Standard I – Mission and Goals

1: Clarity, collaboration, publication

(SI.C1). Clearly defined mission and goals developed through appropriate collaborative participation that address internal and external contexts and constituencies; are approved and supported by the governing body; guide faculty, administration, staff, and governing structures in decision-making; include support of scholarly inquiry and creative activity; are publicized and widely known to stakeholders; and are periodically evaluated.

Geneseo’s clearly defined mission and goals are revisited every five years. The mission and goals that currently appear on our website were recently adopted as part of our five-year strategic planning cycle.^[1] We will spend 2021-22 revising our vision statement and developing a strategic plan for 2022-2027.

Mission: We are a distinctive public liberal arts college that welcomes and inspires students to develop their knowledge and skills to build a better world. Our supportive, inclusive community is exceptional in cultivating creativity, engagement, and discovery. We find strength in diversity, joy in growth, and fulfillment in lifelong learning.

Vision: Geneseo will be recognized widely for demonstrating the enduring power of a public liberal arts education.

Values: The Geneseo campus community is guided by our belief in and commitment to the following values:

• Learning: Embracing high expectations for intellectual inquiry, critical thinking, scholarly exploration, and personal growth.
• Creativity: Empowering a spirit of innovation that inspires intellectual curiosity, self-expression, and problem-solving.
• Belonging: Welcoming a diverse campus community that supports and celebrates different identities, promotes equity and inclusion, and respects the ideas and contributions of each individual.
• Civic Engagement: Encouraging active participation grounded in self-reflection, empathy, and an ethical commitment to the common good of our local and global communities.
• Sustainability: Building a culture of well-being that integrates and applies principles of environmental, social, and economic stewardship informed by an understanding of the past and our obligations to the future.

Developing Geneseo’s mission and goals: a collaborative, participatory, iterative process

(SI.C1abcg; RoA 7)

In Spring 2021, the Strategic Planning Group (SPG) engaged the entire college community in the college’s most recent re-examination of its mission and values. Announced by President Battles during her 2020 Opening Convocation address, “The Enduring Power of a Liberal Arts Education,”^[2] this re-examination was intended to establish the foundation for a new five-year strategic plan to be developed in 2021-2022. SPG also developed a draft one-year strategic plan for 2021-2022.^[3]

To include as many stakeholders as possible in an iterative revision process, SPG organized over 50 focus group discussions including alumni, faculty, staff, students, the Geneseo Foundation board, and the College Council. Two surveys solicited suggestions and opinions from over 1,100 individuals. The process is thoroughly described in a report included in the evidence inventory.^[4] President Battles unveiled the new mission statement and values in August 2021.^[5]

The college’s previous mission and goals were adopted in 2016 as part of the development of the 2016-2021 strategic plan Geneseo 2021: Seeing Beyond the Horizon. The revision was conducted by SPG. As a Standing Committee of the College, SPG has broad representation from faculty, staff, administration, and student leaders. The procedures for selecting its membership and the function of the committee are described in Article X, Section 3 of the Geneseo Faculty Constitution:

The Strategic Planning Group (SPG) will define overarching goals for the College, evaluate priorities and, where appropriate, recommend new or revised goals and strategies that will strengthen the mission of the College. SPG will review the goals of the College and its constituent units to ensure that they are in keeping with the Vision and Mission Statements and will regularly review the college’s progress towards these goals. The Strategic Planning Group will make all of its recommendations directly to the President.

In developing the college’s 2016-2021 mission and goals, SPG solicited feedback from all employees, current students, alumni, and community members through an online survey, which received 583 responses.^[6] Additional feedback was obtained via an online form. The mission statement and goals were shared with the College Senate, the alumni community, the College Council, and SUNY system administration. At the local level, the College Council, akin to a local board of trustees, plays advisory, regulatory, and advocacy roles, as required in ROA 7. The minutes of the April 15, 2016, College Council meeting and presentation are listed in the evidence inventory.^[7] The presentation reveals the iterative process involved in revising the mission and strategic plan.

Leveraging Geneseo’s mission and goals: planning, resource allocation, curriculum, and outcomes

(S1.C1.d RoA10)

Geneseo’s mission, vision, values, and strategic planning goals are widely disseminated. The mission, vision, and values are featured throughout the college’s website^[8] and are included in event programs such as our Cultivating Community series^[9] and student group dinners. The academic affairs division has created annual values awards that highlight faculty and staff achievements in each of the five values.

