Strategic Plan: 2002-2005

Contents
Mission and Vision Statements
Challenges and Opportunities

Goals, Objectives, and Tactics
Goal 1 - Cultivate Academic Excellence
Goal 2 – Recruit a Diverse, Highly Qualified Student Body
Goal 3 – Create an Out-of-Class Environment that Fosters Personal Growth, Academic Achievement, and Life-Long Learning
Goal 4 – Develop the Resources of the College to Expand Academic Programming, Student Support Services, and the Physical Plant
Goal 5 – Expand Outreach Services to the Community

Diversity Plan Update Summary

Budget Recycling

Information Technology

Strategic Indicators

Appendix A. Program Development Process and Criteria
Appendix B. Program Development and Enrollment Plan
Appendix C. Budget Recycling Memo & Outcomes
Appendix D. Full-time and Part-time Teaching
Appendix  E. Strategic Planning for Information Technology

Committee Membership
 

VISION
Penn State Altoona aspires to become a distinguished baccalaureate institution within the contextual framework of The Pennsylvania State University.  Our vision combines the rich educational tradition of a liberal arts college with the challenges and opportunities found at a modern university.  We will be known for our teaching excellence, research and creative accomplishments, and civic, social, and cultural contributions.

For all of our constituents, we will serve as a source of intellectual and developmental exchange on three levels.
Source for Individual Empowerment: We will assist students, faculty, staff, and community members in their intellectual and social growth.  Penn State Altoona will assist our constituents in reaching their full personal potential, so they may be active citizens and leaders in their families, professions, organizations, and communities.

Source for Economic Development: We will become a center for advanced technology and the preeminent educational force for economic development in Blair and surrounding counties.  Penn State Altoona will supply its community with knowledgeable and skilled graduates, and will provide a wide array of life-long activities to maintain and improve the skills of professionals in the community.

Source for Cultural Enrichment: We will enhance and diversify the culture of our community by uniting our constituencies and by establishing international partnerships.  Penn State Altoona will become a center for the arts and humanities and a major force in the community’s cultural development.  We will seek to foster a diverse cultural environment by hosting nationally and internationally prominent speakers and performing artists, and by presenting an array of artistic and cultural events that celebrate local, national, and international cultures.

MISSION
Penn State Altoona’s mission is to engage our students, the local community, and the Commonwealth in the acquisition and dissemination of knowledge through our teaching, research, and outreach programs supported by a diverse and intellectually sustaining environment.

Core Values
Learning:  We value learning in all its forms—classroom instruction, independent study, co-curricular learning, faculty research, creative achievement, and the study and improvement of our own academic and administrative processes.  Learning involves developing an appreciation for people from diverse backgrounds or who exhibit diverse types of thinking.

Innovation:  We value continual innovation in all our processes, including our core processes of teaching, research, scholarship, creative activity, and outreach.

Student Oriented:  We value close rapport with our students and our community.  We serve as role models and foster collaboration.

Student Development:  We value the development of our students and impart to them the idea of learning to take responsibility for their actions and treating others with respect.

Community:  We value our mutually supportive relationship with our community.  Throughout our history, we have done our best to provide excellent educational and cultural opportunities for the people of our community; they, in turn, have supported us with their efforts and resources.
 

Penn State Altoona has been remarkably successfully in making progress towards its new mission as a baccalaureate college.  An array of baccalaureate programs from Integrative Arts to Sciences to pre-professional programs has been developed, and these programs have been very successful in attracting and retaining students.  Enrollment in baccalaureate degree programs at Penn State Altoona has been growing by an average of 150 students per year for the past four years, and upper division enrollment in Altoona College programs has increased by over 100 students for each of the past two years.  This initial success is due to the development of high quality degree programs whose quality is subject to ongoing assessment, a strong and growing faculty that emphasizes teaching and learning while continuing productive research activities, and growth in student life and cultural activities to meet the needs of students who will stay at Altoona for their entire undergraduate careers.  Penn State Altoona seeks to add high-quality baccalaureate programs in order to continue the steady growth among upper-level students that is critical to the College’s enrollment plan.

However, Penn State Altoona faces three critical challenges in its efforts to become a distinguished baccalaureate institution within the Pennsylvania State University.  Despite the addition of some new space, the College continues to face serious space and facilities constraints.  The recent economic downturn has also hit the central Pennsylvania region hard with six major plants closing in Blair County alone this year.  Finally, the five-county service region for Penn State Altoona poses demographic challenges to the College’s continued growth.

Opportunities for Continuing Improvement
Penn State Altoona has been extraordinarily successful in developing new programs and attracting students to these programs.  From Fall 1997 to Spring 2001, we have added six baccalaureate degrees (Criminal Justice, English, Environmental Studies, Human Development and Family Studies [HDFS], Integrative Arts, Science), one new baccalaureate option (Entrepreneurship), two associate degrees (Criminal Justice, HDFS), and nine minors (Criminal Justice, English, Entrepreneurship, Environmental Studies, History, HDFS, Natural Science, Psychology, Spanish).  This brings our totals to ten baccalaureate degrees, nine associate degrees, and nine minors (See Indicator 1.a.1).  A mixed strategy of transferring authority to grant some existing Penn State programs and creating a number of new signature programs, such as Criminal Justice, Entrepreneurship, and Environmental Studies, has been pursued.

Enrollment in Penn State Altoona baccalaureate majors increased in 2001-02 to 721, which is an increase of 22% over 2000-01 (See Indicator 2.c.2).  Prior to this year, enrollment in Penn State Altoona baccalaureate majors had been growing by over 40% a year over the previous year, although there had been a steady decline in the rate of growth from 98% in 1998-1999 to 48% in 2000-01.  Upper division enrollment increased to 531 in 2001-02, which is an increase of nearly 17% over 2000-01.  Upper division enrollment had more than doubled from 218 in 1997-98 to 455 in 2000-01.  Baccalaureate graduates are up to 157 in 2000-01 from 81 in 1998-99, and these account for over half of the total of undergraduate degrees awarded at Penn State Altoona.  However, the number of associate degree graduates awarded had declined from 130 in 1998-99 to 112 in 1999-2000, but increased to 141 in 2000-01.  Overall, the number of undergraduates awarded degrees had been growing by roughly 20 graduates per year, but grew by over 70 to 298 in 2000-01.

Penn State Altoona seeks to add one or two high-quality baccalaureate programs per year in order to continue the steady growth at the upper-level that is envisioned in our enrollment plan.  Beginning in Spring 2001, the academic divisions were asked to consider potential programs to be added in Phase II of the College’s development.  These programs will be considered on the basis of their quality, viability, feasibility, and their impact on the direction of the college (See Appendix A for further discussion of criteria).  Among the programs under consideration are Art, Biology, Communications, Elementary Education, History, Mathematics, Psychology, and Information Sciences and Technology.  The College’s plan for adding new degree programs, as well as their impact on faculty hiring and enrollment, can be found in Appendix B.

Penn State Altoona has also been very successful in increasing the diversity of its student body (See Indicator 2.a and Diversity Plan Update Summary).  Minority students made up six percent of the student population in 1999-2000, but in 2001-02, minority students are now more than nine percent of the total student population.  However, after five consecutive years of increases, the international student population fell from 38 (1.0%) in 2000-01 to 28 (0.7%) in 2001-02.  Out-of-state enrollment has also grown to nearly twelve percent of the student population.  Both the 3-year associate degree and 5-year baccalaureate degree graduation rates are up, but persistence rates are down (See Indicator 2.c.1).  Most significantly, the percentage of associate degree students who change to baccalaureate status after three years has dropped by nearly fifteen percent over the previous year.

While the faculty began discussions about Phase II of program development in Spring 2001, the College continued to strengthen assessment of the quality of its existing programs.  The Bachelor of Science in Electro-Mechanical Engineering Technology (BSEMET) successfully underwent an initial accreditation review by the Technology Accreditation Commission of Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) in 1998, and it remains the only accredited BSEMET program in the university.  BSEMET and the associate degree programs in Electrical Engineering Technology and Mechanical Engineering Technology were re-accredited for another six years in Fall 2000.  The Nursing programs (associate and baccalaureate) also were re-accredited in 1999 for eight more years.  The coordinators of the baccalaureate degree programs participated in two workshops on assessment in Spring 2001 and have begun developing assessment plans for each degree program.

