 (e.g., Associate in Science in Business Administration)

Bachelor’s Degrees

120

77 (e.g., BSBA in Accounting)

Master’s Degrees

30-42

52 (e.g., Master of Science of Management in Accounting)

Doctoral Degrees

36-48

2: Doctor of Business Administration; Doctor of Nursing Practice degree in Systems-Level Leadership

The General Education curriculum (III.C1.3), which underwent an academic program review (III.C1.4) in 2021, aligns with the MSCHE expectations related to the acquisition of skills in written and oral communication, quantitative literacy and mathematical skills, information literacy, diversity/intercultural literacy, ethical leadership, civic engagement and awareness, and knowledge of human cultures (as represented in social sciences, arts and humanities, and history).

TESU offers multiple credit-earning modalities that include online learning, e-Pack® courses, Guided Study courses, portfolio assessment, self-directed courses, and TECEP® exams (III.C1.5).

Figure 6: TESU’s Multiple Modalities of Learning

• Online Courses are fully developed mentor facilitated asynchronous courses that are either 8- or 12-weeks long depending on the program of study.

• Guided Study Courses are 12-week independent study courses that enable students to work with a mentor at their own pace to complete course assignments and prepare for examinations.

• e-Pack® Courses are independent study courses that feature a series of formative activities and quizzes to prepare for a final exam.

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• TECEP® Exams are TESU’s own credit-by-examination program. Students can earn credit by demonstrating their proficiency in a subject area by taking a final exam without taking a course. The University also accepts credit earned from other testing programs, such as CLEP® and DSST®.

• Self-Directed Courses are designed for incarcerated students to earn credit and use methods designed specifically to accommodate specialized needs.

• Portfolio Assessment is a course-based process designed to enable students to articulate and prove that they have college-level knowledge of a subject, acquired outside of a traditional classroom setting, perhaps through work, training, volunteer service, or other experiences.

• Professional Learning Review (PLR) allows students the opportunity to earn credit for external credentials and organization-specific training programs that have been evaluated through a TESU-developed review process.

The PLR uses subject matter experts and standardized rubrics to determine whether the organization’s training and education programs or credentials contain demonstrated and assessed college-level learning that equates to college courses typically taught at an accredited college or university.

TESU uses the services of academic professionals, called “mentors”, to facilitate student learning and evaluate student work. The term mentor is used to emphasize the positive images of trust, guidance, and understanding that speak to the University’s commitment to responsiveness to students and excellence in academic programs, assessment, and service. Mentors are selected based on their academic qualifications, areas of expertise, and applied or industry experience. Mentors guide and assess student learning, develop course materials and curriculum through membership on instructional design teams, and engage in curriculum approval through participation and leadership on Curriculum Committees for the University’s schools and on the University Academic Council (UAC). Through their membership on the UAC, mentors also participate in setting academic policy.

TESU Courses To meet the needs of adult learners with busy professional lives and family commitments, most TESU courses are offered online in 8- or 12-week formats, depending on the degree program. There are a few exceptions, including Self-Directed deliveries and credit-by-assessment offerings (TECEP®, e-Pack®, PLA). TESU offers students various modalities to earn credit. They can explore what options best fit their experience, circumstances, and preferences.

While there are some courses offered in multiple formats, there are many that are exclusive to one of the delivery modes.

Outcomes-First Program and Course Design and Alignment The development or redevelopment of academic program begins with a proposal process that is overseen by the school Dean who engages with mentors who are subject matter experts. The process is outlined in the Curriculum Approval Process Handbook (III.C1.7). The proposal includes a summary of the objectives of the program, the relationship of the program to the institutional mission, the need as determined by a market analysis, and a financial, break-even analysis. Importantly, the proposal includes a description of the Program Learning Outcomes and curriculum (overall requirements and course descriptions) to create an integrated and coherent program. This proposal serves as the basis for the internal and external governance approvals (III.C1.6).

The principle of outcomes-first design that is emphasized at the course level with respect to course and module objectives applies equally at the program and institutional levels with respect to program and institutional outcomes.

It begins with a strong foundation (outcomes and curriculum development), relies on concerted application (instructional design), requires a sophisticated collection process (outcomes assessment tool), and drives evaluation and continuous improvement (program and course revision). Furthermore, learning is scaffolded throughout courses and programs utilizing Bloom’s Taxonomy. As students move through their course work and program, they will encounter more learning opportunities at higher Bloom’s levels.

In addition to aligning course content, activities, and assessments with course-level objectives, the development team ensures that course assignments align with high-level program and institutional outcomes to foster an ongoing cycle of continuous improvement. The ability to collect meaningful outcomes on authentic student work, to analyze those outcomes, and to act on the results they yield is critical to a successful student learning experience.

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Finally, not only does this process ensure academic rigor, but attention to student accessibility is inherent in the process. As part of the core development team, an accessibility lead is assigned to each development project to ensure that accessibility efforts are coordinated amongst all team members when developing content, assessment activities, and incorporating technology. This role is present throughout the entire project, supplements and complements the accessibility training of the other team members, and performs an accessibility review of the final course product before students engage in the course space. This ensures that all elements of a course are reviewed, including third party instructional technologies, selected course materials and books, videos and media, and written instruction and assessment.

Mentors

III.2

The University uses the services of individual subject matter experts, called mentors, to facilitate student learning, evaluate student work via myriad assessment methods, and to serve on task forces, committees, and governance bodies as well as to engage in academic program reviews. TESU uses the term “mentor” to denote a deconstructed faculty role and to emphasize the intended relationship between mentors and TESU students/staff/stakeholders.

TESU mentors do not “teach” in site-based classrooms. Instead, they are engaged to “mentor,” i.e., to guide and assess student learning within courses or other modalities of learning, to develop course materials and curricula through participation in on instructional design teams, and to guide and approve curriculum through membership on standing school-based curriculum committees and on the UAC. Through their membership on the UAC, mentors also participate in developing and setting academic policies and procedures. The UAC is described in detail in Standard VII. To be appointed as mentors, individuals must have a terminal degree from an accredited institution and two years of university-level teaching experience, including online instruction. Leadership from each school reviews and selects mentoring candidates and determines the courses for which they are qualified. Prior to being assigned to a course section, new mentors engage in a course designed to familiarize them with the learning environment and mentoring expectations (III.C2.5, III.C2.4). W. Cary Edwards School of Nursing and Health Professions mentors complete a 10week Certificate in Distance Education program before being given a mentoring assignment.

Mentors are engaged as independent contractors with specific expectations and deliverables outlined in their contracts, the mentoring Expectations Terms and Conditions document (II.Int.17). They are expected to maintain currency in their fields, to meet the challenges of working with adults, and to foster student learning at a distance.

Mentors must remain professionally current through such activities as engaging in research and/or creative work; serving in and making presentations to professional organizations; keeping abreast of literature and trends in their fields of expertise; publishing in professional journals; earning professional certifications; completing courses/ training in adult and online education; teaching at the University level in their fields of expertise; and doing consulting/training in their fields of expertise. For purposes of review, mentors must update their curricula vitae every two years and complete a survey that documents recent publications, presentations, current teaching and/or clinical experience, etc. The Office of Mentor Administration runs weekly Engagement Reports (III.C2.2, III.C2.3) to ensure that mentors are meeting the University standards for engagement with students. Students are given the opportunity to evaluate their courses and mentors each term and these reports are compiled by the Office of Institutional Research and disseminated to the school leadership for their review and action as needed. Mentors who are not meeting standards are contacted and provided reminders about these expectations and may not be given further mentoring contracts.

Mentor Demographics From January 2021 through January of 2022, TESU contracted with 670 academic consultants entitled Mentors. A report (III.C2.1) of mentor demographics is kept by the Office of Mentor Administration and presented for the active mentor pool quarterly. Under the new administration efforts are being implemented University-wide to increase mentor diversity. Each Dean has been tasked with developing plans to increase and enhance mentor diversity in their respective schools. In the past year, through the implementation of various methods to increase and enhance diversity, TESU’s mentor population evolved from a predominantly Caucasian demographic (79%) with Black/ African American representation of 9%, Asian representation of 7% and less than 2% in other minority categories significantly. Newly recruited and hired mentor demographics reflected a Caucasian representation of 64%, Black/ African American representation of 18%, Asian representation of 9% with an additional 9% representation of other

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minority populations. This change reflects TESU’s redoubling efforts toward diversity, equity, and inclusion with respect to the Mentor population.

Within our graduate programs, 87% of our mentors have terminal degrees, with the major exceptions being our clinical nurse supervisors, who are primarily MSNs in active clinical practice, and some mentors in highly technical programs. Any new hires without a terminal degree must be justified to the Provost.

TESU purposefully maintains low student to mentor ratios to allow time for mentors to attend to specific student needs. For the 2020-2021 academic year, average undergraduate course section size was 8.56 students; average graduate course section size was 5.05 (2020-21 Average Section Size). Our goal is to increase those averages slightly to ensure student to student engagement and this process is underway with less frequent scheduling of low-enrolled courses to maximize enrollments across the year as well as the elimination of some low-enrolled elective courses.

TESU ensures a healthy student to mentor ratio in all courses by capping each course section at 20 students, with the exception of one course, SOS-110, which is capped at 25 students. Because of the mentor model, TESU can expand the mentor pool as needed to expand areas of expertise and accommodate demand.

Academic Programs

III.3

The University publishes a detailed course catalog for undergraduate (III.C1.I) and graduate (III.C1.2) programs.

These comprehensive documents are publicly available on the website and contain official course descriptions and other important details as one of several tools to help students make informed decisions.

Within each program catalog page, prospective students and the public may view program overviews, credit distributions with suggested course sequencing, and learning outcomes (Figure 7).

Figure 7: Standardized Program Catalog/Website Format

The TESU website is organized by the types of credit that students can earn. Students can clearly navigate between undergraduate degree programs, graduate degree programs, gaining credits from prior knowledge and experiences, and the Bachelor’s to Master’s Program. Each of these areas expand to list all the programs available in those groups, concise descriptions of each, and links to find more detailed information.

Learning Opportunities and Resources The New Jersey State Library (NJSL)

III.4

Through the New Jersey State Library’s (NJSL) affiliation with TESU, students have access to library resources and services. In addition to print resources in special collections, students have easy electronic access to online journals, eBooks, downloadable audio books, research guides, and premium databases that cover a wide array of subject disciplines, including business, health, history, science, and social sciences. Full-text articles from newspapers, magazines, and scholarly academic journals can be downloaded. A “Start Your Research” discovery service provides the flexibility that allows students to search for specific articles or across the State Library catalog and multiple databases simultaneously. Within the guidelines of the NJSL’s interlibrary loan service, students also have access to the research holdings of most academic libraries. A knowledgeable staff of reference subject specialists is available for assistance. Students utilize a library landing page to access available resources and content.

TESU is a member of the Virtual Academic Library Environment, (VALE) a consortium of New Jersey college and university libraries and the NJSL. The consortium is dedicated to furthering excellence in learning and research

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through innovative and collaborative approaches to information resources and services. In addition, the nursing program is supported with a subscription to the OVID Nursing Full Text (NFT) and Ovid Emcare databases.

OVID NFT provides access to the full text and images of more than 22,000 current nursing articles. It also provides access to 51 research and practitioner-oriented journals with coverage dating back to 1995. In addition, Ovid NFT links to relevant full text in Evidence-Based Medicine Reviews. OVID Emcare provides indexing to over 3,700 international journals, with unique coverage of 1800 journals. It contains over 5 million records and adds up to 250,000 citations per year.

Online Tutoring TESU makes Smarthinking available to students at no cost. Smarthinking is an online tutoring service that is accessible 24-hours a day, 365 day a year. Students can connect live with a subject matter tutor or submit written assignments to an online writing lab for review and feedback prior to submitting assignments (III. C4.1). In December 2021, additional peer mentoring and peer coaching resources were introduced specifically to support the needs of first term adult learners entering TESU. Based on course completion and retention data, the University has developed a multi-intervention approach. Students with the greatest needs receive an invitation to use peer mentors and peer tutors (focus areas: math, English, and writing) upon entering their first course. The program aims to develop an inclusive environment by building connections and increasing belongingness while increasing course success (pass) rates.

These services are further elaborated in Standard IV.

Promoting Original Work Students are exposed to issues of plagiarism in SOS 110, which is the first course at TESU for many students. In addition to plagiarism resources on the website, the University utilizes a plagiarism detection tool, SafeAssign, for specific assignments in the vast majority of its courses. Once a student submits an assignment, it automatically scans their papers against other student papers internally and externally, research databases, journals, websites, and other online sources to check for unoriginal content. An originality report is generated within 15-30 minutes that can be used by students to assist them in improving their writing and use of citations. The report can also be used by mentors to determine if the content being submitted is original to the student.

Barrier Course Project TESU’s Barrier Course Initiative is an example of an integrated effort, supported by assessment and technology, in which DFW (drop, failure, withdrawal) data is being used to identify courses that may act as barriers to overall student success and academic progress. Those courses that are identified as barrier courses are then scheduled for revision using a newly developed learning experience design (LXD) model, which expands the current instructional design model. TESU’s utilization of the best-practices-based ADDIE model (Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, Evaluation) has historically supported the institution’s programs of study by setting a standard for designing courses that are tightly aligned to the specific learning objects, the module objectives, the course objectives, the programmatic outcomes, and the institutional outcomes.

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Figure 8: TESU ADDIE Instructional Design Model

The LXD model creates learning experiences that enable the student to achieve the desired learning outcomes in a human-centered and goal-oriented way within our asynchronous online environment. By focusing on three broad design themes (student construct of knowledge, inclusive teaching, and intentional and consistent design), the course project development team, the school(s), and the LXD team are empowered to create learner-centric design elements into the courses that that are specifically geared toward enhancing student engagement and inclusivity. Increased learner engagement, combined with an intentional increase in the frequency and efficacy of feedback-providing formative activities are anticipated to result in higher persistence rates and success rates. By improving the engagement level within courses and by enhancing the connections between course content and the unique needs of the adult learners, all while maintaining the strong academic guidelines rooted in outcomes-based assessment, the revised courses reflect the evolving nature of instructional design and learning experience design for adult learners.

School Specific Student Support/Success Efforts As a part of the strategic goals for student success, TESU’s academic schools are constantly enhancing and improving their outreach to students.

W. Cary Edwards School of Nursing and Health Professions The W. Cary Edwards School of Nursing and Health Professions (SONHP) offers academic support/tutoring to its Accelerated BSN Program students. Emails are sent to all SONHP mentors at during weeks 4 and 10 asking for names of at-risk students. Advisors then reach out to students by email or phone. For the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program, once students begin to work on their DNP Quality Improvement Projects (last five terms), the course mentor, the statistical consultant, and the Associate Dean meet virtually at least once each term with the student and the on-site preceptor to brainstorm, provide recommendations, and help the student focus the project.

The statistical consultant is the mentor who teaches the Biostatistics and Clinical Epidemiology course (NUR-763).

She works with all DNP students on their data collection and analysis plans for their DNP projects.

The SONHP also informs students of various educational opportunities that will supplement their education at TESU (for example, New Jersey State Nurses Association and Upsilon Rho education offerings). The SONHP offers technical support to students so they can focus on their studies and decrease stress related to technical issues.

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School of Business and Management First semester graduate students are contacted toward the end of the term to get feedback on their first course experience, advise them in registering for the next term, and encourage them to make appointments with academic advisors. Assistant and Associate Deans schedule phone appointments with students who are on academic probation to discuss the barriers students are experiencing and to create a plan for success. Mentor meetings are held to educate mentors on University policies and procedures to enhance student success.

Heavin School of Arts, Science, and Technology Students enrolled in the ABET accredited degree programs are required to have two advising appointments to ensure student success. Master of Arts in Educational Leadership (MAEdL) degree students are given access to the MAEdL community site upon enrollment in the program. The site provides resources related to the program such as the practicum and how to apply for NJDOE (New Jersey Department of Education) certification. The Assistant and Associate Deans also work with course mentors to identify students who are struggling in courses so that contact can be made to offer assistance and develop a plan for success. Students who are on academic probation must meet with an Assistant Dean prior to registering for classes each term until the student has increased his/her GPA to the minimum 2.0.

John S. Watson School of Public Service Students enrolled within the Watson School are sent a communication addressed from the Dean of the School on weeks 4, 8 and 11. The week 4 communication is designed to inform students about issues that arise early in the semester and provides information about essential services, such as the Center for Student Success, the Financial Services “One Stop Shop,” and Academic Advising. The week 8 communication is designed to inform students about the services made available if they are having difficulties, while also reminding them about the essential student services provided. The week 11 communication is designed to motivate students to complete their courses, but if they are having challenges, provides information about student options while also encouraging them to plan for the next term.

III.5

General Education

TESU is committed to education as a transformative process that broadens perspectives in a global, technologically sophisticated, and diverse society. Our vision for general education at the University is that it be threaded throughout the curriculum, across all schools, and at all levels of study.

Undergraduate degrees offered through TESU are designed around three constructs: 1. General Education: an integrated foundation based on the liberal arts with a focus on core skills and competencies 2. Area of Study: in-depth work in a specific discipline 3. Elective Courses: a flexible elective component to meet personal and intellectual interests complementary to, but distinct from, the selected field of study.

General Education at TESU provides students with broad exposure to multiple disciplines and forms the basis for developing essential intellectual, civic, and practical capacities (TESU Webpage: General Education). There are 260 undergraduate courses that satisfy at least one general education category that students can choose from (TESU Webpage: General Education Course List). The current TESU General Education requirements encompass 45 credit hours of course work distributed under the following categories: • Intellectual and Practical Skills - Intellectual and communicative skills necessary for success in the academic environment and for addressing globally complex challenges.

• Written Communication: Communicate their ideas effectively in writing using text, data, and images as appropriate and in different genres and styles.

• Oral Communication: Communicate their ideas effectively orally using multiple modes of communication, as appropriate.

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• Information Literacy: Identify, locate, evaluate, and effectively and responsibly use and share information for the problem at hand.

• Quantitative Literacy: Demonstrate competency and comfort in working with numerical data, create complex and refined arguments supported by quantitative evidence and clearly communicate those arguments in a variety of formats (using words, tables, graphs, mathematical equations, etc.), as appropriate.

• Civic and Global Leadership - Knowledge required for responsible global citizenship and effective engagement in a dynamic environment.

• Diversity/Intercultural Literacy: Recognize that they are members of diverse communities, both local and global, and demonstrate intercultural knowledge, skills, and attitudes that support effective and appropriate interaction in a variety of cultural contexts and social categories, such as, but not limited to, race, ethnicity, gender, religion, and age.

• Ethical Leadership: Assess their own ethical values and the social context of a given situation, recognize ethical issues in a variety of settings, apply ethical principles to ethical dilemmas, and consider the ramification of alternative actions.

• Civic Engagement and Awareness: Demonstrate effective, responsible, and meaningful skills while engaged in the political life of a community.

• Knowledge of Human Cultures - Knowledge from the arts, humanities, and social sciences, which develop an understanding of humanity.

• Humanities

• Social Sciences

• Scientific Knowledge - Knowledge from the natural sciences (biology, chemistry, Earth science, and physics) in order to develop an appreciation of the order, diversity, and beauty of the natural environment and an understanding of scientific reasoning.

In 2020, the University’s General Education Committee engaged in an academic program review (III.C1.4) that included a self-study and analysis of the program overall, placing a specific focus on curriculum and evaluation of the program in relation to Middle States accreditation standards. The review entailed nine points of analysis including review of the quality of the program, structure, student achievement, and other related performance characteristics and outcomes. As described in the attached report, the review and assessment examined the General.

