Characteristics of the Educated Person

The goals of the College’s general studies program are described in "The Characteristics of the Educated Person," a statement written by a broadly representative committee of faculty, staff and administrators. Traditionally, we have asked graduating seniors and alumni about our effectiveness in teaching the knowledge and skills associated with this credo. In recent years, we have supplemented these surveys with standardized tests to determine what students have learned that is related to our vision of the educated person, and we have attempted to compare their performance with student performance in similar colleges and universities across the country.

Like other institutions, we are interested in determining the readiness of our entering students to manage the college academic experience and the general knowledge they bring to the campus. Our data indicate that the high school grade point average of entering students has gradually climbed over the past decade. Over time, the average ACT composite scores have remained stable in the range of 20.6-20.8, above the state average but slightly below the national average.

One might conclude that Concord student performance on tests of college-related learning might hover near national averages. This year, the Academic Profile, a nationally normed test of general education knowledge and skills, was administered to a sample of primarily sophomores. On each of the sub-scores–in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, writing, reading and critical thinking–Concord students scored above the national mean when compared to peers in both baccalaureate and master’s level institutions. Lest we make too much of these results, it is important to note that student performance is also reported on the basis of proficiency in demonstrating certain skills and knowledge, generally known as a "criterion referenced" approach. These scores were unsatisfactory and point to the need for considerable work: 68 percent were not proficient in critical thinking; 66 percent, in higher mathematics; and, 52 percent, in advanced writing.

Despite rising GPAs and test scores, a substantial number of entering students still require developmental course work to prepare them for college-level classes. Concord’s pass rate in developmental math of 64.38 percent exceeds the national pass rate of 60 percent. Fall-to-spring retention of students who were enrolled in developmental English actually exceeded the college-wide retention rate. The HEPC expects 75 percent of the students enrolled in developmental courses to complete them.

Several measures have been used to evaluate the quality of our academic programs: faculty competence, program accreditation, and student achievement. I am pleased to report that the quality of a number of our programs was affirmed this year.

Concord was among four (4) four-year public colleges in the state to have the required percentage of faculty with terminal degrees (67 percent) to qualify for offering master’s programs and for university status. We have sustained the quality of our academic programs, in part, by devoting a comparatively high proportion of total spending to instruction. According to recent data from the HEPC staff, Concord devotes 56 percent of its operating expenses to instruction, which is the highest percentage among public institutions in the state. Another HEPC report indicates that Concord is one of only two public institutions in the state that exceeds its peer institutions in the percentage of spending to instruction. Still, I believe that we must do more to provide students the attention they need to succeed academically.

Our Social Work program earned continued accreditation by the Council for Social Work Education, and was commended for exemplary practices in 13 areas including program quality, education, faculty and resources.

The Higher Learning Commission of North Central Association recommended a change in the College’s accreditation status to include the master’s level in education. The NCA report on education, faculty and resources cites strengths that should contribute to the success of the program including "young and highly motivated faculty," state-of-the-art facilities for delivering distance learning, enhanced library holdings, the support and involvement of the Board of Governors, support of people who live and work in southern West Virginia, and the emphasis we have placed on the program in our fund raising efforts. The visiting team viewed our relatively heavy teaching loads, an expectation of recent state legislation, as a possible deterrent to the scholarship required of faculty teaching at the master’s level.

Our refined assessment program provides an opportunity to view student achievement in the disciplines. For brevity’s sake, I will summarize the data contained in an extensive report that is available upon request. Additional data on student satisfaction with their academic program, job and graduate school placement, and employer satisfaction with our graduates are available.

Concord’s Compact with West Virginia calls for sustaining enrollment at 2800 FTE to allow resources to "catch up" with the significant growth (from 2073 to 2815) of the previous planning period following passage of SB 547. The Compact also plans a modest shift in the composition of enrollment with graduate students for the first time in our reports (150 headcount targeted for FY 2004), a result of the SB 653 directive to serve as the graduate education center for southeastern West Virginia.

