1. Initiative 1. Improve Advising Services for Freshmen and Sophomores

The establishment of centralized advising is a primary offshoot of KU's Vision 2020 initiatives. The Freshman-Sophomore Advising Center (FSAC) has completed its second year. As of Fall 1999, the FSAC is directly assisting 4300 students with choices about courses, majors and careers.

Data indicate that the Center has had a positive effect in a very short time. An April 1999 telephone survey of 908 randomly selected freshmen and sophomores showed a significant decrease in students reporting they did not have an advisor (from 15% in 1998 to 5% in 1999). The percent of students who say that KU's current academic advising meets their needs exceptionally well or more than adequately increased to 49.3% from 45.9%. And, the percent saying it met their needs less than adequately or very poorly dropped from 11.0% to 7.8%.

• The FSAC has expanded to two office areas in Strong Hall with twelve professional advisors, seven faculty advisors, and over 25 peer advisors.

• Over 2,000 students have participated in 55 group advising meetings which prepare freshmen and sophomores for enrollment.

• A Majors Fair involving 64 KU academic units was offered in Spring 1999 to help students choose majors by the end of their second year. The Fair will be held annually.

• A Sophomore Series was initiated for the 1999-2000 academic year to assist second year students with declaring majors and entering professional schools.

• A new advising newsletter for freshmen and sophomores was established in Fall 1999.

• The Advising Guide mailed to all incoming freshmen was expanded to include more information on prerequisites and first and second year course requirements.

• To enhance advising training and development for the entire campus, the FSAC initiated a monthly brown bag lunch series for all KU advisors and will again sponsor a national teleconference on advising and retention.

• The second year of the Mount Oread Scholars program (1998-99) again documented outstanding success. Scholars demonstrated better retention rates and GPAs compared to peers with similar ACT scores (28-30) who did not participate in the program. Their cumulative GPA was 3.24 and 91% returned for their second year. The number of 1999-2000 Scholars is 222.

• In 1998-99, the Haskell Mentor Program served 15 Haskell Indian Nations University students. In Fall 1999, the FSAC initiated monthly advising sessions on the Haskell campus.

• The FSAC now has a KU advisor available once a week at Johnson County Community College to assist students who plan to transfer to KU. This model will be expanded to other community colleges as resources permit.

• Strong interest in the Freshman Summer Institute continues. A higher percentage of participants re-enrolled in the Spring semester compared to a control group. Of the 1998 FSI participants, 78.8% returned for their second year compared to 77.9% of the entire freshmen class. Ninety-four percent of participants indicated that they would recommend FSI to a friend and would participate again.

• During 1998-99, the New Student Orientation program served over 5,750 students and 4,300 parents/guests in summer, fall and spring orientation programs.

• In Fall 1998, over 1200 new freshmen were contacted through the Outreach Calling Project to check on students' progress and refer them to University offices as needed.

• Student-to-student sessions were added to all one-day programs for freshmen in Summer 1999 to provide additional pre-advising and enrollment preparation for students.

  2. Initiative 2. Reduce the time required to graduate for undergraduates and raise the proportion of those earning a degree

  KU's strategies for change in graduation rates and time to degree indicators include the establishment of academic support operations to work directly with students. In past years, we have reported on the Templin Fellows Program, the academic village concept integrated into KU residence halls, Experience Excellence in Ellsworth Program, and a variety of mentoring programs. These programs are in place at this time.

Progress Report - Graduation Rates

• An Academic Program Planning Form has been implemented this fall to help students identify courses for the upcoming semester. The form is being tested as a four-semester planning tool. Based upon results, KU will expand the form to eight semesters.

• All new freshmen (3,766) and new transfers (1,632) for Fall 1998 have received a least one copy of an ARTS (Academic Requirements Tracking System) form which accurately lays out courses taken and those needed for graduation, based on major.

• As of October 1999, KU's first Student Writing Center is one year old. Over 3,000 visits to the Writing Center's have been recorded at satellite operations, the Writer's Roosts. Help with writing is available 37 hours per week on the Lawrence campus and 10 hours per week on the Edwards Campus in Overland Park.

• The average ACT score, a primary predictor of potential for success in higher education, has remained stable the past three years--23.6 (Fall 1996); 24.0 (Fall 1997); 24.1 (Fall 1998); and 24.0 (Fall 1999).

• The largest class of freshmen National Merit Scholars is attending KU this fall. Over the past four fall semesters, a total of 56 entered in 1996, 90 in 1997, 63 in 1998, and 101 in 1999.