Education alignment with the University mission and purpose as well as MSCHE standards and expectations for general education. Peer institutions, contemporary literature on general education, and national models for general education were reviewed. Course syllabi were reviewed against rubrics, and the general education program was evaluated for consistency among the University’s degree programs and alignment with the Institutional Learning Outcomes. Finally, a review of policy and procedures for managing general education decisions was conducted.

This review included a recommended action plan for improvement including curricular restructuring, most of which have been implemented. Its major findings included the need to decrease the general education component of degrees from 60 to 45 credits and to revise several categories requirements. These changes are reflected in the University website (III.C1.3). Moreover, the recommendation was made to fully review the general education program every five years.

Graduate Education Opportunities for Research, Scholarship, and Independent Thinking

III.6

Programmatic outcomes for the majority of our professionally-oriented graduate degree programs include scholarship that is evaluated by credentialed subject matter experts. Culminating projects provide an opportunity for students to demonstrate research and scholarship in a way that is directly connected to their learning.

Several programs also include a practicum, which demonstrates applied learning and independent thinking.

Furthermore, the programs have outcomes maps (III.C6.1) that demonstrate where intended outcomes such as scholarship are addressed and assessed throughout the courses. All facilitating mentors are subject matter experts

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specific to each course. They support students in the process of independent thinking and scholarship through the courses and capstone projects.

Several specific graduate programs are highlighted below.

Doctoral Programs Doctor of Nursing Practice The Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) in Systems-Level Leadership program is a practice-focused post-master’s doctoral-level program that prepares registered nurses to become systems-level leaders at the highest level of nursing practice. Throughout the program students develop practice-focused scholarship and leadership skills that can be applied to improve health outcomes for individuals, populations, communities, and organizations. The DNP program requires a minimum of 1000 post-baccalaureate supervised practicum hours; a minimum of 500 must be completed during the program. Most practicum hours are completed during three Scholarly Immersion courses where the student develops, implements, and evaluates a quality improvement project. The DNP Project must satisfy the following requirements: 1) it must be a quality improvement project; 2) the goal must be improvement of patient and/ or population health outcomes; 3) it must include an intervention; and 4) it must include innovation.

While students are enrolled in the 900-level Scholarly Immersion courses, they meet with the DNP project committee (Associate Dean, two DNP course mentors with terminal degrees and relevant scholarship, and the student’s preceptor at the clinical site) at least once each term to brainstorm possibilities, promote clarity and focus to the projects, and assist students to develop and carry out a scholarly and feasible quality improvement project that can be completed in the timeframe they have during the DNP program. The final project at the end of NUR-902 is the student’s preliminary DNP Project proposal.

Courses in the DNP program emphasize doctoral-level scholarship and writing skills, professional speaking and presentation skills, and other leadership skills.

Doctor of Business Administration The Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) degree is a post-master’s interdisciplinary scholar-practitioner degree.

The degree’s curriculum integrates critical, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary thinking through the program’s course work and its culminating Scholar-Practitioner Field Project (SPFP). The SPFP is the DBA degree’s final field-based submission for graduation framed in and guided by course work and research seminars. The program’s research seminars are interactive, delivering content and instruction of SPFP proposal development, academic writing, and research methods. All mentors guiding the SPFP are doctorally qualified, holding PhD or DBA degrees in disciplines aligned with course content.

Master’s Programs School of Business and Management In addition to their previously highlighted DBA program, the School of Business and Management offers graduate degree programs at master’s levels. Structurally, these degrees are adult-focused, employ a scholar-practitioner course design, and are informed by andragogical theory and best practices. In addition, each degree and aligned courses use Bloom’s Taxonomy as the critical-thinking framework to articulate the appropriate levels of academic and applied performance expectations. This approach to constructing adult-focused graduate degree programming recognizes the unique academic and applied learning requirements central to andragogy that enable adult learners to engage in research, scholarship, and independent thinking resulting in optimized academic learning and professional education.

Master of Business Administration (MBA) and Master of Science in Management (MSM) degrees emphasize the timely application of course materials supported by relevant theories and supply students with skills necessary to locate broad-based academic and professional resources to inform current practice.

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John S. Watson School of Public Service The John S. Watson School of Public Service offers three master’s degrees: the Master of Science in Management/ Public Service Careers (MSM); the Master of Public Service Leadership (MPSL); and the Master of Science in Homeland Security (MSHLS).

As a student progresses through their degree program, core content and methodological subject areas necessary for success within the public or nonprofit sectors are covered. A capstone provides students the opportunity to further refine their research, scholarship and independent thinking skills by identifying a research topic that aligns with their professional goals and interest. Students select a topic, identify an appropriate method in which to research the topic, and then proceed to collect, analyze, and test for validity of the data. Students submit a final assignment and present their research to the assigned mentor. The goal of the capstone is to ensure students are equipped to effectively identify public policy or administrative challenges, apply the appropriate research methods and analysis, which then informs the recommendations put forth to address issues face by public and nonprofit organizations.

W. Cary Edwards School of Nursing and Health Professions In addition to the previously highlighted DNP program, the Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) program is a post-baccalaureate degree program consisting of a combination of courses including core courses, direct-care core courses, elective courses, specialty courses, and practicum courses. The three areas of study (specialties) are Nurse Educator, Nursing Administration, and Nursing Informatics. All students complete core courses in Evidence-Based Nursing Practice, Nursing Informatics, Health Policy, and Leadership in Global Health. Each student is assigned to a nursing program advisor who advises the student throughout the MSN program. The nursing advisor also works with the student to prepare for the required practicum experience and the development and implementation of a practicum project relevant to the specific specialty. Students also work with a preceptor at the practicum site to provide guidance toward successful completion of the practicum project. The topic addressed in the practicum project is determined jointly by the student and preceptor based on the needs of the organization where the project will be carried out.

Heavin School of Arts and Sciences The Master of Arts in Liberal Studies (MALS) degree program is designed for working professionals interested in applying the rigorous study of the liberal arts to their chosen professions. Students may tailor their master’s program to their profession or interests by selecting an area of study focusing on Digital Humanities, Geropsychology, Industrial-Organizational Psychology, Online Learning and Teaching, or Professional Communications. Each program focuses on the links between the liberal arts and a student’s career, which enables them to gain specific competencies and perspectives that can make a difference in their career. The MLS-700/MLS-710 course sequence results in the student’s capstone project. The project represents new work and ideas. Although the idea may come from an issue or report previously undertaken, the project gives the student the opportunity to apply and interpret the ideas, practices, and skills they have learned in the MALS program.

Heavin School of Applied Sciences and Technologies The Master of Science (MS) degree is designed to meet the advanced, multi-disciplinary educational requirements of students interested in obtaining leadership positions in a variety of technical professions. The program focuses on developing the research analysis and critical evaluation skills necessary to support decision-making and problemsolving required to lead today’s technical enterprises. The core curriculum provides advanced learning in the modern tools of business management, leadership, applied science and technology. All SAST MS areas of study require a capstone project course, APS-700, Master’s Capstone. The culminating assignment in this course is to complete a final research paper along with a presentation. Students from a variety of majors and areas of study are in the same APS-700 course thereby promoting interdisciplinary learning. These projects focus on a topic related to the student’s particular area of study.

The course is designed to provide a guided in-depth experience in defining, measuring, analyzing, improving, and controlling a significant opportunity or challenge relevant to the student’s applied science or technology workplace or profession. The student is expected to acquire knowledge, apply real-life experience, and conduct research to make recommendations that are based upon solid data and benchmarking.

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Third Party Learning

III.7

The vast majority of programmatic planning, course design, course content, and assessments are built in-house as described above.

Select courses and programs utilize third-party providers for learning modules, simulations, and labs. Any third-party platform, tool, or piece of content follows a similar vetting process. The academic school, instructional designer, and SME on the project will first evaluate the relevance of the content and how well it achieves the goals for the course.

Next, instructional technologists will evaluate how well it can be integrated into the learning management system and other platforms (for ease of use for students) as well as scalability based on enrollment trends for that course or program. Based on recommendations from key members of the team, the school will make a decision with the instruction design team about what to adopt and how best to integrate it into the course or program (III.C7.2).

In the one instance where TESU developed an entire program of study with a third-party provider, this same process was employed. The MS in Data Science and Analytics graduate program was developed and is delivered in partnership with The Institute for Statistics Education. This partnership was initiated by the Heavin School and evaluated for rigor and effectiveness by the school and the Center for Learning and Technology (III.C7.1). The agreement, specifically for the Master of Science in Data Science and Analytics program was reviewed and approved

by MSCHE via the substantive change notification process. This program is slated for Academic Program Review in AY 2023.

Periodic Assessment Assessment of Programs and Student Learning

III.8

Reviews are expected of all programs in a five-year cycle as a commitment to continuous process and academic quality improvement and are a critical expectation for institutional accreditation. The process for these reviews is described in the Academic Program Review Handbook (III.C8.1). TESU supports a five-year Academic Program Review process conforming to the practices as recommended by the Council of Graduate Schools through which each academic program is evaluated on several criteria including, but not limited to, relevance, enrollment, outcomes assessment, graduation, retention, and market demand/need. Based on a revised process developed in 2018 and launched in 2019, the first two (General Education and the master’s in Educational Leadership: MAEdL) were completed in 2021 and six programs are slated for completion in 2022. As an example, the MAEdL program review was conducted to assess program efficacy, clarify and reinforce rationales for their existence, review indicators of the quality of the program and outcomes, and establish action plans for improvement and for monitoring progress toward measurable objectives for improvement.

The MAEdL program will undergo a Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) reaccreditation effort in 2022. The APR aids the effort by revealing the need to revise the program to align with the national standards of the Professional Standards for Educational Leadership (PSEL). The program will undergo a curricular revision to expand and integrate technology and assessment throughout the program as well as to increase the emphasis of cultural and identity pluralism, equity, and diversity of learning needs (III.C8.2).

The assessment of student learning is described in detail in Standard V.

Support and Administrative Unit Assessment TESU conducts assessment in the area of the student learning experience in many ways. A standardized institutionwide assessment effort, entitled Support and Administrative Unit Assessment (III.C8.3, III.C8.4), described in detail in Standard IV, provides a foundation for continuous improvement at all levels and in all areas.

Summary of Institutional Strengths and Opportunities for Improvement In meeting the Standard III and associated criteria requirements, the University also meets Requirements of Affiliation 8, 9, 10, and 15.

The University’s exploration into Standard III, associated criteria, as well as identified Lines of Inquiry, emphasizes specific institutional strengths along with opportunities for continuous improvement.

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Institutional Strengths • Evidence suggests that a major strength and differentiating factor of TESU are the multiple modalities and credit-earning opportunities for adult learners. A TESU degree remains accessible to students regardless of their situation or status, whether active-duty military deployed in the field or on a submarine, incarcerated, or managing the life of an adult with responsibilities.

• TESU programs and courses are deliberately designed using an outcomes-first approach. Institutional outcomes influence program outcomes, which influence course outcomes and course objectives. This intentional mapping from top to bottom of a degree program ensures that TESU programs are on target with their stated goals and facilitates a sophisticated and mature assessment methodology.

• TESU’s mentor model enables agility and a hyper focused intentional use of subject matter expertise.

The mentor model brings real-world expertise and an orientation to pragmatic application of learning unique in modern higher education.

Opportunities for Continuous Improvement & Institutional Response Opportunity

Improvement Plan

The University’s Rapid LXD team will continue to review and revise barrier courses to reduce impediments In expanding the review of and updates to barrier to students’ academic success. As trends are identified courses, there is an opportunity to apply lessons learned and best practices are refined, the improvements will more broadly to the course development process be emphasized in course projects beyond barrier course producing more effective courses. efforts. This crossover will promote wider enhancement of programs and courses.

The University has been investigating potential platforms for organizing, publishing, and distributing The expansion of fully OER/ZTC courses and utilization OER, and will move forward with the one that best fits of those resources is discussed in Standard II. There is goals related to improving access to OER and expanding an opportunity that is relevant to Standard III to bring ZTC courses. Additionally, TESU will strengthen its all OER and ZTC under a unified platform for consistent relationship with VALE while looking for collaborative and uniform delivery to improve the student learning opportunities with other New Jersey institutions to experience. improve students’ access to OER/ZTC resources and library services.

Efforts have been made to increase access to tutoring resources through a pilot of a new peer tutoring model.

The expansion of this new support structure is expected.

There is an opportunity to foster greater student success The University recently launched (January, 2022) a new by expanding access to student support resources and career services area to support workforce readiness services, including tutoring, counseling, and career for students and connecting them to necessary career services. resources, and commissioned a consultant to review current practice related to mental health services for online intuitions

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Opportunity

Improvement Plan

There is an opportunity to improve the frequency and process for the review of mentor performance.

Currently, mentors can be identified if they are not meeting expectations, but there are fewer opportunities for developing mentor skills or providing feedback to highly performing mentors.

Phase one of a process for heightened annual reviews of mentor performance was reviewed and endorsed in March 2022 by the Provost’s Cabinet for implementation in Spring 2022. This phase will focus on underperforming mentors as identified by the collected metrics. A phase two proposal to provide additional supports to new mentors and those identified not engaging in best practice is anticipated by September 2022.

General Education and academic programs should be fully reviewed at least every five years.

This process was initiated in 2018 with the first reviews completed and implemented in 2021. A full five-year cycle will be completed in 2025

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STANDARD IV: SUPPORT OF THE STUDENT EXPERIENCE Across all educational experiences, settings, levels, and instructional modalities, the institution recruits and admits students whose interests, abilities, experiences, and goals are congruent with its mission and educational offerings.

The institution commits to student retention, persistence, completion, and success through a coherent and effective support system sustained by qualified professionals, which enhances the quality of the learning environment, contributes to the educational experience, and fosters student success.

Thomas Edison State University is in full compliance with Standard IV: Support of the Student Experience including all the standard’s subsequent criteria. In addition, TESU also meets the MSCHE Requirements of Affiliation that map to Standard IV, specifically requirements 8 and 10.

During the Self-Study design phase, TESU worked closely with its assigned MSCHE Liaison to develop Lines of Inquiry or research-style questions to give direction to the self-inquiry process. The Lines of Inquiry, in essence, serve as a bridge between the MSCHE Standards and Criteria and TESU’s Strategic Institutional Priorities.

The Lines of Inquiry for Standard IV are: Standard II – Lines of Inquiry • To what extent does the University provide a coherent and effective support system to enhance the educational environment and to foster student success • In what ways do the University mission and purpose guide the development of academic degree offerings, admission criteria, and instructional engagement models?

• How are TESU’s institutional assessment processes and results incorporated into a formal process of continuous improvement in our student support services?

• How does the University endeavor to improve student success, as defined by engagement, persistence, and graduation outcomes?

Thomas Edison State University provides mission-driven educational opportunities and student success services that are designed to serve self-directed adult students. The University’s recruitment and admission criteria are congruent with the University’s mission to deliver accessible, flexible, high-quality cost-effective programs that meet the evolving needs of today’s adult learners, their employers, and their communities. Committed to student retention and completion, the University provides an effective ecosystem to foster student success through an array of programs and services.

Drawing from the University’s working Strategic Plan (IV.C1.1, IV.C1.2), it is an institutional priority to enhance enrollment management and the University’s capacity to admit students whose interests, goals, and abilities are consistent with its mission, and to support these students to be successful. The University continues to augment its admissions and recruitment processes and has shifted the focus of services to more targeted strategies that emphasize student support. As a result, the Division of Enrollment Management has engaged in continuous improvements and reorganizations since 2018, most recently undergoing a reorganization to create a more crossfunctional and integrative approach to undergraduate enrollment management. The Office of Admissions and Enrollment Services has created a “Book of Knowledge” (IV.C1c.30) that is an excellent resource to staff with information that could be helpful to any applicant or student that they may contact.

The University’s working Strategic Plan, Reimagine. Reinvest. Resurge., outlines a vision for student success and establishes the goal to reinforce the University’s student success infrastructure to best serve students and to support effective student engagement. New retention and student success activities are outlined in this chapter to demonstrate the University’s commitment to continuously improving upon the services provided to TESU students.

The University regularly engages in processes to evaluate its services and to further improve its student support systems.

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IV.1

Recruitment and Admissions Processes

As described in Standard I, TESU serves a diverse and geographically distributed adult student population. The University is open access at the undergraduate level, accepting individuals who have a high school diploma or GED and are at least 20 years old (or are serving in the military, have earned a minimum of 24 credits from an accredited institution, or submit Accuplacer Exam scores that meet an established minimum score). Individuals less than 18 years of age are not permitted to take courses or enroll in the University.

There is a more selective and process for admission into the Accelerated BSN (Bachelor of Science in Nursing) Program (IV.C1.8) and into master’s and doctoral programs (IV.C1.9). At the master’s level, TESU provides the opportunity for students who have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution with lower than a 3.0 GPA to provide a resume and personal statement for the consideration of a school Admissions Committee. Doctoral programs have additional admissions requirements.

Enrollment Management The University is focused on optimizing and growing strategic enrollments through targeted recruitment and marketing to prospective students whose interests, aptitude, and goals are congruent with the University mission and educational offerings. The University continues to refine strategies in how it targets and recruits prospective students. This entails intensifying market research efforts and data gathering to target and recruit well-matched prospective students. These tactics include expansion of digital marketing such as website advertising, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), keyword search, and geofencing and geotargeting. These expanding efforts allow the University to better identify niche populations (such as current nurses who may seek to advance their education or members of the workforce whose training or credentialing has already been evaluated for credit by the University, etc.).

The Office of Admissions and Enrollment Services provides clear and transparent information to prospective students through webinars and open houses (IV.c1.10, IV.C1.5) and has reconfigured delivery in response to COVID. The University’s first “virtual” open house was held in fall 2020, and webinars are offered on an ongoing basis. These efforts are supported through involvement of the academic schools and military enrollment advisors.

Admissions policies are regularly reviewed to ensure students are adequately prepared for the programs of study offered at the University. When assessment results indicate a need, policies are revised. For instance, the admission requirements for the Accelerated BSN (Bachelor of Science in Nursing) Program were recently revised when, in 2019, the University adjusted the minimum score required for admission on the mandatory prerequisite exam for nursing program admissions, the Test of Essential Academic Skills (TEAS). The admission score was increased from 68 to a score of 70 because it was found that students with a TEAS score of below 70 had a very high risk of not being successful in the program.

The University recently revised additional admissions policies to better align with the University’s goal to serve community college students. The University’s admission age, previously 21, was reduced to 20 years of age to better meet the needs of community college graduates (IV.C1.6). Consistent with this policy revision, the University has expanded admission opportunities to reduce costs and accelerate time to degree completion for community college students through the recent launch of the TESU/NJ Community College 3+1 Pathways Program (IV.C1c.23). The program guarantees admission for New Jersey community college graduates allowing them to complete up to 90 credits under their community college’s tuition rate before transferring to any one of 50 programs of study at TESU. Enrollment activities are further augmented through excellent customer service as evidenced by conversion and yield rates. Customer service has been enhanced with use of the Recruit CRM (Customer Relations Management), revised messaging and reduced response time for prospective and newly admitted students (IV.C1.4). Email messages are followed up with phone calls to ensure applicants are provided timely information to guide them through the initial enrollment process.

The University recently enhanced enrollment processes for new and prospective students (IV.C1.4) and engages in methods for continuous improvement. Business process mapping (IV.C6.4, IV.C6.7) is used to manage staff coordination of needed services through the inquiry phase to student enrollment.

As noted in the introduction, the University serves a large population of military and veteran students, and specific enrollment management services are tailored for this population through the Office of Military and Veteran

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Enrollment and Recruitment (OMVER). OMVER assists potential and current applicants with navigating the transfer and enrollment processes and helps students navigate payment through Veteran Assistance or TA benefits.