Penn State Altoona’s faculty are a key reason for the rapid growth of new programs, and the quality of our faculty has been regularly acknowledged by university-wide awards.  Since 1998, Penn State Altoona faculty have been awarded two Atherton Teaching Fellowships, five Penn State Engineering Society awards for teaching and advising, and one Alumni Teaching Fellowship, the first ever awarded to a faculty member at a non-University Park location.  Penn State Altoona’s faculty also play leadership roles in the University Teaching and Learning Consortium (TLC), and the College TLC is one of the most active in the university.

Faculty professional activities continue to rise (See Indicator 1.b.1).  Refereed journal articles published by the faculty continued to increase with 63 in 2000, which is up from 48 in 1999, and the number of books written by the faculty increased from 4 in 1998 to 12 in 2000.  However, the publishing activities of faculty are also distributed very unevenly among the divisions.  The value of external grants awarded to the faculty grew to $577,987 in 1999-2000, which is more than double the previous year.  The dollar total of grants declined slightly in 2000-01 to $474,156.  The number of external grantees remains relatively low and heavily weighted towards the science faculty.  However in recent months, faculty from the Arts and Humanities have received fellowships from the Hewlitt Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts.  A significant number of faculty also involve undergraduate students in their research, and the College hopes to make this an emphasis in the development of new degree programs and in the hiring of new faculty.

Although the FT-PT teaching ratios remain a concern, the College has hired 32 full-time faculty over the past three years, and the percentage of courses taught by full-time faculty grew by 3% from Fall 2000 to Fall 2001 to 59% (See Indicator 1.b.2 & Appendix D).  Part-time faculty continue to teach a significant portion of General Education courses (44%) and courses in the Division of Arts and Humanities (55%).  Part-time faculty teach less than 35% of the classes in the other three divisions, but part-time faculty produce slightly over 44% of student credit hours.  Penn State Altoona needs to continue to improve the balance of full- and part-time teaching, while adding new faculty to support our degree programs.

Out-of-class activities for students have continued to expand to meet the needs of students who will attend Penn State Altoona for their entire undergraduate careers (See Indicators 3.a, b, c).  The Student Activities Programming Board increased in membership from 17 to 150 students.  Late night and weekend activities were significantly increased with a dry rush policy for the College's fraternity and sorority chapters.  Several new community service programs were instituted as a part of the College’s Service Learning initiatives.  Seven new student organizations were formed in 2000-01, and five more were added in 2001-02.  There are now 60 student organizations in 2001-02 with 6 multicultural organizations.  The Career Services Office has expanded its outreach activities by teaching Job Hunting Strategies and Career Decision-Making courses, developing a web page, and joining local Chamber of Commerce organizations.

Cultural activities have continued to expand as Penn State Altoona moves to meet its mission as a baccalaureate college.  The College has hosted a Distinguished Speaker Series since 1995 to enhance the quality of intellectual life of the College and surrounding communities by bringing a variety of speakers from athletics, culture, politics, and public service to Altoona.  Penn State Altoona sponsors a Cultural and Performing Arts Series and hosts the Westsylvania Arts and the African American Arts Festivals each year.  Penn State Altoona also presents two student theatre performances and a number of student musical performances.  Allied Motion, a modern dance troupe, is housed at the College and holds a large number of short performances throughout the academic year, as well as two major performances that are open to the public.  In 2000-01, a visiting Fulbright scholar in the arts presented a multicultural performance in the Misciagna Family Center for Performing Arts and at the Mishler Theatre and participated in a variety of outreach activities.  As the Integrative Arts program grows, Penn State Altoona and the surrounding community can expect to see additional cultural and artistic activities.

Challenges for the Future
Penn State Altoona’s progress as a baccalaureate college continues to be constrained by a lack of facilities.  Over the past four years, the college has purchased three houses adjoining the College, constructed the Cypress building, converted Elm building from a ceramics studio to faculty office space, expanded the Finance Office, moved the Continuing Education division off-campus, and plans to move Police Services to one of the houses that the College recently purchased.

Yet even with these additions, the college continues to face space constraints.  The college is slated to build a new health center with classrooms and offices for the nursing faculty and a new classroom building.  However, both projects have been delayed.  The new classroom building is not likely to be open until Fall 2004 at the earliest, but with the assistance of the University, the College will be able to include an expansion to this state-funded project.  This expansion will allow the library to expand into the first floor of the Eiche building, provide space for a Learning Resources Center, as well as space for other academic needs.  The Health Center, which was delayed by legal proceedings, will begin construction in Spring 2002.  An events center has been added to the State of Pennsylvania Capital Budget Plan, but no year has been forecast for release of the funds.

Space is still needed for an expansion of the Food Services building, the Bookstore, student services, Maintenance, and Athletics.  New space is needed for general storage, a ceramics studio (which was converted into faculty offices in 2000), research and laboratory space, staff offices, and parking.  Programs planned for the future, including Communications, Biology, Elementary Education, and Psychology, will require specialized spaces, including teaching laboratories, laboratories for student and faculty research, and offices.

Two concerns arise with these proposed expansions: A lack of suitable land on which to build and the need to develop external funding to support these projects.  The University Master Plan for the College should take into account the very limited areas that are suitable for constructing new buildings, especially in the academic core of the campus.  Consideration should be given to building multi-story facilities in the future.

Classroom space continues to be a serious concern.  While the use of general purpose classrooms has fallen by more than twelve percent from Fall 1999 (89.7%) to Fall 2001 (77.3%), Penn State Altoona continues to have one of the highest usage rates in the University (See Indicator 4.b).

Penn State Altoona ranks lowest of the campuses (outside of University Park) in the ratio of classroom space to FTE student at 6.2 assignable square feet (ASF) per FTE student.  The next lowest ranking campuses are Abington at 7.1 ASF, Berks at 7.5 ASF, and Erie at 7.7 ASF.  The average of the colleges listed above is 13.3 ASF per student, and only the Commonwealth College exceeds this with 17.7 ASF.  According to projections to 2005-06, Penn State Altoona will only see its assignable square feet per student rise to 9.0, while the non-University Park average will grow only very slightly to 13.6 ASF.  Penn State Altoona ranks second from the bottom in ASF per student headcount at 5.8 ASF.  Only Abington at 5.6 ASF per student headcount ranks lower, and the university average is 11 ASF per student headcount.

The college also ranks lowest in the ratio of office ASF to FTE faculty among the campuses outside of University Park.  Penn State Altoona has 65.7 ASF per FTE faculty, and the average for the non-University Park campuses is 99.1 ASF.  Even though Penn State Altoona is projecting the largest growth in upper-level enrollment among the campus colleges, the percentage increase in FTE faculty (8.4%) is the lowest among the campus colleges.  This indicates that Penn State Altoona is among the most efficient of the campus colleges in staffing its growth plans.

The lack of office space for faculty can be seen in the annual summer renovations that are necessary to provide offices for new tenure track faculty.  The cost to convert Elm from a ceramics lab to faculty offices during summer, 2000 was approximately $25,000, and the cost to renovate Cypress for faculty offices this past summer was approximately $50,000.  Although the ASF per FTE faculty is expected to grow to 80.1 ASF by 2005-06, the College will still rank sixth from the bottom among campus locations.

The Robert E. Eiche Library has seen its collection grow beyond its current capacity, and the collection is projected to continue to expand by 5,000-6,000 volumes annually in order to provide the resources for our baccalaureate programs.  Seating capacity in the library has declined from 3.5% of the student headcount in 2000 to 2.6% of the student body in 2001 (See Indicator 1.d.2).  This is significantly below the Association for College Research Libraries standard of seating for 10-15% of the student body.  The library is slated to expand into the 1st floor of Eiche and 2nd floor of the CLRC when the new classroom building comes on line.  This expansion of the library will provide for additional seating, group study rooms, additional staff offices and computer terminals, a microfilm room, a technology classroom for library instruction, and room for the expanding collection.  In the meantime, the library is investigating the possibility of enclosing its portico in order to provide additional student seating.

While the regional economy has been diversifying over the past decade, the recent economic downturn has hit Penn State Altoona’s service area especially hard.  This region lags behind the state in most economic indicators, including per capita income, mean household income, and unemployment (see Table 1).  More recently, the closing of six plants has hit the local economy very hard, and these manufacturing jobs will be hard to replace.

Per capita income for the counties in Penn State Altoona’s region lags behind the state average by between $5,000 and $9,000.  Mean household income also lags behind the state mean by $15,000-27,000, and the average weekly wage lags by up to $200 dollars for the counties in the service region.  In January 2001, the unemployment rate for Pennsylvania was 4.9%, and except for Blair County at 6.2%, the counties in our service area had unemployment rates between 7.9% and 9.6%.  While the state employment rate fell to 4.1% in August, the counties in Penn State Altoona’s service area continued to see unemployment rates that were 1.3% (Blair) to 6.1% (Huntingdon) higher than the state average.

