Dear Faculty and Staff,
As we end a successful 2022-23 academic year, I would like to express my sincere appreciation for the work you have put into teaching, mentoring and supporting our students. I am grateful for your steadfast commitment to the success of our students and to the future of our state, region and beyond. As Chancellor Everts shared with the campus community, our commencement ceremonies this past weekend were wonderful celebrations for our students, their families and the entire App State Community.
As many of you are still putting the finishing touches on the spring semester and planning for the months ahead, I’d like to share information about a project that is underway and will continue throughout the summer and into the fall.
Project Overview
The Huron Consulting Group, whom we have engaged for this project, will utilize a multi-phase approach to complete a thorough functional study of Academic Affairs, with the goal of sharing findings early in the fall 2023 semester. The three phases of work include:
- Assessing the current state of the Academic Affairs division to provide critical institutional perspective on strengths and opportunities;
- Conducting a peer analysis and gathering higher education data to identify best practices or insights regarding peer and/or similar institutions; and
- Presenting their findings to inform next steps regarding options for strengthening Academic Affairs’ organizational effectiveness.
An important outcome of this study will be to provide a shared fact base for discussion moving forward. Any next steps will prioritize student learning and achievement, and will recognize the value of all disciplines in ensuring the sustained success of App State’s academic enterprise.
Your Input Is Critical
As part of the first step noted above, the Huron team will gather information from faculty, staff, deans, vice provosts, department chairs and other academic administrators via interviews, focus groups, short surveys and other feedback channels. This is an important opportunity for you to share your perspectives, and I am asking for your support in this effort. We are committed to gathering input that is representative across the university’s departments, schools, colleges and administrative offices.
Please take this short survey, which will allow all employees to share their thoughts about what’s working well in Academic Affairs as well as opportunities for improvement.
In the next few days, we will begin reaching out via email to members of the App State community to schedule one-on-one interviews, followed by focus group invitations in the coming weeks.
Thank You for Your Flexibility and Support
I look forward to engaging faculty and staff in this process and will continue to provide updates about the project as it moves forward.
Thank you for supporting this important initiative.
Sincerely,
Heather Hulburt Norris, Ph.D.
Provost & Executive Vice Chancellor