President's Report Card 2015-2016

Strategic Plan 2016-2021

Under the direction of President David A. DeCenzo, beginning Fall 2015, Coastal Carolina University began the process of developing a new Strategic Plan. Strategic Plan goals include supporting high impact educational practices for all students. A Strategic Planning Steering Committee, appointed by the president, led the process through evaluating external opportunities, threats, internal strengths, and weaknesses. Through this process, the Strategic Plan's key strategies were identified. Task forces comprised of 69 members of the University community worked to identify goals and objectives to advance action on each of the strategies. After a review of the commitments noted within the University mission and values statement, and a comprehensive assessment of external trends, internal strengths and weaknesses, and practices and positions of peer and aspirant institutions, the Strategic Planning Steering Committee identified the key strategy statements as shown in graphic (above right).

Strategy 1: Meeting the Educational Needs of Students and the Community

Commencement: 2014-2015
A total of 1,846 students were awarded degrees for the academic year 2015-2016. Semester totals were as follows: Summer II 2015: 290; Fall 2015: 530; and Spring 2016: 1,025.

America's 100 Best College Buys
For the seventh consecutive year, Coastal Carolina University was named one of "America's 100 Best College Buys" by the independent consulting firm, Institutional Research & Evaluation Inc. More than 1,459 colleges and universities were surveyed for the designation, which was announced in September 2015.

Forbes Ranking
Coastal Carolina University was ranked among Forbes' America's Top Colleges in July 2015.

Best Online Colleges
Coastal Carolina University was named to the 2016 Best Online Colleges in South Carolina list by TheBestSchools.org. The University ranked 7th out of 53 colleges and universities in the state.

Veteran-Friendly University
For the seventh consecutive year, Coastal Carolina University has been designated a "Military-Friendly School" by G.I. Jobs magazine. This honor places the University in the top 20 percent of all schools nationwide as a university committed to educating military veterans. A total of 293 students receiving veteran educational benefits were enrolled in Fall 2015.

Addition of New Undergraduate Degree Programs
In an effort to meet the needs of students, Coastal Carolina University continues to expand undergraduate programs. The University offers 70 areas of study toward the baccalaureate degree with two programs, a B.A. in art history beginning in Fall 2016.

Addition of New Graduate Degree Programs
Coastal Carolina University has continuously added new graduate degree programs and specializations with 19 master's degrees currently being offered. Over the next several months, the University will begin offering two new graduate degrees: the M.Ed. in special education (Summer 2016) and the M.Ed. in instructional technology (Fall 2016).

University to Join Sun Belt Conference
The president announced on Sept. 1, 2015, that the CCU Chanticleers athletic programs will join the Sun Belt Conference effective July 1, 2016.

Strategy 2: Ensuring Student Success

U.S. News & World Report
CCU's Master of Business Administration program ranked at the top of a list of 14 programs that have the best job-placement record among its graduates, according to a new ranking by the U.S. News & World Report.

Internship Opportunities
‌‌Internships continue to be an important component of a student’s overall academic experience at CCU, and the majority of the 70 undergraduate and 19 graduate programs offer credited internship courses. During the 2015-2016 academic year, 97 undergraduate and 18 graduate level courses connected students to an internship or practicum experience. A total of 1,943 students completed these academically-supported internship courses, a 13 percent increase over the previous year.

Experienced@Coastal
Experiential learning continues to provide benefits to CCU students by providing hands-on experience in chosen fields. During the 2015-2016 academic year the number of experiential learning (EL) courses offered increased by 16 percent, bringing the number of sections of EL courses offered to 257 sections.

CCU Recognized for Academic Excellence in Omaha
During the opening ceremonies for the College World Series (CWS) in Omaha, the CCU baseball program was recognized for academic excellence. The Chanticleers owned the best team GPA among the eight teams participating in the series. The team went on to win the 2016 NCAA College World Series, the school's first national championship in any sport.

Learning Assistance Centers
CCU has six tutoring opportunities available for students needing assistance with foreign languages, math, science, structured learning and writing. First-time, full-time freshmen visiting one of the tutoring centers during the 2014-2015 academic year were retained at a rate 19 percent higher than those students who did not visit a center.