SPG tracks steps taken towards achieving Geneseo’s planning goals, leads the evaluation process at the end of each five-year period, and coordinates the process of revising the college’s mission statement, values, vision, and goals. SPG is currently undertaking periodic evaluation across two academic years, from Spring 2021 through Spring 2022. (See criterion 4 of this standard.)

Geneseo’s strategic objectives are clearly stated on the college website and referenced when college units set annual goals or seek resources. In the annual assessment audit, units are asked to link their assessment and unit-level goals to the college’s goals. When academic units request additional resources from the Division of Academic Affairs, they link their request to strategic plan goals.^[10] The president’s annual report has changed to reflect the goals identified in the college’s strategic plan.^[11]

The assessment process at Geneseo, whether in academic departments or other units, supports assessment-informed resource requests. All unit heads link their unit goals to the mission, goals, and focus areas in the college’s strategic plan. Since 2017, they have done this as part of their annual assessment.

Since 2020-2021, academic assessment reporting has begun to use the college’s learning management system, Canvas, where assessment data can be aggregated across sections, allowing assessment coordinators to easily compare results across departments or years and use the data to inform educational improvement. Academic department assessment reports include examples of changes made to courses and programs based on assessment results.^[12] These reports may also identify areas where additional resources might lead to improvement. Assessment reports from other units of the College, conducted as part of an annual assessment audit, may similarly connect potential improvement to resource allocation.

The College Assessment Council (CAC) reviews these reports, provides feedback to departments on assessment, and forwards the most compelling and data-informed resource requests to SPG and the Budget Priorities Committee (BPC) for their consideration and the development of recommendations to President Battles. Both outcomes assessment and resource allocation are thereby aligned with mission and goals.

To track progress on the strategic plan, in 2018 the College adopted Nuventive, a web database that stores status updates on action items, together with funding needs, responsible leads, timelines, and strategic initiatives.

The assessment activities presented here for C1d also address Requirement of Affiliation 10 in part, which will also be addressed in Standards III, IV, V, and VI.

Mission, goals, and scholarship

(SI.C1efg)

In fulfillment of Geneseo’s mission to be “…exceptional in cultivating creativity, engagement, and discovery,” many faculty involve undergraduates in their scholarly work or mentor students on research projects.^[13]

For tenure-stream faculty, scholarly and creative activity accounts for 35% of the evaluation portfolio, and the typical teaching load of nine credits per semester allows faculty to balance teaching and research expectations. Sabbatical leaves, supported and endowed professorships, and competitive paid leave programs available through the SUNY system enhance opportunities for scholarly and creative work.

Several areas of the College support the scholarly and creative work of faculty and students, including the Office of Sponsored Research, the Center for Integrative Learning, the Center for Digital Learning, the Teaching and Learning Center, and the Geneseo Foundation. These offices provide financial support for summer research stipends, travel, conference participation, and equipment and supplies.^[14] For example, the Office of Sponsored Research reports disbursing $81,261 in 2020 to 161 students in undergraduate travel, research, and creativity grants. In the same year, sponsored research awarded $158,935 to 157 faculty in research and travel grants.^[15] Every year, many students present their scholarly and creative work at our annual GREAT Day. (GREAT is an acronym for Geneseo Recognizing Excellence, Achievement, and Talent.)^[16]

Geneseo values faculty mentorship of students in research and creative activity; often such mentorship is a natural outgrowth of the teaching and learning process. Probably Geneseo’s most distinctive feature is the number and breadth of faculty-mentored research opportunities for undergraduates; 41 percent of seniors report having participated in research with a faculty mentor, whereas our seniors at our SUNY and Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges (COPLAC) peers report 24 and 29 percent, respectively.^[17]

2: Realism, appropriateness, consistency

(SI.C2). Institutional goals that are realistic, appropriate to higher education, and consistent with mission.

Mission-related goals

(SI.C2,C3)

From Fall 2016 to Fall 2021, Geneseo 2021—Seeing Beyond the Horizon was the operational strategic plan for the College. The plan was updated once, in 2019, to reflect changed SPG leadership and changing conditions in higher education. The Fall 2019 Refreshed Strategic Plan maintains the same focus areas but introduces more specific outcomes, together with timelines and responsible leads. The refreshed strategic plan was in effect through the end of academic year 2020-21.

As we conclude the current strategic plan, we can demonstrate how its goals are realistic, appropriate, and consistent with our mission. Below we provide an example from each of the four focus areas.

