President's Report Card 2017-2018

Strategic Plan 2016-2021

The University's Strategic Plan focuses on ensuring academic excellence and instructional quality, guiding student success, supporting an engaged staff and faculty, assuring accessibility and inclusion, communicating the achievements and commitments of Coastal Carolina University effectively, and adhering firmly to practices that assure financial stability and appropriate infrastructure. The strategic plan is comprised of the following key strategy statements:

Strategy 1: Academic Excellence and Instructional Quality

Commencement: 2017-2018
A total of 2,143 students were awarded degrees (1,809 UG, 334 GR) for the AY 2017-2018. The Spring 2018 commencement ceremony saw the largest class of Honors Program students graduate, 81, in program history.

U.S. News and World Report Best College
CCU was ranked second in the Best Value category for Southern regional universities in the 2018 edition of the U.S. News and World Report Best College annual rankings. CCU tied for 52nd in the Best Regional Universities (South) category, up from 62nd in last year’s report. CCU also tied for 19th in the Top Public Schools category and 29th in the Best Colleges for Veterans category.

College of Distinction
For the AY 2017-2018 CCU was once again named as a College of Distinction. Colleges of Distinction are chosen as those that deliver engagement, teaching, community and outcomes.

Schools.com Top 10 SC University
In August 2017, Schools.com released their list of the best four-year colleges and universities in South Carolina. Institutions were evaluated, in part, on cost, program availability, and graduation rates. CCU ranked eighth on the list of South Carolina universities and colleges.

Military-Friendly University
CCU continues to be designated as a “Military-Friendly School” by G.I. Jobs magazine. In Fall 2017, the University was designated a Purple Heart University by the Military Order of the Purple Heart.

New Undergraduate Degree Programs
The University offered 72 areas of study toward the baccalaureate degree. Beginning in Fall 2017, the B.A. in languages and intercultural studies degree with two concentrations, Hispanic studies and multiple languages, was offered.

New Graduate Degree Program
CCU has continuously added new graduate degree programs with 21 master's degrees currently being offered. In 2017-2018, the University began offering a new graduate degree, the M.Ed. in language, literacy and culture. The new degree offers two concentrations: language and culture, and literacy.

Strategy 2: Student Excellence

Student Athlete Academic Success
A record 264 CCU student-athletes posted at least a 3.0 grade point average (GPA) for the Fall 2017 semester, including a record 129 that earned Dean’s List. In addition, 48 Chanticleers had a perfect 4.0 GPA to receive President’s List recognition.

1+2+1 Double Degree Program Graduates
Twelve students who participated in the 1+2+1 Sino-American Cooperation on Higher Education and Professional Development (CHEPD) double degree program at CCU in cooperation with Chinese universities received degrees at the June 2018 ceremony in Xi'an, China.

Internship Opportunities
Internships continue to be an important component of a student’s overall academic experience at CCU. During 2017-2018, 105 undergraduate and 26 graduate level courses connected students to an internship or practicum experience. A total of 2,208 students completed these academically-supported internship courses, a slight increase over the previous year.

Coastal Cycles
The Coastal Cycles program was developed as a fun, healthy and sustainable way to travel around campus. Coastal Cycles, a program providing free bicycle rentals, has grown to be one of the largest bike programs on U.S. college campuses, totaling 3,300 rentals with 600 bikes a year for more than 10,400 students.

Experienced@Coastal
During the AY 2017-2018, 530 experiential learning courses were offered with 7,226 students enrolled. This represents a 6.4% increase in the number of courses offered and a 16.2% increase in enrolled students over the AY 2016-2017.

Undergraduate Research
Undergraduate research continues to be supported by the president. Highlights from 2017-2018 include:
• More than 120 student presentations (representing all University colleges and 30 different majors) were delivered at the CCU Undergraduate Research Competition in April 2018.
• The CCU Coastal Research Fellows program was expanded to identify 20 new junior or senior level research fellows.