The University engages in activities to support continuous enrollment and reenrollment for those students who have stopped out. Since spring 2019, the Office of Academic Advising (IV.C1d.8) led several enrollment outreaches to students who were active (have taken a course with the University in the last year) but not within the last 3-11 months.

Several other offices support these initiatives, and the academic schools conduct similar outreach for graduate students. The University also contracts with Blackboard Student Services (BBSS) to conduct similar enrollment campaigns and outreach (IV.C1d.16, IV.C1d.17). University staff further supplement these efforts by following up with students who require additional assistance.

Expenses, Financial Aid, and Scholarships As a public institution of higher education, TESU is committed to providing access to quality educational programs at a reasonable cost, and to enable students to access the financial means to fund their education. The University provides accurate and comprehensive information about costs, financial aid, scholarships, grants, loans, repayment, refunds, and financial aid services on the University website (IV.C1a.2; IV.C1a.3). Additionally, the University provides a Net Price Calculator (IV.C1a.5) to help students estimate the cost of attendance and to identify potential sources of financial aid. There are many scholarship opportunities (IV.C1a.1) available at the University, which support both recruitment of TESU students and student retention. The Presidential Alumni Scholarship (IV.C1a.8) is awarded to students who complete a bachelor’s or master’s degree at TESU and wish to continue for a master’s or doctorate.

University scholarship programs and criteria are clearly listed on the website, and a financial aid handbook (IV.C1a.4) serves as a source for comprehensive information about the University’s financial aid services.

COVID-19 Response - Financial Most recently, additional scholarship opportunities to assist students impacted by the COVID pandemic were offered (IV.C1a.6). The TESU Foundation created the Student Emergency Relief Fund in April 2020 (IV.C1a.14) and the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Emergency Grants for Postsecondary Education; CARES (HEERF I), CRRSAA (HEERF II), and ARP (HEERF III) provided assistance to affected. HEERF relief grants have been made available to students to eliminate past-due balances for those who certify that they or a member of their household has been financially impacted by the Coronavirus pandemic. Institutional scholarship support has increased between 2016 and 2020.

Figure 9: Scholarships Awarded 2017-2020

The Office of Financial Aid is staffed with longstanding financial aid professionals who are committed to providing outstanding service to students. Although information and services are available virtually, students may also speak with financial aid counselors individually on the phone or in person at any time during normal business hours without an appointment. Average queue time to speak with a financial aid counselor is less than 30 seconds. In

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addition, after hours support is available to answer questions 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. Financial aid counselors will reach out to students the next business day when after-hours support was not able satisfactorily answer a question. The University’s Cohort Default Rate (CDR) (IV.C1a.13, IV.C1a.13a) is lower than the national average CDR, an indication of the strength of the University’s financial aid services.

Student Success and Retention Activities TESU is committed to providing an effective ecosystem to foster student success. An array of services enhances the educational environment and extends support and resources to students. These activities are closely aligned to the University mission and reflect best practices and current research in the field. The University provides services and programs designed to assist students in reaching their educational goals, achieve academic success, and progress to degree and goal completion. Retention and student success are renewed priorities at the University, as reflected in the working Strategic Plan (IV.C1.1, IV.C1.2). The University strives to continuously develop a culture of studentcentered service excellence, and to enhance and diversify both academic and operational support services. To date, several new student success initiatives have been introduced and measures have been taken to improve operational efficiencies and effectiveness to support the student experience; these initiatives are articulated below.

Student Development Consistent with the TESU open enrollment policy for most undergraduate programs, institutional services are designed to support self-directed adults. Advisories are attached to courses (IV.C1c.36) that clearly indicate prerequisite knowledge prior to enrolling in courses. As an adult-serving institution, student support services are accessible to students throughout the student lifecycle, and University activities are focused on monitoring student performance and introducing interventions when appropriate.

The University provides tutoring and academic support through an online tutorial program, Smarthinking (IV. C1c.27). All students have access to this 24/7 online service, with tutoring currently available in a wide range of disciplines including mathematics, statistics, accounting, economics, human anatomy and physiology, biology, chemistry, physics, and English. Students may also access the Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) (IV.C1c.37). Survey results indicate that students report high satisfaction with the tutoring services (IV.C5.1).

Figure 10: Sample of TESU Student Resources

To further enhance tutoring options, the University was awarded an Opportunity Meets Innovation Challenge Grant (IV.C1c.38) from the state of New Jersey to develop a peer coach/peer tutor program that focuses specifically on adult learners and underrepresented minorities. Based on course completion and retention data, the University has developed a multi-intervention approach. Students with the greatest needs receive an invitation to work with peer coaches and peer tutors (focus areas: mathematics, English, and writing) upon entering their first course at the University. The program aims to develop an inclusive environment while increasing course success (pass) rates.

The University utilizes several methods to engage students who are at risk and to employ intervention strategies to improve student performance. For instance, Advise, a customer relations management system, is used to implement a student advisory communication plan (IV.C1c.10; IV.C1c.11). These messages notify students of their progress

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and when additional support and interventions are recommended to improve performance. Additionally, advisors monitor student activity in courses at the beginning of each term. These advisors conduct outreach to those students who have not engaged adequately in their courses, and advisors discuss methods for improvement or other administrative options available for the students (IV.C1c.32). The Office of Financial Aid similarly monitors student engagement, and staff conduct outreach (IV.C1c.51) to students who are at risk for losing financial aid eligibility.

The Office of Academic Advising (OAA), which includes a specialized group of advisors to support the specific needs of our military and veterans, and the academic schools provide services to students who do not demonstrate satisfactory academic standing. Students who are placed on academic warning receive outreach from OAA providing notification of University academic standing policies (IV.C1c.13; IV.C1c.17), and students are provided information about resources available to them to support their academic success. Students who continue on warning into a second term are required to meet with an advisor and to participate in completing an academic success plan (IV.C1c.14; IV.C1c.15). Students who are placed on probation are required to meet with an Assistant Dean in their respective school (IV.C1c.16; IV.C1c.18). An informational video about satisfactory academic standing (IV.C1c.40) is also available to students on the website.

TESU’s mentors (described in Standard III) are provided with the means to identify and refer at-risk students for services (IV.C1c.20). Embedded in the learning management system, a mentor support notification exists in each course, alerting the OAA of a student’s need. Additionally, advisors receive alerts about students who have not regularly engaged in courses so that appropriate follow up may take place. The Assistant and Associate Deans in the academic schools regularly engage in activities to support student success. At the undergraduate level, staff in the academic schools send communications to mentors at midterm to request input about students who may be in academic jeopardy (IV.C1c.46).

Retention Programs, Orientation, and Advisement The University’s working Strategic Plan (IV.C1.1) outlines a vision for student success at the University and establishes the goal to build and expand the infrastructure for a comprehensive student success program to best serve students and support effective student engagement. A reflection of this goal, the University recently hired a Chief Student Success, Equity, and Inclusion Officer (IV.C1c.41) who is charged with developing, leading, and overseeing the University’s comprehensive approach to the student experience, with a focus on student retention, success, and degree completion. The officer is responsible for designing, implementing, and providing ongoing support for University-level efforts that enhance the student experience and that meaningfully promote access and inclusion. The position reports to the Provost and Senior Vice President, interfaces with the leadership of the Division of Academic Affairs serves as a memeber of the President’s Cabinet. The officer oversees the Center for Student Success (IV.C1c.42), which encompasses the Student Success Team, the OAA (supporting general, active-duty military, and military veteran populations), the Office of Student Accessibility Services (IV.C1c.43), the Office of Academic Integrity and tutoring services (IV.C1c.45), the Office of Equity and Inclusion, Office of Mentor Administration (IV.C1c.44), and the Office of Career Development (IV.C1d.19). Several new initiatives are underway and are described herein. In addition, the University is recruiting for an additional staff position to support the student-oriented diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.

The University provides an orientation program (IV.C1c.6) specifically designed for self-directed adults at TESU. The orientation is offered virtually, enabling student access to this information on their own time and serves as a resource for students to access throughout their TESU experience. Orientation is designed to help students make a smooth transition into the University by providing information about the University’s technology systems, finances, academic advising, services to support student success, and the many ways to earn credit at the University. Students who are unfamiliar with online course modalities have the option of “test driving a course,” (IV.C1c.7) a free option to anyone who considers pursuing their education at the University. Students are provided program information, resources and services pertaining to success in graduate programs, staff contacts, information about navigating the University, accessing the library, policies, and procedures, and clarity about the curriculum and academic requirements. Some academic programs offer specialized orientation activities and handbooks (IV.C1c.22; IV.C1c.52; IV.C1c.53; IV.C1c.54).

The OAA (IV.C1c.8) provides individualized and accessible services for the diverse, adult student population served at TESU. Academic advisors partner with students to provide advisement to help them realize and achieve their educational goals. The advising staff serve students through personalized appointments (IV.C1c.9). Prior to

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arranging an advising appointment, admitted students receive a personalized Academic Evaluation (IV.C1c.28), which outlines all transfer credit applied to the degree program and provides a clear map of course requirements to complete the degree. The OAA uses process maps (IV.C1d.8) to efficiently deliver academic advising and responds to students’ needs for degree planning, course selection, reviewing and selecting degree programs, changing degree programs, pre-graduation quality assurance, and to respond to academic standing matters. Students may also call the “Advising Expressline” (IV.C1c.48) for immediate assistance, and no appointment is necessary for Advising Expressline queries.

The OAA has a cadence schedule (IV.C1c.10) to reach out to students throughout their lifecycle with important messaging along with personalized messaging related to individualized student issues. Appointments are required for students approaching the end of their programs to ensure they are ready for their Capstone course, for some STEM programs, and for those who have not made satisfactory academic progress. These appointments are conducted via phone, in person, and through the interactive technology. Staff also follow up to assess student satisfaction with advising appointments (IV.C6.15).

Created within the past two years, the SST (IV.C1c.42) was developed in response to student feedback indicating that they needed staff assistance in navigating University academic and administrative processes as they pursued their degree. The SST works with new and newly reenrolled students from the point of registration through day 10 of classes (census day). The team has a comprehensive cadence schedule (IV.C1c.11), designed by a caseload approach and includes outreach via a series of emails and telephone calls to welcome students and to ensure they are well prepared for their first term by providing tools and guidance to support academic success and integration into the University.

The SST and OAA foster a partnership and interact with students in a respectful and intentional way, term after term. Although the SST and OAA are assigned a caseload of students with whom they consult during their lifecycle, the use of the Advise CRM and the recording of notes in the student information system provides back-up support if caseload managers are away from the office, so there is no interruption in service. These detailed notes are maintained so any member of the SST and OAA can assist students with most student related issues.

Student Support Services: Distinct Populations The University is committed to providing equal access to its educational programs for students with disabilities.

TESU adheres to the letter and spirit of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. The University’s Office of Student Accessibility Services (IV.C1c.43) assists students who have disclosed and verified their disability to that office. Once an individual self-identifies as a student with a disability, the ADA Coordinator engages the student and University offices in an interactive process to determine reasonable accommodations. Like the University, the office is fully capable of servicing students from a distance so that it is not necessary for students to come to the University campus; should students wish to visit campus, all University buildings are accessible.

The University serves a large population of military-affiliated students and, therefore, provides services tailored to meet the various needs of this specific population through the Office of Military and Veteran Enrollment and Recruitment (OMVER) and the Office of Military and Veteran Student Success (OMVSS). These offices include staff who are assigned outreach and advising groups based on background and experience working with military service branches, ensuring that students work with knowledgeable personnel and receive services that meet their specific needs, both virtually and in person depending on student need.

Because of the specific advising needs of students enrolled in the nursing programs, students in all programs in the W. Cary Edwards School of Nursing and Health Professions are assigned an advisor who is a master’s-prepared registered nurse, enabling students to talk to an advisor who understands their work environment and their unique challenges as well as the programs themselves (IV.C1c.49). The school also works with students, clinical partners, and hospital systems across the country to secure agreements for MSN and DNP student clinical practicum placements.

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Student Support Services: Technology Serving adult students through primarily online modalities, the University provides resources and services to respond to student needs at times that are most convenient for the students. For instance, the University contracts with Blackboard Student Services (BBSS) to offer 24/7 phone and live chat support (IV.C1d.16, IV.C1d.17). Student questions that BBSS is not able to answer are forwarded to TESU staff for review and a response.

Student-Centered Processes TESU offers flexible course and enrollment policies whenever appropriate, and these polices were created and have evolved with the unique needs of adult students in mind. For instance, students who require additional time to complete a course in which they are registered may request an extension of time for completion (IV.C1c.4, IV.C1c.5).

Students who find themselves unable to complete a course may also withdraw from the course up until the term’s end (IV.C1c.26). Additionally, students with documented evidence of an emergency may request amnesty from late assignment penalties (IV.C1c.26i).

COVID Response – Student Accommodations The University was fortunate to avoid disruption of services to its students because of the COVID pandemic. The online nature of course delivery and services enabled the University to continue services uninterrupted. To further assist students who may have been impacted, the University established a special task force to respond to students requesting COVID and disaster accommodations, and financial support. The University also temporarily altered its policy for student extensions, which included waiver of associated fees to assist students to remain in courses who needed extra time to complete.

Figure 11: TESU COVID Special Accommodations by Month

Processes Designed to Enhance Successful Achievement of Educational Goals TESU offers workforce ready, industry-relevant courses, and course components to prepare students for postcompletion placement. For instance, state-of-the-art online laboratory simulations are incorporated into courses and learning experiences for several programs. Specifically, expansion of laboratory simulations in the University’s cybersecurity courses (IV.C1d.21) provide students with operationally realistic environments necessary to address current and emergent cyber threats. These learning experiences, especially in STEM-related courses, addresses critical shortages in these fields while giving online students an opportunity to develop hands-on skillsets.

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The University offers an on-campus clinical simulation laboratory (IV.C1d.20) for students in the Accelerated BSN Program with three high fidelity adult simulators, one birthing room, a homecare room, two high fidelity pediatric simulators, and a procedure practice lab area. A suite of virtual simulations is included in each clinical course for students in the Accelerated BSN Program as preparation for and to supplement their supervised clinical hours.

The master’s in Educational Leadership program provides a variety of web-based simulations (IV.C1d.35) designed specifically to enhance educational leaders’ training and education on a range of topics. The simulations provide exposure to real-life scenarios encountered by educators and provides opportunities to build and improve judgement and critical thinking in the education environment. The simulations are also aligned with the professional standards (PSELS and NELP) required for accredited educational leadership programs. Several programs incorporate clinical or practicum experiences that give students applied experiences to develop skillsets and prepare them to enter their chosen professions. For instance, partnering with hospitals and other community-based organizations, students in the Accelerated BSN Program earn the clinical hours required (IV.C1d.34) for their program by working under the supervision of registered nurses one or two days a week for the duration of the program. The Master of Arts in Educational Leadership degree program includes a required internship experience as well (IV.C1d.37; IV.C1d.38).

Career and Alumni Services The University recently enhanced the available career services for students and alumni. Since this is a new area of focus for TESU, the University had an internal consultant review current University offerings, assess 12 peer institutions, review literature, and provide recommendations. At the conclusion of a national search, a newly developed positions was created and a Director of Career Services (IV.C1d.39) was hired. The Director is now engaged in the development of career service strategies by leveraging the consultant’s recommendations and is charged with developing, leading, and overseeing the University’s comprehensive career services program that may encompass career guidance, job search assistance (resume writing, cover letter writing, interviewing skills, identifying job leads, using the internet and social media, etc.), internship assistance, and other areas related to career services for current students and alumni.

In Fall 2021, the TESU Strategic Partners team began a program of connecting our students and alumni with our partner organizations to help our partners find quality candidates for positions they had available and to provide our students and alumni with opportunities to learn about career opportunities in their field. The Strategic Partners team works with partner organizations to determine their need and to determine the specific student or alumni population they are interested in recruiting (pilots, accountants, veterans, women, under represented populations) from TESU. The Strategic Partners team then schedules and coordinates a webinar for the partner organization to present their employment opportunity to the TESU students and alumni. The specific TESU students and alumni are invited to the webinar by the Strategic Partners team.

The University provides several alumni engagement programs (IV.C1d.13) that provide networking, support and information for students and alumni. TESU maintains a student- and alumni-focused series of social media outlets via Facebook (IV.C1d.24), LinkedIn (IV.C1d.25) and an Alumnifire (IV.C1d.26) networking site. The alumni are encouraged to stay connected with TESU via volunteer programs including the Alumni Ambassador Program, the Genius Program (IV.C1d.27), and a one-hour a month program encouraging routine, top-of-mind volunteering for the institution.

Academic Community Impact Program and Honors The University recently launched the Academic Community Impact Program (ACI) (IV.C1d.3; IV.C1d.4). The program entails a two-course sequence (SOS-204 and LIBCE-495) (IV.C1d.28; IV.C1d.29) that focuses on connecting students with community-based nonprofits through solution-based hands-on projects. This fills a critical need for local organizations and allows students to become engaged in community service work, build their resumes, and expand their professional networks. Currently, 15 community partners collaborate with TESU students.

The University has a number of honor societies and academic awards honors (IV.C1d.30) specifically designed to encourage student retention and recognize academic success. These honors serve as an excellent credential for recent graduates.

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Transfer Processes and Alternative Learning Transfer

IV.2

Consistent with its mission, TESU provides flexible collegiate learning and assessment opportunities for selfdirected adults and offers course modalities that are specifically designed to fit the lives and learning styles of our student population. The University specializes in working with adult students who have prior collegiate experiences (IV.C2.2). To serve these students, the University has established a systematic and distinctive process to evaluate transfer credit (IV.C2.1).

TESU is the one of if not the largest recipient of American Council on Education (ACE) transfer credit in the United States. The University maintains a database of course equivalencies for ACE and NCCRS (National Collegiate Credit Recommendation System) consisting of more than 14,000 course equivalencies In FY21, students transferred just over 37,000 ACE and NCCRS credits to TESU. The University also maintains a database of more than 600,000 accredited transfer courses.

On average, the University receives 2,800 incoming transcripts per month and more than 33,000 transcripts per year. The University also processes over 800 new transfer evaluations and over 700 updates to existing evaluations per month. Additionally, students with military experience may earn credit for training documented on their Joint Service Transcripts (JST), transcripts for military-affiliated experiences and training. Military students transferred just over 150,000 ACE military credits to TESU per year.

The University has demonstrated its commitment to the recognition of college-level learning wherever and however it may occur through myriad flexible and rigorous transfer credit pathways.

TESU/NJ 3+1 Pathways Program New Jersey statutes (IV.C5.2) provide for seamless transfer of credits from New Jersey community colleges to New Jersey senior institutions. The General Education realignment, contained with TESU’s General Education Academic Program Review redoubled TESU’s commitment to this transfer pathway. In addition, in 2019, the University made available to all 18 New Jersey community colleges the opportunity to transfer in up to 90 community college credits (III.C5.1) to complete their bachelor’s degree online in more than 50 programs of study. Students can complete their fourth and final year (30 credits) through TESU’s completely online courses, challenge courses through prior learning assessment (PLA), and transfer in previously earned credits from other regionally accredited institutions.

The University also provided an automatic application fee waiver and guaranteed admission for all New Jersey community college graduates.

Experiential Learning TESU provides numerous methods for evaluating student learning in a manner that is consistent with the needs of adult students, and our policies are designed to maximize the application of transfer credit.