Table 1.  Income Indicators

	Bedford	Blair	Cambria	Huntingdon	Somerset	Penn.	U.S.
Per Capita Income in 1998	$18,657	$22,216	$21,058	$17,491	$20,091	$27,469	$27,436
Mean Household income in 2000	$52,618	$60,018	$57,019	$48,400	$55,868	$75,252	$55,253
Average Weekly Wage (2000)	$448	$500	$482	$513	$448	$658	NA
Unemployment Rate January 2001 (rank)	8.0%      (54th)	6.2%     (36th)	8.0%      (54th)	9.6%           (65th)	7.9%        (53rd)	4.9%	4.2%
Unemployment Rate August 2001(rank)	7.6%      (59th)	5.4%     (57th)	6.2%      (54th)	10.2%           (65th)	5.7%        (44th)	4.1%	4.9%

Service industries are the leading employers in all five counties of Penn State Altoona’s service area.  In 1999, only in Bedford County did manufacturing enterprises make up half of the top ten employers, and manufacturing accounted for over 20% of the employment in that county.  In all other counties in our service area, manufacturing accounted for less than 15% of employment.  Health care, school districts, colleges and universities, and county, state, and federal governments accounted for the majority of top ten employers in the each county of our service area.  In the Altoona metropolitan service area (MSA), service industries, especially in health, business, and social services, are the fastest growing occupations.

The manufacturing sector in Penn State Altoona’s service area has been hit hard in 2001.  Six major companies have announced plant closings which bring the total jobs lost in the region to over 3000 for the year.  Although still in litigation, the announced closing by Norfolk Southern of the Sam Ray railroad shops in Hollidaysburg will cut 385 jobs and nearly $50 million from the local economy.  This closing was followed by announcements of the closing of the Butterick (250 jobs), Huck Jacobson (160 jobs), C-Cor.net (490 jobs), JLG (540 combined layoffs and job cuts), and Westvaco (267 jobs) plants.  A number of other plants, including Seton Co. in Saxton, New Pig in Tipton, F.L. Smithe, and the Altoona Hospital have also announced job cuts, and Bestform Industries just announced the closing of two plants in Cambria County with the loss of more than 600 jobs.

In an effort to boost the economy, the state has invested more than $30 million in grants and loans in Blair County since 1998, and a number of properties have been designated as Keystone Opportunity Economic Zones, which provide tax relief for at least ten years for new industries.  The local chambers of commerce and development agencies are also working to enhance their local economies by marketing the region as the “Green Banana” and more recently by linking the Research Park at University Park to the “I-Tech 99 Corridor.”  The Entrepreneurship program has developed links with the College of Engineering at University Park and strengthened its ties to the Altoona Blair County Development Corporation.  These linkages along with expanding partnerships with local community colleges and career and technology centers may uniquely position Penn State Altoona to play a leadership role in promoting regional economic development.

While Penn State Altoona may be able to assist in promoting economic growth in the region, demographic challenges that face the region may necessitate looking beyond the region for future growth.  These challenges include a declining overall population, an older population, a declining number of high school graduates with a historically low rate of college attendance, and a relative lack of diversity.  Although the rate of decline has slowed over the past decade (see Table 2), Penn State Altoona faces a shrinking population in its service area.  Over the past twenty years, only Bedford and Huntingdon counties have shown sustained growth, but these are the two smallest counties in the service area.  The two largest counties, Blair and Cambria, have seen declines of 1.1% and 6.4%, respectively, over the past

Table 2.  Population by County, 1980-2000

County	1980	1990	2000	% Change 1990-2000	% Change 1980-2000
Bedford	46,784	47,919	49,984	4.3%	6.8%
Blair	136,621	130,542	129,144	-1.1%	-5.4%
Cambria	183,263	163,029	152,598	-6.4%	-16.7%
Huntingdon	42,253	44,164	45,586	3.2%	7.9%
Somerset*	81,243	78,218	80,023	2.3%	-1.5%
Service Area Total	490,164	463,872	457,335	-1.4%	-6.7%
City
Altoona	57,078	51,881	49,523	-4.5%	-13.2%
Johnstown	35,496	28,134	23,906	-15.0%	-32.7%
Pennsylvania	11,863,895	11,881,643	12,281,054	3.4%	3.5%

* Only part of Somerset is in Penn State Altoona’s service area, but we are not able
   to disaggregate the data.

decade, and Cambria has lost over 16% of its population over the past twenty years.  Overall, Penn State Altoona’s service area has seen a decline of 6.7% in its population over the past twenty years, while the growth rate for the state of Pennsylvania has been a positive 3.5%.

The two cities in Penn State Altoona’s service area (Altoona and Johnstown) are also declining in population.  However, the rate of population decline in the city of Altoona has slowed appreciably in the past decade (see Table 2).  Altoona’s population was 77,177 in 1950, and has declined steadily since then.  Over the past twenty years, Altoona’s population has dropped by over 13%, but it only declined by 4.5% over the past decade.  City leaders have indicated that the growth of the surrounding communities, such as Logan Township, more than make-up for any population decline in the past decade.  The population of Johnstown has shrunk at an even more rapid rate.  Johnstown saw a 15% drop in population over the past decade and a decline of over 32% over the past twenty years.

Not only is the population shrinking, but the population in Penn State Altoona’s service area is older than the Commonwealth median age (see Table 3).  Only Huntingdon County (14.8%) has a lower percentage of population over 65 years old than the state average of 15.6%.  Altoona ranked 22nd in the percentage of population aged 65 and older among 318 national metropolitan areas (MSAs) surveyed in 2000, and Johnstown ranked 14th among 318 MSAs in 1990.

Table 3.  Population Age and Educational Attainment by County & MSA, 2000

County	Percent Under 18	Percent 65 & Over	Percent of Pop.   age 25 with No  HS Degree (1990)	Percent of Pop.  age 25   4+ yrs.  of College(1990)
Bedford	23.6%	16.5%	31.5%	7.8%
Blair	22.7%	17.4%	25.0%	10.5%
Cambria	21.0%	19.7%	28.8%	10.8%
Huntingdon	21.7%	14.8%	28.8%	9.4%
Somerset	22.3%	18.0%	31.1%	8.9%
Altoona MSA	25.9%*	17.4%	25.0%	10.5%
Johnstown MSA	24.2%*	19.1%	29.5%	10.2%
Pennsylvania	23.8%	15.6%	25.3%	17.9%
U.S.	28.6%*	12.4%	18.3% (est.)	23.0% (est.)

* 19 and younger.

The number of high school graduates for the entire state is expected to increase by 5.6% from 2000 to 2008.  However, the number of high school graduates in the Altoona service area is expected to decline by 5.6% over that same period, and the change in high school graduates from 1998 to 2010 is expected to drop by 13.3%.  The decline in the number of high school graduates from 1998 to 2010 will be strongest in Cambria (-22.5%) and Somerset (-20.8%) counties, but all five counties in Altoona’s service area are projected to see the number of high school graduates decline over this period.  As can be seen in Table 3, all counties, except for Blair fall below the state average for percentage of 25 year-olds who have attained a high school diploma.

Penn State Altoona’s service area ranks second from the bottom in the percentage of high school graduates who attend college.  All school districts in our service area fall below the statewide percentage of population that has attained a college degree.  Slightly over seventy percent of high school graduates across Pennsylvania attended college in 1998, and across the United States, slightly over sixty-five percent of high school graduates attended college immediately out of high school.  However, in that same period, less than sixty percent (59.87%) of high school graduates in Penn State Altoona’s service area attended college.  At the same time, high school graduates from Altoona’s service area apply to, and attend Penn State at a higher rate than any other location.  Overall, the percentage of 25 year-olds in Penn State Altoona’s service area that have attended four or more years of college lags behind the state average by between 7 and 10 percent (see Table 3).

Penn State Altoona’s service area is also among the least diverse populations in the state (see Table 4).  The only county with a significant minority population (more than 5%) is Huntingdon, which has a black or African-American population of 5.1%.  Bedford, Blair, and Somerset counties are all over 97% white, and Cambria county is over 95% white.  The state of Pennsylvania is slightly over 85% white.  Only DuBois and Schuylkill have less diverse high school graduate populations than Altoona, and only DuBois and Schuylkill have less diverse college-going high school graduates than Altoona in 1998.  White high school graduates account for nearly 98% of all high school graduates in the Altoona service area, while white graduates account for 86% of all graduates state-wide.  However, Penn State Altoona has a more diverse student population than the surrounding counties.  Over 9% of the student body comes from minority groups, and another 0.7% is made up of international students.  The workforce at Penn State Altoona is more than 4% minority, and the executive, administrative, managerial, or other professional staff is 10% minority.