• In Fall 1999, PRE 101 - Orientation Seminar was expanded from 10 to 19 sections to accommodate approximately 380 students. Students who enrolled in PRE 101 had significantly higher retention rates after two and four semesters, and significantly higher graduation rates than students who did not take the course. For example, after four semesters, 80.0% of the students who took the course in 1996 were still enrolled, compared to 60.7 % of the control group. Students who took the class in 1992 graduated at a rate of 71.2% compared to 48.5% of the control group. These rates were especially enhanced for students in the lower ACT composite ranges of 17-22.

  3. Initiative 3. Review, reform and improve graduate education at KU

  KU's academic program review process is being reworked this fall to incorporate specific elements from the Graduate School review process. The goal is to streamline the work required of departments under review by using a single, comprehensive review packet that addresses both Regents and North Central Accreditation program review requirements.

Progress Report - Graduate Education

• The Graduate School completed external reviews of the departments of Communication Studies and Philosophy. The outside reviewer reports are being used for future planning.

• The Spring 1998 review of mechanical engineering led to a revamping of the departmental structure and the appointment of an external chair.

• The Graduate School is working the Office of Institutional Research and Planning to develop a centralized system of data collection to streamline reporting.

• The Graduate School is collecting and reviewing annual departmental reports on the assessment of student outcomes.

B. Faculty Time and Talent

The Office of the Provost continues to monitor faculty workload data annually. Each fall, data from each academic department is collected and analyzed. KU remains within the goal range as noted in Attachment A. By encouraging faculty to emphasize those areas in which they can be most productive, KU's teaching and research mission is served. While KU supports differential workloads for faculty, all faculty remain involved in teaching at some level.

Progress Report - Faculty Time and Talent

• The Center for Research, Inc., relocated and re-engineered in 1997, has produced positive results. Data in Attachment B Performance Indicator VII. demonstrate a 7.6% increase in the dollar value of grant requests to external agencies and a 7.6% in external research expenditures in science and engineering. In expenditures, KU has exceeded its FY 2000 goal.

• Six designated research centers will provide better proposal development and grant management services to KU researchers. The six centers support information technology, the biosciences, life span studies, research in learning, the humanities and biodiversity research.

• New policies have been put in place to encourage faculty to become part of macro-level research teams that focus on inter- and multi-disciplinary research and entrepreneurship.

C. Faculty Development, Support and Rewards

Faculty development opportunities continue to expand (see data in Attachment A).

Progress Report - Faculty Development

• A program to support the development of new courses with an international focus and faculty enrichment activities in international areas was implemented in Fall 1998.

• Another fifty faculty participated in 3 three-day professional development seminars on integrating Web-based resources into courses.

• An Instructional Development and Support unit which provides technical services and encourages use of technology in instruction, began operations in July 1998.

• The Fall 1998 chairs training sessions centered on faculty support, conflict of interest policies and procedures, diversity, and legal aspects of intellectual property.

• In August 1999, the year-old Center for Teaching Excellence organized the first Summit on Teaching Excellence in which over 300 faculty participated.

D. Minority Recruitment and Retention

In March 1997, KU expanded Vision 2020 initiatives to include minority recruitment and retention. In FY 1999, the total number of minority tenured and tenure-track faculty increased by 6 (from 113 to 119). In addition, the retention rate of minority students recorded its second year of improvement going from 70.3% for Fall 1996 students to 74.9% for Fall 1997 students (a notable increase of 4.6% in one year).

Progress Report - Minority Recruitment and Retention

• Hawklink 2000, a program for students of color, is being implemented in Fall 1999. Hawklink works with students from recruitment to graduation.

• A new diversity video was developed and premiered in July 1999. This video, Shades of Crimson and Blue: Becoming Part of the KU Family will be shown to all new students and family members that attend New Student Orientation.

E. Operations and Support Processes

1. Information Technology

Again this year, there has been major expansion in use of information technology. Between 1994 and 1999, the number of dial-in accounts grew from 2,291 to 7,593, an increase of 231%. Total UNIX user accounts rose from 3,510 to 24,668 (a 601% increase). Access to KUfacts, the campus World Wide Web information system, increased from 2,500 to 8,200 hits per day.

Instructional Technology Fund. The first year of the $1 per-credit-hour fee matched by $2 from the State generated over $1.8 million for instructional technology for the Lawrence campus. One-third of the funds were distributed to the instructional units. One-third was disbursed for campus-wide infrastructure such as networking, Internet2, computing, and the Budig Auditoria.