Rapid enrollment growth prior to 2001 can be attributed to a substantial increase in institutional scholarships and the addition of admissions staff to cover more geographic territory. Approximately 17 percent of the increase was a result of the "dual enrollment" program, a means of delivering "college level" instruction to high school students. A recent report by the Southern Regional Education Board indicates that high school students in West Virginia taking college courses represent a higher proportion of the post-secondary population than in any of the 16 Southern states. Statewide, 4500 high school students were enrolled in the fall of 2002.

Fall 2002 FTE enrollment reached 2830, the highest in the College’s history. Headcount at 3015 was below last year’s high of 3055. Annualized enrollment (the sum of fall, spring and summer enrollment divided by two) will be slightly lower than last year.

Despite the recent enrollment stability, some indicators suggest that our position may erode over the next two years. Enrollment of first-time freshmen has dropped from 725 in 2000 to 603 in 2002, and applications have fallen again this year for fall 2003. Furthermore, the HEPC chancellor’s interpretation of dual enrollment eligibility both for courses and students continues to exacerbate the challenge of developing a stable dual enrollment program with our colleagues in secondary schools of the region.

I am currently working with a College-wide task force to address future enrollment. Notable problems must be addressed. Budget overruns in institutional scholarships have not been matched with observable improvement in the preparation of entering students and the actual number of entering students. While anecdotal evidence suggests that our scholarship program is not as effective as it has been, systematic analysis is needed. Has the competition outbid us? How effective is our scholarship program for particular types of students? Are we simply "stacking" scholarships on students who would have already come or are already with us? What is the effect of the Promise Scholarship program? Other "third party" aid programs?

Maintaining financial stability during a recession is like canoeing on the lower New River at flood stage: you’re certain that you’ll reach Fayette Station but you also know what the rocks and rapids can do to you along the way. Although a combination of cuts in state appropriations and mandated spending increases made navigation difficult, our College community proved itself river worthy; faculty and staff paddled harder and faster.

Our craft was buoyed by the generous support of many alumni and friends. We were heartened by substantial increases in gift support during the year: total giving increased 112 percent; number of donors, up 26 percent; and, membership in the alumni association grew a record 42 percent. In addition, grants and contracts for specific programs, projects and services totaled $4,268,857.

State leaders have decided that public higher education shall bear a disproportionate share of the financial sacrifice required by a flagging economy and the rising spending of public health care programs and workers’ compensation. Thus, Concord’s state appropriation was cut 15 percent last year, from $10 million to $8.5 million, which was exacerbated by required spending increases of $300,000. The FY 2004 College budget was balanced by increasing tuition and fees by eight (8) percent and by cutting administration (e.g. student services, human resources, admissions and fund raising), athletics, scholarships, support for courses in the high schools, and courses with small enrollments. Future stability, however, urges continued investment in fund raising and student recruitment. Clearly, too, risks increase with diminished attention to employee concerns and continuing deferral of badly needed maintenance and physical plant improvements.

Reflection on several key cash-based financial ratios may provide a more concise appraisal of the financial condition of the College at year’s end. The College’s "operating fund ratio" (which excluded capital, auxiliary and grant balances)–end-of-year cash as a percentage of annual expenditures–was 12 percent, down one percent compared to last year. The minimal acceptable percentage is generally believed to be eight (8) percent. The "dedicated funds ratio" rose to 158 percent, a nine percent increase over last year. And, the "auxiliary fund ratio" declined to 17 percent, a drop of 11 percent attributable to the allocation of more overhead costs to these accounts. Finally, the College’s "discount rate"–scholarships supported by unrestricted College funds–grew by 0.62 percent to 24 percent, a high for a public college and low for a private college. (Other indicators are available upon request.)

Teaching institutions have a special responsibility to be model-learning organizations in which individuals and departments alike seek answers to important questions relevant to performance and to their professional disciplines. Discomfort with "not knowing" animates all members of the best organizations whether they be colleges or businesses. At Concord, although we have encouraged individual professional development, we can still do a better job of linking our evolving assessment program and performance evaluation system to learning opportunities. Moreover, we can improve the access to and use of information that is a by-product of the countless transactions and encounters inside and outside the College. Because many of our personal engagements are largely invisible to others, each of us has a unique and valuable perspective on the work of the College and a duty to share our experience for the good of all concerned. In turn, we can structure our relationships to enhance the likelihood that this form of teaching and learning aimed at College purposes does indeed occur.