Table 4.  Percentage of Population by Race

Race	Bedford	Blair	Cambria	Huntingdon	Somerset	State
White	98.5	97.6	95.8	93.3	97.4	85.4
Black or African American	0.4	1.2	2.8	5.1	1.6	9.0
American Indian or Alaska Native	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1
Asian	0.3	0.4	0.4	0.2	0.2	1.8
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
Other Race	0.2	0.1	0.2	0.4	0.3	1.2
Two or more Races	0.5	0.6	0.6	0.8	0.4	0.8

Although space constraints and the demographics and economy of our service area continue to pose challenges to Penn State Altoona’s goal of becoming a distinguished baccalaureate institution, the College has been actively engaged in meeting these challenges.  A team of scientists recently reviewed space usage and needs in the Science and Holtzinger buildings with a goal of supporting two baccalaureate programs and an enhanced undergraduate research program in the sciences.  The College has taken steps to improve classrooms through renovations and increased technology.  While the local economy falters, Penn State Altoona is continuing to produce graduates who bring problem-solving capabilities and well-grounded experiential learning to bear on local issues, and who have been remarkably successful at finding employment.  The College’s leadership is actively involved in working with the local community to respond to the current economic downswing.  While our service area presents significant demographic challenges, the College has stepped up its recruitment activities among minorities and adult learners, and the College has increased out-of-state enrollment by 2% over the past year.  The College has also developed two articulation agreements with Cambria County Area Community College, and is working to expand those agreements and develop agreements with a second community college in our service area.

Penn State Altoona is continuing to develop high quality baccalaureate degree programs to encourage students to stay at the College for their entire undergraduate careers.  With ongoing planning, the College will continue to expand and support a strong faculty, increase upper-division enrollments, and provide a supportive out-of-class environment.  Notwithstanding significant challenges, the College is well poised to continue its progress towards becoming a distinguished baccalaureate institution within the broader framework of the Pennsylvania State University.

GOALS
Goal 1. Cultivate academic excellence. The College is continuing its progress as a four-year institution that will attract a cross-section of students by developing a broad range of degrees and a rich complement of academic minors.  Many of these programs are interdisciplinary to take advantage of the instructional strengths of current and new faculty and the intersection of course requirements among the majors and minors. (See Indicators 1.)

Continue to expand high quality baccalaureate programs to 15-18 by 2006:

• Penn State Altoona will continue to develop high quality baccalaureate programs with a goal of 15-18 baccalaureate degree programs by Fall 2006.  This plan would add one or two new programs each year.  Four criteria will be used to assess proposed new degree programs.  These criteria are quality, viability, feasibility, and the impact on the overall direction of the College.  See Appendix A for the process and criteria for program development.
• The College has tentative plans to add the following degrees: in 2002, a new B.A. in Communications and the B.A. and B.S. in Mathematics with General and Systems Analysis options; in 2003, the fourth year of Elementary and Kindergarten Education and the B.S. in Pyschology with Biological and Evolutionary Science and Business options; in 2004, the B.S in Biology with the General, Ecology, and Vertebrate Physiology options; in 2005 and 2006, the College will add at least one of the following degrees: a B.A. in History, a B.A. in Art or the B.S. in Information Sciences and Technology.  The plans are tentative until the proposals can undergo the review process (see Appendix A) and the formal consultation and approval processes.  The probable impact of these program development plans on faculty hiring and enrollment can be found in Appendix B.
• The College is currently investigating the possibility of adding a limited number of Honors Diplomas in consultation with the Schreyer Honors College.  A committee, chaired by the College Honors Coordinator, is beginning the process of creating a Schreyer Honors proposal that addresses the strengths of the Altoona College's interdisciplinary teaching and research missions.
• The development of new programs and curricula at Penn State Altoona is shaped by our combining the features of both a larger research university and a smaller liberal arts college.  Thus, we seek to provide a diversity of undergraduate and professional programs serving residential, commuter, traditional-aged, and adult students within a personalized residential campus environment with small classes and a faculty whose primary commitment is to educating undergraduates “one student at a time.”  Penn State Altoona’s educational mission is to assist students in developing applied competencies as well as theoretical knowledge – to focus on performance outcomes as well as reflective capacities.  This mission is pursued within an institutional framework that emphasizes knowledge, problem-solving, career/professional preparation, faculty-staff cooperation in meeting student needs, and connections between academic and student life. (Adapted from Associated New American Colleges statement, http://anac.vir.org).
• New baccalaureate majors should also include the appropriate minor(s) in their proposals.  Other minors may be developed as a method to explore further curricular development, especially if few or no new courses are needed.  The Natural Science minor has recently been approved.  The Women’s Studies minor and a new Dance minor are currently in the approval process.

• Penn State Altoona will continue to increase the number of full-time, tenure-track faculty.  As the report in Appendix D indicates, the College has made significant progress in improving the percentage of courses taught by full-time faculty.  However, key areas, including the Division of Arts and Humanities and many General Education areas, still rely heavily on part-time faculty.  As a College, we must continue to improve the percentage of courses taught by full-time faculty.  Strategies under consideration include converting fixed-term positions to tenure track positions, encouraging the development of faculty positions that can support new degree programs and assist in improving the balance of full-time teaching, and where possible, adding new full-time positions to replace part-time faculty.
• While working to increase the number of full-time faculty, Penn State Altoona has been a leader within the University in providing support and recognition for its part-time faculty.  The Altoona College Outstanding Lecturer Award has been awarded to two part-time faculty members at the Spring Awards Convocation every year since 1997.  An annual orientation and dinner is held for all part-time faculty each fall.  The orientation includes a formal welcome by the Dean of the College, a discussion of policies and procedures, distribution of the handbook for part-time faculty and The University Faculty Senate Rules and Policies for Students, and divisional meetings.
• The faculty of Penn State Altoona continue to be very productive.  The College provides strong support for faculty development with $2,000 annually for conference travel and two internal grant funds.  The College’s Office of Research and Sponsored Programs has assisted faculty in the pursuit of external grants, and over $470,000 in external funds were awarded in 2000-01.  The College should also encourage program coordinators and division heads to attend workshops on a variety of issues, including personnel, faculty recruitment and development, and career development.
• In order to present a uniform web presence for every faculty member, standard web pages should be developed and would include office and contact information, courses taught, and research interest, as well as other information and links that faculty might wish to supply.
• Teaching load requirements should be re-assessed in light of curricular needs, undergraduate research activities, internship supervision, and independent project supervision.  With expanding degree offerings, growing undergraduate research programs, and increasing numbers of credit internships and independent study projects, the teaching load for tenure line faculty should be reviewed by the Faculty Senate.
• To expand undergraduate research as a critical element in our baccalaureate programs, the College should stress undergraduate research in the development of new programs and when hiring new faculty.  The Honors program is working to develop a College Research Fair for 2002-03.