The final third (over $600,000) was distributed to units based upon proposals to the Provost's Student Advisory Committee on Information Technology composed of eight students. Twenty-six of the 43 requests received awards ranging from $8,000 to $80,000. This fall, over $1.8 million in requests have been received. Awards will be announced in November 1999.

Progress Report - Information Technology

• The Network Express STations (NEST) project increased the number of computers, this year providing 28 stand-up e-mail stations for students at various campus sites.

• The Lawrence campus has begun implementing Microsoft Exchange for e-mail, document sharing, and calendaring.

• KU was 1 of 37 universities that participated in the national launch of the high performance Abilene (Internet 2) network in February 1999. Abilene serves as a test bed for Internet 2 applications such as distance learning, telemedicine and digital libraries.

• Printing Services upgraded services with a high-speed Xerox DocuTech 6135 printer that produces high-quality documents.

  2. Re-engineered Processes and Systems Upgrade

  KU continues to streamline business processes to increase efficiency and improve services.

Progress Report - Re-engineered Processes and Systems Upgrade

• The PeopleSoft financial system was implemented on the Lawrence campus in March 1999 with general ledger, accounts payable, and purchasing modules.

• The first phase of the PeopleSoft student system was implemented at the beginning of October 1999. The admissions module replaces five separate systems originally designed in the early 70s to track recruiting, admissions, and scholarships.

  3. Maintenance and Support Functions

  KU has placed building supervisors in two buildings to handle many routine maintenance activities and to act as coordinators for more complex maintenance needs.

Progress Report - Maintenance and Support Functions

• A pilot project begun in May 1998 is producing better service in KU facilities. Because maintenance staff are on site, service is provided more quickly.

  4. Space Management

  The addition of Assistant Provost Jim Long to the Provost's staff centralizes and coordinates management of design and construction management, facilities operations and space management. Space management will oversee the inventory data base and space utilization on the Lawrence Campus. Policy and allocation will remain with the Provost with assistance from the Provost's committee on Space policy. Implementation of the space management function and the comprehensive space policy will begin in FY 2000.

Progress Report - Space Management

• The Office of Instructional Research and Planning has created Web-based access to the data base for space inventory and allocation. This data base includes space utilization assessments for instruction and research. The assessment has been employed for newly constructed space (J.R. Pearson Hall) and for allocations of vacated space created by recently construction and acquisitions (e.g., Bailey, Wescoe and Dole).

• Design and Construction management has launched a new facilities management Web site. Users can find construction project information and photos; the campus facilities plan and design standards; and a building directory.

A long-range plan for the Edwards Campus in Overland Park has been developed and approved by the Regents.

 

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1. Initiative 1. Improve Advising Services for Freshmen and Sophomores

 

a. Indicator - Amount of Funds Allocated to Centralized Advising

Until Fall 1997, KU's advising was decentralized--managed by departments, schools, and the College. In Vision 2020 initiatives, KU proposed to implement a new Freshman-Sophomore Advising Center over a three-year period through reallocation of existing resources and allocation of modest new funding. Data below indicate KU's substantial progress to date. From this point on, we expect modest additions to this operation as sophomores with undeclared majors are integrated into the Center's regular work load.

Amount of Funds Allocated to Centralized Advising

	Base Year FY 1997	FY 1998	FY 1999	FY 2000	Goal 2000	Goal 2004
University-wide Advising	0	$273,536	$465,595	$694,867
Source: Office of the Provost

b. Indicator - Student Contacts with Freshman-Sophomore Advising Center

As seen below, student response to new advising services has been extremely positive. In a single year, KU-initiated contact with students has grown 124% and the student-initiated contact has increased 1,216%.

Number of Student Contacts with Freshman-Sophomore Advising Center

	Base Year FY 1998	FY 1999	FY 2000	Goal 2000	Goal 2004
Institution-initiated	5,578	12,519
Student-initiated	1,200	14,794
Other	--	--
Total	6,778	28,313
Source: Freshman-Sophomore Advising Center

c. Indicator - Student Satisfaction with Advising

The data below indicate a downward trend between 1987 and 1996. It is this trend that KU is working to reverse with Vision 2020. It is important to note that these graduating students did not have access to the advising services now available after Vision 2020 initiatives. In coming years, as students who have been served by the new advising system participate in the Senior Survey, we expect significant improvement in mean satisfaction surveys. Conducted every four years, this survey is next scheduled for 2000.