This summer, for example, a College-wide work group began studying enrollment at Concord, past trends and future prospects. Although last fall’s FTE enrollment was at an historic high of 2830, there are indications that a combination of factors–competition, public policy, and limits to scholarship spending among them–may contribute to a decline. Quickly, the task force began to explore the relationship between and among our enrollment goals of 2800 and other institutional goals such as financial stability, competitive salaries, and quality of academic programs. Each member of this large group, whose work will continue into the fall semester, has contributed both insights and information as we seek solutions to a set of nettlesome problems.

Principally, our focus has been on the student marketplace and how our programs and services match with external demand, the relationship between our performance and results, the relationship between our scholarship program and numbers and quality of students, the deployment of admissions and financial aid staff, and the investment required to achieve optimal enrollment. In addition to the recruitment of new students, the work group is also considering how we might improve the student retention rate, a goal of our Compact and a necessary ingredient in achieving our overall enrollment goal.

A number of faculty and staff found programs and courses to enhance the knowledge and skills that they bring to their work (extensive lists of activities are available).

The provision of adequate facilities and instructional technology has become a focus of our attention in recent years.

Senator Byrd has provided $6 million for a facility (where we will be joined by four other public institutions) to accommodate our classes and services in Beckley. We expect another $4 million in next year’s budget to complete the funding and opening in the fall of 2005.

Senator Byrd has also provided three consecutive grants of nearly $1 million each that have underwritten the purchase of state-of-the-art instructional technology and the hiring of staff to assist faculty in the use of these new tools for teaching. Moreover, new technology and laboratory fees have provided dedicated funding that has enabled faculty in most departments to augment instructional equipment and computer purchases.

Congressman Rahall has arranged for over $3 million in funding to support our planned technology center. Our architect and building committee report that we should break ground for this facility in May 2004. Presently, we have a $2 million proposal for this facility pending before the state economic development grant committee.

I appreciate the good spirit in which faculty and students adjusted to major mold-related problems in the science building. Faculty "made do" with temporary offices scattered about the campus and held many classes and labs in makeshift space in the College Center Ballroom and sundry other locations. Total costs of $967,980 include $500,000 of plumbing and heating replacements. Another $100,000 will be spent in FY 2004 for floor tile and carpet replacements and plumbing repairs.

Satisfactory progress on planned ADA accommodations has been regularly reported to the Office of Civil Rights of the U. S. Department of Education.

Funding for normal building maintenance is inadequate due principally to the College’s bearing a disproportionate share of the state facilities debt for public colleges. Absent a remedy at the state level, we should consider alternative funding sources, perhaps a dedicated capital fee or funding from other agencies of state and federal government

Base salaries that increased substantially during the five-year implementation period of SB 547 slowed last year to an average of 2.2 percent. With the exception of increases due to the required annual increments and customary raises for promotions, faculty and staff received the same percentage increase.

Last year, faculty base salaries for nine months averaged $45,035, which is above the FY 2002 average for faculty in peer colleges in the South ($43,549) and in West Virginia ($40,711). However, another report on salaries by the HEPC indicates that faculty on average were paid less for nine-months than their counterparts in other West Virginia public colleges. The American Association of University Professors reports that Concord faculty on average were better paid at every rank than their counterparts in all the state’s private colleges. Faculty compensation at Concord may in part vary with the characteristics of the faculty themselves. Among faculty in West Virginia public institutions, Concord’s faculty is fourth in the percentage of terminal degrees, the youngest, and the lowest percentage tenured.

Thirty-three faculty members were compensated on average an additional $11,010. This additional compensation is earned by effort beyond what is normally expected of Concord faculty and faculty at other colleges. In short, Concord faculty generally teach more students, and do more outside the classroom to merit added pay. Also, 15 percent reported "gainful employment" outside the College. (We have not required other employees to report employment outside the College.)

Classified salaries, subject to a requirement that equalizes pay across West Virginia institutions, are comparable to salaries for similar positions in public colleges across the state. In addition, several classified employees earned stipends for work not specified in their formal job descriptions.