2019 Fall SCSU Convocation from UTVS Television on Vimeo.
Good morning everyone! Thank you for joining me at our Fall 2019 President’s Convocation to welcome in this new academic year.
Let me begin by going back to last year’s Convocation. You may recall that I shared with you that I was frequently asked the general questions “How do you like St. Cloud? Minnesota? How are things going? And then “Are you ready for THE WINTER?”
Here is an update of how things are going so far:
When I first arrived and was asked how I like St. Cloud, I frequently said – “it’s been wonderful getting familiar all the different neighborhoods.” And yes, that was true; it was also code for I kept getting lost trying to figure out streets vs avenues, N vs S and some streets even go by two names! And then there is a left hand turn lane on Cooper by Coborn’s that goes nowhere. Here is an update on how often I am lost. But I want you to know that I have removed a number of addresses in my GPS that I no longer need – like Home Depot.
I continue to believe that St Cloud is a wonderful city (not just saying that because the mayor is here) – really there is lots to do – Summertime by George, many restaurant options (although I still need to get to Val’s), and it takes 8 minutes to get to work from our home if I hit all the lights just right.
I mentioned to you last year that I discovered I had to take a written test to get my Minnesota driver’s license. Finally went last week. It was the first multiple choice test I’ve taken in over three decades. I am a little out of practice. We usually don’t engage with each other in a multiple choice way. How’d you like that meeting?
A) it was fantastic
B) would have liked it better if there were cookies at the meeting
C) I could have used that time to do other work
D) none of the above.
Pleased to tell you that I passed on the first try.
I was informed last year that for many drivers in St. Cloud, red lights were just a suggestion. This is indeed true. But I’ve also discovered that speed limit signs are also taken as a suggestion. I’ve discovered that if the speed limit sign says 70 – it really means 80. 30 really means 40. Right? However, you do need to know that this concept does not apply when you drive through a small town, like Aitkin, the Minnesota State Patrol does not believe the speed limit is only a suggestion.
I also shared last year that the mail carrier let me know I was not correctly sending mail via the mailbox at our house. Last year, the mail carrier had to leave me a note to tell me how to operate our mailbox. Clearly, I have a significant learning curve on this one.
Last year when I arrived, people were VERY CONCERNED about my state of readiness for THE WINTER. People told me to be prepared for snowfall, all good – I’m from CO – no problem we brought snow shovels, scrapers, etc. I did get good advice about winter clothing, so I purchased new winter jackets and appropriate footwear. Winter came, right on time. But no one told me about the possibility of a Polar Vortex. -56 degrees.
We had to close the campus! However, being the optimist that I am, I tried to make the best of that situation and partnered with the bookstore to sell bottles of Polar Vortex air as a fundraiser.
Zoe and Kemmer enjoy their newfound celebrity as the president’s dogs.
Finally, the matter of lakes – admittedly a new concept for me. In Colorado, lakes are few and far between. I now better understand that Minnesota has A LOT of lakes. I drove by 10 more this year – so my total is now 17. But there is something else that took me a year to figure out. I thought when people said, “we are going to THE lake over the weekend” they were all going to the SAME lake. I now understand that when people say they are going to THE lake, they are not going to the same place. Here’s why I was confused. In Colorado, people say they are going to the mountains. They don’t say they are going to THE MOUNTAIN. I also have learned that coming back to St. Cloud from the Cities any time after noon on Fridays during the summer should be avoided at all costs. If that does happen to me, I know now to just pull off at the Maple Grove exit and swing by the French Bakery for a napoleon and wait until everyone has arrived at THE LAKE.
Seriously, thank you all for helping with our transition to St. Cloud and for the warm welcome we have received this past year. Certainly Zoe and Kemmer have enjoyed their new found celebrity.
Time has been on my mind a lot lately.