• Penn State Altoona began working on developing assessment plans for its baccalaureate degree programs in 2000-01.  The purpose of program assessment is to evaluate the current state of the program and to promote continuous quality improvement in our baccalaureate degree programs.  Two workshops were held in Spring 2001.  These were led by personnel from the Center for Quality and Planning, the Office of Undergraduate Education, and the Leonhard Center for the Enhancement of Engineering Education and included program coordinators, divisions heads, and Faculty Senate representatives.  Program coordinators are working with their program faculty to develop and implement assessment plans.  Each program is expected to have goals and learning objectives linked to a matrix of courses by Spring 2002, when a follow-up workshop will be held.  The goal is to have assessment plans in place for all current baccalaureate programs by the 2002-03 academic year, and to work with the Faculty Senate on plans for regular reporting cycles for the programs.  The reporting cycles to the Senate, Academic Affairs, and the Dean would likely occur on four or five year cycles, although the assessment data will be used by the programs to improve student learning in an ongoing basis.
• Penn State Altoona has pursued accreditation of programs where appropriate, and will continue to pursue specialized accreditation of its degree programs.  The Nursing program was successfully reaccredited for eight years in 1999.  In 2001, the Engineering Technology programs (2EET, 2MET, BSEMET) were successfully reaccredited for six years.  The Business program is expected to begin the accreditation process through AACSB International in the next two years.
• Following on the presentation at the opening faculty-staff conference in Fall 2001, the Division of Arts and Humanities is examining grading practices in English writing courses, language courses, and Speech Communication courses.  This is a first step to improving student learning and reducing grade inflation.
• In order to increase retention, the College should increase access to tutoring and academic support services by expanding tutoring support for courses that currently have none, and exploring the use of recitation sections and supplemental instruction.
• As the number of international students at Penn State Altoona increases, the College will need to develop an effective ESL program to assist these students in meeting their academic goals.
• Beginning in Fall 2002, a selected cohort of provisional students will be admitted in the fall and included in the Freshman Transition Program (FTP).  Over the past four years, the College has admitted service area students into provisional status and required them to take 6 credits during the summer.  However, with no additional support provided, these students saw their performance suffer once they began taking a full course-load.  The FTP program has retained 78% of program participants over a three-year period at Penn State, and an additional 3% have transferred to other institutions.  A majority of FTP students have become involved in the leadership of the College as Resident Assistants, Student Government Associations Senators, and student club and organization leaders.  The program has been expanded to include College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP) students, Operation Link-up (students from the Paterson, NJ area) students and international students because of its success in retaining students.  The College will track the impact of bringing provisional students into the FTP, and will expand this program, if this proves to be successful in retaining students.
• While our current tutoring system is very decentralized, there are plans to include a comprehensive Learning Resources Center in the expanded library.  See Goal 4 for further information.
• The College will continue to enhance classroom environments.  The Information Technology Planning Committee recently conducted a survey on technology classrooms and teaching (see Appendix E).  This information will be used to continue to expand the number of technology classrooms available for instruction.
• As a baccalaureate institution, the College should increase participation in international programs and academic internships.
• An Academic Internship Coordinator was hired in Fall 2001 to provide assistance to the growing number of for-credit internships.  This person will assist students and faculty in developing, promoting, and assessing credit internships by developing a website and brochures, introducing faculty to possible long-term host sites, developing a faculty advisory committee, and developing a formal presentation event involving faculty, students and host site members.
• International programs and opportunities for students should also be enhanced.  Penn State Altoona currently has an exchange program with CSEM in Marseilles, France, which is expected to bring 5 student here next year.  The college will need to continue to expand these activities and opportunities, especially as it looks to develop Honors diplomas.
• The College should continue to expand the number of academic clubs, professional organizations, and honorary societies, so that each program has at least one organization.  The College has added a variety of academic clubs and programs.  These include American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), Criminal Justice Organization, Mock Trial Team (CJ), Mock Mediation Team (CJ), Deutschmeister Club (German), Community Friends (HDFS), Information Science & Technology Association (IST), PSU Altoona Ag Club, Society of Business Students, Society of Women Engineers, Student Nurses of Altoona College, Student Pennsylvania State Education Association, Alpha Lambda Delta, Omicron Delta Kappa, Alpha Sigma Lambda, and Alpha Phi Sigma.

Enhance Academic Support Services:

• The number of public workstations throughout the College with access to elion and email should be increased.
• The new mini-computer labs in the dormitories should be expanded to provide copying and fax services for students.
• As Penn State Altoona continues to expand its degree programs, there are increasing needs for full-time, permanent staff in support roles particularly in the arts and laboratory sciences.  The College has added a new engineering technology lab coordinator, an internship coordinator, and a theatre-gallery manager in the last two years, and has developed a plan to add over 12 new staff positions over the next four years.  Included in this plan are a second science lab coordinator, a second academic internship coordinator, additional faculty staff assistants, and other academic support positions.

Increase the representation of international and minority students:

• Penn State Altoona continues to be very successful in increasing the diversity of its student body.  Minority students now make up 9.2% of the student population in 2001-2002, an increase of 20% from 2000-2001.  In Fall 2001, there were 58 minority students enrolled in our associate and baccalaureate majors, representing 4.6% of the total, and three international students were also enrolled in our majors.
• The Office of Admissions at Penn State Altoona includes a full-time coordinator of Minority and Special Programs Admissions, who coordinates activities that support minority student recruitment.  The Coordinator of Minority Recruitment organizes and trains minority students who serve as hosts and panel presenters to our minority bus trip participants.  The Office of Admissions currently employs four work-study students, including three African-American females that help support the Coordinator of Minority Recruitment.
• Penn State Altoona does not have sufficient residence hall space to accommodate all incoming freshman that express an interest in living on-campus.  To help provide a diverse on-campus freshman presence, Admissions works with Housing and Food Services to reserve residence hall spaces for minority, international, disabled, and out-of-state freshman admits.
• The Office of Admissions is developing an interactive recruitment CD with presentations by five students including a Hispanic/Latina female, an African-American male, and a female adult learner.
• The College should work with the Offices of Student Aid and the Development Office to solicit and establish new scholarships that would support the recruitment and retention of a diverse student body into Penn State Altoona degree programs.  These scholarships could be directed toward international students, upper division students, adult learners, and student leaders.  Participation in the Lion Scout program should be expanded to include international and minority students.
• Penn State Altoona has developed two agreements with international universities to attract international students.  One is with the China University of Mining and Technology and the other is with CSEM in Marseilles, France.
• The College will need to work with the Admissions Office at University Park on the process for referring more international students to Penn State Altoona.  A special marketing publication directed toward international students should be established.  A procedure to keep Penn State Altoona residence halls open during University breaks to accommodate international and out-of-state students will be developed and implemented by Fall 2003.
• In consultation with the Office of Admissions at University Park, visits to out-of-state high schools that have predominately minority students should be expanded.  A permanent budget line item for minority student recruitment should be established to support these efforts.  Student Affairs should move forward with the development of a Multicultural Center.  See Goal 4 for further information on plans.

• Adult learner enrollment (students who are 24+ years of age) is currently 578 students or 15% of our total enrollment.  A full-time Adult Counselor/Advisor and a part-time staff assistant serve the adult learner population at the College.  This office works with adult learners throughout their College experience from admission to scheduling and advising, to graduation.  The Adult Center offers multiple Open House programs each semester that target adult learners.
• Since most adult learners inquire about the College in response to major changes in their lives, i.e. loss of job, family breakup, etc., they rarely follow the same admissions time line as traditional-aged students.  A recent study of Altoona adult learner admits indicated that approximately 70% did not begin the admission process until May or June, so spaces are saved in selected day and evening classes for adult learners.
• In conjunction with the Division of Math and Natural Sciences, Division of Undergraduate Students, Learning Resources Center, and the Office of Continuing Education and Training the College offers a free noncredit math course that helps adult learners build math skills and confidence in their ability to succeed in the credit math requirements.
• Using a list of recently discharged veterans provided by the Office of Veterans Affairs at University Park, personalized letters are sent to each veteran inviting them to an adult learner open house and encouraging them to consider enrolling at the College.
• Penn State Altoona works with the Southern Alleghenies Planning & Development Commission (SAPDC) to coordinate regional activities of Workforce Investment Board (WIB).  Associate and Baccalaureate degree majors and selected credit and noncredit certificates offered at Penn State Altoona have been approved by the SAPDC and are posted on Career Link, Pennsylvania’s Website for employment and approved educational programs.
• In order to enhance the recruitment of adult learners, the academic schedule of classes will be reviewed annually to assess its support and attractiveness to adult learners.

• Baccalaureate majors enrollment is up 22.2% from 2000-01 to 721.  Altoona College upper division enrollment is up 26% from 2000-01 to 574.
• The College will continue to add high quality baccalaureate programs with a goal of having 15-18 programs and over 900 upper division students by 2006 (See Appendix B for proposed program plans).
• Because DUS students are roughly 20% of the student population at Altoona, recruitment strategies that target DUS students to enroll in Penn State Altoona degree programs should be developed.

• Penn State Altoona has a Retention Committee with representation from across the College.  To assist the committee in its work, the College will develop and implement a student satisfaction and climate assessment survey to be conducted every two years beginning in Spring 2003.  A new exit survey for students who depart the College for reasons other than graduation or change of assignment should also be developed.
• Since involvement with faculty is a key for student retention, our best faculty should be encouraged to teach key lower-division courses.  Strategies that enable faculty to recruit students into Penn State Altoona degree programs, such as recruitment dinners, internship and senior project presentations, the Major Event, and the Altoona College Major Event (ACME), should be expanded.
• Continuing Education and Training will administer selected mid-semester credit classes, which allow students to retain their full-time status after dropping classes early in the semester.
• A new Career Services booklet is available on line, and has links to information about majors, job descriptions and companies that have hired graduates from the College.  Career Services offers Alumni Career panels that are linked to a particular major, i.e., BSMET and Education, as well as a Career Day for all majors.
• The OASIS program, which matches students who have a G.P.A. below 2.0 at the end of their first semester with a faculty or staff mentor, and the Excel Program, which provides extra support and programming to students with learning disabilities, should be expanded.
• An On-Campus Day Care Center should be developed to support students, faculty, and staff, as well as academic programs at Penn State Altoona by 2006.  See Goal 4 for further information.
• The College should examine the possibility of having the Collegiate Review publish “Welcome to the Major” lists for students enrolled in Penn State Altoona degree programs.