Professional Learning Review (PLR) In addition to traditional transfer credit from institutions of higher education, the University offers credit for professional training. The University’s Office of Professional Learning Reviews (IV.C1c.29) evaluates workforcerelated training programs, apprenticeships, licenses, certifications, and corporate training for college credit. Over 133,000 credits were awarded through PLR in the last two years resulting in an average savings of $15,500 per student resulting in an average of $26.5 million in collective savings to students each year. Table 5 below presents the yearly credit award. There are numerous active licenses and apprenticeships with awarded credit including in various industries including healthcare (i.e., registered nurse, emergency medical technician) aviation (flight instructor, pilot, control tower) education, cybersecurity, and others.

In FY2021, TESU awarded, through its Professional Learning Review credit-earning pathway, more than 65,000 credits, at no cost to students (Table 8), for learning that has occurred outside the traditional higher education classroom. While total PLR credits awarded decreased slightly, from FY2020, the average award per student and cost-savings increased, reflecting an uptick in PLR utilization by students.

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Table 8: Awarded Professional Learning Review Credits 2020-2021 2020

2021

68,000 PLR credits

65,659 PLR credits

38 credits average PLR award

39 credit average PLR award

$15,000 average savings to the student

$16,000 average savings to the student

$27 million in collective savings

$26,000,000 million in collective savings

The University was recently awarded a grant in the amount of $849,000 from the New Jersey Department of Labor (NJ PLACE grant) to evaluate registered apprenticeship programs for academic credit and to provide scholarships for the apprentices to compete their associate’s degree with TESU on the basis of credit recognition of apprenticeship training.

TECEP® and Other Exams The University offers credit-by-exam options through the University’s signature TECEP® competency exams (IV. II.18). The University also accepts credit from other programs such as the College-Level Examination Program (CLEP®), Advanced Placement Examinations (AP), and other such credit recognized sources (IV.C2.12).

In FY2021, 1,005 students completed TECEP examinations and the University provided just over 3,000 credits through this method of prior learning.

Portfolio Assessment The University offers a prior learning assessment (PLA) and portfolio assessment process (IV.C2.5) for students who wish to demonstrate college-level learning through prior knowledge or alternative learning experiences. Because the University serves adult students, many students may have acquired this knowledge through employment, training programs, in-service courses, volunteer service, community activities, organizational memberships, adult education, noncredit courses, study abroad, military training that was not evaluated for credit by American Council on Education (ACE) or National College Credit Recommendation Services (NCCRS), or through other life experiences.

Students may also earn college credit for licenses and certifications in a wide range of fields, from aviation or healthcare to law enforcement and business.

In FY2021, the University provided just fewer than 900 credits through its portfolio assessment process. Additionally, TESU was awarded an Opportunity Meets Innovation Challenge grant issued by the New Jersey Office of the Secretary of Higher Education to provide portfolio assessment scholarships to N.J. community college students in the amount of $250,000.

Student Record Management

IV.3

TESU adheres to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974, as amended, known as the Buckley Amendment (IV.C3.2). FERPA affords eligible students certain rights with respect to their education records and governs how the University must protect private information in educational records. The University uses password protected systems for both staff and students to restrict access to unauthorized persons and has a policy regarding Acceptable Use Policy for Information Technology to which staff must agree (IV.C3.24). The University assigns a system generated TESU ID number to all applicants for admission as a degree-seeking or nondegree-seeking student. Students have access to change their own passwords and are responsible for maintaining the privacy of their information, as indicated in the Nonacademic Code of Conduct (IV.C1d.7).The University provides FERPA training to staff annually as well as individually when a new staff person is hired (IV.C3.1, IV.C3.3). The Office of the Registrar is a resource available to any staff person who has a question about FERPA or educational record privacy. The University provides specific FERPA remediation when necessary. Each staff person receives a message reminding them of FERPA responsibilities each time they log into the student system. This message must be acknowledged to enter the system (IV.C3.25).

The University uses a system of “office owners” to control access to various data elements in the student system to staff that have a legitimate need for the information. This office owner system is also used to protect directory information for students who have requested non-release of all information. This prevents unintentional release by staff attempting to assist students.

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The University collects student social security numbers (SSN) in the student information management system to comply with federal and state reporting requirements, such as Enrollment Reporting to the National Student Loan Data System, financial aid awarding, and the production of 1098T tax documents. Although it is collected at admission, the SSN is not used as a student identifier in courses or as student services are provided. In 2016, all University reports containing student-level data were reviewed to remove any presence of SSNs (IV.C3.7). Since then, the SSN is restricted, and is only available to staff whose specific function requires the information. All reports are scheduled to be sent to a secure, protected location on the University network and cannot be shared via email. The University creates FERPA Agency Agreements (IV.C3.18) and includes a statement of FERPA requirements in University partner MOUs (memorandum of understanding) (IV.C3.19) so that partners and vendors are knowledgeable about their requirements under FERPA as they provide services on behalf of the University. The Office of the Registrar staff routinely communicates with partnership staff around what are acceptable releases of information as questions arise and provides explanation when a partner has a question or need for clarification.

The University adheres to the State of New Jersey Records Retention Schedule for Four Year Schools (IV.C3.15) in terms of the maintenance and destruction of student records. All educational records are imaged into OnBase upon receipt and the original documents are maintained if required. When long-term maintenance is required, the records are kept with DocuSafe, an outside vendor (IV.C3.26). If the records can be destroyed, the University provides crosscut shredders to each office and contracts with a certified document destruction company quarterly.

Annually, the TESU Office of Student Financial Accounts and Operations distributes a PowerPoint training presentation of its Payment Card Industry (PCI) Compliance Policy and Procedures (IV.C3.12) to all staff who have access to credit/debit card information. The two documents are the PCI Compliance Policy (IV.C3.12) and TESUPCI Cashier Training (IV.C3.16). The staff sign a form stating they have participated in the training and a copy is forwarded to the Office of Human Resources. Only trained staff in the Office of Student Financial Accounts and Operations and Office of Financial Aid (One-Stop) now process credit/debit card authorizations.

On an annual basis, the Office of Student Financial Accounts and Operations completes two self-assessment questionnaires (SAQs) (IV.C3.17, IV.C3.22) in accordance with the Payment Card Industry (PCI) compliance policy.

The SAQs are sent to the credit/debit card processing providers for certification of the University’s compliance.

IV.4

Athletic, Student Life and Extracurricular TESU does not maintain athletic or extracurricular services.

Institutional Review of Third-Party Student Support Services

IV.5

The University utilizes “Smarthinking,” a Pearson product that offers online tutoring in more than 150 subject areas. In most subjects, tutors are available through an on-call service, otherwise, appointments may be made to work with a tutor on a particular project or assignment. The University administrator for Smarthinking periodically evaluates survey data to determine student usage and student satisfaction with this service. Student satisfaction results indicate an average of 88 percent of students rate the service as satisfactory (IV.C5.1), and these results have informed continued use of the service. Student usage results inform the University administrator’s decisions about how to utilize the service. For instance, to increase student usage, the University has embedded the service into the LMS (learning management system) for courses with high barrier ratings and has developed communications to ensure students are aware of the service option.

The University uses Blackboard Student Services after hours and to supplement the Student Success Team and advising resources. Monthly meetings are scheduled to review the contractual benchmarks for service success and the University monitors the previous month resolution and escalation rates, the types of questions received, and the methods of contact (IV.C1d.16, IV.C1d.17). These results are also reviewed over time to look for trends in service requests or needed process improvements. The meeting is also used to discuss any expected increases in need for the coming months as well as to establish special projects to be completed, such as the calling campaigns addressed earlier in this chapter. Throughout the month, the University and BBSS are in contact as needed for additions or subtractions to the Knowledge Base based on new issues. This close coordination of service allows for expectations to be set and met by both parties.

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Assessment of Programs Supporting the Student Experience

IV.6

The University engages in periodic assessment of the effectiveness of programs supporting the student experience, uses internal and external processes of quality assurance measurement, and uses these results to facilitate improvement measures in student services and administrative operations. The University utilizes various assessment activities, including direct assessments of the University’s functions in its administrative areas, internal and external reviews of select offices, and reviews of University processes. Findings from indirect measures, such as student feedback from surveys (IV.C6.1, IV.C2.10, IV.C6.5, IV.C6.8) and information raised by students in policy appeals, often complement the direct measures or indicate a need to further inspect an issue.

The University’s Director of Assessment coordinates assessment and continuous improvement initiatives with all entities involved in the support of the student experience. This initiative, entitled Support and Administrative Unit Assessment, encapsulates a full assessment process for administrative departments responsible for student support services and other administrative functions and mirrors the University’s academic assessment process. The Support and Administrative Unit Assessment process can be seen in Figure 9. Assessment of all administrative areas is ongoing, and included in TESU’s strategic, operational, and tactical effort to document an ongoing annual assessment reporting structure. The process involves goal setting, determination of metrics, analysis and reporting of assessment data, and action planning. This is a cyclical effort in which each assessment effort leads directly to evidence-based actions that inform the next set of goals and metrics. Units in this area are working collaboratively with the staff in strategic initiatives and institutional effectiveness, the area Vice President, and other stakeholders to ensure consistent and careful assessment, continuing TESU’s standard of continuous improvement.

Figure 12: TESU’s Support and Administrative Unit Assessment Workflow

Other Student Support Assessment Mechanisms The University’s Office of Institutional Research deploys and utilizes several student and alumni surveys to help gauge the quality of the University’s programs, products, and services. The surveys are administered annually at the undergraduate and graduate level for new students, recently graduated students, and alumni who have been graduated for five years (IV.C6.1, IV.C6.2). The University also surveys students who are no longer enrolled.

Results from these surveys are used to gauge the quality of the students’ experiences at the University and their satisfaction with the University’s programs, products, and services. These findings are documented in written reports, shared in individual and committee meetings, and presented at University meetings, such as the Academic Leadership Team meeting.

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Use of the data from these surveys depends on the area of the University reviewing the results. For instance, findings from the Graduate Survey (IV.C6.1) and the Adult Learner Inventory (IV.C6.9) suggested that improvements should be made in the advising and customer service areas. As a result, there have been several changes made in actions and procedures conducted by student services areas, as described herein. There are now several customer service outreach initiatives in place to enhance staff interaction with students that takes place at different stages within the application cycle (IV.C1.4); a new, expedited transcript evaluation process; additional proactive communication to applicants regarding the status of their transfer evaluation (IV.C1.4), and a pilot program underway to improve engagement with new students. Assessments conducted in the Student Support Services areas resulted in the adoption of the Recruit software to automate and streamline the admissions process and the revision of the University tuition and fee structure as well as for the creation of a new Customer Relationship Management program.

The University’s assessment of financial aid services indicated a need to further refine financial aid activities to meet student needs. As a result, scholarship programs were expanded, fees were consolidated, the tuition structure was streamlined creating a full-time, flat-rate tuition option, and grantsmanship was further expanded at the University.

Additionally, the Office of Financial Aid was restructured, to create the “Student Financial Services One-Stop,” (IV. C6.13) explained in earlier sections.

As described in Standard 1, Business Process Mapping has occurred in many units in the University resulting in the identification of redundancies, inefficiencies, and a clear indication that student needs were changing and a more comprehensive approach to services adopted. Also as described in Standard IV, student performance data are carefully evaluated to inform decisions relative to course development and revision.

Summary of Institutional Strengths and Opportunities for Improvement In meeting the Standard IV and associated criteria requirements, the University also meets Requirements of Affiliation 8 and 10.

The University’s exploration into Standard IV, associated criteria, as well as identified Lines of Inquiry, emphasizes specific institutional strengths as well as opportunities for continuous improvement.

Institutional Strengths • Evidence suggests that the University’s student support services are closely aligned with the University’s mission and were designed to specifically meet the needs of the self-directed adult students served through online modalities at the University • The University’s open admission at the undergraduate level offers opportunities for earning a college degree to adults who may not have been successful in initial attempts. The University provides opportunities for adults to enhance their careers with higher education or change their career with new skills and knowledgebase.

• The University has committed to developing a comprehensive student success program and has dedicated staff and resources to design and build this framework.

• The University is responsive to assessment results and implements changes informed by these results.

This is evidenced in several areas in the student services arena including financial aid, enrollment management and advising and the transition of most services from a reactive to proactive stance.

• The University is nimble in its ability and willingness to embrace innovation and implement changes when there is a documented need. The University embraces a culture of collaboration across divisions to address changes to realize operational improvements and student success.

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Opportunities for Continuous Improvement and Improvement Plan Opportunity

Improvement Plan

The University is committed to continuing to assess and refine the methods to support and enhance student success. Through the Support and Administrative A common challenge for all open enrollment institutions Unit Assessment initiatives, this commitment is being codified into the institutional culture. is retention and student success. As evidenced within this Self-Study, under the new administration, TESU Many metrics and processes are in place to support has redoubled its efforts to support all students. The the continued development and improvement of University will need to continue to develop these efforts appropriate supports and services, and these will in order to meet its stated objective of improving continue to be developed. graduation rates.

Evaluation of post-COVID enrollment and course offering patterns are being reviewed to inform retention efforts.

As identified by census retention data cited in Standard I, there appear to be process barriers to initial military student success. These should be examined and rectified.

A workgroup consisting of the Director of Military Student Services; the Director of Military and Veteran Enrollment and Outreach; and the Chief Student Success, Equity, and Inclusion Officer met in February to begin a formal review of these processes and recommend a course of action for improvement.

University policies should be reviewed to determine consistency with the newly established retention and graduation goals of the University.

A cross-divisional “retention task force” is being considered to inform retention initiatives and review related policies.

Although the University has established a centralized assessment process, additional efforts should be made to ensure the communication of proposed changes resulting from the Support and Administrative Unit Assessments and Business Process Mapping across units. This will be important for the broadest and most positive institutional impact and to ensure alignment between and among institutional units.

The University will benefit from establishing a comprehensive communications strategy to enable assessment outcomes and resultant changes to be shared across the entire organization in a coordinated manner. With the newly established Director of Assessment position, these efforts are underway.

General Education and academic programs should be fully reviewed at least every five years.

This process was initiated in 2018 with the first reviews completed and implemented in 2021. A full five-year cycle will be completed in 2025

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STANDARD V: EDUCATIONAL EFFECTIVENESS ASSESSMENT Assessment of student learning and achievement demonstrates that the institution’s students have accomplished educational goals consistent with their program of study, degree level, the institution’s mission, and appropriate expectations for institutions of higher education.

Thomas Edison State University is in full compliance with Standard V: Educational Effectiveness Assessment including all the standard’s subsequent criteria. In addition, TESU also meets the MSCHE Requirements of Affiliation that map to Standard V, specifically requirements 8, 9, and 10.

During the Self-Study design phase, TESU worked closely with its assigned MSCHE Liaison to develop Lines of Inquiry or research-style questions to give direction to the self-inquiry process. The Lines of Inquiry, in essence, serve as a bridge between the MSCHE Standards and Criteria and TESU’s Strategic Institutional Priorities.

The Lines of Inquiry for Standard V are: Standard I – Lines of Inquiry • To what degree are educational goals at all levels of the institution presented, their interrelatedness evidenced, and learning and applied educational experiences relevant and aligned to the University mission?

• How does the University ensure that stated educational goals are assessed by appropriately credentialed and skilled professionals evaluating the extent of student achievement relative to existing assessment mechanisms?

• Does the University evidence organized, systematic, and comprehensive assessment plans, policies, and procedures that enables and enhances student learning student leading to consistent student success?

• To what extent does the University conduct and report periodic educational effectiveness assessments internally and externally and request recommendations for improvement?

• Does the University demonstrate financial stewardship evidenced through responsible fiscal planning, controls, and metrics associated with improving pedagogy and curriculum, advancing student services as well as ensuring accurate educational effectiveness assessments associated with planned educational, enrollment, and retention goals?

Given our founding and mission, assessment is at the core of all University functions. Educational effectiveness assessment planning, processes, and scheduling reside in the Division of Academic Affairs and cascade throughout the University using coherent and well-defined assessment processes, methods, and instruments.

The University’s Learning Outcomes Assessment Cycle includes five phases: Figure 13: TESU’s Cyclical Assessment Model

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TESU follows this cycle for Undergraduate Institutional Learning Outcomes (U-ILOs) (V.INT.1), Graduate Institutional Learning Outcomes (G-ILOs), (V.INT.2), and Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs) (V.INT.3).

To ensure the success of this assessment approach, TESU has organized the Division of Academic Affairs to create a clear focus on assessment at all levels. Centralizing educational assessment personnel, responsibilities, and operations in one location, the Office of Learning Outcomes (OLO) developed and maintains three seminal documents with respect to assessment at TESU: 1. Learning Outcomes Strategic Plan (FY18-21) (V.INT.4) 2. Learning Outcomes Master Plan (FY18-21) (V.INT.5) 3. Learning Outcomes Annual Report (Published Annually) (V.INT.6) The Learning Outcomes Strategic Plan FY18-21 (V.INT.4) establishes the schedule of academic assessment activities for the three-year period.

The Learning Outcomes Master Plan (V.INT.5) establishes the framework for academic assessment at TESU inclusive of institutional and programmatic assessment processes, roles and responsibilities definitions, and closingthe-loop methods.

The Learning Outcomes Annual Report (V.INT.6) is used to convey the overall and specific results of assessment adjacent to actions taken over the span of the academic year.

While educational effectiveness assessment planning, processes, and scheduling is designed and led by the OLO, many areas of the University support the effort.

• University Academic Council (UAC) (V.INT.7) • Learning Outcomes Assessment Committee (LOAC) • School Curricullum Committees (CC) • Provost’s Cabinet • Curriculum Outcomes Assessment Steering Team (COAST) There also exist school-specific assessment instruments under the direction of school staff. Additionally, the Office of Insititutional Research deployes an array of surveys each academic year and shares results with the campus community.

Assessment and Institutional Strategic Planning TESU’s strategic planning process allowed the University to “reimage and reinvest” in the four Strategic Priorities enabling the institution to “resurge” to national prominence as a leader in adult education, as noted in the working Strategic Plan. To achieve this, the University operates with a robust action-oriented, academic assessment model which focuses on: systematic program review; programmatic, institutional, and general education outcomes assessment; and support and administrative unit assessment as well as innovation in the area of prior learning assessment. Together, these operations synergize to form an institutional focus on assessment that enables continuous optimization of learning and services.

Figure 14 positions Standard V as an anchoring element relative the 2020-2022 MSCHE Self-Study reaffirmation effort. Assessment at TESU does not exist purely for continuous improvement, typically referred to as closing the loop. Rather, assessment at TESU serves to bring to life a basic tenet of the institution, namely the recognition that college-level learning can occur in multiple contexts within and outside of the traditional classroom. Through TESU’s Professional Learning Review efforts, the University evaluates military and workplace training programs for credit.

Through portfolio assessment the University is able to reward, through credit awards, prior learning completed by individual members of its student body. Through other prior learning assessment systems such as TECEP®, the University recommits to its mission of recognizing college-level learning wherever and however it may occur.

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As such, Figure 14, reflects Standard V as the heart and soul of the institution and this Self-Study.

Figure 14: TESU’s Continuous Improvement / MSCHE Standards Model

TESU’s assessment philosophy is action oriented and, as such, all assessment efforts are codified with evidencebased action planning for continuous improvement.

Assessment Mapping The University follows a tiered assessment strategy, 1. Undergraduate Institutional Assessment (U-ILO) 2. Graduate Institutional Learning Outcomes Assessment (G-ILO) 3. Program Learning Outcomes Assessment (PLO) 4. Academic Program Review (APR) 5. Meta-Assessment (Assessment of the assessment processes) The University has mapped (V.INT.1, V.INT.2) institutional learning outcomes at the graduate and undergraduate levels to program learning outcomes, which have also been mapped to course outcomes, course module objectives, and to the most granular level of specific course assignments and test item questions. This hourglass mapping model, seen in Figure 15, serves as the foundation of academic assessment.

