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Marshall launches strategic initiative
Construction continues on the new student recreation facility at Marshall University on Tuesday, July 29, 2008.
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HUNTINGTON -- It took three years. Some of it has already started, some of it might be years away.
But it's on paper.
Marshall University has launched a new strategic initiative for the school that outlines the overall goals of where the school is, should be and is going and how all of that will be accomplished.
The plan is centered on an idea of "intellectual capital, community and service, economic development and discovery and innovation" all flowing toward "aiming for perfection."
But it's all a little more specific than that.
The multi-layered plan has branches and branches of parts, all leading back to the trunk that is the main goal.
"The whole idea was to establish the university's priorities," said MU President Stephen Kopp. "There were recommendations received, internal evaluations, and this is what emerged ... these major initiatives, many of which are foundational and set the table for the next generation of initiatives."
A major portion of the new initiative is tied to revenue. After all, a university can't function without money, and Marshall has had to get creative over the past years as the state has funded less and less of operational costs. Right now, the West Virginia government covers about a quarter of what it takes to keep Marshall going.
"The state has rebounded somewhat," said Kopp. "But the real formula for improving revenue at the university is growing enrollment. It's not anything magic. So we've put plans in place to accomplish that goal and manage that growth."
Last year, Marshall saw an increase in its freshman class for the first time in five years. This year's incoming class is also expected to top last year's.
A lot of the changes to attract students are cosmetic like new dorms and a new student recreational facility.
But all of that is a physical representation of a philosophical shift.
Marshall has re-invented its recruiting process from the top down, creating an office of student recruitment and even sending the president himself to local high schools to get students to think about Marshall.
Also, the university purchased 90,000 names of high school students from testing agencies like the ACT and SAT this year. That's up from about 20,000 in years past.
That's 70,000 additional students that Marshall can market itself to as a destination for college.
"We're making more students aware of us and encouraging them to look at Marshall," Kopp said. "We've enlarged the recruiting base, and we've enlarged it well outside the state of West Virginia."
The recruiting office also organized a bus trip for students from outside West Virginia this year to come and visit the campus.
"That got the students here to experience the campus first-hand," Kopp said. "That for them becomes far more real than looking at a Web site."
Also, according to the strategic plan, Marshall anticipates increased enrollment of adult students in online courses. At present, the university offers three online degrees and 190 classes. Plans are in the works to offer specialized business certificates that will attract a new demographic, including international online students.
This year, Marshall had more than 12,000 students taking classes online. That's up from less than 1,000 10 years ago. Revenue generated from online courses is estimated at about $6 million.
In the strategic plan, it is noted that progress continues on the $16 million "Bridge" campaign that will pay for the new engineering building, softball field and alumni association and foundation building.
Overall, endowments were up in 2007 to $9.5 million from $1.8 million in 2001. The plan lists numerous other grants and gifts that are helping the university sustain revenue and grow.
External funding, including grants, was up to $45 million in 2006 and has doubled over the past five years.
All of that offsets compensation and research costs, according to the plan.
As far as new funding sources or alternative funding, the plan starts to look at potential cuts.
The university has already started to review the millions it grants in tuition waivers to graduate assistants, though no plan has been put into action yet.
The strategic initiative states Marshall must "reduce annual funding base liabilities" and "determine a cap for waivers." The initiative also suggests re-evaluating summer school at Marshall.
Kopp is quick to point out that Marshall is not cutting summer school, but looking at ways to make it better.
"We haven't focused on summer school yet as much as I'd like," Kopp said. "We may do that more next year. We want to improve summer enrollment and improve course offerings. We're working with the deans to come up with a different approach to summer school."
Other cost initiatives include increasing the number of students at the medical school, continuing to develop patents that will result in royalties for the university and develop a multi-year budget to find resources to fund ongoing operations and new initiatives.
Other parts of the larger strategic initiative include establishing an accredited engineering program -- likely to take place in 2009 -- developing and instituting "The Marshall Commitment," which is geared toward helping students stay in college and succeed, and establishing the Marshall Institute for Interdisciplinary Research, a longtime pet project of Kopp's that would have research scientists working solely toward scientific breakthroughs and patents.
