Goal 4: Community and Culture
Through a consistent practice of shared stewardship, Keene State College will strengthen its community, enrich its campus culture, and advance environmental sustainability.
Objectives:
- 4.1 Create and support a diverse community of learners and sustain an environment in which all feel welcome, safe, and valued.
- 4.2 Provide curricular and co-curricular experiences that foster commitments to civic responsibility, encourage civic engagement, and promote active citizenship.
- 4.3 Work closely with the citizens, businesses, organizations, and government of the City of Keene and the region to maximize potential opportunities, enhance mutual respect, and contribute to the vibrancy of the College and city.
- 4.4 Develop a campus-wide plan to address student wellness, including health promotion, health risk reduction, alcohol and other drug use, sexual respect, and personal safety, that is aligned with and takes advantage of opportunities within the strategic plan.
- 4.5 Promote a culture and instill and communicate policies and practices that value and support environmental sustainability and improve the quality of life locally and globally.
- 4.6 Instill a disposition toward, and create the ways and means to support, lifetime engagement with the College among Keene State alumni.
4.1 Create and support a diverse community of learners and sustain an environment in which all feel welcome, safe, and valued.
Actions recommended by the Implementation Planning Group:
4.1.1 In conjunction with the development of the enrollment management plan, review recruitment strategies for students, faculty, and staff, and revise as necessary, to increase the demographic diversity of both students and employees of all types.
4.1.2 In conjunction with the development of the enrollment management plan, collect information from students and employees, including groups addressed in the 2014 Campus Climate Survey, to determine their principal challenges for retention and use this information to create a diversity retention plan and inform action to strengthen the campus culture.
4.1.3 Identify and charge a cross-divisional group to review the 2014 Campus Climate Survey results and the data gathered from 4.1.1 and 4.1.2 above and propose 3-5 initiatives to enhance the campus culture, to be accomplished before the next Campus Climate Survey in 2017.
4.2 Provide curricular and co-curricular experiences that foster commitments to civic responsibility, encourage civic engagement, and promote active citizenship.
Actions recommended by the Implementation Planning Group:
4.2.1 Establish an expectation that every student will participate in at least one major community service, service learning or civic responsibility / engagement opportunity totaling a minimum of 20 hours. This would need to be done in conjunction with the integrated academic and co-curricular plan and in alignment with the College-wide learning outcomes.
4.2.2 Create greater capacity both on and off campus to support students’ achievement of 4.2.1 consistent with the College-wide learning outcomes, including (1) preparation of faculty and designated staff to mentor or assist students in meeting this expectation; (2) strengthening of administrative and program structures required to provide necessary assistance and support to students; (3) addressing risk management questions and concerns, especially in regard to transportation of students to events and off-campus community sites; (4) expanding the number of courses offering a service-learning or civic engagement component to ensure that every student will have the opportunity to complete 20 hours of service; and (5) supporting the growth of greater community capacity and preparedness to partner with the College in making these experiences possible and in ensuring that they meet the civic engagement dimensions of the College-wide learning outcomes. Engage members of the faculty especially in addressing faculty development and risk management issues.
4.2.3 Assess current commitment and efforts among existing student organizations in civic engagement, and recognize those student organizations that contribute strongly to civic engagement.
4.3 Work closely with the citizens, businesses, organizations, and government of the City of Keene and the region to maximize potential opportunities, enhance mutual respect, and contribute to the vibrancy of the College and city.
Actions recommended by the Implementation Planning Group:
4.3.1 After the receipt of the “New Hampshire Listens” report from The College/City Commission Forum on April14, 2015, and as informed by the 2014 Campus Climate Survey, engage the leadership of the Campus Community Committee in establishing priorities and action plans for this objective.
4.3.2 Establish an off-campus student association to better represent the needs of off campus students.
4.3.3 Promote the presence of the arts and performing arts on campus and in the community to bring vibrancy to the life of the city.
4.3.4 Create and disseminate a comprehensive inventory of the many activities and events that integrate the College, the city of Keene, and the Region.
4.4 Develop a campus-wide plan to address student wellness, including health promotion, health risk reduction, alcohol and other drug use, sexual respect, and personal safety, that is aligned with and takes advantage of opportunities within the strategic plan.
Actions recommended by the Implementation Planning Group:
4.4.1 As part of the integrated academic and co-curricular plan, inventory current efforts that address student well-being.
4.4.2 Complete a needs assessment collaboratively with students to identify their priorities, needs, utilization of and satisfaction with current services to support student health and well-being.
4.4.3 Utilizing data gathered through 4.4.1, 4.4.2, and other sources, identify gaps that exist in our efforts to create campus-wide support for student well-being and develop and implement an action plan to improve student health, well-being and safety.
4.5 Promote a culture and instill and communicate policies and practices that value and support environmental sustainability and improve the quality of life locally and globally.
Actions recommended by the Implementation Planning Group:
4.5.1 Review Sustainability Tracking and Rating System (STARS) data.
4.5.2 Develop and implement a plan to move Keene State to the STARS Gold rating no later than 2020.
4.6 Instill a disposition toward, and create the ways and means to support, lifetime engagement with the College among Keene State alumni.
Actions recommended by the Implementation Planning Group:
4.6.1 Assess current efforts in engaging alumni.
4.6.2 Study factors that engage students in their first year and beyond and influence their loyalty and connection to the College; as part of this study, review the results of the 2015 Graduating Student Survey concerning students’ expectations for remaining connected with the college after graduation.
4.6.3 In coordination with other Development and Constituent Relations planning, use the results of the two previous action items to create a plan to encourage lifetime engagement among Keene State Alumni.