Learning is the first focus area of the strategic plan. This area was reflected in the language of our previous mission statement (“Dedicated to learning,” “rigorous curriculum, transformational learning experience, and a rich co-curricular life”) and continues to be so reflected in our new statement (“develop their knowledge and skills,” “cultivating creativity, engagement, and discovery,” “fulfillment in lifelong learning”). “Learning” is at the top of the list of both our previous and newly adopted values: “Learning: embracing high expectations for intellectual inquiry, scholarly achievement, and personal growth” in the previous formulation; “Learning: Embracing high expectations for intellectual inquiry, critical thinking, scholarly exploration, and personal growth” in the new one. Our shift away from language emphasizing rigor and achievement toward language emphasizing growth, discovery, engagement, and lifelong learning is one measure of our general effort to highlight the many intrinsic motivations for pursuing a college education. It also reflects our recognition that in our dedication to promoting an inclusive learning environment, words matter: historically, terms such as “rigor” and “achievement” have been used to frame an educational approach that has marginalized some learners.

In Geneseo 2021 — Seeing Beyond the Horizon, each of the four objectives under the “Learning” focus area advances the mission in specific ways and maps directly to both the previous and the new mission statement.^[18] That said, the new mission statement will undoubtedly serve to provoke the development of new or re-framed objectives in the next strategic plan.

Realistic goals

(SI.C3)

To ensure realistic goals, the 2016 strategic plan identifies action items with timelines, resources, and achievement measures for each of the objectives. For example, the action items identified under “Pursue curricular innovation” include^[19]

• Revise the general education curriculum and other programs to meet the Geneseo Learning Outcomes for a Baccalaureate Education (GLOBE);
• Ensure that every student has the opportunity to engage in meaningful global learning;
• Design international study opportunities that are accessible to all students;
• Increase the number and accessibility of applied learning opportunities, including internships.

Responsible leads have provided regular reports, enabling SPG to review institutional progress on the plan. For example, the original timeline for “Revise the general curriculum” was two years. “Faculty and staff support for curriculum development” represented the “resources needed,” and the achievement measure was “adoption by Senate.” College Senate and the president created the Curriculum Development Working Group (CDWG) to develop proposals for implementing GLOBE.^[20] This representative group of teaching and professional faculty (with ex-officio members from administration and the Student Association) communicates regularly with the college community through its wiki page and regular reports. In April, CDWG submitted a revised curriculum proposal to the College Senate through the undergraduate policy committee, and at the May 10, 2021 senate meeting, the proposal was adopted on a second reading. The revised curriculum aligns with GLOBE.^[21]

The four objectives for the focus area Access and Success are

1. Increase recruitment of qualified applicants that represent a diverse student population
2. Increase the yield of qualified applicants that represent a diverse student population
3. Pursue innovative and proactive retention and student success strategies
4. Provide a welcoming and inclusive environment

These objectives align with our identity as a “residential public liberal arts college,” with our newly articulated values of “civic engagement” and “belonging,” and with the previous articulation of these values as “civic responsibility” and “inclusivity.”

Under Objective 4, “Provide a welcoming and inclusive environment,” action items include:

• Assess climate for inclusion among students and employees by Spring 2018, including climate for underprivileged students who are not part of any other minority
• Enhance and promote mentorship and advisement programs to foster connectivity and inclusivity
• Assess and strengthen support for student health and wellness, and share responsibility and resources across campus
• Recruit and retain a diverse faculty and staff
• Assess and advance progress on the campus diversity plan

Within the five-year timeline for “Recruit and retain a diverse faculty and staff,” the College leveraged two SUNY system-wide programs: PRODiG and PRODiG Fellows.^[22] PRODiG (pronounced “prodigy”) is an acronym for Promoting Recruitment, Opportunity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Growth. The program is designed to increase the number of historically underrepresented faculty in SUNY. All four of our eligible 2019-20 tenure-track faculty were accepted into the program. Two more eligible faculty were accepted in 2020-21. Dr. Stacey Robertson, SUNY Geneseo’s provost, worked with the 12 other SUNY comprehensive college provosts to create the PRODiG Fellows program, which is designed to increase the pipeline of historically underrepresented faculty by focusing on late-stage ABD faculty and early postdoctoral faculty. Fellows receive a reduced teaching load and intensive mentorship, with the goal of finding tenure-track positions within the SUNY system. The achievement measure for this action item was “improved hiring and retention of diverse faculty and staff.”

