Eastern Mennonite University
Prioritization Steering Committee (PSC)

 

Prioritization Steering Committee Final Recommendations Report
February 16, 2006

In January 2005 Eastern Mennonite University embarked on a prioritization process to ensure the financial sustainability of the university's programs for the future. Our goal is to serve our students, the church and the world; to do so the university must be strong both academically and financially.

Recent years have seen tremendous creativity as the college expanded beyond its residential undergraduate and its seminary programs to become a university that includes graduate and nontraditional adult programs, off-campus offerings in other states and programs that offer services to the local community. In the past ten years overall enrollment has grown steadily from 1,205 to 1,660.

We affirm the creativity unleashed by the institution's new status and the faculty and staff who have made it happen. Some newer programs have given the university visibility and served constituencies far beyond borders of the past. If we are to continue to be creative, however, we must periodically review our programs to strategically reallocate resources in order to support new opportunities and to ensure adequate institutional support for the programs we created.

During these years the university also created a new statement of vision, mission and values. This statement reiterates our connection to the Mennonite Church and emphasizes our commitment to Anabaptist values and cross-cultural learning. At the same time we are launching a comprehensive campaign that aims to strengthen the university financially in order to reach eight goals: Nurture faith; enhance academic programs; care for and develop faculty, staff and students; communicate the EMU story; become a more inviting community; provide affordable education; provide new or enhanced facilities; and contribute to the community.

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PSC Purpose:
To lead the university process to identify programs for the future that are sustainable financially and driven by the mission of the institution. Subsequent decisions and actions will be to reallocate resources accordingly.
PRIORITIZATION 2005-2006

A process to thoroughly evaluate every academic and administrative program of EMU has been in process since January 2005. The process had its genesis in the fall of 2004 when top EMU administrators became aware of a prioritization methodology developed by Dr. Robert Dickeson which is outlined in his book Prioritizing Academic Programs and Services : Reallocating Resources to Achieve Strategic Balance.

In January 2005 Dr. Dickeson came to EMU for a day of consulting and conversation with a number of groups on campus and by the end of the month the process was launched with President Swartzendruber appointing the Prioritization Steering Committee (PSC). This committee included top administrators, faculty recommended by their peers and several staff administrators.

President Swartzendruber appointed Provost Dr. Beryl Brubaker to lead the work of the PSC. The committee's work was divided into categories and proceeded generally according to the following timeline:

Feb-Apr 2005 Refine PSC methodologies
May-Jun 2005 Receive written reports from 84 academic and 124 administrative programs
Jul-Aug 2005 Rate all programs
Sep 2005 Categorize programs
Oct 2005- Jan 2006 Develop preliminary recommendations
Feb 2006 Receive campus community feedback and finalize recommendations
On or about Feb 16, 2006 Send Final PSC Recommendations to President Swartzendruber
SITE Maintenance:
The PSC web site is maintained by Jack Rutt. Please contact him for any site questions or recommendations.

 

PSC RECOMMENDATIONS PROCESS PROCEDURES

Preliminary recommendations were announced to the campus community at a University Forum held in Martin Chapel. Feedback from the campus community was sought and received until February 6, 2006.

The Prioritization Steering Committee (PSC) is in the process of evaluating the feedback received and will send the PSC Final Recommendations to President Swartzendruber on or about February 16. These recommendations will be posted on this web page on or about the time they are presented to the President.

The President will receive appeals on the PSC Final Recommendations between the time they are published on this web page and March 2 afterwhich he will decide which recommendations will become the Final Prioritization 2005-06 Recommendations. Any recommendations requiring EMU Board of Trustees approval will be submitted to the Board by President Swartzendruber at the March 24-25, 2006 meeting.

 
Prioritization Steering Committee Members

Loren
Swartzendruber

President (committee chair)
Beryl
Brubaker
 Provost
David
Brubaker
 Conflict Transformation
Spencer
Cowles
 Business & Economics
Nancy
Heisey
 Bible & Religion
(on sabbatical Spring 2006)
Ellen
Miller
 Housing & Residence Life
Karen
Miller
 Institutional Research
Marie
Morris
 Undergraduate Dean
Ron
Piper
 VP Finance
Jack
Rutt
 Information Systems

Deirdre
Smeltzer

 Mathematical Sciences
(on sabbatical Spring 2006)
Ervin
Stutzman
 Seminary Dean
Lester
Zook
 Physical Education & Recreation
(on sabbatical Spring 2006)

Communication with PSC

In addition to contacting any of the individual PSC members above, email messages can be sent to the PSC Committee
(prioritization@emu.edu)