	Grad Class 1987	Grad Class 1992	Grad Class 1996	Goal 2000	Goal 2004
Mean Satisfaction Rating	3.41	3.28	3.26	3.35	3.60
Total Number Surveyed	2,124	2,389	2,044
Percent Who Responded	51%	45%	46%
Source: Senior Survey, various years. The scale ranges from 1 to 5 with 1 indicating a rating of Very Unsatisfactory and 5 indicating a response of Very Satisfactory

d. Indicator - Undergraduate Student Retention Rates (See Core Performance Indicator I. in Attachment B)

KU is making steady progress towards its goals for 2000 and 2001. For the third year in a row, KU's retention rates have improved--progressing from 76% (entering class of 1994) to 77% (entering class of 1995) to 78% (entering class 1996). KU's goal of an 80% retention rate for the entering class of 2001 appears reachable.

2. Initiative 2. Reduce the time required to graduate for undergraduates and raise the proportion of those earning a degree

a. Indicator - Five- and six-year Graduation Rates for Undergraduates (Core Performance Indicator I in Attachment B.)

There has been a slight drop in KU's five-year graduation rate (from 49% to 47%). The six-year rate has remained stable at 54%. The notable increase in the four-year graduation rate (going from 23% to 26%) is grounds for optimism that KU's graduation rates will improve as Vision 2020 initiatives impact the lives of new generations of students. KU continues to address graduation rates through student support programs, advising and retention strategies.

b. Indicator - Plan of Study Completions

With centralized advising, KU plans to implement a new plan of study program. Undergraduate students will complete eight-semester plans of study in their first semester at KU. (Students in five- or six-year programs will complete ten- or twelve-semester programs of study as appropriate.)

A pilot program is being run in the Freshman-Sophomore Advising Center. Students are developing four-semester plans of study and accessing KU's regular advising in the major by academic departments. The Center will use the experience gained in the pilot project to develop the comprehensive eight-semester advising tools.

3. Initiative 3. Review, reform and improve graduate education at KU

a. Indicator- Program review according to 1998-2005 Regents Guidelines

KU's academic program review process is being reworked this fall to incorporate specific elements from the Graduate School review process. The goal is to streamline the work required of departments under review by using a single, comprehensive review packet that addresses both Regents and North Central Accreditation program review requirements.

B. Faculty Time and Talent

a. Indicator - Allocation of Tenured Faculty Effort

KU continues to operate within its modal range of faculty workload and monitors the percent of tenured faculty whose allocation of effort differs from the department/School modal expectation for teaching, research, and service. About one-third of KU's faculty should be on differential loads. The specific distribution will vary slightly each year.

Allocation of Tenured Faculty Effort

	Base Year Fall 1996	Fall 1997	Fall 1998	Fall 1999	Goal 2000	Goal 2002
Percent at Modal Distribution	58%	58%	61%	60%	55-65%	55-65%
Percent Greater Teching	14%	12%	8%	9%
Percent Research	12%	12%	12%	13%
Percent Greater Service	16%	18%	19%	18%
Source: Office of the Provost

b. Indicator - Undergraduate Student Credit Hours Taught by Ranked Faculty (See Core Performance Indicator II. in Attachment B)

KU has exceeded goals for integrating senior faculty into undergraduate classes as seen in Table II (Attachment B). More than half of all undergraduate courses are taught by tenured or tenure-track faculty. Faculty participation in lower division instruction increased from 47.3% in Fall 1997 to 51.8% in Fall 1998. At the same time, GTA instruction has dropped from 34.2% to 29.2%, indicating that in this area, too, we have exceeded our initial instructional goals.

c. Indicator- The amount of external funding awarded for faculty research as reported in the Core Performance Indicators

KU demonstrates a sizeable percentage increase (7.6%) in the research dollar amount requested from external agenciesBgoing from $196.26 million in FY 1997 to $211.16 million in FY 1998. As might be expected, the expenditure of research funds in science and engineering also increased. The increase in expenditures from $108.89 million to $117.12 million (also 7.6%) means that KU has achieved its FY 2000 goal (see Table VII attached).

C. Faculty Development, Support and Rewards

a. Indicator - Funding for Faculty Development Activities

KU continues to increase amounts of funds available for faculty development. Last year's 7.2% increase is supplemented by a 14.7% increase between FY 1998 and FY 1999. Funds were added to the sabbatical leave fund, CRINC's research development fund, and CRINC's discretionary fund

Funding for Faculty Development Activities

	Base Year Fall 1996	Fall 1997	Fall 1998	Fall 1999	Goal 2000	Goal 2002
Amount	$3,435,203	$3,496,398	$3,749,077	$4,301,247
Source: Office of the Provost

D. Minority Recruitment and Retention

The data below indicate that the Lawrence Campus continues to make steady progress in enlarging its minority community. Increases in the numbers of both minority faculty and students and the one-year retention rates are noted.

