I. Executive Summary

A. Overview of Institution

The State University of New York College at Oneonta, which enrolls over 5,800 students in undergraduate and graduate programs, is a comprehensive, primarily residential institution, located in the central southern tier of New York, that provides a high-quality liberal arts education while maintaining an appropriate balance of liberal arts and professional studies programs. Oneonta's Carnegie classification is as follows: Undergraduate Instructional Program: Bal/SGC; Graduate Instructional Program: Postbac-A&S/Ed; Enrollment Profile: VHU; Undergraduate Profile: FT4/MS/HTI; Size and Setting: M4/HR; Basic: Master's S. Since its 2003 Middle States review, the College has solidified its position as a highly selective college of choice within SUNY due to the concerted efforts of the College community with guidance from the Mission Statement and Comprehensive College Plan. Guided by careful planning and assessment, the College has been particularly active in promoting and achieving its goals in academic quality, enrollment management, student engagement, and diversity and inclusion.

1. Mission Statement and Comprehensive College Plan

The College's mission is to "foster the individual student's intellectual, personal, and civic development" through a dedication to "excellence in teaching, advisement, and scholarly activities, and the cultivation of a campus environment rich in opportunities for participation, personal challenge, and service" (See www.oneonta.edu/general/mission.asp). The College's mission is translated into action through the Comprehensive College Plan, or CCP (www.oneonta.edu/general/ccp.asp), an ever-evolving document that grew from six "challenges for the future" in the 1990 Mission Statement put forth by the Commission on the Future of the College, a broad-based group consisting of representatives from the entire Oneonta community. Since its adoption in 1997 following broad discussion by the campus community, the CCP has been revised several times: 1998, 1999, 2002, 2006, and most recently in 2008. The 2006 revision incorporates concepts derived from the 2003 Middle States review, the SUNY Mission Review II process, governance and planning groups, and the broader campus community, which had multiple opportunities to review the document in draft form. Following discussion by the campus community, the revisions to the CCP were approved by the President and his Cabinet.  The 2008 revision consists of a minor update to one objective to reflect a new fundraising campaign.

Throughout its existence, the CCP has guided the campus community in pursuing the overall goals of the College, and the plan has been modified based on the changing needs of the campus and the changing demands of a modern institution of higher education. The plan was revised in 1999 during SUNY Mission Review I to coordinate with revisions to the Mission Statement and reflect the College's progress in achieving objectives; in 2002 in response to recommendations generated during the first year of the Middle States self-study process; and again in 2006 during the SUNY Mission Review II process. This report highlights the College's efforts in the past five years in articulating objectives within the CCP goal areas, the implementation of specific initiatives to achieve them, and the modification of those initiatives based on planning and assessment processes. It also notes areas of continuing challenges as well as concerns for on-going attention.

2. Enrollment

The College at Oneonta has consistently met or exceeded its overall enrollment goals in recent years, including the past five years covered by this report, while concurrently increasing the quality of incoming students and their rate of retention. Over the next five years, the College projects and desires a stable overall enrollment of approximately 5,850 students (approximately 5,650 AAFTE) with a distribution of approximately 5,650 undergraduate students and 200 graduate students. Appendix 1?? contains the College's five-year enrollment history and projections. An on-going challenge for the College is to continue to recruit and retain more academically qualified and diverse students following its remarkable increases in applications, selectivity, academic profile, freshman-to-sophomore retention, and six-year graduation rate during the past decade (See Appendix 2??).

3. Educational Offerings

The College continues to offer a wide range of effective undergraduate majors and a small selection of graduate programs. Though enrollments in particular programs vary from year to year, these changes overall have not been extraordinary in the past five years. There have been no program closures since the 2003 Periodic Review Report. The criminal justice program, whose application was pending in 2003, has been established as a regular undergraduate major. The College has received recent approvals from the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (2/21/07), the New York State Education Department and SUNY System Administration for an on-line distance education Master of Science degree program in Nutrition and Dietetics. The update on the program, as requested in the Middle States Commission's 2007 action, is included in chapter V, section B, subsection 5, of this report.

4. Structures

To reflect changing needs, emphases, and conditions, the College has made several adjustments in administrative structure (See Appendix 3??) in the past five years. The position of Assistant to the President for External Affairs has been elevated to the Vice President for Community Relations to reflect the significance of the College's commitment to service. To address the College's goals in diversity and inclusion and to support the increasingly diverse population of the College, the position of Director of the Office of Equity and Inclusion has been added in order to communicate and implement the campus vision for equity, diversity, and inclusion. The Director, who reports directly to the College President, also serves as the College's Affirmative Action Officer. Within the Division of Academic Affairs, the College has assigned responsibility for graduate programs to the academic deans of the divisions in which the programs are housed. The position of interim Dean of Graduate Studies, Continuing Education, and Summer Sessions has been eliminated with additional responsibilities of the position assigned to associate deans in the academic divisions. The College has also added a new position of Associate Provost for Institutional Assessment and Effectiveness to assist with assessment and planning.