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Figure 15: TESU Hourglass Outcomes Alignment Model

MyCourses/MyMaps MyCourses/MyMaps is a web-based application used to manage course projects, identify course components, and capture the entire life cycle of every course in the University catalog. The ability to analyze complex course data— including data drawn from external sources—in one place makes MyCourses a powerful solution for course design, development, and decision making for the University. Customized dashboards provide easy access to essential data, while automated communication and course projects provide the necessary means to bring together specialized skills, allowing teams to function and collaborate on a course project in an efficient and cost-effective way.

The relational tables in the database used to capture the entire life cycle of every course in the University catalog include: • Course Projects—provides the history of project types and serves as a powerful project management tool.

• Upkeeps—records routine course maintenance projects.

• Academic Programs—associates programs with all data feeds.

• Outcomes Mapping—links to program outcomes rubrics maps and indicates the availability of course backmaps.

• Outcomes Assessment Projects – Contains all of the University’s academic and support/administrative unit assessment efforts.

• Quality—captures quality indicators such as copy editing, ADA compliance review, embedded rubrics, credit hour analysis.

The external data streams of particular importance to Academic Affairs include: • Enrollments • Barriers (retention)—courses with higher percentages of drops, withdrawals, and fails.

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• Learning Materials Cost • Evaluations—student course evaluation results • Students (demographics) • Mentors (demographics) Stakeholders across the University (Provost, Deans, Office of Learning Outcomes, and Design teams) all contribute to, or have access to, the data and external streams in the MyCourses app. This creates multiple collaborative pathways for teams to focus on maintaining and improving the quality of our courses and programs. The data within the MyCourses app can be used to identify barriers to student success, highlight subject areas in need of currency updates, and close the loop on the learning outcomes lifecycle. Any of these reasons can initiate a revision, rewrite, or build of a new course.

To illustrate the power of the MyCourses app, over the last three years we have accomplished approximately 100 new course developments, 65 course rewrites, and 575 course revisions. In addition, students and mentors provide continuous feedback to inform upkeep projects (minor edits, corrections, broken links, etc.), resulting in an additional 500 projects that contribute to the overall course quality of our catalog. In capturing all this information, the MyCourses app provides University stakeholders a centralized and transparent connection to the data that informs course and program quality.

Support and Administrative Unit Assessment Overview A University initiative entitled Support and Administrative Unit Assessment (V.INT.8) leverages an assessment model to engage nonacademic units in continuous improvement processes. The University’s Director of Assessment coordinates assessment and continuous improvement initiatives with 20 distinct units (V.INT.9) across the University.

The Support and Administrative Unit Assessment effort engages administrative departments responsible for student support services and other administrative functions in a full assessment process that mirrors the University’s academic assessment process. The process involves goal setting, determination of metrics, analysis and reporting of assessment data, and action planning. This is a cyclical effort in which each assessment effort leads directly to evidence-based actions that inform the next set of goals and metrics. Units in this area are working collaboratively with the staff in strategic initiatives and institutional effectiveness, the area Vice President, and other stakeholders to ensure consistent and careful assessment, continuing TESU’s standard of continuous improvement. A more in-depth explanation of the Support and Administrative Unit Assessment effort may be found in Standard IV.

Closing the Assessment Loop TESU ensures that the results of all assessment are used for continuous improvement of educational effectiveness.

This “closing of the loop” is a critical step in TESU’s educational assessment practices, because it enables the University to make curricular, instructional, and process changes on a timely basis to improve student outcomes.

Each instance of assessment at the University includes an Action Plan (V.INT.10) in which the owner of the assessment, i.e., school Dean, administrative unit Manager, etc., detail their plans to utilize the associated assessment data for continous improvement by documenting what action they plan to take and when. These data points are recorded in the MyMaps (V.INT.11) app by the Office of Learning Outcomes. MyMaps is a relational database and workflow tracking system developed by TESU that not only serves as the primary repository for outcomes at every level, proficiency rubrics, and upward and downward outcomes maps, but also serves to track the progress through to action implementatin of each and every assessment project carried out.

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Assessment and Specialized Accreditation The University maintains specialized professional accreditations (V.INT.12) for the following programs: Heavin School of Arts, Sciences, and Technology • Engineering Technology Accreditation Commission (ABET)

• BS in Nuclear Energy Engineering Technology

• BS in Electronic Systems Engineering Technology

• Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAPE)

• MA in Educational Leadership

School of Business and Management • Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP)

• BS in Business Administration

• MBA

• MS in Management

• MS in Human Resource Management

W. Cary Edwards School of Nursing and Health Professions • Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE)

• BSN

• MSN

• DNP

• Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP)

• AAS in Polysomnography

• Undergraduate Certificate in Polysomnography

These accreditations contain periodic self-study and ongoing annual reporting requirements.The schools use their self-studies and accreditation reports to improve teaching and learning, and the University’s Academic Program Review (APR) process has integrated programmatic accreditation to eliminate redundant assessment activity

Institutional Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

V.1

TESU ILOs for all undergraduate (V.C1.1) and graduate students (V.C1.2) have been approved by the University Academic Council and are mapped closely to the Essential Learning Outcomes of the Liberal Education and America’s Promise (LEAP) (V.C1.3) initiative as documented by the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) (V.C1.4).

Both the U-ILOs and G-ILOs emerged from a careful process that centered the institutional mission. The U-ILOs (V.C1.5) are mapped to specific courses across the institution as well as specific assignments within those courses that give TESU undergraduates the opportunity to demonstrate their proficiency in each of these key areas. In addition, the U-ILOs reflect a focus on the general education requirements implemented in July 2015 based on the LEAP model developed in conjunction with the AAC&U. The G-ILOs were carefully developed by the same institutional bodies, and the process of G-ILO curriculum mapping is underway in preparation for full G-ILO data collection budgeted for FY2022

Program Learning Outcomes (PLOs) Every degree program at TESU has officially approved PLOs, generated via collaboration between the Academic Schools, OLO, Center for the Assessment of Learning (CAL), and Center for Learning and Technology (CLT). The

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PLOs are reviewed and approved by the Provost’s Cabinet, the School Curriculum Committee, the Learning Outcomes Assessment Committee, and the University Academic Council when created/updated. PLOs must be derived from the institutional mission and program goals and mapped to the U-ILOs or G-ILOs. This ensures that every learning outcome is interrelated and consistent with the institutional mission.

Each PLO is carefully mapped to specific course outcomes and course module objectives and assignments/ assessments (V.C1.5). This mapping framework ensures appropriate scaffolding of learning as well as accurate alignment between presentations of content and assessment of student learning.

PLOs are not static, rather they are subject to continuous improvement. Through the assessment processes that will be described below, the PLOs and their associated criteria are regularly considered, refined, and updated, if necessary. Every one of these changes takes place via collaboration between the Academic Schools, Office of Learning Outcomes (OLO), and Curriculum Outcomes Assessment Steering Team (COAST) and is always evidence based. These changes, along with the evidence supporting them, is carefully tracked for full transparency.

V.2

Organized and Systematic Assessment PLOs

The OLO maintains a schedule (V.2a.1) for assessment of PLOs. Within PLO assessment, the University uses a tool called Aqua, which has been licensed by the vendor Watermark. Aqua is purely a tool used to facilitate rubric-based artifact scoring against a set of established outcomes using rubric-proficiency statements on a scale of 0-4 as seen in Figure 16.

Figure 16: Aqua Rubric Scale

The University uses a best-practices model whereby all PLOs are assessed over a three-year period. Each and every academic program is required to assess at least two PLOs each year. As such, assessment at TESU is an ongoing effort.

Each Aqua assessment project uses two scoring mentors. This will be discussed more thoroughly in subsequent sections in this chapter.

ILOs University Institutional Outcomes (U-ILOs) are assessed indirectly via mapping with each PLO Aqua project.

However, U-ILOs are also assessed directly.

The University employs the following assessment instruments to evaluate whether undergraduate students are achieving proficiency in the ILOs. Educational Testing Service Proficiency Profile (ETS PP) Administered to students enrolled in capstone courses, the ETS PP assesses three U-ILOs: Written Communication, Quantitative Reasoning/Literacy, and Critical Thinking. Currently the University uses the abbreviated form of the ETS PP in a non-proctored online setting. This assessment is embedded as a course requirement in capstone courses for undergraduate programs. (V.C2a.3 p. 19) Standard Assessment of Information Literacy Skills (SAILS) The SAILS test evaluates information literacy skills based on the Association of College and Research Libraries’ (ACRL) Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education. It measures eight ACRL skill sets and assesses two TESU U-ILOs: Critical Thinking and Information Literacy. This assessment is embedded as a course requirement in multiple courses. (V.C2a.4 p. 23)

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CREDO Information Literacy Assessment (CREDO) Beginning in FY2016 (January 2017) a new pilot program was designed to improve information literacy skills. This program employed information literacy courseware developed by CREDO and assesses one University U-ILO: Information Literacy. This assessment is embedded as a course requirement in the high-enrollment course SOS-110: Living in the Information Age. (V.C2a.5 p. 29) Watermark Aqua (AQUA) Every five years the University engages in a direct-assessment project for ILOs. The most recent, focused on Undergraduate ILOs was completed in FY2021 and is currently being analyzed.

The U-ILO direct assessment project engaged more than 15 scoring mentors who scored more than 1000 student artifacts against the University’s U-ILOs (V.C2a.7 p. 36).

A second Watermark Aqua project scheduled for FY2022 will follow the U-ILO process described above and generate the same baseline direct assessment data set for G-ILOs. This process is iterative and ongoing.

Academic Program Review The University also maintains a five-year schedule (V.C2a.8) for holistic Academic Program Review (APR). The APR Handbook (V.C2a.9) details the process and format for each APR. This will be discussed more thoroughly in subsequent sections in this chapter.

Faculty and/or Appropriate Professionals TESU’s mentors are involved in virtually every stage and level of assessment. Mentors serve on University governance bodies such as the University Academic Council, Curriculum Committees, and the Learning Outcomes Assessment Committee. Additionally, all scoring of student work for assessment purposes is conducted by calibrated scoring mentors. The OLO maintains a calibration exercise (V.2a.10) to ensure as valid and reliable scoring as can be possible for assessment projects.

Curricular Goals and Standards TESU has well-developed curricular goals and evidences a defensible standard to evaluate student learning at the institutional and program levels. TESU’s curricular goals take the form of the U-ILOs, G-ILOs, and PLOs as discussed above. Every one of these learning outcomes, when developed, includes corresponding standards for evaluating whether these outcomes are being achieved. TESU refers to these predetermined standards as criteria or performance indicators, and each learning outcome includes several. Moreover, TESU creates rubrics for the evaluation of each criterion, and stores these rubrics with the learning outcomes and criteria in multiple locations, available to stakeholders across the institution.

Institution-Level Indirect Assessment Surveys The Office of Institutional Research (OIR) is primarily responsible for data collection, management systems, and reporting education effectiveness results associated with the University’s Strategic Plan. The OIR supplies the Division of Academic Affairs with the data streams that inform its educational assessment programs and processes.

In conjunction with other data collection mechanisms, these institutional departments provided robust and nuanced educational assessment data that are used in institutional strategic planning, academic program development, and data-driven decision-making associated conception, development, and deployment of University-wide educational programming (IV.C6.1).

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Table 9: OIR Surveys & Reports w/ Descriptions Type

Topic

Name

Brief Description

Survey

Alumni

Five Year Out Alumni Survey Dashboard

Asesses alumni satisfaction with the services and graduate programs. Part 1 focuses on the education experience, professional and community activities, overall satisfaction, and networking and engagement preferences. Part II focuses on the impact of TESU degrees and learning outcomes.

Survey

Applicants

Admitted but Not Yet Enrolled Applicant Survey Dashboard

This survey was designed to provide information about applicants who had been admitted into the Univeristy but not yet enrolled.

Graduates

Recent Graduate Survey: Undergraduate and Graduate Levels

Assess recent graduates’ satisfaction with the services and programs at the University and their perceptions of its impact on their skills and abilities.

Mentors

FY2020 Mentor Survey Result Dashboard

Assess mentor’s experiences and satisfaction regarding their interactions with the University and its students, this summary highlights findings from the FY2020 Mentor Survey administered in March 2020.

Survey

Persistance: Inactive Students

Inactive Student Survey (Persistance Survey): Administered to students who were last enrolled at TESU

Determine reasons some students chose to discontinue their enrollment and if they are interested in returning to TESU or have enrolled at another institution.

Reports

Alumni: Student Tracker

Track Alumni’s Enrollment and Graduation at other Institutions after they graduated from TESU

Using the NSC Student Tracker Data the number of alumni who had enrolled in or earned degrees/ certificates from other institutions after earning their last degree from TESU.

Reports

Course Evaluations

Course Evaluation Result Dashboard

The purpose of the current summary is to highlight findings from course evaluations and the major trends.

Report

Courses

Course Enrollment and Course Completion Dashboard

The dashboard includes the number of students enrolled on Day 22 of a course.

Survey

Survey

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Reports

Degrees Awarded

The purpose of this dashboard is to provide trend data An examination of Degrees related to the number of degrees awarded by TESU Awarded by TESU between FY2016 and FY2020.

Reports

Enrollment Trends

Enrollment Trend by Student Background

Persistence

Persistance and Graduation Outcomes Examines the persistence and graduation outcomes. of Dashboard: Undergraduate students. and Graduate Levels

Reports

Identifies five-year enrollment trends from FY2016 through FY2020.

Process for Workplace Alignment Given TESU’s historical focus on adult learners and career impactful education, it should come as no surprise that these themes directly inform the strategy by which the University creates academic programs and courses. The influence of workforce-aligned competencies and outcomes begins during the early conceptualization phase for a new degree. The University begins by seeking out external professional standards and competencies for a specific discipline, and weaves them into the learning outcomes for the program and maps them throughout the assessment and course structures in the entire degree. These alignments are documented and mapped across the degree, which allows the University to regularly review the outcome and competency structure for currency and relevance to workforce demands.

For programs for which professional standard are not available, program development and redevelopment rely on scholar-practitioner mentors and external industry advisors to provide workplace appropriate program learning outcomes that map to the U-ILOs. Additionally, TESU values the wealth of experience that its students bring to the learning environment. Activities are intentionally designed to draw out these workforce experiences from students so that the learning is enriched by adult learners sharing their real-world job experiences with other students through discussion boards, collaborative projects, and other means of demonstrating learning. This contextualization of learning helps bring workforce competencies to life in the classroom and equip students with the skills needed to be successful in their field of choice.

Examples of programs governed by professional standards and competencies leading to workplace alignment: • Bachelor of Science in Cybersecurity (NSA/DHS CAE-CD Knowledge Units) • Bachelor of Science in Nursing (AACN, QSEN, NCLEX) • Master of Arts in Educational Leadership (NELP) • Master of Public Service Leadership (NASPAA) • Master of Science in Cybersecurity (NSA/DHS CAE-CD Knowledge Units, NICE Framework) • Master Science in Nursing (AACN, AONE, QSEN) • Doctor of Nursing Practice (AACN, AONE) The University’s Learning Outcomes Annual Report (V.C2c.1) is the primary vehicle by which student achievement results are communicated to assessment stakeholders. The report is widely distributed across the University, published on an internal TESU Portal site and accessible by all. Additionally, the report is presented to the Provost’s Cabinet, Academic Leadership Team, University Academic Council, and ultimately the Academic Affairs Committee of the Board of Trustees.

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Closing the Loop

V.3

A major strength of TESU’s assessment methodology is the extent to which assessment results are used to improve learning and to improve or enhance curriculum. The OLO facilitates all programmatic and institutional Aqua projects. These projects begin with a starter kit (V.C3b.1) that requires collaboration between the OLO and the school in which the assessment project is to happen. The purpose of the starter kit is to affirm the outcomes to be assessed and then for each to ensure the mapping to ILOs and course outcomes/module objectives exists. Rubric criterion statements are developed, and a sampling/artifact plan is formulated. Following the execution of the project (during which time scoring mentors actually score artifacts) the data is organized and presented to the school. An action plan template (V.C3b.2) accompanies this discussion and is returned to the OLO 30 days later with closing-the-loop actions documented within.

If schools elect to enhance/alter curriculum based on assessment data, the school presents these changes to the Course Creation Committee (C3), which is chaired by the Provost and includes all Deans, the Vice Provost for Strategic Initiatives and Institutional Effectiveness, and key members of the CLT team in instructional design and assessment. Changes to be implemented are prioritized by this body according to the critical impact on student learning and executed to the extent available in the current budget cycle. These recommendations also serve as a starting point for the following year’s budgeting cycle to ensure key changes are implemented. All assessmentdriven curricular changes are earmarked as such in MyMaps and tracked.

Reassessment efforts are tracked, and data is compared to evaluate resulting effects of curriculum enhancements. An example can be seen in the Heavin School’s BA in Liberal Studies Degree Aqua Project Report (V.C3b.3).

Academic Program Review Reviews are expected of all programs in a five-year cycle as a commitment to continuous process and academic quality improvement, and are a critical expectation for institutional accreditation (V.C3b.4). TESU supports a fiveyear Academic Program Review process conforming to the practices as recommended by the Council of Graduate Schools through which each academic program is evaluated on several criteria including, but not limited to, relevance, enrollment, outcomes assessment, graduation, retention, and market demand/need. The process for these reviews is described in the Academic Program Review Handbook.

Based on a revised process developed in 2018 and launched in 2019, the first two (General Education (V.C3b.6) and the master’s in Educational Leadership: MAEdL (V.C3b.5)) were completed in 2021 and six programs are slated for completion in 2022. The MAEdL program review was conducted to assess program efficacy and clarify, and reinforce rationales for program continuation, review indicators of the quality of the program and outcomes, and establish action plans for improvement and for monitoring progress toward measurable objectives for improvement. This program will undergo a Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) reaccreditation effort in 2022. The APR aids the effort by revealing the need to revise the program to align with the national standards of the Professional Standards for Educational Leadership (PSEL). The program will undergo a curricular revision to expand and integrate technology and assessment throughout the program as well as to increase the emphasis of cultural and identity pluralism, equity, and diversity of learning needs.

Support and Administrative Unit Assessment Support and Administrative Unit Assessment results are used to conduct revisions to processes and systems in support of student achievement. These efforts are tracked by the Office of Learning Outcomes and will, eventually, be housed in MyMaps adjacent to academic assessment efforts. This process is described in Standard IV.

Professional Development Educational effectiveness processes and assessment initiatives drive important internal stakeholder professional development initiatives. A list of professional development activities for assessment-engaged staff may be seen in the evidence inventory (V.C3d.1).

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Planning and Budgeting The planning and budgeting process is described in detail in Standard VI. The process begins each spring with an internal review by department of the academic and programmatic successes for the previous year and its goals and objectives for the approaching year. As described above, the assessment of student learning and, particularly the Learning Outcomes Assessment Annual Report, are used to prioritize initiatives such as course revisions.

Academic Program Reviews identify program and course revisions that need to occur and are prioritized in the Academic Affairs budget, as can be seen in the general education review. Special consideration is made for the personnel and technology resources needed to execute on the planned initiatives, and each area Vice President can include appropriate non-salary costs to support their initiatives. The combined budgets of the Division of Academic Affairs and the Center for Learning and Technology constitute almost half (44%) of the institutional budget and are sufficient to cover the majority of the continuous improvement initiatives identified. Additional resources are often provided for larger expenses, such as major program revisions (e.g., MAEDL) and new program development (e.g., Cloud Computing), by the TESU Foundation.

