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Strategic Visioning Working Group
Report of Findings and Recommendations
College of Education, Health and Human Services
Presented to: Dr. James Hannon
November 1, 2024

The working group acknowledges the help and support provided by Larry Gibson in making this work possible. First, in delivering a ‘Budget 101’ session with the working group and answering questions along the way. Second, the time and work that was put into collecting, analyzing, and providing financial data necessary for these recommendations to be identified. This work would not have been possible without his assistance.

Executive Summary
The EHHS Organizational Visioning Working Group was created to address financial and structural efficiencies across the College of Education, Health, and Human Services (EHHS), utilizing key resources and structured processes to make informed recommendations.

Resource Utilization and Data Collection
The Working Group used a variety of resources in their analysis:
• EHHS Directory: This resource provides names of faculty/staff across EHHS.
• Enrollment Trends 2015-Present: This interactive Power BI provided enrollment trends over the past decade.
• Financial Data: Detailed program-level financial reports, including the net profit or loss for each program as well as enrollment trends, were used to analyze financial trends for programs. (see
appendix)
• Budget 101 Presentation: Larry Gibson led an informational session describing the EHHS budget and providing foundational knowledge for financial discussions.

Development Process for Recommendations
The working group began meeting in April 2024 and met through October 30, 2024. During the 7 months, they facilitated discussions with the faculty and staff, reviewed data, and engaged in a variety of activities leading to this report including:
May College Meeting: During this initial meeting, 130 EHHS faculty and staff contributed ideas organized by twelve working groups, generating recommendations on key themes. These ideas were
categorized and reviewed over the summer to identify focus areas for the Working Group.

Summer Work: The Working Group identified three major priorities: Program Review, College Organizational Structure, and Staff Organizational Structure. Members spent an extensive amount of
time reviewing enrollment and financial data and developed a rating system for programs by financial status—red (critical), yellow (cautionary), and green (stable).

Staff Organization Subgroup: This subgroup was formed to examine staff structure in relation to college efficiency for student services, student success and retention, and technology services using information gathered through job descriptions, staff interviews, organizational charts, and findings from the May and August EHHS College Meeting activities. Fall College Meeting and Ongoing Work: Faculty and staff were asked to perform a SWOT analysis for each program/staff area and discuss college structure, considering partnerships and restructuring possibilities. Additionally, the Working Group began categorizing all EHHS programs based on financial health, providing general recommendations for each.

Key Recommendations
Considerations Moving Forward
These guiding principles are necessary for all including leadership, faculty, and staff. They are essential to the success of the rest of the recommendations provided in this report.
• University/College Strategic Priorities: Decisions should be made in line with the university and college strategic priorities with consideration of faculty/staff morale and the impact on
students.
• Commitment to Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB): DEIB goals should be integrated into program assessments, ensuring financial decisions align with the college’s
broader mission.
• Access to and Transparency of Data: Ongoing and consistent access to financial and enrollment data should be provided for all programs with a focus on sharing of information and
transparency.
• Communication: Communication should be consistent and ongoing across faculty and staff in EHHS.

Program Review and Financial Health
Financial health was determined by 2024 revenue/loss numbers as well as change in revenue over the last three years.
• All Programs: Each program is advised to complete basic financial literacy training, review budget information, and analyze enrollment and staffing trends. This process will ensure all programs are financially aligned and staffed according to enrollment trends.
• Red Programs (critical): Programs identified with significant financial challenges should immediately develop and submit a strategic plan to address their financial challenges. Plans should consider program expenses, faculty-student ratios, and external funding opportunities.
• Yellow Programs (cautionary): Programs with minor financial issues or fluctuating revenue should review their budget structure, analyze faculty-to-student ratios, and explore potential
partnerships to bolster financial health.

Staff Organizational Restructuring
These recommendations were developed by a staff organizational subcommittee in response to the charge given by leadership.
• Create an Office of Recruitment, Access & Engagement: By consolidating recruitment and retention activities under a single office reporting to the Associate Dean of Undergraduate Education and Student Services, the college can streamline recruitment efforts and better align outreach with enrollment goals.
• Share resources and services between the Graduate Student Services Office and Vacca Office of Student Services: The staff sub-committee recommends a few variations on models that allow for coordination, shared services, and shared resources as well as workload balance between the Vacca Office of Student Services and the Graduate Student Services Offices.
• Centralization of Technology Services: The staff sub-committee recommends creating an Office of Technology and Instructional Resources to consolidate technology-related support, improving
service delivery and efficiency across EHHS.
• Additional Streamlining of Roles and Responsibilities: The staff sub-group recommends adjustments in other staff positions within EHHS to address efficiency and workload.

College Organization Restructuring
The EHHS Strategic Visioning Working Group reviewed proposed T28 college configuration models, supporting several structural themes. Key commentary included:

• Consolidating applied sciences and health programs within a dedicated school and integrating all teacher licensure programs in a single college.
• A standalone College of Education model received positive feedback, though financial stability concerns were noted.
• Business-related programs, such as Sport Administration, were favored as standalone entities under the Ambassador Crawford College of Business and Entrepreneurship.
• Physical Education and Health Education and Promotion programs received mixed feedback on placement within Health Sciences versus Teacher Education.
• The group saw value in interdisciplinary alignment, particularly pairing Teacher Education with the Academy of Languages and Humanities.
• Broader scope programs, like Professional Studies and Career and Community Studies, should be evaluated for appropriate placement beyond Education.
• Overall, favored models were ones that consolidate related programs, support cross-disciplinary opportunities, and ensure financial sustainability.