• Under Indicator 2.a., include adult learners and minority students by category.
• Under indicator 2.c.1., include minority students in individual categories.
• Add an indicator tracking the number and percent of students who return for sophomore, junior, senior years by category including adult, international, and minority students.
• Under scholarships, indicator 2.c.3. add the number of scholarships and dollar amounts for upper division and leadership-activity based scholarships. Re-evaluate “Outside agency” section to include additional scholarships that students currently receive from groups that are not documented.  Also, add adult students to the tracking data.

Expand co-curricular activities to support academic experiences:

• Participation in student organizations increased from 1375 to 1400 (1.8%).  Five new student organizations were formed in 2001, and four more organizations are in the formative stages as of November 2001.  A Chapter of Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honorary was established at the College in 2000-01.
• The Collegiate Review, college newspaper is now published every two weeks. Hard Freight, the College literary and visual arts magazine is published twice a year.  A Penn State Altoona Yearbook and Yearbook student group with a faculty advisor was started in 2000-01.
• A new full-time Assistant Director of Student Life for Greek Affairs was hired in August 2001 to support Greek Life, Service Learning, and Leadership Development programs.
• The Division of Student Affairs continues to host the Distinguished Speaker Series to enhance the quality of intellectual life at the College and surrounding communities.  The 2001-02 Distinguished Speaker Series includes speakers chosen by each Academic Division.  This new process encouraged faculty to promote the lectures to their students, and faculty and student attendance has increased four fold with an average audience of 650.
• The College continues to offer the Cultural and Performing Arts Series, and also hosts the African American Arts Festival and the Westslyvania Arts Festival.  A new Box Office and Gallery Manager has been hired to expand our visual and performing arts presentations and to support the Integrative Arts program.  Allied Motion dance troupe has expanded its performances.  Penn State Altoona now has a Concert Choir, Jazz Ensemble, Pep Band, Step Team, Dance Team, and a Gospel Choir.
• Orientation in Fall 2001 was expanded and included several new academic focused programs.  A Fall Academic Convocation was initiated at Penn State Altoona in 2001 with over 650 people in attendance.
• A new coffee house funded and staffed by Housing and Food Services will be opened in the Slep Student Center in January 2002.
• Service learning activities and support services should be expanded to link students’ academic work with the broader community.
• The expectation that students use their University email accounts should be established.  During FTCAP in the past two summers, students activated their computer accounts, and they were shown how to forward email to existing non-university accounts (aol, hotmail, etc.)

• Health Education activities have increased by 8.3% from 2000-2001 for a total 65 programs.  The Health and Wellness Center added Saturday hours at the request of students in 2000-01.
• The Health and Wellness Center hired a new Nurse Practitioner and redesigned the position to provide a higher level of care to students.  A new fixed-term I Personal Counselor has been funded from temporary funds to meet the acute need for additional counseling support programs.
• The new proposed Health Center should break ground in early spring 2002.

• A new full-time Assistant Director of Career Services was hired in August 2001 to further expand Career Services and placement activities at the College.
• The number of on campus recruiters sponsored by Career Services reached an all time high with 65 companies visiting the college (80% increase).  Career Services has contracted with the College Career Network to assist students with job search activities. Career Services has established community and employer advisory boards, as well as a student advisory board to garner feedback on services and programs offered by the department.

• Men’s and women’s soccer became varsity programs in Fall 2001, which increased the total number of NCAA Division III sports offered at the College to 12.
• The number of intramural/recreation sports offerings and the number of participants remain at the maximum possible given our current facilities.
• A new track and soccer field have been added to the college to support Varsity Athletics and Intramural and Recreation Sports.  A new softball field has been added to support Varsity Women’s Softball, and a new press box and concession stand has been added to the baseball field.
• The Division of Student Affairs, Alumni Relations, and Varsity Athletics will co-sponsor Penn State Altoona’s first Homecoming in October 2002.

• Under indicator 3A add an “Honor Societies/Professional Clubs” category.
• Add a strategic indicator to track service learning activities.

Augment the physical plant and support services:
  On a positive note, steps have been taken to provide facilities:

• Continuing Education opened the Downtown Conference Center, which also provides space for the foreign and independent film series in support of our Integrative Arts program.
• Two additional classrooms in Cypress were made available for Spring 2000.  Resident Iinstruction is making use of three other classrooms in Cypress.  Cypress 111 is being converted to a computer lab for instructional use for Spring 2002.  Continuing Education moved its offices into the Heritage Center in downtown Altoona next to the Downtown Conference Center, which opened up space for faculty offices in Cypress in Summer 2001.
• Ground-breaking for a new Health Center is planned for Spring 2002, and this facility should be ready in Spring 2003.  The building will include two classrooms to support the nursing program, ten faculty offices, and space for the Health and Wellness Center.
• An architect for a general classroom building was assigned in October 2001 (WTW, Pittsburgh, PA) and the building is scheduled to open Fall 2004.  The University has agreed to provide bridge funding for the classroom building which will allow for the expansion of this facility and for the expansion of the library into the 1st floor of Eiche and the 2nd floor of CLRC.  The expansion of Robert E. Eiche Library will add 13,005 square feet of additional space to meet needs for collections, seating, periodical and microfilm areas, group study rooms, technology classrooms for library instruction, and additional computer terminals.  This additional space combined with 2nd floor of the CLRC would provide space for the library’s needs, an expanded Learning Resources Center, and room for Instructional Services.  The Learning Resources Center (LRC) currently occupies two offices and a small tutoring area in Eiche/CLRC, and three professional tutors hold their tutoring hours in their faculty offices.  With the library expansion, the LRC would expand to 3,095 square feet and provide a comprehensive tutoring and learning center.
• Additionally, the university’s Classroom Improvement Fund has funded three major projects.  Classrooms and laboratories have been added to help improve the space available for teaching and research.  These three projects alone have cost over $280,000 (See Table below).

Facilities Needs and Plans:

• The College’s Master Plan needs to be updated to include the proposed projects listed below.  The College had begun work on the master plan in Spring 2000, but this work was halted before completing an update.
• An events center has been added to the State of Pennsylvania Capital Budget Plan, but no year has been forecast for release of the funds.
• A Multicultural Resource and Support Center has been suggested to enhance minority recruitment and retention.  This center would be located in the Slep Student Center using existing space, and would be attached to the Office of Multicultural Affairs and International Services.  It would be a space where students of color could find resources, support, programs, and the opportunity to interact with a sense of community on campus.
• A Media Center is needed to support the Communications program, which is slated to begin in Fall 2002.  This center would require 3,500 square feet and would include an audio and video production lab, a recording booth, TV broadcasting booth, writing lab, newspaper office, darkroom and photography lab, seminar room, and offices.  In the interim, the Communications program will make use of the College newspaper, the internal cable system, and the local Access channel to provide for student production experiences while disseminating the news.  The future location of this facility is under discussion.
• The Slep Student Center, the Port-Sky Café, and the Bookstore need more space.  An assessment of all facilities that support the out-of-class experiences of students should be conducted, and a five to ten year plan to upgrade and expand current facilities and to construct additional facilities should be established.  The Café and Bookstore expansions have been delayed to 2003 and 2004, respectively.  Tentative plans to merge Slep, the Port-Sky Café, and the Bookstore by 2007 have been developed based on a study of student centers at six other institutions.  This 45,000 square foot addition to these facilities would provide additional space for dining, student life activities, student affairs staff, and the bookstore.  However, no source of funding for this project has been identified.
• Development of a Child Care Center for the college was recommended by the Faculty Senate in Spring 2001.  The Child Care Center would benefit the Human Development and Family Studies and Elementary and Kindergarten Education programs at the College.  This facility would also provide needed assistance for faculty, staff, students, and local families with children, and it would assist with retention of students, faculty, and staff.  A modestly sized center would require 2,105 square feet inside and 1,840 square feet outside.  The inside areas would include three classrooms for children of different ages, an observation room, a small kitchen, restrooms, space for staff, and a director’s office.  In the near future, the College administration will conduct a feasibility study for the construction of this facility and then will develop a plan for garnering support from a broad array of sources, including federal, state and private.
• A Center for Innovation and Creativity has been suggested by the Division Heads.  This would provide space and other resources for people from many disciplines (e.g. artists, technologists, entrepreneurs, etc.) and many roles (e.g. students, faculty, staff, and members of the business and non-profit communities) to foster (1) creative activities, (2) research about creative processes, and (3) dispersion of knowledge about innovation and creativity. Although some work may be done simply for its own sake, one of the goals of the Center is practical: to foster product development, new technologies, entrepreneurship, and economic development.  The location and funding for this facility is under discussion.

