Remarks Presented by MSUM President Edna Mora Szymanski

This quarterly update will provide brief highlights of our progress on the strategic plan. It will not be the final report for the year. Rather that report will be completed by October 15 so that it reflects fiscal year final numbers as well as 30 day enrollment numbers for the new academic year.

Initiative 1
Offer competitive, high quality, rigorous academic programs and services that provide students the versatility to shape a changing world and support the state and regional economies.

Once again, we had a highly successful Student Academic Research conference. Over 500 undergraduate students presented their work.
Student learning outcomes assessment is a strong focus. Assessment of writing intensive courses is underway this summer. During the coming year, the campus assessment plan will be reviewed and updated as necessary.
We are preparing for a site visit from the Higher Learning Commission on December 13 and 14 regarding our online offerings. The School of Business has achieved national accreditation by AACSB.

Initiative 2
Increase enrollment and student success, including underrepresented students. The number of enrolled students should reach 8,000 within the next five years with continued improvements in student success indicators.

Our work on enrollment continues. Current numbers suggest that we will meet our goal of a 2% overall growth.
Denise Gorsline has started in the position of Dean of University College. In this capacity, she is piloting a new early alert system to improve retention.
The living learning communities are filling for the fall. We will report final numbers in October.
Eighteen students completed our first summer bridge program. This program was designed to help students from underserved populations make a better transition into the university.
Significant renovations are underway in the residence halls this summer with a full renovation of Grantham Hall.
The STAMATS research has completed and we are working on refining our brand and visual identity.
We have completed a facilitated strategic planning process in Athletics that culminated with a summit involving five university administrators and five highly successful Athletics alumni.

Initiative 3
Strengthen our relationships with key stakeholders, including alumni, other donors, neighborhood groups, and the business community.

This year, we completed three meetings with our regional advisory committee.
We met our goal for the matching challenge for the Wellness Center.
The Alumni Foundation is on track for completing one of its most successful years.

Initiative 4
Continue to develop infrastructures that are sustainable through difficult economic times as well as consistent with the caring community that is MSUM.

Summer session revenues look very good, mostly exceeding $1M net, which will then fund sections to support the academic program in the Fall.
We are continuing the fiscal sustainability discussion with cabinet and town meetings this summer to explore additional revenue possibilities as well as additional cost savings.
One LEAN project completed this summer, and two are currently underway.
The transition team continues to meet to examine the efficiency and effectiveness of various divisional and office structures.