Additional Recommendations
The work group identified additional considerations or supports needed to address the above recommendations.
• Budget Training: Implement financial literacy workshops for key EHHS personnel to strengthen budget management skills.
• Marketing and Recruitment: Provide training for program coordinators in marketing and recruitment strategies, emphasizing the importance of visibility and enrollment growth.
• Workload for Leadership/Administrative Roles: The staff organization group was charged to look at specific positions, which did not include workload of leadership/administrative positions
such as Assistant Deans, Associate Deans, and Directors. Workload of these positions should be considered as staff organization changes are made.
• Decision-making and next steps for staff organization: Identify changes that can be made immediately (versus those that may need to wait until university decisions are made). Create an
implementation team to consider the logistics of changes, specifically staff changes.

Conclusion
The EHHS Organizational Visioning Working Group used a data-driven approach to find solutions to create fiscal sustainability and operational efficiency within EHHS. Targeted restructuring and improved budget practices should create a more resilient and financially sustainable college that is better positioned to meet the challenges of the current higher education environment.

Shared themes across many groups:

• Most groups identified an EHHS College structure with either 2 or 3 schools.
• In the 3 school model, a common theme was: School of (1) Education, (2) Health Sciences, (3) Human Services.
• In the 2 school model, there were variations but many included (1) School of Education, (2) School of Health Sciences.
• Many groups recommended programs to move to the Ambassador Crawford College of Business and Entrepreneurship including: Sport Administration, Hospitality Event Management, Rec Park and Tourism Management, and Hospitality and Tourism. Management. A few groups also included other programs such as Long Term Care Administration and Higher Education Administration.
• There were some recommendations to move programs from other colleges to EHHS. These included Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (A&S), education programs in other colleges, MCLS (A&S), Nursing, and Public Health.
• A consistent theme was for all teacher licensure programs to be together in the same school- including those currently in other colleges.

Variations on the themes:

• One group recommended that EHHS becomes the College of Education with non-education programs merging with other units to create new colleges or moving to other colleges.
• One group recommended the College of Public Health join EHHS as our 4^th school (and pairing existing schools from 4 to 3).
• One group recommended the creation of a College of Health Sciences/Allied Health to include Nursing, Public Health, and our current Health Sciences programs.

Recommendations, Thoughts, and Unanswered Questions

• PROS (Professional Studies) serves all students in EHHS. Where is the best place for this program?
• ASEI (American Sign Language English Interpreting) – should this be in education or human services? Should it be paired with ASL?
• CCC (Career and Community Studies) – where should this program be housed?
• RMS (Research Management and Statistics)- this program serves many programs in EHHS. Can this be a college-level program? Should it be broadened and become a university-level program and be used across the university?
• INDL (Interprofessional Leadership)- this is a program that serves students across different schools. Where should this be housed?
• LTCA (Long Term Care Administration)- should this be in ACCBE?
• SEPP (Sport and Exercise Performance Psychology)- is this a health sciences program or human services program? What about paired with psychology as one of their concentrations?
• PWS (Physical Activity, Wellness, and Sport)- where should these programs be housed? With PESP? Or at the college level? There was a recommendation to be with the Rec Center.

*Please note, this summary does not indicate what will or will not happen, but is a summary of the ideas created by members of EHHS during the opening of school college meeting, Activity 2. It is intended to reflect some of the various ideas generated. 

Strategic Visioning Working Group

Monday, June 17, 2024

1. Summary of meeting with Larry Gibson

2. Enrollment Trends in EHHS

3. If time- review themes

4. Next steps for July 1st and July 15th meetings

Summary of meeting:

• Michael Bell provided a Power BI document that showed enrollment trends across the college since 2016.
• Kathy showed working group members how to use the file – ways to sort and filter.
• Explained some of the nuances of the data.
• The working group reviewed the data together and talked about questions for the next meet with Larry Gibson.

Strategic Visioning Working Group

Monday, June 3, 2024

1. Resources:
   1. EHHS 2024-2025 Directory
   2. Active Academic Programs
2. Continue sharing themes from college meeting
3. Review notes- what did we miss?
4. What ideas do YOU have that were not shared?

Meeting Talking Points:

• We continued to review the ideas from the college meeting, identified themes, and discussed themes in more detail.
• Next steps include getting information about programs in EHHS (enrollment trends) and asking Larry to come to a future meeting to talk about the budget. 

Monday, May 20, 2024

Strategic Visioning Working Group Agenda

1. Recap from last Tuesday
   1. How did it go in your groups?
   2. Comments/observations?
2. Review of the information collected
3. Begin to identify themes
4. Talking points from meeting to share:
   1. The working group began to review the ideas that were collected at the college meeting. Initial themes were identified and discussed.
   2. The working group didn’t get through all the ideas - just the initial discussion.
   3. The working group identified some additional information needed as we move forward:
      1. Financial/Budget information from Larry- we will ask him to come to a meeting in July.
      2. Organizational chart for EHHS- including departments, centers, all programs, etc. Kathy and Aaron will see how we can get this information.
      3. Next meeting: we will continue sharing ideas from the college meeting and continue identifying main themes. 

Agenda – EHHS Organizational Working Team Meeting

May 8, 2024

1. Welcome and Introductions

2. Charge for the committee

3. Plans for college meeting

• Two parts
• b. Goal of the college meeting
• c. Parameters

4. Email to the college inviting them to attend

5. Your role at the college meeting

a. Group structure

• i. 8-10 people
• ii. 12 groups

b. Group facilitation

• i. Keep your group on the time schedule provided
• ii. No idea is a bad idea at this point
• iii. Make sure everyone gets a chance to be heard
• iv. Ensure that all ideas are captured and collected

c. We will provide step by step instructions. Please review them in advance.

6. Next steps and plans beyond college meeting

Summary/talking points from the meeting: The meeting focused on planning the Tuesday, May 14th EHHS college meeting.