• The Development Office is in the process of raising $4 million for capital projects at the College; $2 million for the expansion of the new classroom building(the University is loaning the College this amount to allow for the expansion to be part of the original building plan); $1 million to renovate the library after offices, etc., are moved to the new building; and $1 million for an Alumni/Development Center, which will include offices and a large event area.  The Development Office will work with the University’s Central Administration and CEO and Dean of Penn State Altoona to expand funding for facilities and to identify appropriate naming possibilities for new facilities.
• Faculty need to work with the Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs for Research and Sponsored Programs at the College to identify potential external grant sources for equipment and facilities.  However, faculty do not receive much recognition for program and equipment grants in tenure and promotion processes, which tends to limit their actions in this area.  One possible solution to this problem is to identify faculty and/or staff champions who are in a position to lead proposal development.  The Associate Director of Academic Affairs is working with his professional staff and the Assistant Dean to identify appropriate opportunities for developing equipment and facilities proposals.
• In cooperation with University Park, the College should enhance ties with local and state legislators in order to secure additional funding.  With the local economy being especially hard hit by job losses and plant closings, the College should emphasize and enhance its role in contributing to economic development and workforce training.
• As new programs are developed which have significant facilities and equipment needs, the faculty and division heads in these programs need to work to develop partnerships with firms in these areas.  The Communications faculty are planning to attend the Comdex meeting in Las Vegas in Spring 2002 in order to begin building ties with electronics and digital technology firms.
• Given the constraints on space, the College should ensure that space is used as efficiently as possible.  The Division of Mathematics and Natural Sciences worked with the NSF to bring a team of scientists to review space usage in the Science and Holtzinger buildings in December 2001.  Given the limited space that is appropriate for construction, consideration should be given to building multi-story facilities in the future, including a parking garage.

• ADA Compliance: It will also be necessary to coordinate the Development Plan with the College Strategic Plan and to coordinate ADA requirements with College and University offices.  In each of these, coordination with the development office, working with legislators, and working with administration, a specific person or persons should be identified to carry out these responsibilities.
• Safety and Disaster Planning: In light of recent events, Penn State Altoona should continue to review and revise the disaster plan for the College and to review and enhance security systems at the College.  This would include providing general security and personal safety for faculty, staff, and students and developing solutions in guarding against theft and damage.  Professional staff in the Division of Business and Engineering and the Division of Mathematics and Natural Science have been working to improve safety policies and procedures in research and teaching laboratories.

Increase programming through Continuing Education and Training:

• Continuing Education and Training will need to increase the number and diversify the range of programs offered in order to assist our service area in adapting to the current economic downturn.
• Continuing Education is currently expanding the number of student credit hours generated by offering more graduate level courses including a Master’s program in Curriculum and Instruction, courses leading towards a Technology Integration Certificate, and general interest courses such as PSY 436 and BA 497.  Discussions are also being conducted with two other campuses concerning the possibility of providing a local MBA program through Continuing Education.  Additional student credit hours will be generated through the administration of selected mid-semester credit classes.
• To increase the overall income generated, the number of total enrollments for both credit and non-credit courses, and the number of programs held at the Downtown Conference Center, radio advertising is being added to the current mix of newspaper advertising, individual program brochures, and the overall semester catalog.
• Opportunities to increase programming include expanding the number of credit and non-credit programs delivered at the Penn State Downtown Center, increasing program development and collaboration with faculty members, working with the school districts to provide on-site delivery of credit courses for Act 48 teacher training, and continuing the Masters of Education in Curriculum and Instruction.  Continuing Education and Training will expand the successful summer youth programs held at Penn State Altoona to other locations within our service area and will establish a scholarship fund to ensure that underprivileged youth will be able to attend.
• Surveys will be conducted to assess the needs of the business community, teachers, and nurses within our service area to aid in the creation of new programs.

• Continuing Education and Training will need to seek out and establish partnerships with other educational providers and emphasize on-site contracted training programs with area businesses.
• Continuing Education is currently working with the Outreach Office of Program Development to identify ways to strengthen the existing partnership with the Greater Johnstown Career and Technology Center.  The Advanced Municipal Police Officer Certificate and the Technical Communications Certificate are under consideration as ongoing offerings at the Center.  Attention will need to be given to maintain and expand the established partnerships with remote delivery site locations such as the Greater Johnstown Career and Technology Center and the Mary B. Wheeler School of Design.
• The Continuing Education staff is being reorganized to allow more dedicated time for developing contracts for training, including on-site delivery of the computer training course utilizing the portable laptop lab.
• Continuing Education will continue collaboration with the Statewide Office of Continuing Education to deliver the Web Pro certificate and the Technical Communication certificate programs, and with the Human Resource and Development Center of Penn State to deliver programs at the Downtown Center.
• Continuing Education and Training will also continue working with Conferences and Institutes from University Park and the Altoona Railroaders Museum to establish a residential week long summer educational camp for youth, and will partner with the Railroaders Museum on the annual Railroaders conference.  Continuing Education will partner with the Penn State Alumni Association on an annual alumni educational tour, and will continue our partnerships with the Altoona Symphony, the Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art, and the Altoona School District for the Summer Arts Institute for youth.

• The College continues to host the African American Arts Festival and Westsylvania Arts Festival.  The College also sponsors a Speakers’ Series and a Cultural and Performing Arts Series, which brings the surrounding community to the college.
• In 2000-01, a scholar from Brazil was a Fulbright Artist-In-Residence at Penn State Altoona.  She taught a class, produced a dance performance piece at the college and at the Mishler Theatre, and participated in outreach activities at local schools and art organizations.
• The Division of Arts and Humanities sponsors a film series at the Downtown Center.
• The College hosted a display of recent war photography in the Ward Conference Room in Fall 2001.  This exhibit is part of a larger exhibition of images from Indochina and Vietnam that is being sponsored by the Fire Base Eagle group at the Heritage Discovery Center.  The College has ten national juried art exhibits in the McLanahan and Sheetz Art galleries planned for the coming year.
• The Allied Motion Dance Troupe received a grant in Fall 2001 from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts to create a new work in collaboration with the Altoona Symphony Orchestra.
• The new Theatre-Gallery Manager has received approval from the Pennsylvania Performing Arts on Tour to bring a performance artist to the College in Fall 2002.  The artist will present a performance, lead a student class, and conduct a community master.
• The Criminal Justice Scholar-in-Residence program brings a major figure in the field to the college each fall, and includes a public lecture.  A Regional Mock Trial Tournament is held at the College each spring, and there are plans to invite local high school mock trial teams to observe.  The College is considering a proposal to bring the National Institute of Ethics to Altoona.

• International activities including study abroad opportunities for students, the number of international students, international research and service opportunities for faculty, and international scholars at the College should be expanded.  (The recruitment and retention of international students is addressed under Goal 2)
• Penn State Altoona currently has an exchange program with CSEM in Marseilles, France, which is expected to bring 5 students here next year.  Faculty from the Engineering Technology program have been involved with the IUT at the Bethune Campus of the University of Artois in France for five years.
• In Spring 2001, faculty from the College led an alternative spring break in the Dominican Republic.  In Summer 2001, a faculty member from the College led a program to Pueblo, Mexico.  A faculty member from the College is planning to lead a program to Rome in Summer 2002.
• The College is also conducting 4-5 programs a year with the University Office of International Programs officers presenting information on study abroad opportunities to our students.

DIVERSITY PLAN UPDATE SUMMARY
The Framework to Foster Diversity planning process originated from University Park in February 1998.  The Plan put forth seven challenges that were to be addressed by every unit of the University.  Penn State Altoona engaged in a college-wide discussion and planning effort to address each of the seven challenges with every unit reviewing the seven challenges and reporting on their current initiatives.  Each unit was also asked to establish a plan on how they would contribute to the College’s efforts of fostering diversity within the context of the seven challenges identified by the University.