Study Abroad
A total of 334 students studied abroad on short-term or long-term programs during 2017-2018, and an additional 53 students participated in study abroad programs related to research, competition, or conferences abroad in collaboration with CCU faculty. This amount of participation represents an increase of 34% over last year for short-term and long-term program participation.

Relay for Life
The president encourages student engagement and volunteerism. In April 2018, the CCU student-run chapter of Colleges Against Cancer reached the million-dollar mark of lifetime funds raised.

Strategy 3: An Engaged Staff and Faculty 

Communication Excellence Advisory Group
As a priority of the president, the CCU Communication Excellence Advisory Group was established in Spring 2018 to improve communication across campus. This group includes representation from faculty, staff, students, the University community, athletics and alumni.

Professional Development Advisory Committee
A professional advisory group (25 members; 22 employees and three community partners) was convened to advance the campus-wide approach to professional development.

Faculty Fulbright Recipients
For 2017-2018, CCU proudly recognized two faculty who were awarded Fulbright grants:
• Maggi Morehouse, Ph.D., Burroughs Distinguished Professor of History
• Var Limpasuvan, Ph.D., Professor of Physics

S.A.F.E. Response to Violence Training
With the increase in school shootings, campus safety is a major priority for the president. The S.A.F.E. (Secure, Alert, Fight, Escape) training, which addresses how ordinary civilians should approach active shooter situations, is mandatory for all CCU employees. Through CCU, the S.A.F.E. training is also presented to many off-campus civic organizations, churches and businesses.

Service Mindset Series
In conjunction with the five-year anniversary of Feel the Teal®, the president showed his support for the Service Mindset Series. This program is a continuation of the eight Feel the Teal® modules and consists of a two part Servicescape Training developed to identify and cultivate specific changes in the service environment and landscape of various areas on campus.

Online Learning Consortium
In March 2018, it was announced that CCU was securing a membership to the Online Learning Consortium (OLC). As a member of OLC, all CCU faculty and staff can take advantage of benefits and privileges from free webinars and panel discussions; peer networking with an international community of online learning educators; early access to research and trends in online learning; discounts to OLC conferences and professional development workshops; and more.

Professional Development Compensation
The president encourages the professional development of classified staff employees. During 2017-2018, the Office of Human Resources and Equal Opportunity (HREO) established guidelines for awarding salary increases/bonuses to classified staff employees who have received an applicable certificate, license and/or degree.

Strategy 4: Accessiblity, Inclusion, Diversity

Intercultural and Inclusion Student Services
The name of the Office of Multicultural Student Services was changed to the Office of Intercultural and Inclusion Student Services to reflect the focus on intercultural services, which means between or among people of different cultures.

Chief Diversity Officer
Upon the president's recommendation, the University hired the assistant vice president for diversity and inclusion. This is a new position that was developed to advance campus efforts to operate as an inclusive institution.

University Access Council
In order to identify physical and operational barriers that may impede access for CCU constituents, the University Access Council was established. Consisting of four sub-committees, the following recommendations were brought forward at the end of the AY 2017-2018:
• Purchase of a product to assist faculty in creating accessible documents through Moodle.
• Contract to have an outside firm conduct an audit of key areas of the physical campus to make recommendations for access improvement.

Student Achievement Funding (SAF) Request Initiative
The Student Achievement Funding (SAF) Request Initiative provides faculty and departments the unique opportunity to request funds for proposals that introduce high-impact practices into the classroom and across campus. Several funded projects directly support accessibility, inclusion, and diversity. These projects include:
• Coastal Student Success Center – The center was established to encompass several academic support areas to include the Academic Coaching Experience Department.
• The Women in STEM Fellowship – This fellowship offered a mentoring program, financial support for conference travel, research, workshops, and other professionalization opportunities for female students in male-dominated science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors.
• Therapy Assistance Online (TAO) – This suite of online tools for client education, interaction, accountability, and progress assessment to facilitate effective mental health treatment was purchased.
• Accessibility and Disability Services Staff – This award included the expansion of existing staffing to include one additional full-time learning specialist.