As described above, Geneseo 2021 – Seeing Beyond the Horizon was updated in Fall 2019. In the refreshed strategic plan, the focus area Access and Success includes the outcome, “Hire 20% of all new full-time faculty between October 2018 and June 2021 from underrepresented backgrounds.” Implementation has included support for the faculty-driven group tasked with developing an action plan to achieve the outcome, the Learning Community on Diverse Faculty Hiring. The PRODiG program described earlier is also instrumental in this effort. Over the five-year period ending in August 2020, 35% of new full-time faculty hires have come from underrepresented backgrounds.^[23] More examples of new outcomes for the Learning focus area appear below under Criterion 3.

The focus area Advancing the Public Good addresses our responsibility to serve the Finger Lakes region, the state of New York, and beyond. The objectives for this focus area are outward-facing:

1. Strengthen our engagement with local and regional communities
2. Enhance our capacity as a public cultural resource
3. Connect scholarly resources of the College to appropriate projects in the surrounding community and other partner communities

We seek to be a good neighbor by engaging with local leaders,^[24] providing access to our cultural resources and facilities, and encouraging mutually beneficial partnerships. While these objectives are largely focused on our local community, the College makes a positive impact nationally and internationally. For example, we are in the top ten medium-sized colleges for production of Peace Corps volunteers.^[25]

Under Objective 3, “Connect scholarly resources…”, the action items are:

• Develop a relationship with the Letchworth Nature Center to enhance its public programs and to provide opportunities for our students
• Explore and develop connections between local agriculture industry and the college’s intellectual capital
• Continue to support the development of entrepreneurial thinking through enhanced promotion of programs such as VentureWorks
• Increase local partnerships between CAS food services and local farms
• Share campus expertise in sustainability with the local community
• Increase student internships and service-learning opportunities in the local community as well as in state, national, and international contexts

In 2015, in support of the first action item, SUNY Geneseo and Letchworth State Park formed a partnership to enhance educational opportunities for both organizations. The catalyst for the partnership was the construction of the Humphrey Nature Center (HNC), which opened at Letchworth in 2016. This year-round center offers exhibition space, two classrooms, and meeting space. Geneseo provided furniture, audiovisual technology, and field equipment such as microscopes, binoculars, and nature guides for the classrooms.

Since the partnership began, dozens of students and faculty have participated in field classes, internships, summer research, public programs, and volunteer initiatives in the park, and staff have used the meeting space for professional activities. Geneseo established a Friends of Recreation, Conservation, and Environmental Stewardship (FORCES) chapter. This state-sponsored, student-run organization works extensively in Letchworth. The partnership has been very productive over the years:

• Over 100 students in the park through classes
• 40 first-year students in a summer First-Year Letchworth Experience
• 10 directed studies, internships, and research fellowships
• Three student research awards from SUNY Geneseo
• One student research award from the Rochester Academy of Sciences
• Five awards for FORCES.
• Eight student presentations at four different academic conferences
• Three public programs by faculty in the HNC
• A tabletop display in the HNC on the science of rainbows
• A photography exhibition by the college photographer
• Several student displays in the HNC on native plants and invasive species
• Over 4000 hours of teaching, research, intern, volunteer, and recreation hours in the park
• One externally funded science public outreach project in subatomic physics

One of our values is sustainability, and Resilience and Sustainability is the corresponding focus area in our strategic plan. To pursue our mission, we must be a secure and enduring institution that is mindful of our impact on others. To be effective as an institution of higher education, we must communicate our story thoughtfully so that potential students, employees, partners, and donors are aware of the outstanding value and community we offer. Because of our commitment to our students, the environment, the state, and the region, our objectives in this focus area are

1. Enhance the profile and public awareness of the institution through media and communication tools
2. Enhance and promote sustainable practices in all divisions and programs
3. Maintain and redesign facilities, as possible, to create effective learning environments
4. Develop blended and diversified funding strategies

The action items listed for Objective 3 (“sustainable practices and facilities”) are

• Continue to build or renovate buildings to comply with Silver or Gold Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards
• Remodel and update the library, College Union, and academic teaching-learning spaces as funds become available
• Renovate residence halls to enhance the learning environment on campus

In line with the first objective, Red Jacket Dining Hall was renovated, earning LEED Gold 2020 certification from the US Green Building Council based on its design, construction, and operations.^[26] This is the most recent of the buildings on campus that have been recognized with the LEED certification. Others include Monroe, Bailey, and Letchworth Dining Hall. Other sustainability initiatives are outlined in the Office of Sustainability annual report.^[27]

3: Focus on learning and improvement

(S1.C3; RoA10). Goals that focus on student learning and related outcomes and on institutional improvement; are supported by administrative, educational, and student support programs and services; and are consistent with institutional mission.