The time has come for us to celebrate our 150th year, our sesquicentennial. Thanks to History Professor Rob Galler, University Archivist and Professor Tom Steman, and the Sesquicentennial Committee for their work to bring our history to life and for organizing the events to celebrate our rich history. I appreciate that my first year as president coincided with our sesquicentennial year, a celebration of our 150-year legacy of resilience and progress. Our history tells a story of continuous responding and adapting to the consequential changes that unfolded around us with each passing decade. Ours is a story of an institution that evolved and adapted.
This is the beginning of my second year and it really does seem like this first year just flew by so quickly. But it was a great first year. I hope you have had a chance to read my annual report to the campus where I share my 2018-19 goals and activities and identify key goals for 2019-20.
As I embarked on my own “discover SCSU” journey this year I learned first-hand about the reasons St. Cloud State is an outstanding university. It’s our Husky Invent where students have 48 hours to solve a real world manufacturing problem provided by local industry partners; it’s Husky Showcase where students showcase their research, in many cases original research; it’s the amazing hands-on learning that goes on in classrooms and labs across campus, in our community, and the ISELF building where faculty, undergraduates and graduate students create new technologies and learn via Virtual Reality systems; it’s the holistic way we serve students via programs like “Hey U Ok?” and through our eight different student support centers; and in the integrated way we will serve students in the new Eastman Hall Wellness and Health, Innovation Center. It’s our student athletes who realized individual performance and academic accomplishments and contributed to their team’s successes, including a DII National Championship in Wrestling and the Penrose Cup for Men’s Hockey.
I also learned that prior to my arrival, different units had begun to implement actions to improve our enrollment and student success. Under Provost Gregory’s leadership, along with Deans, Chairs and faculty, work continues to create new transfer pathways, 2+2 programs with international partners and online and face to face degree programs; Last year marked the beginning of a new Strategic Enrollment Management division, which was created on a timeline that seemed unrealistic at the start. Dr. Jason Woods and the admissions and University Communications teams are implementing actions that will help us better market and recruit students; the team in University College, under the leadership of Dr. Glenn Davis we continue to implement the EAB Navigate and Reimagine the First Year initiatives. Vice President Andrew and his Development team surpassed our scholarship fundraising target and our nursing program and Herberger Business School have received million-dollar gifts to provide our students with cutting edge learning tools.
Unfortunately, our high-quality academic programs and incredible educational experience we offer continues to be overshadowed by our steady decline in enrollment and retention.
Over the past 10 years, the university, [you], has been operating under the impact of annual enrollment and revenue declines and stagnant persistence and completion rates. Nine years of cuts to your operating budgets. In February, I saw the campus mood change. What is our projected enrollment for next Fall? How much do we need to cut next year? I heard stories “we used to offer on-going employee training…” “we used to have two more people in our area… now I do their job, too”. I recently had a conversation with a faculty member who shared with me their frustration with their current workload. They were quick to point out that their frustration did not stem from having to work harder. “I have worked hard my entire life and I am not afraid to work hard now”. Rather, their frustration stemmed from their realization that they were not doing their best work because they were stretched so thin they could just not keep up. People’s morale has taken a hit. It’s been tough.
We have been trying to understand why our enrollment has declined. Well, there is no one person, one office or group, or one reason to blame for our current reality. Here’s why.
We have experienced and are currently in the midst of one of the most accelerated and disruptive social, demographic and technological changes that comes only once in a generation – and these changes have had a direct impact on our enrollment and in turn, your day to day work life.
Here are the 5 changes that have contributed to our enrollment decline. You’ve heard me talk about some of these reasons before… but it bears repeating because understanding why we have declining enrollment will guide our actions this coming year to address our situation.
Reason One – Funding Squeeze
The demands on State funding from multiple sources (such as K-12 funding, health care, corrections, and transportation) have increased and while we are fortunate that we continue to receive financial support from the State at levels greater than those in some other states, the amount of funding we received since 2010 has declined by 61%. As state support dropped, tuition increased to make up the difference. Although we remain one of the most affordable universities in MN, student debt is a real concern. Now students pay more out of pocket for their public education than the public does. The increase in tuition we received for this academic year did not solve the fundamental challenge we have year after year – our current funding model still results with us having to make up for approximately a $4 million gap every time we build a budget.