Campus Climate Survey
Under the direction of the president and in support of the University's strategic plan, the Campus Climate Survey was created and vetted. The survey will be administered to faculty, staff and students in the AY 2018-2019.

Disability Management Consultant
Upon the president's recommendation, a disability management consultant was hired in the AY 2017-18. The consultant will complete an audit of the physical campus and provide a prioritized list of items that need to be addressed by the institution.

Strategy 5: The CCU Story

Feel the Teal® Service Excellence Initiative Mission
The anniversary celebration was held on June 19, 2018. Close to 250 employees attended the event which included games, prizes, food and a video designed to highlight Feel the Teal® over the years and the ways it has impacted CCU. The president wrapped up the event by reminding employees that Feel the Teal® doesn’t stop here: this is just the beginning.

Chauncey's Champion Service Excellence Program
The Office of Training, Development and Service Excellence, in collaboration with Human Resources and Equal Opportunity, Financial Services and a Presidential Task Force, developed a program to recognize exceptional service-oriented actions displayed by CCU employees. As part of the program, employees can nominate faculty and staff members who they see or experience performing service-oriented actions. Each month a Chauncey's Champion is selected and their accomplishments highlighted in The Atheneum faculty and staff newsletter. Additionally, on an annual basis, one nominated faculty member and one nominated staff member will receive the Outstanding Chauncey’s Service Excellence Champion of the Year Award.

Honors Convocation
Attended by the president, the Honors Convocation is an annual event that recognizes CCU’s top-performing graduating seniors from all colleges. In addition to department awards, students from fellows and scholar programs were recognized and congratulated for their achievements.

International Customer Service Week
CCU recognized and celebrated International Customer Service Week in October 2017 via a slate of events and initiatives. The second annual Customer Service Summit was held on Oct. 4 and included the CCU History Panel, a session titled “Improv to Improve Service,” and several presentations on social media service excellence.

Communications from the President
In order to keep lines of communication open with faculty, staff, and students, the president sends email correspondences and posts messages on the President's Communications website. The president presented a speech, Shared Governance in Higher Education, which he posted online. Other presidential messages sent included the University's commitment to prohibit the promotion of hatred and discrimination, a Veterans Day message, and the values that unite CCU.

CINO Card Wins National Award
CCU's CINO (Coastal Is Number One) identification card was selected after more than 450 conference attendees voted on the five finalists at the National Association of Campus Card Users (NACCU) in April 2018.

CCU Football Starts in Sun Belt Conference
CCU celebrated a 38-28 victory over UMass in the Chanticleers' first game as members of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and Sun Belt Conference on September 2, 2017.

Strategy 6: Financial Stability and Infrastructure

"I'M IN" Endowment Campaign
Launched in April 2016, the endowment campaign strives to add funds to support student scholarships and academic excellence. As of June 1, 2018, the campaign had raised nearly $21.2 million

Capital Projects Spending
Major construction and renovation projects completed in the AY 2017-2018 included:
• Opening of the 52,600-square-foot Academic Classroom and Office Building II.
• Renovation of the Smith Science Building to include 13 state-of-the-art teaching labs and classrooms, as well as tutoring areas and office space.
• Renovation of the Edward M. Singleton Building restored to mimic the original floor plan.
• Construction of a new dining facility to serve the off-campus housing community, University Place.

CCU's Annual Growth Summit
Hosted by CCU's Grant Center for Real Estate and Economic Development, the annual summit was attended by realtors, bankers, and local business professionals. The focus of the conference was a report on the national and local economy and real estate market.

Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting
CCU was awarded the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting, a national award given by the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) for its 2017 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR).

Giving Teal Tuesday
CCU joined the multitude of organizations world-wide that were seeking to raise as much money as possible from their supporters over the 24-hour period on Nov. 28, 2017, which was deemed “Giving Tuesday.” Thanks to the generous support from alumni, faculty, staff, students, parents and friends of the University, more than $71,500 was raised for student scholarships on that day.

Independent Audit Findings
For the 10th 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, 2017. According to the audit findings, there were no significant deficiencies, material weaknesses or instances of non-compliance material to the financial statement.