The strategic plan’s focus areas all have associated action items aimed at institutional improvement. We regularly assess our progress toward these goals, collecting, every fall semester, evidence of institutional improvement from the previous academic year. Units that received funding from SPG to further institutional goals wrote special assessment reports at the end of the term of their grant, which were reviewed by the Budget Priorities Committee (BPC).

The ambitious list of outcomes under “Learning” in the Fall 2019 Refreshed Strategic Plan provides but one example of Geneseo’s intense and sustained attention to institutional improvement in general and student learning in particular. That attention is consistent with both our previous mission to “combine a rigorous curriculum, transformational learning experiences, and a rich co-curricular life to create a dynamic and inclusive scholarly environment” and our new mission to cultivate “creativity, engagement, and discovery,” inspire knowledge and skill-development to “build a better world,” and create a climate in which students find “joy in growth” and “fulfillment in lifelong learning.” The tasks on the list include

• updating the general education requirements as part of the plan to implement the Geneseo Learning Outcomes for a Baccalaureate Education (GLOBE)
• designing the intersession program
• establishing the Center for Integrative Learning
• developing new programs in data analytics and sustainability
• assessing writing instruction, assessing the living-learning communities
• develop plans to address changing enrollments in overseas programs and others

The college’s work on GLOBE and its development of new majors, minors, graduate programs, and microcredentials^[28] —at a three-year rate far exceeding that of the thirty years prior—represent major examples of learning-focused institutional improvement.

The tasks above and others in support of student learning often require complex coordination across divisions, departments, and administrative offices. Toward the end of improving Geneseo’s support programs, we have created two new administrative positions in academic affairs, Associate Provost for Academic Success and Associate Provost for Assessment and Curriculum. The former is charged with improving support systems and opportunities for student learning, and the latter with overseeing assessment across the College. Educational support programs that Geneseo has added or bolstered with additional resources include the Center for Integrative Learning, the Center for Digital Learning, and tutoring programs in math, writing, and biology.

4: Assessment

(S1.C4; RoA 10). Periodic assessment of mission and goals to ensure they are relevant and achievable.

The College assesses its mission and goals at the end of each five-year strategic planning cycle in coordination with the development of its next five-year strategic plan. This process is led by SPG, which seeks wide input, for example through surveys and other means. The broad input into the development of the mission and goals helps to ensure relevance and inclusivity. SPG also conducts ongoing assessment of progress toward goals over the years the strategic plan is implemented; the group ensures that the goals are achievable by setting action plans with deadlines, setting a lead for each action, and allocating resources.

For example, SPG twice allocated resources for individual projects to help us achieve the goals of Geneseo 2021: Seeing Beyond the Horizon. Projects funded in Phase I (2017) included upgrading the fiber infrastructure for the campus’s computing needs, founding a center for integrative learning, investing in online education, and investing in EAB Navigate software to track and support student success. Phase II projects, funded in fall 2019, included the development of first-year experience courses, a consultant to evaluate our first-year writing course, and two initiatives to increase diversity in hiring. The funded projects assessed their work in reports to the BPC.^[29]

In Fall 2020, SPG took up a charge from President Battles to design and execute a program analysis and alignment project.^[30] This project was a response to the unprecedented challenges created by COVID-19 and significant demographic changes that are expected to have an even greater impact in the next five years. All units submitted their reports to the cabinet on January 15, 2021. The cabinet has considered cost-saving and revenue-generating measures based on the data gathered and has made structural changes to enhance synergies and efficiencies. In Spring 2021, as discussed above, SPG led a campus-wide reconsideration of the college’s mission and values. In 2021-2022, SPG will lead the development of a refined vision and a new five-year strategic plan, based on the revised mission and values. SPG will consider relevant financial and demographic challenges and the results from the program analysis and alignment project in developing this new five-year strategic plan. To ensure that the new goals are achievable, SPG will generate desired outcomes, action items, timelines, and responsible leads.

Conclusion

The college’s mission and goals are clearly defined, realistic, and appropriate to our institutional identity. They focus on student learning, are supported throughout the institution, and are periodically assessed. The college meets the standard.

Points of pride

The process used to develop our new mission statement was exceptionally inclusive and transparent. SPG met with departments across campus—including College Council, students, faculty, and staff—and conducted multiple surveys. The survey results were updated daily on a web-based dashboard. The information collected informed the final version of the mission statement.

Suggestions

SPG should continue to be inclusive and transparent as it develops the college’s vision and strategic plan.

Recommendations

None.