Key Indicators The University’s Office of Institutional Research publishes, annually, relevant persistence and graduation data. These data are presented to the University Leadership and Board of Trustees by the Office of Institutional Research, are reviewed by many offices on campus and are used as influencing data points to inform strategic, operational, and tactical decisions about University operation.

Persistence and graduation data Figure 17 below depicts a 10-year look at graduation rates by cohort.

Figure 17: Graduation Outcomes - Undergraduate FY 10-20 by Cohort

Retention Under the leadership of the new administration, the University has redoubled its efforts to address issues of retention.

A major initiative spanning almost two years, FY2018-FY2020, of Academic Affairs resulted in the development of an Academic Affairs Power BI Dashboard (Figure 18) to track, among other things, retention patterns of TESU students.

Given the University’s nature of starting a new semester every month and offering multiple financing and enrollment options (e.g., per credit or annual tuition; policies that do not require continuous course enrollment), TESU students do not follow traditional course enrollment patterns. During this two-year long retention project, it was decided to track students on a quarter-to-quarter model. Additionally, the University developed institution-wide targets as well as school-specific targets to measure efficacy of quarterly retention efforts against.

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One major finding of the retention initiative using baseline data for 2017-2018, revealed that students who do not persist and enroll in their next sequential quarter following their first course are almost 40 percent more likely to not persist through to graduation. This finding was operationalized in a variety of retention initiatives, e.g., call campaigns, and additional automated reporting to the University’s Student Success Team and Office of Academic Advising targeting specific students who had not persisted into their second sequential quarter.

It is notable that the implementation of several of the new student outreach and school support retention initiatives based on this data were implemented early in 2020, coinciding with the Covid pandemic. The University is continuing to collect and monitor this data and adjust student support accordingly, but we anticipate that we may not have yet reached a point of achieving normed post-pandemic data.

The quarterly retention targets are report to the University leadership every quarter by the Division of Academic Affairs.

Figure 18: Quarterly Retention Power BI Dashboard

Third-Party Assessment

V.4

The University does not engage any third-party provider assessment services.

Periodic Assessment

V.5

In the spirit of continuous improvement at all levels, the institution engages in meta-assessment or assessment of the assessment process. A three-pronged approach to meta-assessment is used: 1. Learning Outcomes Assessment Program Audit The Office of Learning Outcomes, in collaboration with Academic Schools, CAL and CLT, conducts regular reviews of degree program’s outcome statements and assessment plans via the Learning Outcomes and Assessment Plan Audit process. This process follows the schedule of program audits outlined in the Office of Learning Outcomes Strategic Plan (V.C5.1, p. 12).

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2. Capstone Review The Office of Learning Outcomes, in collaboration with Academic Schools, CAL and the CLT, also conducts periodic reviews of capstone courses inclusive of capstone content, assignments, and assessment projects that result in efficacy/recommendation reports provided to the appropriate Dean and Provost. A schedule of capstone reviews is maintained in the Office of Learning Outcomes Strategic Plan (V.C5.2, p. 13).

3. Use of Evidence Index (UEI) The Office of Learning Outcomes tracks each assessment effort at the institutional and programmatic level to understand whether the results of the assessment effort are used in some way by the institution. This score is represented as a simple percentage and is tracked both holistically and broken out by Academic School (V.C5.3).

Meta-assessment results are reported annually in the Learning Outcomes Assessment Report published annually in September. Included in this report is a quick-view dashboard that allows the University to determine at a glance how well assessment results are being utilized. A snapshot of this dashboard (Figure 19) demonstrates University’s ongoing commitment to employing assessment results for the improvement of educational effectiveness.

Figure 19: LOAC Dashboard FY 19 and FY20

The data collected from the institution’s assessment infrastructure both informs potential revisions to existing assessment process and procedures and strategic consideration associated with expanding current assessment practices. This leads to increasingly robust enterprise-wide assessment systems, ensuring accuracy and strengthening the University’s educational effectiveness systems.

Business Process Mapping In addition to meta-assessment of academic performance, the University engages in widespread institutional assessment entitled Business Process Mapping (BPM). This effort focuses on outcomes at all levels and within all operational units of the institution and is a reflection of continuous improvement efforts. BPM has been more thoroughly defined in Standard VII.

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Summary of Institutional Strengths and Opportunities for Improvement In meeting the Standard V and associated criteria requirements, the University also meets Requirements of Affiliation 8, 9, and 10.

The University’s exploration into Standard V, associated criteria, as well as identified Lines of Inquiry, emphasizes specific institutional strengths as well as opportunities for continuous improvement.

Institutional Strengths • Evidence suggests that TESU students outperform national peers in all assessed areas of the University’s ETS Proficiency Profile, namely Written Communication, Quantitative Reasoning/Literacy, and Critical Thinking.

• The University’s academic assessment system reflects the sophistication and maturation of assessment processes honed over 50 years as a public institution in New Jersey. The academic assessment system provides actionable data and tracks closing of the loop efforts through to reassessment and comparison of intended vs actual change effects • Support and Administrative Unit Assessment and Business Process Mapping reflect a University-wide commitment to a culture of assessment, enabling continuous improvement efforts to become a part of daily University operations.

Opportunities for Continuous Improvement & Institutional Response Opportunity

Improvement Plans

Engagement between the Academic Schools and CLT’s instructional design teams/assessment development teams could be enhanced.

The Provost reimplemented and chairs the Course Creation Committee (C3) in Fall of 2021. Composed of all Deans, the Vice Provost for Strategic Initiatives and Institutional Assessment, and key member of the CLT team in instructional design and assessment and meeting bi-weekly, this committee reviews all proposals for course revisions and establishes the development priorities. Expanding inclusion on the committee to include more of the assessment leadership is under discussion.

Communication and discussion of assessment data, i.e., Aqua results, APRs, Support/Administrative Unit Assessment Results and Business Process Mapping across broader units could be enhanced. Although the data is available to all, is reviewed by individual units and shared with the appropriate governance groups, there is little cross-unit review and discussion.

During the pandemic, the University did not include as expansive and inclusive an assessment sharing as it had done in the past. The Provost has been charged with developing a plan within the next six to nine months for broader communication of the assessment information.

Codify Assessment in University Policy.

There are extensive procedures and handbooks for individual, programmatic, work unit, and other institutional assessment, many of which have been developed within the past four years. While these procedures are being implemented as recommended, there are few policies outlining frequency of assessment or when and how the information should be used.

As part of the institutional policy review, determine if additional of policies related to assessment should be developed.

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The G-ILO curriculum mapping is underway but not yet The G-ILO mapping is anticipated to be completed in competed. The University should continue and complete FY22 with the assessment project implemented in FY23. this process.

With the onboarding of Dr. Mary Kierst, Director of Outcomes Assessment, there was a hiatus of Program Meta Assessment – Program Audits and Capstone Audits and Capstone reviews due to staffing transitions.

Reviews have not been competed according to schedule. The institution should continue these projects through to completion for the first cycle and establish an ongoing cycle thereafter.

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STANDARD VI: PLANNING, RESOURCES, AND INSTITUTIONAL IMPROVEMENT The institution’s planning processes, resources, and structures are aligned with each other and are sufficient to fulfill its mission and goals, to continuously assess and improve its programs and services, and to respond effectively to opportunities and challenges.

Thomas Edison State University is in full compliance with Standard VI: Planning, Resources, and Institutional Improvement including all the standard’s subsequent criteria. In addition, TESU also meets the MSCHE Requirements of Affiliation that map to Standard VI, specifically requirements 8, 10, and 11.

During the Self-Study design phase, TESU worked closely with its assigned MSCHE Liaison to develop Lines of Inquiry or research-style questions to give direction to the self-inquiry process. The Lines of Inquiry, in essence, serve as a bridge between the MSCHE Standards and Criteria and TESU’s Strategic Institutional Priorities.

The Lines of Inquiry for Standard VI are: Standard VI – Lines of Inquiry • To what extent has the University optimized and grown strategic enrollment by developing a strategy to increase prospects and conversion rates?

• How does TESU measure the financial and institutional impact of different enrollment types and has that analysis impacted resource allocation?

• To what degree has technology infrastructure been assessed for usability, duplicity, integration, and continuing ROI? • To what extent has a staff development plan been created and its effectiveness measured?

• How does TESU measure the capacity and optimal staff time and how has resources been assessed through business process improvement?

• To what extent has the University measured its financial viability and has that impacted resource allocation?

University-Wide Goals and Objectives

VI.1

As described in Standard I, the University has institution-wide objectives that are tied to its mission, clearly stated, and assessed through goals developed during the strategic planning process. The working strategic planning document is titled “Reimagine. Reinvest. Resurge.” (VI.C1.1) The review of the institutional mission and development of the working Strategic Plan is also described in Standard I. Moreover, the institution’s planning processes, resources, and structures are aligned to fulfill this mission by continuously assessing and improving its programs and services, and by responding effectively to opportunities and challenges. Examples of mission-driven resource allocation are presented in Standard 1.

During the development of the working Strategic Plan and using the Balanced Scorecard approach, cross functional teams generated more than 170 ideas that were synthesized into 10 strategic objectives that operationalize the University goals.

The President has presented bridging plans for fiscal year 2020 and fiscal year 2021 to the Board (VI.C1.2). The oneyear plans incorporate the overarching goals and objectives of the working copy of the Strategic Plan. The fiscal year 2021 goals and objectives included the three overarching themes and ten prioritized initiatives as noted in Standard 1. Each objective consists of key leading indicators and key goal measures.

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Individual Units Goals and Objectives Service Standards As part of the strategic initiatives to support student success, the development of unit service standards has been initiated as an enhancement to the annual review process. The service standards support our mission and clearly identify our commitment to the students we serve and to each other. We review and assess the performance of each team member based on the three identified pillars: dedication, accessibility, and responsiveness.

The University utilizes several tools to determine if service standards are being met. For example, a weekly telephone queue report includes information by department on queue time, speed of answer, calls handled, handle time, and calls abandoned. This allows management to determine if the service standard key performance indicators (KPIs) by department are being met and whether resources are being properly allocated. In addition, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Service (D365) is used for help desk tickets for both students and internal customers. A Microsoft Power BI dashboard has been developed to track and evaluate D365 case resolution by department, by individual, by time period, and by the case category. This provides information required to determine if the departments and their employees are meeting their service standards and KPIs, or if changes in processes or staffing are needed (VI.C1.4).

Staff Evaluations The Office of Human Resources oversees the evaluation and performance review process for all staff: administrative, professional, and managers. The parameters regarding competencies and timelines for this process are outlined in the Standard Employee Performance Evaluations documents (VI.C1.5).

The standard goals of each department are summarized in the applicable unit manager’s job description. It is the responsibility of the Vice President overseeing the unit manager to review on an annual basis to ensure the unit goals are aligned with the mission, Strategic Plan, and annual objectives. Managers and professional staff annual evaluations includes competencies, the service standards noted above, and management by objectives (MBO). The MBOs are annual goals that are set at the beginning of the year to accomplish the strategic priorities of the unit and the institution. The supervisor provides additional training or other support for any deficiencies. An employee corrective action plan will be developed for any employee who has a rating of “needs improvement,” (VI.C1.5). The Office of Human Resources is always available for consultation, training, and support to help build and maintain a successful team of employees.

VI.2

Planning and Improvement Processes

In addition to those cited above, TESU has a variety of clearly documented and communicated planning and improvement processes that provide for constituent participation and incorporate the use of assessment results.

Business Process Mapping The University embraces improvement and has developed a Business Process Mapping (BPM) team that has been externally trained to review complex processes with stakeholders, map the current state with standard symbols in a chart, and open the door to the identification of a preferred state.

The overarching benefit of mapping our processes is to get a sense of “current state,” which allows us to assess the effectiveness of our work and look for improvement areas. After we build out our “current state,” we then work on “future state,” which aligns our technology and business processes. Through mapping we have created efficiencies that allow for resources to be spread more broadly. Observation and evidence collected to support the success and continuation of BPM include updates to policies and procedures, students, staff, and other stakeholder survey results, executive summaries, and the resulting business process maps (VI.C2.6). Following the success of BPM, the University has identified an opportunity for growth and is moving toward the next step of Business Process Mapping to Business Process Improvement (BPI).

The BPI University team is composed of strategically selected staff members through multiple University divisions.

The outcomes of BPI will further identify areas where technology, people, and process investments or changes could enhance performance and productivity.

The BPM summaries are clearly communicated with leadership through executive summaries. The Office of Financial Aid BPM is an example of a review that led to process improvements. A new process was created for

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students to submit documents that are used to determine eligibility. The use of electronic forms and the OnBase document platform increased the security of the documents received and efficiency in processing the information.

Internal Audit The University has an outsourced internal audit function. An internal audit committee that is composed of members from across the University selects the firm for a three-year contract (contingent upon Board of Trustee approval). The selected firm creates a risk assessment that is based on interviews of leadership and other key staff and reviewing various data. The risk assessment is used as a basis for creating a schedule of areas to be reviewed during the length of the contract. The risk assessment is presented to the internal audit committee and to the Administration, Audit, and Finance (AAF) Committee for feedback. The final risk assessment and administrative response is presented to the full Board of Trustees (VI.C2.7).

The purpose of the internal audit reviews is to provide an independent and objective review of the function being reviewed. The audits typically include procedures to ensure University policies are being followed, the policies are in compliance with federal and state regulations, and to make recommendations to improve efficiencies. The reports benchmark the University policies with peer institutions when feasible. The original schedule of audit areas can be adjusted when the internal audit committee determines that there is a new risk area.

The responsible manager for the area reviews the report for accuracy and provides a management response. The response includes the conclusion reached and next steps. The internal audit committee reviews the report to ensure that the manager has successfully responded to the issues. The chair of the internal audit committee submits the language to the firm for the report to be finalized. The final report is reviewed with the AAF committee and the full Board. The internal audit committee reviews previously published reports on a rotational cycle to ensure that the corrective action has been implemented (VI.C2.8).

The results of the external audits conducted since 2014 have generally indicated that processes were being documented, had adequate controls, and were functioning properly. In addition, the reviews provided recommendations for improvements, which are reviewed and, as accepted, have been implemented by the appropriate University offices. For instance, recommendations from the student financial aid and student financial accounts reviews were key in the establishment of the previously mentioned Student Financial Services One-Stop.

Improvement opportunities in the student financial aid and federal mandated Enrollment Reporting have resulted in additional controls being put in place to support timely reporting of student status changes and a new process initiated to notify students of various disclosures (IV.VI.18) required by the Higher Education Authorization and Student Consumer Information Act. Each of these recommendations was implemented, resulting in a “clean” audit from the U.S. Department of Education. As a result of an internal audit, in April 2017, the responsibility for the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) enrollment reporting was moved from the Office of Financial Aid to the Office of the Registrar to further improve operational efficiencies (IV.VI.19).

Other Improvement Processes As described in Standard IV, the Director of Assessment is leading a Support and Administrative Unit Assessment.

The assessment assists the units in defining goals as well as expected outcomes. While the goals are broad and tied to the strategic initiatives, the outcomes primarily describe what the department is going to do and what the impact will be on students and other key stakeholders. The information gathered in this process is critical to improving student support services, student learning, and vital administrative processes.

Financial Planning and Budgeting

VI.3

TESU utilizes a variety of financial planning and budget processes that align to the institution’s mission and goals to ensure they are successfully sustained. These processes are evidence based and include financial planning, budgeting, and fiscal accountability as detailed below.

Budget Overview A fundamental component of any organization is planning as it relates to financial stability, progress, and sustainability. The University’s fiscal health is guided by its strategic goals utilizing its working Strategic Plan.

This includes financial planning and the allocation of resources in addressing the challenges faced in public higher education.

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The budget may be the single most important planning document the University utilizes to support established priorities. This includes decision making relevant to choices TESU must make in its operations to ensure a solid budgetary foundation. The University deploys data-driven strategies guided by strategic planning, priorities, and ongoing institutional demands. By utilizing a systematic approach, the University ensures that the budget and allocation of resources are appropriated in a manner that meets the continuing mission of the University.

As a key component of meeting strategic priorities, the salary budget is reviewed annually, adjustments are made, and resources allocated to areas where the priorities are identified. In support of our initiatives to develop a culture of student-centered service excellence as well as increase retention, we added resources to the areas of advisement and student technology support and established a Center for Student Success., as described in Standard 1. These focused resources were identified as necessary to expand and diversify both academic and operational support services for students. We have also secured grants in support of these initiatives to add positions to these important student support areas. This includes peer mentors, tutors, and a support coordinator. University Leadership is required to provide an analysis of the impact of a position on outcomes and goal achievement before recruitment can move forward.

Budget Processes The governor makes a budget recommendation to the legislature in February for the following fiscal year. The recommendation is used for University planning purposes. The state budget is not approved until the end of the fiscal year.

The University budget process starts each spring with an internal review by department of the academic and programmatic successes for the previous year and its goals and objectives for the approaching year. The budget planning process includes four major components that are linked and developed concurrently to produce the annual budget. The four major components are student tuition, personnel costs, non-salary costs, and state support.

There is a cross divisional tuition and fee committee that reviews data and seeks input from the University community. The committee meets with staff to solicit feedback on any changes in the landscape that will impact the future year. The committee projects how the current fiscal year will end and makes projections for the following fiscal year by factoring in the Strategic Plan overarching goals. The applicable goals are an annual 2 percent increase in new student enrollments, 1 percent increase in retention for continuing students, and 2 percent increase in graduate student enrollment. New programs and major revisions to programs are also considered in the projections.

TESU tuition is the lowest of public universities in New Jersey despite receiving the lowest level of state support.

As noted in Standard II consistent with our mission, the University strives to eliminate barriers for students, which includes offering tuition at the lowest possible level while maintaining student support and providing a high-quality education. The tuition and fee committee prepares a tuition competitive analysis that compares our tuition to the New Jersey public sector and to our peer competitive set (VI.C3.10). TESU tuition rates and efforts to keep student costs low are outlined in Standard II. Tuition recommendations are presented to the operational Vice Presidents (Chief Financial Officer; the Provost and Senior Vice President; the Vice President for Enrollment Management: and the Chief Operating Officer) who make a recommendation to the President. The President and the Chief Financial Officer make a recommendation to the Audit, Administration, and Finance (AAF) Committee of the Board of Trustees. The AAF makes a recommendation to the full Board of Trustees for formal approval.

Personnel costs begin with an annual review with each division to discuss any changes to approved positions needed in the following fiscal year to accomplish the priorities set out in the Strategic Plan. Reallocated and proposed new positions must be approved by the divisional Vice President, the Chief Financial Officer, and the President. The salary budget is prepared by the Associate Vice President and Director of Human Resources. The budget is prepared by calculating each position’s current salary, or budgeted salary if vacant, and adding in salary adjustments. Most employees are in collective bargaining units in which their cost of living and increments are known. The state of New Jersey bargains with the statewide unions on the sector’s behalf. Any increase for employees who are not represented are also included in the budget.

Each department head submits a budget request for non-salary expenses directly to their Vice President. The budget request includes any adjustments required to fulfill the priorities of the Strategic Plan within their department. Each Vice President vets their departmental request and submits a divisional budget to the Chief Financial Officer (CFO).

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The University budget request includes direct state support along with state supported fringe benefit positions.

Direct state support is general appropriations and other funds earmarked for specific purposes. The University has received $1 million per year since fiscal year 2018 to support the waiver of New Jersey National Guard tuition that is mandated by statute. In addition, the public sector has received formula-based general appropriation support since fiscal year 2020. The Outcomes Based Allocation (OBA) is based on each institution’s share of Pell Grant recipients, minority students, and graduates. The University is allocated a certain number of state paid fringe benefit positions in the state’s annual budget (VI.C3.11, p. 3).