Minority Instructional Faculty Head Count*

	Base Year Fall 1992	Fall 1993	Fall 1994	Fall 1995	Fall 1996	Fall 1997	Fall 1998
Minority Faculty	94	97	103	102	108	113	119
Source: Database Task Force Report, various years.

* These data reflect tenured and tenure-track faculty only. Faculty administrators, instructors, lecturers, and librarians are excluded.

Minority Student Head Count (Self-reported Data)

	Base Year Fall 1992	Fall 1993	Fall 1994	Fall 1995	Fall 1996	Fall 1997	Fall 1998	Fall 1999
Minority Students	1,978	2,031	2,121	2,241	2,264	2,286	2,345	2,317
Source: University of Kansas Profiles, pp. 4-113, October 1999, OIRP.

Minority Student First-time Freshmen One-year Retention Rates

	Base Year Fall 1993	Fall 1994	Fall 1995	Fall 1996	Fall 1997	5-year Average
Minority Students	73.6%	69.0%	68.8%	70.3%	74.9%	71.4%
Source: Attendance Patterns Data Base. OIRP.

E. Operations and Support Processes

1. Information Technology

Performance indicators focus on access to information technology and use.

a. Indicator- Number of Circuits (Connections)

Number of Circuits (Connections)

	Base Year FY 1995	FY 1997	FY 1998	FY 1999	Goal 2000	Goal 2002
Data
Classrooms/labs	134	286	684	797	880	1,280
Offices/other	4,103	6,446	9,133	10,991	10,445	12,445
Residence Halls	0	1,003	1,972*	2,261	3,050	3,500
Voice
Classrooms/labs Office/other	4,103	5,057	5,429	6,058	6,855	7,755
Residence Halls	2,548	2,460	2,559	2,335	2,500	2,500
Video
Classrooms/labs Office/other	50	154	214	284	300**	500**
Residence Halls	2,650	2,540	2,639	2,639	2,500	2,500

* With the renovation plans for residence halls, the number of data connections will remain lower than initially anticipated as individual rooms are converted to student suites.

** These goals have been added to the November 1998 Vision 2020 report. We were unable to set goals earlier because of projected changes in methods of video distribution.

b. Indicator- Networked Information

Networked Information Use

	Base Year FY 1996	FY 1997	FY 1998	FY 1999	Goal 2000	Goal 2002
Student Accounts	15,567	19,384	19,751	21,233
Faculty/Staff E-mail	na	2,490	5,886	5,458*
Pluse of campus network usage (central site)	9/1996 5,1671 Gb	9/1997 7,298 Gb	9/1998 8,661 Gb	na**
Library data base searches	na	na	1,417,717	1,923,073
Online catalog inquiries	***	***	***	***
Courses with a networked component	na	77	127	****

* Decline in the data is probably due to the elimination of duplicate accounts.

** KU's network topology has changed so that it is not possible to collect comparable pulse data.

*** Online catalog inquires are not yet available.

**** Data collection underway at this time.

2. Re-engineered Processes and Systems Upgrade

The Business Procurement Card, a standard Visa card issued to departments, is being tested for direct purchase of goods under $500 by phone order. The program continues to save thousands of vendor payments, eliminating the need for departments to submit purchase orders for each item, and greatly simplifies the purchasing process.

Business Procurement Cards

	Base Year FY 1997	FY 1998	FY 1999	Goal 2000	Goal 2002
Number of KU Payments	12	12	12
Number of Transacitons Covered	4,233	5,585	6,057
Total Payment Dollars	$439,004	$719,092	$926,567
Number of Active Card Holders	130	151	195

3. Maintenance and Support Functions

KU has placed building supervisors in two buildings to handle routine maintenance activities and to act as coordinators for more complex maintenance needs. This has greatly improved response time and reducing the need for central dispatching, filing work orders, and travel time to the work site. In future years, this program will be extended to additional buildings. This plan will be expanded as personnel can be assigned.

Zone Building Maintenance

	Base Year FY 1998*	FY 1999	Goal 2000	Goal 2002
Number of Service Calls
Self-initiated	833	2,343
Work order	521	1,824

* Project was implemented on May 1998. Data are from the two-month period May and June 1998.

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2002 CORE PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

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