Challenge 1: Developing a Shared and Inclusive Understanding of Diversity.
Penn State Altoona established a College definition of diversity in 1998. A draft of the Diversity definition was shared broadly at the college for review and comment.  The definition was also formally presented and discussed with the College’s Executive Staff, Faculty Senate, and Student Government Association.  All comments were reviewed and incorporated into the final definition of Diversity.  The College has employed numerous strategies to distribute our definition broadly at the college and to establish a shared and universal understanding of its meaning at Penn State Altoona.

Challenge 2: Creating a Welcoming Campus Climate.
Penn State Altoona is extremely committed to creating and maintaining an environment that is welcoming and affirming to all members of the college community.  Penn State Altoona values and celebrates diversity in all of its forms.  The educational environment of our College is enriched by the diversity of individuals, groups, and cultures that come together in the spirit of learning.  Programs, services, and policies have been established throughout the College to serve the needs of our diverse college community.

Challenge 3: Recruiting and Retaining a Diverse Student Body.
A major goal within Penn State Altoona’s Strategic Plan is to increase its minority student population to 10% of the total student body by 2006, and to increase international student enrollment to 100 students by 2006.  In order to attract and retain a talented and diverse student body, considerable attention has been given to increasing scholarship support for incoming students, especially those who maybe interested in Penn State Altoona baccalaureate programs.

Penn State Altoona continues to be very successful in increasing the diversity of its student body.  Minority students now make up 9.2% of the student population in 2001-2002, an increase of 20% from 2000-2001.  In Fall 2001, there were 58 minority students enrolled in our associate and baccalaureate majors representing 4.6% of the total, and three international students were also enrolled in our majors.  Adult learner enrollment (students who are 24+ years of age) is currently 578 students or 15% of our total enrollment.  International student enrollment for 2001-02 is 28.

Challenge 4: Recruiting and Retaining a Diverse Workforce.
Penn State Altoona strictly follows the University’s recruiting and hiring policies and practices.  All searches are done publicly either through internal or external posting.   The College actively encourages and seeks out candidates from under-represented groups.  We believe it is important to have a staff and faculty that are representative of the students at Penn State Altoona. There is a commitment to include among the qualified finalists for positions at least one female, a person of color, or a person with a disability.

One of the challenges facing Penn State Altoona is the lack of diversity within the Altoona community and Blair County.  Penn State Altoona’s service area is also among the least diverse populations in the state.  However, Penn State Altoona has a more diverse student population than the surrounding counties.  Over 9% of the student body comes from minority groups, and another 0.7% is made up of international students.  The workforce at Penn State Altoona is more than 4% minority, and the executive, administrative, managerial, or other professional staff is 10% minority.

Challenge 5: Developing a Curriculum that Supports the Goals of our New General Education Plan.
The College regularly offers 27-30 DF or GI courses, each semester, as well as a wide variety of other courses that include issues of diversity, multiculturalism, racism, and social change. Faculty at Penn State Altoona have also worked to link the curriculum to out-of-class activities, especially to enhance diversity topics and issues.  Members of the faculty led a group of students to the Dominican Republic for volunteer work over the 2001 spring break.  Another member of the faculty led the University’s study abroad program in Puebla, Mexico in summer 2001.  The language arts faculty sponsors a foreign poetry slam each semester.  The Division of Arts and Humanities sponsors a film series at the Downtown Center, which includes foreign films and films that focus on diversity issues.

Challenge 6: Diversifying University Leadership and Management.
Release time from work to pursue educational advancement and leadership opportunities is encouraged and supported for all staff and faculty.  Staff and faculty have participated in leadership workshops both on and off campus for as short as several hours and as long as a year.

Challenge 7: Coordinating Organizational Change to Support our Diversity Goals.
The College has been aggressive in establishing systems and strategies that support its diversity goals.  Systems of accountability monitoring the various diversity initiatives are in place within departments and the College as a whole.  Frequent discussions and written updates help to ensure that progress is being made.  Likewise, issues of stagnation or limited success are assessed and responded to as appropriate.

Overall Penn State Altoona has been very successful reaching the diversity goals established in 1998.  While many of the elements to achieving and sustaining our diversity goals are in place, others will need further identification, development, and assessment.  The future success of Penn State Altoona’s diversity efforts will rest with the cooperation and commitment exercised by every member of  the Penn State Altoona community.
 

BUDGET RECYCLYING
In response to the University’s request that each budget executive recycle one percent of their permanent budget internally, Dean Cale charged the Associate Dean, Dr. Meling, to establish a Budget Advisory Committee with responsibility for creating guidelines, reviewing requests for additional permanent funds, and making recommendations to the Dean about these requests.  The Budget Advisory Committee included representatives from the each of the four academic divisions, the Faculty Senate, and staff.  Funds amounting to $170,681 were identified for recycling.  The guidelines for reviewing proposals can be found in Appendix C, along with a brief indication of exemplary proposals that were recommended for funding through the budget recycling process.  This process will be used for budget recycling in each of the years covered by this plan.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY PLANNING
Web Development: A webmaster for the college was hired in Summer 2000 by University Relations.  Working with the various academic and administrative divisions, the webmaster began to revamp all of the college’s web pages, and provided a uniform look for key areas on the web, including academic programs and the four academic divisions.  The webmaster has also assisted in the development of internal web pages, which can only be accessed by Penn State Altoona personnel.  These pages include a calendar for the Misciagna Family Center for Performing Arts, surveys (including one mentioned below on technology classrooms), and tools for editing the on-line calendar and directory.

The Academics Sub-Committee of the Strategic Planning Committee has recommended that uniform faculty web pages be developed to provide basic information about teaching responsibilities, office and offices hours, contact information, etc.

Strategic Planning for Information Technology: Following a reorganization of the management for computing operations, the Dean charged LA Wilson, the Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs and Director of Academic Information Technology to initiate a strategic planning effort for information technology at the college.  The planning committee included representatives from the four academic divisions, the Faculty Senate, and various staff offices.  The committee met regularly through the Spring 2001 semester and produced a strategic plan based on five working papers.  This plan includes an operating budget for the college information technology backbone, computer laboratories, technology classrooms, and a faculty computer replacement cycle. The plan also includes thirteen recommendations, which can be found in Appendix E.

The committee has set a schedule for meetings in 2001-02, and has conducted a survey of faculty interest in using technology classrooms (See Appendix E for summary).  A second survey on faculty use of technology in their teaching activities will be conducted in the spring.  Other agenda items for the year include: administrative technology plan and budget; facilities issues, including the proposed new classroom building and a new computer lab; and a review of the implementation of last year’s plan for academic information technology.

STRATEGIC INDICATORS

1. Cultivate academic excellence.
a. Continue to expand high quality baccalaureate programs to a total of 15-18 by 2006.
1. Number of degrees offered and accredited.
                                               Degrees Offered and Accredited

	1997-1998	1998-1999	1999-2000	2000-2001	2001-2002	Target 2005-2006
Baccalaureate	4	4	7	10	10	15-18
Associate	6	6	9	9	9	9
Minors	0	0	2	8	8	15-18
Accredited
Baccalaureate	1	2	2	2	2	3
Associate	3	3	3	3	3	3

2. Graduates.

Associate	1997- 1998	1998- 1999	1999- 2000	2000- 2001	Target  2005-  2006	Bachelor’s	1997- 1998	1998- 1999	1999- 2000	2000- 2001	Target  2005-  2006
LAS	27	30	18	13		EMET	38	39	23	28
EET	22	18	19	15		NURS	5	13	10	15
MET	18	21	17	34		LASAL	2	9	17	9
BA	17	30	31	38		BSBAL		7	36	40
NURS	34	26	23	25		CJBA/BS			2	24
CJ			0	3		ENGAL			4	14
HDFS			3	6		HFSAL			0	16
IST				4		SCIAL			0
Misc.	3	5	1	0		Misc.	25	13	20	11
Total	122	130	112	141	250		70	81	112	157	350
Total	Associate	and	Baccalaureate	Graduates			192	211	224	298	600
						Master’s			16	2
Total	(with	Master’s	Graduates)						240	300

b. Enhance faculty development.
1. Faculty professional activities – publishing and grantsmanship.

	1997-1998	1998-1999	1999-2000	2000-2001
Refereed Journal Articles *	39	38	48	63
Other Journal Articles *	3	7	6	12
Books *	7	9	7	9
Parts of Books *