Oh, the physical campuses are staying, but the invisible walls that stymie collaboration and complicate simple procedures are out of here. At least that’s the plan set forth by NYIT’s strategic planning process.
Silo busting, as it is referred to in NYIT 2030: Setting Directions, Meeting Challenges, is actually only one component of a larger vision.
Nearly two years ago, Edward Guiliano, Ph.D., president of NYIT, initiated the planning process and charged the 2030 Steering Committee with creating a strategy for the next 25 years, as well as a plan for operational objectives for the next five years.
Released in late May, NYIT 2030 calls for changes in nearly every office, department and school. It highlights the college’s current challenges, from flat enrollment on its New York campuses and the need to continue to improve teaching, to financial vulnerability, to the need for more new facilities, and also some inhibiting organizational structures. And it maps out a vision for change that committee members say will enable NYIT to “define the genre of higher education in the 21st century.”
Key initiatives include creating graduate centers that focus on interdisciplinary programs, growing globally, revisiting the core curriculum with an eye on the future, improving teaching quality through enhancements to the Center for Teaching and Learning, and rebuilding the college’s enrollment and student services processes to exploit the latest in technology and customer-service models. And, if NYIT achieves success in all of these areas, plan creators believe the college will have accomplished its ultimate goal – providing an academic environment where student success is job No. 1.
Calling the plan inspiring as well as practical, President Guiliano thanked the more than 200 administrators and faculty and staff members who participated in the 2030 process. “The message from the NYIT community was loud and clear: For NYIT to meet its challenges and achieve its vision for 2030, bold action is required,” he said during the May 12 meeting of the NYIT Academic Senate. “Incremental improvement on the college’s present trajectory will not suffice. The time for ‘business as usual’ is over.”
The “bold action” includes accessing the college’s more than 100 programs and closing those that are no longer strategic or clearly benefiting NYIT or its students. The school is spreading itself too thin, according to the plan. Saying that the school has more programs than it can support, the 2030 committee calls for dropping those that are underperforming, moving some programs to different schools within the college, and investing resources into niche areas that can help better establish the NYIT identity.
School deans have been given until the end of the fall 2006 semester to develop feasible plans to make underperforming programs successful or to confirm their need for closure. The college has promised to honor all contractual obligations.
Divestment from underperforming programs would free up resources for those programs deemed critical to the college’s future success. Five flagship areas were proposed as targets for investment: architecture, engineering, health, management and media.
“If we are more focused, every program is stronger, which ultimately benefits students,” says Dr. Karen Friel, chair of the Department of Physical Therapy and leader of the Program Portfolio Subcommittee, which was charged with defining NYIT’s competitive advantage for the future. “By concentrating our resources, remaining programs will have more space, higher-caliber faculty and more technology.”
Identifying NYIT’s key programs is critical for another reason, says Friel. “If we can’t define who we are, how can we expect the public to? But if we clearly identify our strengths, potential employers for our graduates can also.”
Dr. Chukuka Enwemeka, dean of the School of Health Professions, Behavioral and Life Sciences (HPBLS), urges everybody to “work together for the greater good of NYIT” as decisions are made about the divestment and movement of programs. Several of his faculty members are critical of the committee’s plan to move some of the sciences and other programs from HPBLS to the College of Arts and Sciences. “This is not a time for everyone to get territorial,” he says. “We must do what’s best for NYIT.”
Enwemeka, however, was firm in his desire for faculty to be consulted about the development of 2030 plan objectives, saying they are the primary point of contact with students.
Hattie Arnone, vice president for planning and assessment and chair of the 2030 Steering Committee, agrees. “We tried to be as inclusive as possible while creating this plan – soliciting comments and ideas from more than 200 community members,” she says. “But we also realize that bringing our vision to reality is harder than dreaming it up. Change is tough, but change is better when the people having to live with it have a say in it.”
Because 2030 is so far into the future, some faculty and staff members worry that this will just be one more plan growing dusty on a shelf. During one meeting held to introduce the plan to the NYIT community, Dr. David Hogsette, an English professor who has been with the school for almost a decade, said there is some skepticism about whether administration is going to follow through. “I believe the plan could have a real positive impact for everyone, but you’d better make things happen right away and communicate what’s being done to keep a sense of optimism and momentum.”
Many others expressed cautious optimism about the college’s ability to follow through on the initiatives. “Since Dr. Guiliano became president, I have seen an increase of support for academic programs, physical infrastructure and resources,” says John di Domenico, professor of architecture. “This makes me feel excited about the future.”
“We’re not a mom-and-pop shop anymore,” says Friel. “We need to update our programs. This is the next step.”
A matrix complete with objectives and a timetable has been created. While some aspects of the plan will happen over a number of years, many initiatives have already been launched.
For instance, President Guiliano made his first 2030 action announcement on June 7, appointing Dr. David Decker vice president of global programs and charging him with heading the college’s new Office of Global Academic Programs.
“I believe this is the right plan for NYIT,” says Arnone. “It reaffirms that the college’s mission is the right mission and exploits our strengths.” |
