Strategic Plan

Long-Term Goal 5:
Active Community Engagement

Long-Term Goal 5: Active Community Engagement.  Achieve an integral and indispensable relationship with Illinois and the St. Louis metropolitan area; work cooperatively within SIU to make the whole greater than the sum of its parts.

1.  Data Sources for Measuring Achievement of Long-Term Goal 5: 

SIUE has a variety of measures of community engagement.  These measures include faculty, student, and alumni reports about their behavior through the UCLA study, the NSSE study, and baccalaureate follow-up studies.  Data are also available about alumni living and work patterns, student involvement in cooperative study and internships, attendance at campus events, and external funding for community engagement.  The data from these various sources are displayed in Appendix 5.

2.  Status in Achieving Long-Term Goal 5:

The University promotes engagement by educating students to be active citizens who choose to live and work productively in the community.  As the data in Appendix 5 show, the number of SIUE alumni residing in Illinois and the St. Louis metropolitan area continues to grow.  The number of cooperative educational placements jumped from 2% in FY06 to 22% in FY07.

The percent of senior students who plan to or have done community service has been variable, but shows an increase from FY06 (60%) to FY07 (62%).  This percentage is similar to, yet still below the NSSE urban consortium average of 66%.  In FY07, 56% of SIUE faculty indicated that instilling in students a commitment to community service is important to them (as compared to a peer average of 57%).  The FY07 percentage of SIUE seniors who have or will be participating in a practicum, internship, field experience, or clinical assignment has risen since FY03 and is marginally above that of the NSSE urban consortium peers (73% for SIUE vs. 72% for NSSE peers).  From the most recent 2000 data, 92% of recent and 90% of older graduates indicate that their college education is important to their community life.

Budgetary constraints have forced the University to more strongly focus its resources on its core educational programs.  This has had an impact on resources applied to public service in terms of both total dollars (state and non-state) and staff years (state and non-state).  In FY07, both total dollars and staff years have shown a decrease (7% and 10.3%, respectively).

3. Highlights from FY08 in Pursuit of Long-Term Goal 5

Highlights of activities in FY08 in pursuit of Long-Term Goal 5 include:

1. Continued the training of pre-service and in-service educators through the Southern Illinois Regional Professional Development Center.
   
   
2. Expanded efforts to encourage and enhance economic development and support the full operation of the National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center (NCERC).
   
   
3. NCERC staff representatives were named to the International Fuel Ethanol Workshop Steering Committee.
   
   
4. NCERC served as a Pilot Plant for the installation of a Distributed Control System provided by an outside corporation.
   
   
5. Developed an ongoing partnership between the academic units and the East St. Louis Center to support and develop programming for at-risk students, including effective college recruiting initiatives.
   
   
6. The Department of Special Education and Communication Disorders has collaborated with SWIC and East St. Louis to develop the “Grow Your Own” Program to provide access for nontraditional students working toward careers in special education in their district.
   
   
7. Educational partnerships with Barnes Jewish Medical Center and American Red Cross were developed.
   
   
8. The Environmental Resources Training Center (ERTC) and Lewis and Clark Community College (LCCC) have partnered to offer the Associate of Applied Science Degree in Environmental Treatment Technologies-Water Treatment and the Certificate of Proficiency in Water Treatment Specialist.
   
   
9. NCERC conducted numerous workforce development programs through national conferences and displaced worker training sessions.
   
   
10. Received a $1.5 million grant from Illinois Children’s Healthcare Foundation in support of SIUCARES (Southern Illinois Underserved Children’s Access through Rotational Education and Service) program.  SIUCARES supports a “Rural Scholars Program” which recruits and trains dentists to care for underserved children and a “Core Program” which increases community and pediatric dentistry course hours and community clinic rotations.
    
    
11. SIUE participated in IBHE’s Higher Education Lobby Day in Springfield.  The delegation included 20 students.
    
    
12. Health Services participated in many Madison County Health Department Disaster Planning Committee programs focusing on bioterrorism, pandemic and other public health concerns.  Health Services, in collaboration with the School of Nursing and Emergency Management and Safety, hosted a Pandemicprep.org seminar at SIUE, with approximately 150 in attendance.
    
    
13. Kimmel Leadership Center worked with the Edwardsville Foundation and the Edwardsville Arts and Cultural Center to develop new service learning and community service projects.
    
    
14. The American Red Cross announced that it would locate its new state-of-the-art Blood Processing Center and National Testing Laboratory in University Park.
    
    
15. University Park developed a new web site, www.siue.edu/UNIVERSITYPARK, greatly increasing content and function while presenting a more integrated image of University Park and SIUE’s regional economic development resources.
    
    
16. Fifteen SIUE students participated in the Vince Demuzio Governmental Internship Program each semester, learning the scope of activities and issues that District offices must handle on a daily basis and assisting legislators in resolving concerns and issues.
    
    
17. The SIU School of Dental Medicine exceeded its goal of 8,000 community patient contact hours by registering 11,946 contacts as of June 1, 2008.
    
    
18. The SIUeDAY faculty/staff community volunteer efforts resulted in over $138,000 in gifts and pledges.  Over $14,000 was committed by local businesses to SIUeDay.  There was a 14 % increase in current faculty/staff payroll deduction participants and an 18% estimated increase in payroll deduction for total faculty/staff contributions of $124,000.
    
    
19. The updated “Community Connection” insert in the Ed/Glen Chamber of Commerce publication was prepared and distributed in late summer 2007.

4.  Short-Term Goals and Plans:

Fiscal Year 2009

During FY09, SIUE will focus on the following short-term goals and plans relative to Long-Term Goal 5:

a. Develop and implement the strategic plan for the Office of Educational Outreach including market analysis for undergraduate, graduate and professional opportunities.

Responsibility: Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Associate Provost for Academic Planning and Program Development, Executive Director of Educational Outreach

Source of Funds: Existing staff time and budget

Rationale: A contemporary educational outreach approach will permit the University to effectively meet the educational needs of off-campus students.

b. Enhance and revise the role of the National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center by designing and completing innovative partnership agreements with corporate partners.

Responsibility: Chancellor, Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Director of University Park, Director of NCERC

Source of Funds: Existing staff time and budget and renewable fuels grant

Rationale: Enhance operations of University Park facilities including the Biotechnology Laboratory Incubator and the National Corn-to-Ethanol Research Center as well as technology centers such as the Southwestern Illinois Advanced Manufacturing Center to support regional technology needs.

c. Continue ongoing partnership between the academic units and the East St. Louis Center to support and develop programming for at-risk students, including effective college recruiting initiatives.

Responsibility: Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Director of East St. Louis Center, Academic Deans

Source of Funds: Existing staff time and budget

Rationale: The mission of the University is better served through a strong partnership between the academic units and the East St. Louis Center.

d. Develop a Voter Registration Program for the national election

Responsibility: Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs

Source of Funds: Existing staff time and budget

Rationale: To foster civic responsibility

e. Implement the third annual SIUE Day in cooperation with the Edwardsville/Glen Carbon Chamber of Commerce, with the assistance of 150 volunteers, to support outreach to local businesses.

Responsibility: Vice Chancellor for University Relations, Director of Annual Giving

Source of Funds: Existing staff time and expanded volunteer participation

Rationale: Increased local business participation will lead to greater good will in the community.

n. Refine the new “Community Connection” publication that is inserted into Chamber of Commerce newcomer’s packets.

Responsibility: Vice Chancellor for University Relations, Executive Director of Marketing and Communications

Source of Funds: Existing staff time

Rationale: Increased local appreciation and understanding of ways to engage with SIUE.