The CFO combines the four components of the budget request for the President’s review. The University is required to have a balanced budget. The budget request, including tuition and fees, is reviewed with AAF for recommendation to the full Board. The Board of Trustees has the authority to set tuition and fee rates and approve the University budget (VI.C3.11).

Fiscal, Infrastructure, Human Resources, and Decision Making Processes

VI.4

The University has adequate fiscal, facility, technology, and human resources to support its operations. The University has policies and procedures to ensure that it continues to have the resources in place and is properly budgeted.

Fiscal Resources The fiscal health of the University is measured during the fiscal year monthly, annually, and, with trend analysis, over multiple years. The University sets an annual balanced budget. The expense budget is monitored throughout the year and has safeguards to ensure that the budget is not overspent. The student tuition budget is broken down into monthly targets that are reported on throughout the fiscal year. The University makes corrective action during the year to end with a surplus. The University froze non-salary funds and instituted a hiring freeze during fiscal year 2020 because of state appropriations being cut during the pandemic.

The results of the annual audit are reviewed with AAF through a series of financial ratios over a 10-year period.

An issue with the ratio trend analysis is that Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) 68, which was implemented in fiscal year 2015, and GASB 75, which was implemented in fiscal year 2018, had a major impact on the University’s results. These accounting changes required the University to record its proportionate share of the pension expense, unfunded pension liability, and expenses associated with other post-employment benefits.

The University is not required to contribute to either of these post-employment benefits. The University also provides a series of ratios that make up the Composite Financial Index (CFI) without the impacts of either GASB 68 or GASB 75. The CFI score is calculated by the combination of the primary reserve ratio, the net operating revenue ratio, the return on net position, and the viability ratio. The University measures the ratio on an annual basis and over time to measure the change. The ratio has been improving since fiscal year 2017. The range for the ratio is negative 4 to positive 10, with a midpoint of 3. The University will not go below 3 and will increase carryforward spending if we exceed 7. The University defines carryforward spending as one-time investments that are spent against reserves. The University ended fiscal year 2021 with the highest CFI score since we began measuring (VI.C4.12).

Table 20: TESU CFI Scores FY18-FY21 Fiscal Year

CFI Score

2018

3.42

2019

3.52

2020

5.28

2021

TBD – Will be reported in Pre-Visit Supplement

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Facilities and Technical Infrastructure The University facilities are nearly all office space and conference rooms due to the online delivery of most courses.

The University has adequate classroom space and simulation labs for the accelerated nursing students that are in person. TESU has an employee guide of space requirements by level. Employees are also provided parking, which is a valuable benefit in an urban campus. Facility and technology planning will be discussed further below.

When the University quickly transitioned to fully remote work in March 2020 due to the global pandemic, federal stimulus funds were used to purchase laptops and extra monitors for all employees. Each employee now has a docking station at home and in the office. Employees can seamlessly and securely work from home or the office.

The University encouraged staff to work remotely full time during the pandemic until Sept. 13, 2021, whenever possible. The University transitioned to a hybrid work schedule in September 2021, which included two days in the office and three days working remotely. A new hybrid work plan was implemented in March 2022 based on a unitby-unit analysis of staff functions and ability to continue to progress in a remote environment. The University will continue to monitor the results of the hybrid model to determine permanent policies moving forward.

Human Resources As described above, an annual review of staffing ensures that the University has sufficient staff to support its operations and meet its strategic goals. In addition, through our mentor model and pay structure, we can recruit qualified individuals nationally, and even internationally, allowing for the recruitment of well-qualified individuals.

TESU’s evidence of sufficient human resources within courses is demonstrated by a student-centered, low mentor: student ratio, as described in Standard III.

Decision Making

VI.5

The University has well-defined decision-making processes and clear assignments of responsibility and accountability. The University is organized into six divisions that are each headed by a cabinet officer. The divisions include the Office of the President, Division of Academic Affairs, Division of Community and Government Affairs, Division of Finance, Division of Advancement, and Division of Enrollment Management. Each department reports to a cabinet officer (VI.C5.13).

The University has proper segregation of duties in all financial areas. The University has an annual audit to test controls in place. The University internal audit function also tests internal controls and compliance with University, state, and federal regulations. The University has controls in place that will not allow an employee to enter a requisition to purchase items unless budget funds are available. All contracts for procurement of goods are reviewed and signed by the Treasurer. Contracts will not be approved without an available budget. Each department head received a monthly budget to actual report.

All capital assets, including information technology, are tracked. There is an inventory completed every two years.

Employees are required to read and agree to an information technology acceptable use policy.

Comprehensive planning for facilities, infrastructure, and technology that includes consideration of sustainability and deferred maintenance and is linked to the institution’s strategic and financial planning processes;

Physical Facilities

VI.6

The campus is in Trenton, N.J., which has a mix of University-owned and state-owned facilities that are permanently dedicated to TESU, and leased office space. Our city campus does not have any University-owned infrastructure besides information technology cabling between buildings. The campus is predominantly office and meeting space for University staff since most of our students do not visit our buildings. The University engaged an architecture firm to create a facility master plan in fiscal year 2013 (VI.C6.14). The facility master plan was created by reviewing our current facility space, determining the most efficient use of space through a series of interviews, including the department adjacencies, and making recommendations. The recommendations included constructing a new building for our oncampus accelerated nursing program that was being launched along with other construction projects.

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The facility master plan was completed by fiscal year 2017. The aggressive facility plan included the following: • Construction of the 34,360 square foot George A. Pruitt Hall that is home to the accelerated nursing program along with other academic division departments • The renovation of the 20,675 square foot Kuser Mansion and 4,000 sq. ft. Carriage House • The purchase and renovation of the 9,396 sq ft. Center for Learning Technology • The renovation of the Kelsey and Townhouse Complex The University was able to complete all deferred maintenance projects during the time of this expansion. The majority of the construction projects were being funded with a series of New Jersey “Building our Futures” higher education funding programs along with a matching share that was funded with University debt.

As a result of declining enrollment from fiscal year 2016 through fiscal year 2020, the number of full-time University staff also decreased during this time. This led to the University having excess space for the first time in its history.

The facility department along with the Vice Presidents and the Director of Human Resources put together a new plan during fiscal year 2019. The new plan called for the consolidation of office space and the elimination of a leased facility. The elimination of the leased facility saved the University approximately $1 million per year while enhancing employee interaction.

All University staff were moved to a remote work environment at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. The University campus was nearly empty until September 2021 at which time staff returned to the office on a staggered basis until March 2022. The University found that remote work in an electronic environment was efficient.

University leadership implemented a new remote work policy in March 2022. The University has one leased office building. The lease expires in June 2023. An updated facility master plan is being completed and was presented to the Board in March 2022 (VI.C6.15).

Information Technology Information technology (IT) is the backbone of the University and is continuously assessed. The primary focus of IT is to improve the student and staff experience through technology innovation and enhancement while maintaining a secure infrastructure.

As part of IT planning, the University maintains a database of technology infrastructure that includes the end of useful life for each asset. The database also includes projects that will improve efficiencies, security, and future needs of the organization. This document summarizes the planned replacement of technology, new technology, and other projects. With this advanced planning, the University was able to make significant strides to eliminate all “deferred maintenance” projects and began to implement additional technology infrastructure enhancements, such as the reimplementation of the existing ERP system, Colleague. The reimplementation includes a full business review of every Colleague application. This provides the University with an opportunity to re-engineer all processes since Colleague’s original implementation more than 20 years ago.

As an example of the use of technology to improve student services, in FY2021 MIS started the release of the Student Self-Service feature for our Ellucian Colleague student information system. This feature provides students with direct access to much of their personal information and permits them to make such adjustments as change of address, phone number, or emergency contacts. Students also have the ability to apply for graduation, see a copy of their unofficial transcript, and view their grades. If they are eligible for payment plans, they can set up their payment schedule here. Colleague Financial Aid Self-Services gives students the ability to accept or reject their financial aid offers, modify loan amounts, and request new loans, in addition to many other features. Students can also assign a proxy for their accounts.

Advanced planning also means that the University must have a current understanding of future projects and their impact, even those that won’t actually begin for another three years; one example is the replacing of all staff endpoints (laptops). While replacing staff endpoints is a significant investment in costs and work, doing so guarantees that University staff has the latest technology, putting staff in a prime position to succeed in their roles.

This also considerably increases the security of University network systems, while promoting telework for staff on

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offsite locations. Additionally, these newer technologies will assist in safeguarding the University from “bad actors.”

Thus, it is imperative that future projects are considered prior to their immediate need.

Recognizing that increased investments in technology is necessary for the University to remain competitive, a series of different initiatives began in 2019, the first being the onboarding of a dedicated project manager and implementation of a project management system. By moving forward with these initiatives, the University can now ensure the facilitation of specific project work as well as maintaining a codified, high-level framework for IT’s strategic plan. The realization of these initiatives made possible the creation of a five-year technology roadmap report, which was not only built via our new project management system but also through direct assessment and collaboration with internal stakeholders. This roadmap was presented to University Executive Leadership, the Audit and Finance Committee, and the Board of Trustees as part of updates relative to facilities and deferred maintenance.

While this report will be updated annually to reflect any necessary adjustments and will be utilized as a part of annual budget planning, the report is dynamic in nature and so it will be continually assessed by IT to ensure that our current plans and projects align with our given goals. In summary, IT has executed a multifaceted plan to ensure that our initiatives advance student and staff experiences.

VI.7

Annual Audit

There is an annual financial statement audit that is conducted by an independent accounting firm. The University has a history of strong internal controls and financial stewardship that has consistently yielded positive audit results.

The University has only received unmodified audit opinions. There have been no management letter comments over the past 10 years. There have also not been any of the following over the same time period: audit adjustments, uncorrected mistakes, illegal acts or fraud, noncompliance with laws and regulations, significant difficulties encountered during the audit, disagreements with management, management’s consultation with other accountants, significant issues discussed, or subject to correspondence, with management, scope limitation, or other findings or issues relevant regarding oversight of the financial reporting process. The auditors present a summary of audit results to the full Board.

Federal and state grants are reviewed during the annual A-133 compliance audit. The manager responsible for the grant will draft a management response and a corrective action plan for any findings. The findings and the corrective action plan are reviewed with the President, the AAF, and the full Board. The responsible manager will also write a summary of prior year findings in the following year to discuss how the finding was mitigated during the subsequent year (VI.C7.17, VI.C7.18, VI.C7.19).

VI.8

Institutional Resource Efficiency As described throughout this standard, the University measures the adequacy and utilization of institutional resources in a number of ways that support the University’s mission and goals.

The University funds priorities through its operating budget, foundation support, carry forward funds, and grants.

Ongoing operations are funded through the operating budget. The efficiency and adequacy are measured through the BPM reviews, internal audits, management reviews of key performance indicators within their department, and the implementation of a Support and Administrative Unit Assessment.

Other strategies to ensure efficient and appropriate utilization of resources include: • The University has an administrative set of purchasing procedures dictated by state regulations that ensure we have competition from multiple vendors when purchasing goods and services.

• Revenue and expenses are tracked monthly and provided to all unit managers. The monthly and quarterly report provide progress against the plan and allow for corrective action when necessary (VI.C8.20; VI.C8.21).

• As described above, departmental and employee performance are assessed related to goals and KPIs that align to the institutional strategic priorities • Benchmarking against peer institutions is performed when feasible.

• New initiatives are typically funded through carryforward funds or external sources. A thorough review of the benefits and costs of the project is performed and measured against actual after implementation.

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• University reports are generated from diverse systems including the University Counts Report (UCR), the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) through the Recruit and Advise systems to support enrollment and retention initiatives

Data Governance The University has established a Data Governance Policy and Council to ensure consistent, reliable, accessible, and secure data across the various divisions, departments, and offices. Information maintained by the University is a vital asset that is available to all employees who have a legitimate need for it, consistent with the University’s responsibility to preserve and protect such information by all appropriate means. The Data Governance Council is a cross divisional team that includes a Data Governance Authority Team (DGAT), which has oversight of Data Custodians and Data Stewards. The Data Trustees, which includes the President; Provost and Senior Vice President; Vice President for Enrollment Management; Chief Advancement Officer; and Chief Operating Officer, have oversight of the DGAT. The University is the owner of all institutional data, including administrative and student data; individual units or departments may have stewardship responsibilities for portions of that data. The University is committed to establishing and maintaining data standards and quality, while adhering to all privacy and compliance requirements, including relevant information security concepts and constructs (VI.C8.22; VI.C8.23).

Periodic Assessment

VI.9

The University continually assesses the effectiveness of its planning, resource allocation, and institutional renewal processes. Successfully meeting the University institution-wide objectives is the ultimate assessment of the effectiveness of how human, financial, facility and technology resources are allocated.

Human Resources Salary represents more than half of the institutional budget. The assessment of the effectiveness staff allocation happens in a number of ways described throughout this standard. The ability of individual departments to meet or exceed their unit goals and service standards indicates that adequate staff resources have been allocated. An example of responding to an assessment has been a shift of staff from departments that had excess capacity to student facing areas. This is an annual assessment of each department by division.

TESU conducts assessment in the area of the student learning experience in many ways. A standardized institutionwide assessment effort, entitled Support and Administrative Unit Assessment, described in detail in Standard IV, provides a foundation for continuous improvement at all levels and in all areas.

Business Process Mapping is an assessment of the efficiency of the allocated personnel within each department.

Implementation of efficiency recommendations lead to better student services or reduced staff resources dedicated to a function. Elimination of redundancies provided through business process mapping also streamlines human capital roles and responsibilities.

Financial The revenue budget is mostly comprised of state support and student tuition. The University assesses state support by comparing the appropriation to the amount requested. The University revenue budget is highly dependent on student enrollments and the average number of courses per enrolled student. The enrollment management plan is assessed against actual results. The detailed plan of new students by program and student tuition types is compared to actual.

The quarterly financial summary for the Board includes the number of active students by student type, the average number of credits taken, and the average revenue per student. This information is used to inform future planning and resource allocation (VI.C8.21).

The expense budget is comprised of personnel noted above and non-salary. Unit monthly non-salary budget to actual results is shared with each department head. The entire University budget to actual is shared with leadership.

Leadership reviews on a monthly basis to ensure adequate resources are available to achieve objectives. Corrective action to shift resources can be made within departments and through intra-divisional transfers. The result of this monthly assessment is used to inform future year planning.

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Facilities Long range facility assessments are completed on an infrequent basis. The facility master plan (FMP) is an in-depth review of the utilization of space which also contains recommendations for the future. The University had a board approved plan in 2012. A new plan has been sent to the March 2022 board of trustees meeting for consideration of approval. The FMP is reviewed on an annual basis to determine utilization and new space requirements for institutional objectives and staff plans. Incremental changes to space plans are made annually based upon this assessment.

Technology Technology is assessed through staff and student surveys and discussions with University leadership. In addition, the University has frequent external assessments including the Gartner’s Fall 2021 assessment. The University uses these assessments to create the five-year technology roadmap.

Availability of Resources The University creates a multiple year business plan for the length of each strategic plan. The business plan is a financial forecast that utilizes the financial assumptions from the strategic plan. The plan incorporates the costs associated with the facility master plan, the technology road map and other new initiatives. The business plan helps inform the strategic plan to ensure that it is financially viable. The actual results are assessed against the business plan and annual changes are made through the budget process.

The primary assessment of the availability of resources is through financial ratio analysis. The Composite Financial Index (CFI) is an overall financial measurement of the University’s health based on the four core ratios: Primary Reserve Ratio, Net Operating Revenues Ratio, Return on Net Position Ratio, and Viability Ratio. The University sets a range of target scores and makes financial adjustments when the score deviates. The analysis allows management and the Board of Trustees to assess the current health and whether it is improving or declining.

Summary of Institutional Strengths & Opportunities for Improvement The University’s exploration into Standard VI, associated criteria, as well as identified Lines of Inquiry, emphasizes specific institutional strengths as well as opportunities for continuous improvement.

Institutional Strengths • Evidence suggests that the University has both clearly stated institution-wide and departmental objectives that are assessed, linked to mission and goal achievement, and inform resource allocation • Evidence suggests that the University effectively engages the entire community in improvement processes.

• Evidence suggests that the University’s budgeting process is linked to the Strategic Plan and to the Mission.

• Evidence suggests that the University has adequate financial strength and the information technology to support its mission and strategic objectives. The University financial strength has improved dramatically since fiscal year 2019 after four years of enrollment declines.

• Evidence suggests that the University has a strong history of financial stewardship of resources.

• Evidence suggests that the University has a culture of assessing the adequacy and efficiency of its finances, human capital, facilities, and technology

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Opportunities for Continuous Improvement and Improvement Plans Opportunity

Improvement Plan

Business Process Mapping (BPM) has been valuable in determining processes that could be improved to provide better support to students. The University has begun, but not yet completed, business process mapping for all units. The University should complete the cycle of BPM for other remaining units.

The challenges of Covid and the many technology projects being undertaken resulted in the delay of the completion of the BPM initiative. The University Leadership plans to revisit this project in FY2023, reviewing the earlier roadmap for completion, and recommend areas that may still benefit from mapping over the next two years.

The University has indicated an intention to utilize Business Process Improvement (BPI), but has not yet developed a plan for implementation.

As part of the review above for BPM, the University Leadership plans to identify initial units that may benefit from BPI.

The pandemic and its impacts created an opportunity to expedite technological upgrades, specifically around remote work environments. Though many upgrades were enacted successfully, i.e., deployment of remote workstations for all staff, additional projects are ongoing.

The new normal of ongoing change precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the disruption to higher education has put TESU in a state of proactive and reactive decision making.

The University is in the process of upgrading its technology infrastructure and ERP systems. As these projects are completed, the University will be able to redirect resources to other prioritized initiatives.

There is an opportunity to consider long-term remote working relationships that lead to efficiencies realized during the pandemic.

The institution is putting into place on March 7 a new policy on remote work with individualized agreements with all impacted employees. This policy will be monitored and reviewed.

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STANDARD VII: GOVERNANCE, LEADERSHIP, AND ADMINISTRATION The institution is governed and administered in a manner that allows it to realize its stated mission and goals in a way that effectively benefits the institution, its students, and the other constituencies it serves. Even when supported by or affiliated with governmental, corporate, religious, educational system, or other unaccredited organizations, the institution has education as its primary purpose, and it operates as an academic institution with appropriate autonomy.

Thomas Edison State University is in full compliance with Standard VII: Governance, Leadership, and Administration including all the standard’s subsequent criteria. In addition, TESU also meets the MSCHE Requirements of Affiliation that map to Standard VII, specifically requirements 12 and 13.

During the Self-Study design phase, TESU worked closely with its assigned MSCHE Liaison to develop Lines of Inquiry or research-style questions to give direction to the self-inquiry process. The Lines of Inquiry, in essence, serve as a bridge between the MSCHE Standards and Criteria and TESU’s Strategic Institutional Priorities.

The Lines of Inquiry for Standard VII are: Standard VII – Lines of Inquiry • To what extent does the institution’s governance structure enable or facilitate achievement of the institution’s mission?

• To what extent is the institution’s governance structure clearly articulated with transparent roles outlining responsibilities and accountability?

• To what extent does the institution review and evaluate organizational staffing such that it is sufficient to effectuate the mission and support the president in the fulfillment of their duties?

• To what extent does the institutional engage in institutional assessment and continuous process improvement?

The state of New Jersey established the University in 1972 for the purpose of providing diverse and alternative methods of achieving a collegiate education of the highest quality for mature adults. Today TESU fulfills its established purpose through its mission to provide “distinctive undergraduate and graduate education for selfdirected adults through flexible, high-quality collegiate learning and assessment opportunities” (VII.C1.1).

