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Essay #7: Sustainability

Essay #7: Sustainability: Financial Viability; Preparing for the Changing Higher Education Environment

For discussion on November 20, 2014:

CSUSM Essay #7 (PDF)

  • Under Standard 3, institutions are expected to “develop and apply resources and organizational structures to ensure sustainability.” How can the institution demonstrate that its operations will remain financially sustainable over the next seven to 10 years? (CFRs 3.4 and 4.6)
  • What has the Financial Review Committee said about the institution’s financial position? What is the response to these recommendations? (CFR 3.4)
  • How well do financial allocations align with institutional priorities, particularly those related to the meaning, quality, and integrity of degrees offered; student learning and success; and processes for quality assurance, accountability, and improvement? (CFRs 3.4, 4.3)
  • Under Standard 2, how does the institution identify and enhance the competencies that students will need to succeed in the future? (CFRs 1.2, 2.2)
  • What role does program review play in developing a vision of 21st century education for individual programs and for the institution as a whole? (CFR 4.7)
  • In what ways can the institution ensure that educational effectiveness will continue during the period from the present to the next reaffirmation of accreditation? What systems and processes are in place? How deeply embedded are these initiatives in institutional systems and culture? How is educational effectiveness prioritized in the institution’s formal plans? (CFRs 3.1-3.10, 4.1, 4.2, 4.6)
  • How does the institution demonstrate that it is a learning organization? What evidence can be put forward? (CFRs 4.3-4.7)
  • What resources have been committed to assessment of learning and improvement of student performance? How are decisions about levels of support made? How is support maintained even in times of constrained resources? (CFRs 3.6, 3.7, 4.3, 4.4)
  • Of the changes taking place globally, nationally, locally, and in higher education, which ones will affect the institution most strongly in the next seven to 10 years? What is the institution’s vision of education for the coming decade? For the more distant future? How is the institution anticipating, planning for, and adapting to such changes? (CFRs 4.6, 4.7)
  • What specific skills does the institution possess or need to develop in order to engage with developments impacting its future, including those occurring globally? (CFRs 3.1, 3.2, 4.6, 4.7)
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