Undergraduate Research
Highlights from the 2015-2016 academic year include:

• Seventy-three student presentations (representing all University colleges and 21 different majors) were given at the CCU Undergraduate Research Competition in April 2016;
• Nine student presentations (by 16 student authors/presenters) were given at the National Conference of Undergraduate Research at UNC Asheville in April 2016; and
• Nine student presentations were given at the South Carolina Academy of Science Conference at Winthrop University in April 2016.

Study Abroad
Highlights from the 2015-2016 academic year include:

• International student recruitment has been emphasized and now 2 percent of CCU's enrolled students are international;
• Short-term study abroad program participation grew 37 percent from 2014-2015 to 2015-2016;
• Long-term study abroad program participation grew 80 percent from 2014-2015 to 2015-2016: and
• Scholarships available to study abroad support increased in 2015-2016 raising the overall CCU scholarships in support of study abroad to over $45,000 annually.

Alumni Engagement
During the 2015-2016 fiscal year, the Office of Alumni Relations hosted 35 events with 6,276 in attendance. Social media continues to be the most optimum way to interact with alumni as evidenced by the following statistics:

• Facebook likes: 7,261
• LinkedIn members: 3,042
• Twitter followers: 2,113
• Instagram followers: 742

Strategy 3: Ensuring Faculty and Staff Success

Center for Teaching Excellence to Advance Learning (CeTEAL) Programs
During the first nine months of the 2015-2016 fiscal year, 56 percent of the full-time faculty and 16 percent of the part-time Teaching Associates attended CeTEAL professional development sessions. Specific categories of professional development offerings of CeTEAL included:

• Teaching Effectiveness
• Innovative and Emerging Technologies
• Instructional Coaching Institute (peer observations of classes)
• Distance Learning Institute
• Assessment Institute (classroom to program assessment)
• Online Course Design Coaching Institute (peer reviewers for online courses)
• Writing Circles: Scholarly Submission for Publication

Recent Fulbright Recipients
Two University faculty were awarded Fulbright Scholar grants for the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 academic years. Recipients include:

• William Hills, professor of psychology (2015-2016)
• Casey Woodling, lecturer of philosophy (2016-2017)

General Compensation Increase
In January 2016, the president announced the approval of an additional 0.5 percent general pay increase for all employees on the payroll as of Aug. 15, 2015. The increase was designated as a cost of living adjustment. The first pay date for employees eligible for this general compensation increase was Jan. 31, 2016.

Faculty and Staff Compression
Part three of the faculty and staff compression salary increases was funded in January 2016. The total dollar amounts disbursed were $404,930 to faculty and $147,556 to staff. As a result of this action, eligible staff will have received 83 percent of the total amount anticipated.

Digital Interviewing Platform
CCU recently implemented a web-based application to conduct virtual interviews for job candidates. This digital platform allows hiring managers and search teams to connect with candidates at any time and from any location. The platform was adopted in an effort to reduce phone screening usage, standardize questions across interviews, hasten the candidate review process, provide greater candidate flexibility to participate in the interview process, promote compliance through consistent search practices, eliminate the need for search teams to convene to review candidates, and potentially minimize travel expenditures.

Strategy 4: Ensuring Financial Stability and Managed Growth

"I'M IN" Endowment Campaign
Under the direction of the president a major endowment campaign for the University was publicly launched during an on-campus gala April 2016. The goal of the campaign is to increase the University's endowment by $20 million by 2020. In doing so, the University will gain approximately $800,000 in new funds annually to support student scholarships and academic excellence. To date, more than $6.8 million of the campaign goal has been raised. The endowment campaign is the first of its kind in the 62-year history of the University.

Construction Projects
The University continues to expand to meet the needs of the students and campus community as evidenced by the number of construction projects under way on campus. Completed building projects in the last year include:

• Hicks Dining Hall expansion: $2.5 million
• New Student Housing Construction, Phase II: Part of $85 million project
• Smith Science Annex II: $30 million

The following projects are currently underlay:

• Academic Office/Classroom Building 2: $18 million
• New Student Housing Construction, Phase III: Part of $85 million project
• Singleton Building renovation: $9 million

Student Housing Complex
CINO and Teal halls, the last two buildings of the $85 million residence facility that will house 1,270 freshman students is opening for the Fall 2016 semester. The four-building facility marks a new direction in student living with residence halls arranged in "communities" of four suites grouped around a common social space.