Loss in funding means that you have to do more with fewer resources, that students delay coming to St. Cloud State because they are concerned about going in to debt or they chose less expensive pathways, like community colleges, to complete their first two years of general education.
That is one reason why enrollment is down.
Reason 2 – Demographic Changes
The second reason is the demographic changes in our state and region.
Significant demographic changes in Minnesota and in the Midwest have been underway for a number of years and the result? There are simply fewer high school students to recruit.
That is our reality.
This contributes to a third reason for why our enrollments are down – we are in direct competition with other entities to recruit from a smaller pool of traditional aged students.
Reason 3 – Competition
The freshmen class of 2000 had a limited number of higher education choices. They had the usual menu of higher education choices. Community colleges, private 4-year colleges and universities, and 4-year public options – Regional Comprehensive Universities, Research Universities or liberal arts colleges. Those high school seniors applied to 2 or 3 universities.
Today the Freshmen class of 2019 still have those standard options to choose from but these students also have new choices. For example, there are now on-line for-profit providers (like DeVry University) – and others who have built brick and mortar campuses along with their online offerings – like University of Phoenix and Grand Canyon University.
10 years ago, a handful of well-known universities like Penn State, Purdue and Arizona State moved in a big way into the online market. They saw the handwriting on the wall and broadened their reach to different student populations – adults, with some college credit, no credit, and those who wanted to switch careers. Provided delivery options for their degrees that fit student’s schedules.
According to the Minnesota Office of Higher Education, in Minnesota alone, there are almost 200 public and private postsecondary institutions. Within MN State system, there are 30 community college and 7 Minnesota State universities; there are 17 private colleges and universities, 29 online only, and five UM system universities. And data confirm that in Minnesota we lose a significant number of students to surrounding states – Wisconsin, North Dakota, Iowa, Illinois and South Dakota.
With all of this competition, how have things changed? Students, parents, and guardians are shopping. Consumers now have immediate access to program descriptions, U.Sn News and World Report Rankings, Ratemyprofessor, Videos, Facebook and hundreds of websites designed to help students learn about different universities and advise them on what to look for when choosing one. These families have a customer mindset, they pay attention to how they are treated. How responsive an institution is to their questions and applications will often determine if they remain interested in us. They want to know bottom-line sticker price all at once (not in dribbles and drabs), which classes they will be taking, and if those classes are the ones they need to eventually graduate. They want to know what campus life will be like and of course they want to know if they will have a cool president.
Reason 4 – The Digital Revolution
A related and fourth significant disruptor is the digital revolution.
If you began your career at a university prior to 1996, you experienced a time when universities held a monopoly in the marketplace:
- We were essentially selling access to information;
- The only way to access that information was to come to a university to get a degree;
- We controlled and determined what information students needed, determined the time and the manner this information was provided. Classes were offered MWF; in 50 minutes blocks; no weekends and evening schedules; summer to a limited degree.
- We only reported out the number of incoming students; If students struggled and dropped out, we figured they just weren’t ready for college, and that was ok;
- We were where students needed to go to get their degree and that degree led to a great career;
- There was really no other option. Students (primarily just out of high school) fit their life around the university schedule and how we conducted business. No viable alternative models exited.
This was a linear path to education. HS – 4 years of college – work – retired. Education was “front loaded” in the first part of that journey.
Then the internet shattered that monopoly. Once the technology enabled the delivery of information – from ANY source, by ANY one, at ANY time, we lost our monopoly. So if someone wanted information (at a time that was convenient for them) all they needed was access to a computer. And then we saw complete degrees offered online. You know the story of the rise of the University of Phoenix which started in 1989. But other entities also began providing access to information and they began awarding credentials or badges for completing courses or modules (think MOOCs and EdX). Some courses were free, some had a nominal fee.
