MSCHE Self Study April 2021

and fees, 12.8 % from grants, contracts and other sources. The College has consistently maintained a positive operating margin and held institutional fund ‐ balances (reserves) of over $18.25M at the end of FY 2018 and 19.04M in 2019. Institutional Priorities Addressed in Self ‐ Study On a five ‐ year cycle, the entire College community participates in a year ‐ long strategic planning process that incorporates faculty meetings and a faculty retreat and culminates in a published five ‐ year strategic plan that is informed by internal and external trends and guided by a core set of values. Organizational priorities and allocation of resources are driven by the mission, goals and objectives included in this plan. The most recent strategic planning process culminated in 2018 with a revised mission and nine goals and supporting objectives organized into 5 key themes ( Strategic Plan 2018 ‐ 23 ). Based on the College’s new mission and goals identified in its 2018 ‐ 2023 Strategic Plan and after discussion by the Self ‐ Study Steering Committee and President’s, Dean’s and Clinic Councils, the following institutional priorities (which are goals of the Strategic Plan 2018 ‐ 23) were identified and included in the self ‐ study design document that was accepted by MSCHE: 1. Enhance the student experience through programs that promote student and alumni success (Strategic Goal 1) 2. Deliver a dynamic curriculum that engages students and advances contemporary optometry (Strategic Goal 2) 3. Grow the graduate and research programs to increase the institutional impact on the advancement of knowledge and to produce leaders in vision research (basic, translational and clinical) (Strategic Goal 3) 4. Attract the brightest and most motivated students with demonstrated leadership potential (Strategic Goal 8) Self ‐ Study Approach We have utilized the more traditional standards ‐ based approach, which is consistent with how we organize our processes and data. This approach allow us to reflect on our institutional priorities as they relate to the commission’s standards. Details regarding the process utilized in the writing of the self ‐ study were provided in the Self ‐ Study Design Document previously submitted to the Commission and Chair. Organization of Self ‐ Study The remaining chapters of this self ‐ study are organized by the MSCHE standards, except for the conclusion, which is a free ‐ standing chapter. Items in the Evidence Inventory, which provides supporting documentation, are in underlined, bold ‐ green font to make them easily identifiable. These items, labeled with brief descriptive phrases, are listed alphabetically in the Evidence Inventory Library.

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