5. Resources

During the past five years, the College has successfully enhanced other revenue sources to supplement tuition and state support. While total College revenue grew by 36% from $74.3 million to $100.8 million, College Foundation revenue increased by 60%, Oneonta Auxiliary Services revenue by 51%, and revenue from room, fees, and other income fund reimbursable (IFR) sources by 47%, compared to a 32% increase in state support and a 25% increase in tuition revenue, as illustrated in Appendix 4??. State support, which remains critical to core operations and capital facilities, has fluctuated from 41% of the total operating budget in 2002-03, to 28% following a 2003 SUNY tuition increase, to 42% in 2007-08.

State-funded faculty and staff positions at the College total 643.6 FTE for 2007-08, a growth of 13% since 2002-03, during which time enrollment grew by less than 5%. The College added 48.3 FTE instructional faculty positions in that time, including 16 FTE new faculty positions being recruited for Fall 2008. The newly renovated Human Ecology Building, campus-wide technology enhancements, and the current Science Building I renovation significantly upgraded facilities and equipment for instruction, as has the annual $0.5 million investment in academic equipment replacement and upgrades. The opening of a new apartment-style residence hall, the addition of a new cafe to the Milne Library and a new gallery to the Fine Arts Building, and the recent renovation of a dining facility in Hulbert Hall contributed to improving the quality of student life on campus.

In Fall 2006, using assessment results and plans from all areas of the College, the President's Cabinet approved the continued creation of new faculty positions, incremental staffing increases in other critical areas, substantial expansion of institutional scholarships, and strategic facility investments. In the next five years, the College anticipates stable enrollment and relatively stable funding because the core operating budget is over 95% enrollment driven. Despite the historical uncertainty of state support, the College is positioned to weather any budgetary challenges in the next five years.

B. Preparation of the 2008 Periodic Review Report

Initially prepared the in the fall 2007 semester as part of the College's on-going self-review, this report reflects contributions from key individuals in all divisions, including analyses by the Vice Presidents of Academic Affairs, Finance and Administration, Student Development, College Advancement, and Community Relations. In addition to the planning and assessment information routinely provided by divisional annual reports (See Appendix 5??), several Vice Presidents supplied specific information for the report. The College's recently updated Institutional Assessment Plan (See Appendix 6??), prepared by the Institutional Research Council, provided additional information on assessment structures. The materials were assembled into a draft by the Assistant to the President, and the draft was reviewed by and revised based upon input from the Strategic Planning Advisory Group, College Senate, President's Cabinet, College Council, and campus community. Available data updates were incorporated in Spring 2008. The final draft was prepared in Spring 2008 and submitted to MSA in June 2008.

C. Institutional Developments since Decennial Accreditation

Since its 2003 Self-Study and subsequent re-accreditation by MSA, the College recorded with MSA in 2007 a substantive change to include a new online distance education Master of Science degree program in Nutrition and Dietetics provisionally within the scope of the College's accreditation status. The College has since received approval for the program from the New York State Education Department and SUNY System Administration.

The College received professional accreditation for its Music programs from the National Association of Schools of Music in 2007. All academic programs in the Human Ecology Department were reaccredited by the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences in 2006. The College was re-accredited by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education in 2005. The Chemistry degree program maintains its approval from the Committee on Professional Training of the American Chemical Society. The Dietetics program maintains its accreditation by the Commission on Accreditation for Dietetics Education. The Division of Economics and Business continues to work towards accreditation from AACSB International—the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.

In 2006, the College and SUNY System Administration collaborated during Mission Review II to develop a new Memorandum of Understanding (See www.oneonta.edu/general/mou06.asp) to provide guidance for College planning and a framework for gauging the achievement of Oneonta's goals.

In 2007, the College became one of only 17 colleges nationwide to participate in the pilot testing of "College Portrait" (See www.oneonta.edu/general/vsa/CollegePortrait.pdf)the Voluntary System of Accountability co-sponsored by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities and the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges. The Voluntary System of Accountability, designed to improve public understanding of how public colleges and universities operate, provides consistent, comparable, and transparent information on the characteristics of institutions and students, cost of attendance, student engagement with the learning process, and core educational outcomes.

D. Highlights of the Periodic Review Report

Though the opportunity for review and self-assessment provided by this Periodic Review Report identified areas of the College that need improvement, the College is stronger in all key areas than it has been in recent memory. Planning and assessment processes are in place, functioning well, and linked to budgeting, as evidenced by the revised campus goals and objectives in the 2006 revision of the Comprehensive College Plan, the assessments and objectives described in divisional annual reports, and the links between planning and assessment and allocation of institutional resources. Governance structures and institutional structures are in place, functional, and reflective of the College's commitment to inclusive, equitable decision-making. Admissions applications and standards have continued to increase, as evidenced by the College's leading the SUNY comprehensive colleges in freshman applications in fall 2007 and demonstrating significant improvements in the academic quality of incoming classes. Student outcomes continue to improve, as demonstrated by continued improvements in freshman-to-sophomore retention and retention to graduation. Enrollment is strong, and the College consistently meets or exceeds its enrollment targets. The College's financial condition is its strongest in over 30 years.

The 2003 report of the MSA visiting team contained no formal recommendations and anticipated that the College would "continue to enhance its image as a quality institution of higher education and a ‘college of choice' within the SUNY System." This report demonstrates that the College has met the expectations of the 2003 team and continues to build upon its successes.

E. Completed PRR Certification Statements

The College continues to meet MSA eligibility requirements and accreditation standards. The Certification Statements follow this Executive Summary (Appendix 7??).