Summer Work: Enhancing the Sustainability of PSU's Academic Programs
Dear Portland State Colleagues,
I am pleased to share with you the plan to enhance the sustainability of our academic programs at Portland State University. This summer, we will convene the Academic Program Revitalization Summer Data Analysis Team, a key part of our commitment to evaluating and revitalizing our academic offerings. This process, while separate from our strategic planning efforts, is closely linked and essential to our overarching goals.
We are using the methodology developed by Robert Gray Atkins, as outlined in his book, "Start, Stop, or Grow." This data-informed approach, which has been successfully adopted by many colleges and universities, will help us thoroughly examine our academic programs to ensure their financial sustainability and their ability to best serve our students. For those interested in deeper insights, Atkins' webinars are also available for viewing online.
While we will not make any specific decisions about programs over the summer, the team will gather to synthesize data and design a process to ask and answer four key questions:
Alignment with Strategic Plan: How does each program align with our strategic plan’s purpose, guiding commitments, vision for 2030, and draft strategic imperatives?
Academic Results: Are students successfully completing degrees within these programs?
Market Data: What do students and employers want from these programs?
Financial Sustainability: How do programs contribute to our financial sustainability, and what opportunities exist to improve upon this contribution?
The Academic Program Revitalization Summer Data Analysis Team will include faculty and administrators from each college, key staff from the Office of Academic Affairs, members of the Faculty Senate and of the President’s Executive Council, as well as academic union leaders. They will review the data, provide design advice for dashboards, and ensure the information is clear and accurate. They will also help us design a process for engaging the entire campus community in the fall. By the end of this summer, our committee will be experts in the methodology we will use to examine our programs.
In the fall, when everyone is back on campus, we will hold two open houses. The first will be to familiarize everyone with the data, metrics, and dashboards created by this inclusive group. The second will be a participatory workshop to gather essential feedback from faculty and staff about how these data and metrics should be used to revitalize our program portfolio.
The insights and feedback from these workshops will drive decision-making conversations, helping us to ensure our program offerings are aligned to achieve our strategic visions while becoming more financially sustainable. This will become part of a routine process to ensure our programs thrive and evolve to remain relevant and sustainable.
The Board of Trustees has asked that I deliver a financial sustainability plan at their November board meeting, and the decisions from this process will be finalized by then.
I look forward to the robust work ahead with the Academic Revitalization Summer Data Analysis Team and to your feedback in the fall.
Sincerely,
Ann Cudd
PSU President