The University’s well-defined governance structure facilitates the effective achievement of the University’s mission and goals as evidenced by its evolution over the history of the University as well as current annual goals (VII.C2f.1, p.11) (VII.C2f.2, p.09) (VII.C2f.3, p.09).

Governance Structure

VII.1

The University’s governance structure is clearly and consistently articulated with distinctive roles outlining responsibilities and accountability (VII.C1.2; VII.C1.3). The University is governed by two primary entities, the Board of Trustees (Board) and the University Academic Council (UAC), both of which utilize standing and ad hoc committee structures to carry out their respective charges. Additionally, University mentors are members of the UAC; UAC mentor representatives are approved by the Board.

The University’s Organizational Chart clearly shows the structure of the administrative roles within the University (VII.C4a.1). Further, the Board’s and UAC’s bylaws are clear and comprehensive, showing the roles of both entities within the University.

The University Board of Trustees

VII.2

The Board leads through a clearly defined and transparent governance structure. The staff manages operations and University affairs, and the President and administration communicate with the Board and Board committees, as necessary (VII.C2i.1; VII.C2i.2; VII.C2i.3; VII.C2i.4; VII.C2i.5).

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As discussed in Standard 1, the Board of Trustees and the University leadership have been engaged in a process of reviewing and revising the mission, refining strategic priorities, and as appropriate for the 50th anniversary year of the institution, visioning the future of TESU. Throughout this process, priority has been placed on the academic quality and fiscal well-being of the University.

The Board regularly reviews and evaluates the fiscal and academic health of the institution through frequent reports, communications, and updates regarding the institution’s performance (VII.C2a.1) (VII.C2b.1). Recently, a comprehensive training was developed for new trustees as to all areas of the University. Additionally, the Board has engaged in recent self-assessment through an outside consulting firm, the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB), to further improve board governance best practices.

As outlined in its Bylaws, the Board performs its governance functions through several committees: • The Academic Affairs Committee oversees a broad range of matters related to the University’s educational mission.

• The Administration, Audit, and Finance Committee assists the Board in evaluating its stewardship and fiduciary responsibilities and oversight of the fiscal resources of the University and New Jersey State Library and oversees internal and external audit processes.

• The Executive Committee reviews matters on behalf of the full Board as necessary between regularly scheduled Board meetings.

• The Compensation Committee reviews compensation policy matters and make recommendations to the Board on issues relating to the compensation of the President, Vice Presidents, and other senior administrators.

• The Nominations and Governance Committee recommends qualified individuals to the Board for nomination as members of the Board and make recommendations to the Board regarding matters of governance.

The Board is currently comprised of nine members, including the University President who serves as an ex officio member. Additionally, as outlined in the New Jersey State Colleges Law, two students are elected by the Board to serve as student representatives for overlapping two-year terms. One of the students serves as a full voting member and the other as an alternate. N.J.S.A. 18A:64-3.1. Trustees’ specific authority is outlined in New Jersey statute at N.J.S.A. 18A:64-6 (VII.C2b.2).

A very diverse group of seasoned and highly accomplished representatives comprise the Board, including leaders from the private sector, healthcare, government, and labor. Dr. Kemi Alli, the Chief Executive Officer of the Henry J. Austin Health Center, currently serves as chair, and has been in that position since September 2019.

The full Board meets four times per year, at minimum, during which it fulfills its fiduciary obligations, engaging the President and University officers, providing oversight, and issuing policy guidance. The Board’s quarterly meetings are subject to public notice and adhere to the requirements of the New Jersey Open Public Meetings Act, N.J.S.A. 104:6. Minutes are taken during each meeting, approved at the next meeting, and are made available to the public (VII. C2a.2). The Board has consistently and effectively ensured that the University serves the public interest and that its mission and goals are clearly stated.

Much of the University’s governance structure is determined by state statute, namely the State Colleges Law N.J.S.A. 18A:64-1 et seq. The University’s Board closely adheres to the requirements of New Jersey statutes regarding its responsibilities (VII.C2.1), (VII.C3a.2) Under New Jersey statute, State College boards of trustees have general supervisory responsibility for their respective higher education institutions, allowing them to function in an independent and autonomous manner.

Specifically, the University’s Board has the duty to: • determine the University’s educational curriculum and program of the University; • prepare and present the annual budget to the governor and state treasurer;

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• appoint and fix the compensation of the University president; • determine tuition rates and other fees to be paid by students; • authorize any new program, educational department, or school consistent with the institution’s programmatic mission or approved by the State; • develop an institutional plan and determine the programs and degree levels to be offered by the institution; • have authority over all matters concerning the supervision and operations of the institution including fiscal affairs, the employment and compensation of unclassified staff, and capital improvements; • establish requirements and standards for granting diplomas, certificates, and degrees; • recommend trustee appointments to the governor; and • have final authority to determine controversies and disputes concerning personnel matters of unclassified employees.

Members of the University’s Board comply with New Jersey State regulations regarding conflict of interest and ethics (VII.C2h.2). Members make annual attestations regarding potential conflict to the Governor’s Office for both themselves and their families. The attestation addresses payment for services with the University, employment with the University or firms doing business with the University, and financial interests in firms that do business with the University (VII.C2h.3) (VII.C2h.4). Concurrently, the University provides Board members a list of current vendors every quarter for their review, in part so that their attestations can be as accurate as possible. Should a conflict or an appearance of conflict occur, the State Ethics Commission will notify the University and the University in turn can ask the State Ethics Commission for an exception, if appropriate. If the exception is granted, the trustee would be recused from any such potential conflict.

While the Board provides oversight of academic, fiscal, and physical operations as well as strategic initiatives, it relies on the University President and staff to manage the day-to-day operations of the institution. The President “shall have such powers as shall be requisite, for the executive management and conduct of the college in all departments, branches and division…” (VII.C2c.1)

VII.3 The President makes recommendations to the Board through meeting agenda items and in proposed resolutions. The Board and the various subcommittees review the agenda and supporting documentation prior to the meeting to make informed and considered decisions. The subcommittees meet prior to the quarterly meetings of the full Board to review and discuss policy issues and then provide a report to the full Board during public open meetings. Minutes of the full Board meeting are kept, approved, and made available to the public (VII.C2e.2). Policies and procedures are reviewed in detail and voted upon in accordance with New Jersey state statute. Approved policies and procedures are shared with the University community on the staff portal and through targeted staff training sessions.

The Board also reviews and adopts its bylaws and committee charters and makes changes as necessary. The Board last amended its bylaws in June 2016 and is currently in the process of reviewing the bylaws (VII.C2g.1). Recently, the Board voted on a change to the Nominations and Governance Committee’s Charter to include a section on “Presidential Evaluation” (VII.C2f.10).

Financial accountability of the Board is overseen through the Board’s Administration, Audit, and Finance Committee (AAF), which meets prior to the quarterly meetings of the full Board to review financial affairs. Materials provided and reviewed by the AAF include, but are not limited to, financial statements, bid waiver requests, budget data, and audit reports. The AAF reports to the full Board in open session in collaboration with the University President and Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Fiscal policies and procedures are approved by the full Board and shared with the University community via the staff portal and through targeted staff training sessions.

Oversight of the academic policy of the University is managed through the Board’s Academic Affairs subcommittee.

This subcommittee regularly reviews and recommends to the Board approval of the awarding of degrees, new programs or areas of study (such as the Bachelor of Science with an area of study in Health Studies program,

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and changes to academic policy (such as the reduction of general education requirements from 60 to 45 credits) (VII.C2d.2). The subcommittee also receives regular updates from the President and the Provost and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs regarding key quality metrics and performance as well as plans and projects designed to meet the strategic objectives.

The Board is responsible for appointing and regularly evaluating the performance of the Chief Executive Officer (University President). As part of a charter change, the Nominations and Governance Committee is responsible for working with the President on her annual evaluation to be presented to the Board in September. The evaluation is intended to contribute to the continuing improvement of the work of the President, and to the effectiveness of the institution’s methods of governance and decision making. The Presidential Assessment is based on a review of prior expectations and evaluations subject to a variety of materials and metrics (VII.C3a.5).

The Board has consistently looked at its procedures and made adjustments to those procedures based on best practices. Given the change in leadership from a long-standing President, Board leaders and Dr. Hancock engaged the Association of Governing Boards (AGB) Consulting in the late summer 2020 to conduct an objective assessment of the governance and leadership structures, practices, and relationships for the University. The goal of this joint assessment was to strengthen governance and position the University for success in navigating the rapidly changing environment of higher education. This process included a survey of the full Board as well as individual interviews with trustees, the President, and her key leaders. Through this, AGB provided recommendations and hosted two three-hour meetings to discuss outcomes and next steps. This discussion also included an overview of “Anatomy of Good Governance” including the characteristics of a successful trustee (VII.C2g.2).

A key role of the Board of Trustees is to support the President in maintaining the autonomy of the University.

Protecting and preserving the integrity of the institution is an increasingly important responsibility of all boards, and as stated in the Board of Trustees Bylaws, the University’s Board is no exception (VII.C2i.3). Institutional autonomy is a bedrock public policy that has demonstrated its benefits for the institutions and the students they serve. New Jersey has recognized the vital importance of this principle, which has been enacted into statute as a legislative finding: The Legislature hereby finds that it is in the best interest of the State that the State colleges shall be and continue to be given a high degree of self-government and that the government and conduct of the colleges shall be free of partisanship. The Legislature finds further that a decentralization of authority and decision-making to the boards of trustees and administrators of the State colleges will enhance the idea of self-government (VII.C2i.6).

University Academic Council The University Academic Council (UAC) is designed to promote and maintain the quality of the University’s academic offerings and to facilitate its work in achieving its mission and goals. The UAC has been delegated authority to review and make recommendations to the Board on matters concerning the University’s academic policies and programs. In meeting this obligation, the UAC is responsible for making recommendations concerning the nature of degrees; academic program structure; content for general education standards; guidelines for areas of study, concentrations, and specializations; distance learning; academic integrity; and the evaluation of courses, student learning, methods of earning credit, and issues related to academic standing (VII.C2d.4).

The UAC regularly reviews and evaluates the quality of the institution’s academic programs and the effectiveness of its academic policies in achieving the University’s mission and goals. The Provost and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs plays an integral role in this assessment and provides a bridge to the Board’s Academic Affairs Subcommittee (VII.C2d.4).

The UAC consists primarily of TESU mentors, academic leadership, and students. The membership is intended to represent broad perspectives including two- and four-year public and private higher education institutions in New Jersey and its surrounding region, and educational organizations from the noncollegiate sector.

The UAC performs its governance functions through several committees: • Curriculum Committees (per school) • General Education Committee

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• Academic Integrity Committee • Learning Outcomes Assessment Committee • Extra-Collegiate Learning Committee Each committee of the UAC performs a unique function in the governance of the University. The school Curriculum Committees (CC) provide curricular direction to the University in their relevant academic areas (Applied Science and Technology, Arts and Sciences, Business and Management, Nursing, and Public Service) and oversee both undergraduate and graduate curriculum for currency, quality, and relevance to the adult learner.

The General Education Committee (GEC) makes recommendations to the UAC for recommendation to the Provost and Senior Vice President concerning the nature, structure, standards, requirements, and policies in general education. It also approves courses for inclusion in general education.

The Learning Outcomes Assessment Committee (LOAC) makes recommendations to the UAC concerning the nature, structure, standards, requirements, and policies in Learning Outcomes Assessment. It assists the University in gathering, analyzing, and using learning outcomes data.

The Academic Integrity Committee (AIC) is an ad hoc committee that reviews and adjudicates alleged violations of the University’s Academic Integrity Policy.

The Extra-Collegiate Learning Committee (ECLC) has responsibility for recommending to the UAC the policies and procedures regarding the assessment of learning that occurs outside the formal higher educational environment.

The ECLC periodically reviews existing policies and procedures to ensure they are aligned with best practices, accreditation, state, and federal standards.

VII.4

Administration

The University has a clearly articulated and transparent organizational structure that aligns with the University’s educational mission. Roles, responsibilities, and accountability are clearly defined and designed to support the decision making necessary for the University to successfully operate daily (VII.C4a.1). The University is led by President Merodie A. Hancock who is supported by the following senior positions: • Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs • Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer • Vice President for Enrollment Management • Vice President for Advancement (Vacant) • Vice President for Community and Government Affairs • Chief of Staff /Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Secretary to the Board of Trustees • General Counsel • New Jersey State Librarian The current President, Dr. Hancock, brings 30-plus years of experience in higher education to her presidency.

In addition, she is in her second University presidency and is a seasoned administrator of online, global, and nontraditional programs (VII.C3b.2).

As noted in the annual reports to the Board, as well yearly planning goals, Dr. Hancock sets the institutional plan based on Board priorities (VII.C3c.1) (VII.C3c.2) (VII.C3c.3) (VII.C3c.4). She is fully engaged in the operations of the University as well as the external facing duties that promote the University with key stakeholders. She meets with her cabinet twice a month and engages in monthly one-on-one meetings with her Vice Presidents and direct reports.

The Vice Presidents and Chief of Staff/COO are supported by their own divisions, who report to them. The University organizational chart shows the clear reporting structure in each University division (VII.C4a.1).

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The executive leadership team covers a comprehensive array of administrative responsibilities that support the President in fulfilling her roles and responsibilities (VII.C4b.5). Additionally, they all possess the requisite and appropriate levels of education, experience, and expertise necessary to fulfill their responsibilities in serving the needs of the University and the President. The executive leadership team members and their respective backgrounds are described in the attached document (VII.C3d.5).

Mentors The role and qualifications of mentors are described in Standard III. Mentors are actively engaged in institutional governance through the University Academic Council and the School Curriculum Committees (VII.C4e.2), and each school conducts mentor meetings at least twice yearly to provide updates and solicit input. School leadership and the Office of Mentor Administration engage regularly with mentors regarding student and mentor needs. Mentors were actively engaged in the institutional self-study with representation on each standard and on the Steering Committee.

These activities provide significant opportunity for mentors to engage with the University leadership in advancing the University’s goals and objectives.

Staff The University’s work is conducted by a highly effective group of approximately 300 professionals who have ongoing and regular engagement with the University administration. Staff were integrally involved in the development of the current strategic initiatives (see Standard I), participate in annual reviews of the goals and evaluation of their units (see Standard IV), and whose goals and evaluations are aligned with the strategic initiatives of the institution as described in Standard VI. The President communicates regularly with staff through in-person and video meetings, such as the State of the University addresses that occurred in September 2018, March and September 2019, September 2020, and September 2021, along with open discussion sessions and email communications. There are also a number of opportunities for engagement with individual members of the administration, and cross-divisional opportunities to share information around needs identified during internal assessments, such as a monthly Academic Leadership Team (ALT) meeting (IV.VI.17). The ALT includes more than 40 staff members at various levels of responsibility, including the Provost as convener, her direct reports, the reports of her direct reports, and representatives from other student serving parts of the University including student finance, financial aid, enrollment management, and the CLT. The meetings enable these offices to share information, discuss issues, and offer recommendations for improvement of the student experience.

Students Students are included in the governance structure of the University through their representation on the Board and the UAC. Two students are elected by the Board to serve as student representatives for overlapping two-year terms.

One of the students serves as a full voting member and the other as an alternate, and their specific authority is established by New Jersey statute (VII.C4e.4) One student representative is selected to serve a two-year term on the UAC and most curriculum committees include a student or alumni. In addition to the formalized structures of the Board and UAC, the institution makes a regular practice of seeking student input and opinion via surveys and formal and informal individual discussions with staff on a routine basis. The University also regularly communicates with students via email and social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Evaluating Administrative Units As described in more detail in other Standards, the University has implemented two complimentary processes for using data to evaluate and enhance administrative operations: Business processing and Support and Administrative Unit Assessment.

The University has successfully implemented an effective system of institutional assessment and continuous improvement, with a defined focus on objectives and outcomes allowing for accountability at all levels. In 2019, the University initiated a Business Process Mapping (BPM) process, which involved streamlining processes and procedures that focus on achieving operational excellence. The process resulted in a business processing map for many units within the University (VII.C4d.1). This process is further described in Standard VI.

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TESU conducts assessment in the area of the student learning experience in many ways. A standardized institutionwide assessment effort, entitled Support and Administrative Unit Assessment (VII.C5.2), described in detail in Standard IV, provides a foundation for continuous improvement at all levels and in all areas.

Throughout this process, it was evident that the University has evolved over time and is strongly aligned with its overall purpose. There are multiple procedures and mechanisms in place to ensure that University governance, leadership, and administration is not only appropriate, but also well-supported to better achieve the University’s mission and purpose.

Periodic Assessment

VII.5

The Board has established a presidential review process which includes key categories through which the Board assess the President’s effectiveness. This review is completed during the summer and reviewed initially the Nominations and Governance Committee. Subsequently it is discussed during executive session at the September board meeting. In addition, University Key Numbers are presented each year at the September Board meeting by the Office of Institutional Research and Planning. During the September Board meeting the President also discusses the Annual Report, including key highlights from the previous fiscal year as well as the University’s goals for the current fiscal year. This gives the Board an opportunity to assess the health of the organization and engage in dialogue with the President and each other.

The President’s Cabinet meets every two weeks in which University initiatives and strategies are discussed. Each cabinet member meets with the President one-on-one each month, in addition to topical meetings on a regular basis.

Periodically the President will hold meetings with an extended group of leadership to discuss matters of importance.

Summary of Institutional Strengths and Opportunities for Improvement The University’s exploration into Standard VII, associated criteria, as well as identified Lines of Inquiry, emphasizes specific institutional strengths as well as opportunities for continuous improvement.

Institutional Strengths • Evidence suggests that the University’s governance structure, including its Board of Trustees.

University Academic Council, the Chief Executive Office and institutional leadership, is well defined, outlines roles and responsibilities, and is documented though bylaws, operating procedures, and job descriptions.

• Evidence suggests that the Board of Trustees is sufficiently informed and engaged through regular quarterly meetings, reports, and interim communications to ensure that the Board can appropriately and effectively fulfil its role and responsibilities.

• Evidence suggests that the University Academic Council regularly reviews academic programs, policies, and program assessments, including evidence regarding cost and enrollment analysis to determine the effectiveness of academic programs.

• Evidence suggests that the University has implemented an effective system of institutional assessment and continuous improvement tied to its mission and strategic priorities, with a defined focus on objectives and outcomes, allowing for accountability at all levels.

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Opportunities for Continuous Improvement and Improvement Plans Opportunity

Improvement Plans

The University can improve access to information regarding policies affecting staff and students.

In phase two of an ongoing website overhaul, the University is focusing on a new site that will host all University policies, procedures, and guidelines. This site is currently being populated and will be launched in 2022 (VII.Opp.1).

The Board has begun review of its bylaws and the recommendation for establishing a cycle of regular The Board of Trustees and the University Academic Council should establish a regular bylaws review cycle to review is under consideration. ensure that the bylaws of each entity continue to be up The Provost and the President of the University to date with the University’s growth in order to facilitate Academic Council will develop a plan and process for the achievement of the institution’s mission. review of the UAC bylaws by the end of the academic year.

As the University evolves, the Board of Trustees should review its structure and continually assess its effectiveness in support of the University’s mission.

This recommendation is under consideration by the Board of Trustees.

As discussed in Standard I and throughout this SelfStudy, the formalized Strategic Plan is currently in process. The University is encouraged to continue to develop and finalize its working Strategic Plan.

The Board of Trustees and the University leadership are continuing to engage in a planning process anticipated to result in an agreed upon plan within the next six to nine months.

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