The Story
College Sets High Standards in Plan Sent to VA Council of Higher Ed
While the College’s Six-Year Institutional Plan may be at the bottom of student agendas right now, it has a broad impact on academic performance, budgets, enrollment rates and many other areas.
In accordance with the Higher Education Restructuring Act of 2005, the College formally submitted its plan to the State Council of Higher Education in Virginia (SCHEV) on Sept. 27. Initiatives include strengthening academic departments and stimulating local economic development.
Also mentioned is the Gateway William and Mary program, an initiative designed to provide 100 percent of financial aid for in-state students whose household income is less than $40,000. The initiative ensures that these students can leave the college debt-free.
Other financial projects include maintaining the 6 percent per annum external funding growth, completing the $500 million Campaign for William and Mary and preparing for campaigns to follow.
On the student level, the Plan predicts a 7 percent increase in the student body, which is an increase of about 515 students, only 160 of which will be in the graduate and professional programs. In-state increases are projected at a 14 percent increase, many of which are expected to be graduates from Richard Bland College (RBC) and the Virginia Community College System (VCCS).
VCCS students with GPAs of 3.6 or higher will be able to enroll in courses here at the College while still paying their home institution’s tuition. If they maintain a certain GPA here at the College and at their home institution, they will be granted admission after they receive their associate’s degree.
Also involving VCCS students, the College is planning on create a Banner student record system so that staff in the registrar can make an “assessment of progress and success of RBC and VCCS transfers both to track their progress and assure timely intervention if needed,” the Plan states.
And while the College already has a 90 percent retention rate, the Plan suggests improvement of student retention, including first year and overall retention. The College’s SCHEV peer group, Georgetown, Duke, Notre Dame, Dartmouth, Boston College, Brown and Vanderbilt, has an average retention rate of only 80 percent.
The Plan says the average time-to-degree is less than 4.1 semesters, indicating that most incoming freshmen are unlikely to stay for a “super senior” year. Also mentioned is the cause for students who exit the College. The reasons include personal or medical issues, or change of career interest. No students have had to stay on campus for more than four semesters so that they could fulfill their required 120 credits for graduation.
Academically speaking, the Plan seeks to increase the productivity of the College’s research capabilities, citing the need for strengthening the graduate programs of Applied Science, Computer Science, Computational Science, the MBA program and the Environmental/Marine Policy programs. Little is said about specific undergraduate departments in regards to fortifying their research abilities.
The Plan then moves to facilities. “It is essential to retaining the best faculty and attracting the best students that we have facilities appropriate to a world-class university,” the Plan reads.
This includes the expansion of the science facilities, which is well underway. Not already started, however, is the “construction and renovation of new facilities for the arts, including dance, theatre, and music, and the studio arts and creation of an arts precinct on campus,” the Plan reads. There was no further mention of what an “arts precinct” is or how it would be structured.
Expansion of the Marshall-Wythe School of Law library is mentioned, though Earl Gregg Swem received no attention. Also mentioned in facilities improvement is the School of Business.
The Plan discusses the need to concentrate on areas of need for the Commonwealth, which includes the possibility of a Nursing degree that would join the College with VCU. Under these criteria is also a push for the School of Education to expand its K-12 licensure.
Beyond numbers and buildings, the Plan discusses the Process of Institutional Effectiveness (PIE). The program brings together administrators at the Vice Presidential level to “track goals, objectives, and evaluations,” the Plan reads.
This includes providing data from specific academic disciplines to evaluate and ensure efficiency. “Hence, we have created a new and integrated approach to institutional effectiveness premised on evidence-based decision-making,” the Plan reads.
Many problems of the College are addressed in this Plan, but it remains to be seen whether intentions can turn into pragmatic change.