Campus Master Plan
Changes outlined in the Master Plan approved in 2011 were completed. These changes/projects included:

• Adding additional space to the student center including a movie/auditorium space, conference rooms, retail services, lounge spaces as well as areas for student organizations to assemble;
• Redeveloping Blanton Circle as a landscape quadrangle;
• Consolidating athletic facilities to the west side of the campus core with the creation of the TD Sports Complex and Plaza;
• Creating new parking locations on the perimeter of the campus; and
• Rerouting traffic patterns and paving golf cart and bike lanes to deliver a more walking-friendly campus environment.

Independent Audit Findings
For the eighth consecutive year, the University received an unqualified opinion from external auditors Cline Brandt Kochenower & Co., P.A. for the annual financial statements from the fiscal year ending June 30, 2015. According to the audit findings, there were no significant deficiencies, material weaknesses or instances of non-compliance material to the financial statement.

Supporting Strategy 1: Improving Communications

Feel the Teal Service Excellence Initiative
During the 2015-2016 academic year, under the direction of the president, the University continued its service excellence initiative, Feel the Teal^®. This initiative works to create and sustain a stronger sense of institutional community among the University’s faculty, staff and students, and provides the infrastructure to ensure a productive, supportive, student-centered, educational work environment. Activities initiated through Feel the Teal^® increase opportunities for faculty and staff training to develop customer service skills. The vision of Feel the Teal® is to play a vital role in the University's retention efforts by cultivating pride, encouraging growth, and providing continuous training and service resources for the University community.

The following accomplishments of the Feel the Teal® initiative achieved over the past year include:

• The addition of two new training modules, Module #7 - Service SWOT Workshop, and Module #8 - Feel the Teal® Celebration, the final program module. The Service SWOT Workshop presented successful new opportunities for participants to share their opinions and input in regard to service strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats that exist at the University. The Feel the Teal^® Celebration recognized each participant who successfully completed the program with a luncheon, a certificate, gift of appreciation, and picture with the president
• Offering 61 Feel the Teal^® trainings to specific departments in addition to the regularly scheduled training
• Meetings of the Feel the Teal^® Leadership Team every two months to address key service issues and address the top five perceived weaknesses as collected through the Service SWOT Workshops
• Monthly meetings of the Feel the Teal^® Steering Committee intended to address issues relating to University service and the initiative’s direction
• Hiring a Service Excellence Program Coordinator in March 2016. The coordinator has three main responsibilities including focusing on the student side of service, developing recognition programs, and conducting training sessions

Supporting Strategy 2: Stronger Assessment and Accountability

• During 2015-2016, CCU sought proposals for a comprehensive software solution for accreditation, assessment planning and course evaluations. After thorough consideration of available products, Campus Labs was selected as the vendor to provide the software solution that will assist in improving the efficiency of these activities.

• In a quest to build a dynamic, vibrant and more effective web presence, the University embarked on a major website redesign project in partnership with TERMINALFOUR (t4), the current content management system being used, and its partner iFactory, a Boston-based design firm. Under the direction of the president, the project was coordinated by University Communication and Information Technology Services. The production phase of the project began in July 2015 culminating with the website launch on April 18, 2016.

• During 2015-2016, the president, along with the Office of University Compliance, added a Title IX refresher course to the existing CCU training program. The Title IX refresher is a mandatory training program required of all active CCU faculty, staff, and student employees, as well as all new hires.

• The University conducts in-depth accreditation self-studies for many academic programs to meet the accreditation requirements of various organizations. Accreditations include:
  
  • SACSCOC - Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges
  • AACSB International - Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business
  • PGA - Professional Golfers' Association of America
  • NCATE - National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education
  • NASAD - National Association of Schools of Art and Design
  • NASM - National Association of Schools of Music
  • NAST - National Association of Schools of Theatre
  • AAHE - American Association for Health Education (joint program approval)
  • ABET - Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology
  • ACEN - Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing

Supporting Strategy 3: Increased Technological Support
As technology is ever-changing, the University must continually update existing technologies to allow for optimal success of students, faculty and staff. The following are highlights of recent expenditures intended to keep the University at the forefront of the technology curve:

• Invested over $750,000 in new technology resources for the various academic colleges and departments;
• Invested over $280,000 for phase I (Milestone I) of the eForm/WorkFlow technology initiative;
• Invested over $300,000 to enhance indoor and outdoor Wi-Fi; and
• Invested over $350,000 to replace computers in student labs and complete smart classroom upgrades.

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