Because of the choices of institutions, online options, PSEO, work options, and others, we now see a 5th trend emerging. Students, for a variety of reasons, loop in and out of their educational experience. Student may want to take a “gap” year to work or travel before coming to college. Perhaps they come for a year and decide to stop out and work or take courses with another provider and transfer credits when they return. Other non-traditional students may want to change careers or start a new career.
In addition, education is now a lifelong need. Our economy changes and new careers are needed and careers that have been in existence for a long time – teaching, management, nursing and others – are rapidly evolving, too. Individuals in these careers need educational options so they can remain agile, adapt, and be successful in their work. We know that lifelong learning is also critical for those who need to shift into new or emerging careers that require new credentials.
Looped engagement with post-secondary education means that students are coming to us with unique and different circumstances on different timelines, with different needs and different life circumstances. Frequently, these circumstances derail their degree completion.
There is no doubt that the world has changed dramatically for those of us working in higher education. We may not like how things have changed but honestly, there is no going back to the way things were before. This is our reality.
I say our reality for a reason. These changes have had a more significant impact on regional comprehensive universities and smaller private universities across the country than they have on Research Universities.
Like most regional comprehensive universities across the country, St. Cloud State has been significantly impacted by these dramatic social and economic disruptions. It is the Regional Comprehensive University that find themselves dealing with unprecedented enrollment and funding challenges brought on by these social and economic changes.
Significant decline in enrollments have happened at:
- Eastern Michigan University
- Western Illinois University
- Central Michigan University
- Wright State University
- The University of Akron
- Eastern Kentucky University
- Nine of the 14 institutions in the Pennsylvania state university system
- Our Minnesota State universities and colleges too
Regional comprehensives are getting squeezed by two-year, research, private and online universities.
So now you know why we have to change. It is clear to me that the usual ways in which we and other universities have responded to these unusual circumstances will not significantly alter our status. To survive, the usual approach universities take is to only focus on making cuts to expenditures to balance the budget each year. These actions does nothing to change our position in the higher education landscape. Our situation requires that we must make key strategic changes to what it means to be a Regional Comprehensive University and how we operate in order to not just survive but the thrive.
We have to act and act now. We must act in bold and courageous ways to take control of our future in this new landscape. It’s time.
It’s time to lock arms even more tightly to work together as a university community, to do whatever is needed to return to a thriving and strategically growing sustainable university — a university where you come to work every day with a sense of confidence that we are making progress in “inventing our future;” where you can see changes underway; where you can feel every day the movement forward.
What is the goal?
First, we must take control of our future and our destiny to ensure that St. Cloud State is a vibrant, thriving and fiscally stable university. We will do this together. Today we will begin our new journey, to take the bold steps and courageous actions needed to reach our goal.
How are we going to get there?
Focus on actions that impact three aspects of St. Cloud State. One will be to re-imagine what it means to us to be a Regional Comprehensive University, one is to revisit key operations to better serve a new generation of students and one will be to build community.
First, we must re-imagine what it means to be a Regional Comprehensive University in a higher education landscape that has fundamentally changed as we can no longer operate under the same assumptions we have for over 25 years. We will leverage our strengths to help guide this work. However, I am not suggesting that our mission, vision, strategic plan and Our Husky Compact needs to change. These remain our True North as we re-imagine.
Second, revisit our operations:
- We must re-examine and refine the ways we do work so we can adapt to the fact that prospective and current students have a choice of academic providers; that students enter our university at different points and loop in and out of their higher education experience; that they are looking to engage with an institution that demonstrates, in large and small ways, that it cares about them and their experience.
- We must all work together to improve our retention rates;
- We must re-examine and refine our business processes and re-consider how we serve our students and each other.
- We must work to ensure that St. Cloud State is a welcoming and inclusive place for all students, faculty, and staff.
- We must continue to implement the vision of St. Cloud State as the University of Choice and continue to create academic programs that serve new categories student learners; increase transfer enrollment and continue our focus on developing degree programs with our international partners.
The third aspect we will focus on is building a sense of community – creating new traditions that bind us together as Huskies. These new traditions include:
- Our inaugural New Huskies Convocation this Friday
- Let’s make Fridays official spirit day – wear your red and black
- We will soon engage with you to identify other ways to come together to show our pride as Huskies.
I know we talked about a lot today, and it probably seemed pretty big, pretty ambitious, and quite frankly, pretty ambiguous. But I’m hoping that for all of you, it also sounded pretty darn exciting.
The challenges I shared with you today aren’t a problem that is unique to St. Cloud State. We are not alone in the struggle but what will set us a part is that we will be the ones that address these challenges head on.
We will no longer put our heads down and try and do the same things we’ve always done and hope that maybe, just maybe, this time it will work. We will go after these challenges with new thinking. And we will be the ones to pave the way and set the example that others will want to follow.
While change is never easy, and I know it can be scary at times, I also know that if you keep an open mind, it can also be very exciting. This has been a leading regional institution that has paved the way for thousands of students and that will not change. We will stay true to our mission and vision to become the University of Choice, and we will continue to serve our students, faculty and staff, our community, and our region, state, country and world. In fact, I’m confident that under this new direction, we’ll be able to do that even better.
This is big, this is exciting, and I know this is hard. But the time has never been more perfect for us to embark on this exciting new chapter for this University, and for all of you as you envision what your future at St. Cloud State can, and will be.
It’s time.
It’s time to stop talking about budget cuts and falling enrollment rates and time to start talking about growth, increased budgets and the addition of new programs that provide students with even more relevant academic experiences in an intellectually vibrant, inclusive and diverse campus community.
It’s time to stop doing things the same way we always have and expecting different results. It’s time to push ourselves to think differently to meet today’s learners where they are at, and to continue to provide them with the world-class education that St. Cloud State has been known for, and will continue to be known for in the future.
It’s time to push the status quo. It’s time to ask the tough questions and to have the hard conversations about how our everyday work lives can be different and better. And how we can make our students’ lives better.
It’s time to imagine a new St. Cloud State. It’s time to focus on the changes that will take our challenges and turn them into our opportunities.
It’s time to push the boundaries and take control of our destiny. And most importantly, it’s time to do this together.
Yes, we can do this, and we WILL do this. And it starts with everyone here today, the faculty and staff leaders in our campus community.
There are things we can start improving in the very near future, and there are other aspects that may take shape over the upcoming months, or even years. By working together, I know that this path forward will be exactly what we all envision for this wonderful university, for this community, for our students, and for ourselves.
What happens next?
This year we will set up both formal and informal opportunities to engage you in discussions and identifying action step to identify what we need to do and how we needs to change. Immediately following today’s convocation, I would like you to come to the Atwood Lounge area to begin sharing your thoughts around three themes I spoke about today – How might we redefine what it means to be a Regional Comprehensive University? How to we adapt our operations to accommodate “looped education pathways students are now taking? How might we better care for our students so they succeed to graduation? We will continue to seek your engagement throughout each academic year and share the feedback and recommendations as we go.
Thank you for all you have done in the face of tremendous challenge. You’ve stayed the course and weathered the storm. You’ve worked long and hard to keep the St. Cloud State boat afloat. And for that, I appreciate you and applaud your efforts and your determination. And now, as we look forward to our future, we have some wonderful, exciting work ahead of us.
Before I close, I would like us to take a moment to remind us all why we are here. Each of us — in our own way — is called to this work in large part because we know how incredibly important our work is. We have been given the responsibility of providing students a transformative education — a transformation that will arguably transform not only the individual student but for the families of that student; perhaps for generations to come. No other agency of society has this important responsibility.
I am excited to begin this new journey with you as we embrace the opportunities that exist in the challenges we face, and as we work together to bring out the best in our students and our university.
Thank you and GO HUSKIES!
