THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK / ALBANY, NY 12234

 

TO:	The Honorable the Members of the Board of Regents
FROM:	Johanna Duncan-Poitier
COMMITTEE:	Higher Education and Professional Practice
TITLE OF ITEM:	Master Plan Amendment: Keuka College, Interinstitutional Program at Corning Community College
DATE OF SUBMISSION:	January 14, 2005
PROPOSED HANDLING:	Action (Consent Agenda)
RATIONALE FOR ITEM:	Keuka College needs the Regents approval of a master plan amendment to authorize a new interinstitutional program and its academic mission
STRATEGIC GOAL:	Goals 2 and 4
AUTHORIZATION(S):

 

SUMMARY:

 

Keuka College, Keuka Park, seeks approval of a master plan amendment to authorize it to establish an interinstitutional program on the campus of Corning Community College, Corning, Steuben County, and to authorize the program’s academic mission.  A master plan amendment is needed for the establishment of an interinstitutional program, which is a branch campus on the campus of another degree-granting institution.  Keuka now operates a similar interinstitutional program on the campus of Onondaga Community College, Syracuse, Onondaga County.  The Department has determined that the programs proposed for the new interinstitutional program would meet the standards for registration set forth in the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education.

 

Recommendation:  I recommend that the Regents take the following action:

 

VOTED, that the master plan of Keuka College, Keuka Park, be amended effective February 8, 2005, authorizing the College to establish an interinstitutional program at Corning Community College, Corning, Steuben County, at which it would offer a certificate program in Gerontology, Bachelor of Science (B.S.) programs in Criminal Justice Systems, Nursing, and Organizational Management, and a Master of Science (M.S.) program in Management.  This amendment will be effective until February 28, 2006, unless the programs are registered by the Department prior to that date, in which case master plan amendment shall be without term.

Keuka College

Interinstitutional Program at Corning Community College

Certificate, Gerontology; B.S., Criminal Justice Systems; B.S., Nursing; B.S., Organizational Management; M.S., Management

 

Academic Review

 

A. Institutional Information.  Keuka College, Keuka Park, Yates County, received a Regents charter in 1892.  In addition to its main campus, Keuka operates an interinstitutional program (a branch campus on another institution’s campus) at Onondaga Community College, Syracuse, Onondaga County, which the Regents authorized in July 2000.  At its main campus, the College offers undergraduate and graduate programs in the discipline areas of the Biological Sciences, Business, Education, the Fine Arts, the Health Professions, the Humanities, and the Physical Sciences.  At its Onondaga interinstitutional program, the College offers upper-division baccalaureate programs in the discipline areas of Business and the Social Sciences.  For the fall of 2004, Keuka reported a total enrollment, across both campuses, of 1,154 undergraduates and 52 graduate students.

         

Keuka’s mission statement says that:

 

Keuka College is a diverse, student-centered, liberal arts based learning community for those with a range of educational goals, including undergraduate degrees, professional training, and advanced study. Our emphasis on experiential education provides a cornerstone for academic study, career preparation, and personal growth. Through an intellectually challenging and supportive living and learning environment, we seek to foster our students' academic and personal development, providing them with a foundation for a lifetime of learning, service, and leadership.

 

In support of its mission, the College has established its Accelerated Studies for Adults Program (ASAP), a degree completion program, to meet the needs of working professionals.  Degree completion means that adult students who have earned approximately 60 hours of transferable college credit can complete the ASAP baccalaureate curricula in less than two years by taking accelerated courses one evening per week.  Keuka operates ASAP on its main campus and at its Onondaga interinstitutional program and various other off-campus locations.  One of those locations is Corning Community College, Corning, Steuben County, about 47 miles from the main campus.  

 

B. Curricula.  Keuka proposes to establish a new interinstitutional program for ASAP at Corning Community College where it would offer five programs: a 24 semester hour certificate program in Gerontology, upper-division Bachelor of Science (B.S.) programs in Criminal Justice Systems, Nursing (for RNs), and Organizational Management, and a Master of Science (M.S.) program in Management.  These programs are currently registered at Keuka’s main campus or its interinstitutional program at Onondaga Community College.  Keuka intends to offer them at Corning on a periodic or continual basis according to student need.  Keuka states that the proposed programs are based on scholarly research and principles for instructional design and pedagogy for adult learners.

 

The B.S. program in Criminal Justice Systems examines the criminal justice process and its key components and explores issues in ethics, juvenile justice, social conflict, alternatives to incarceration, and the uses of technology in crime and detection. It comprises 51 semester hours of required courses in criminal justice services, English, integrative studies, philosophy, political science, psychology, and sociology.  Students must make up the other 69 semester hours required for the degree through transfer credit, credit for CLEP examinations, credit for prior learning, individualized or independent study, or elective courses. 

 

The B.S. program in Nursing provides practicing RNs with theory related to management and leadership, genetics, community health, business, and nursing research and epidemiology. 

 

The B.S. program in Organizational Management provides its graduates with skills in effective oral and written communication, decision-making/problem-solving, time management, and people skills.  It comprises 54 semester hours of required courses in business, English, integrative studies, organizational management, psychology, and sociology.  Students must make up the other 66 semester hours needed for the degree through transfer credit, credit for CLEP examinations, credit for prior learning, individualized or independent study, or elective courses.

 

The M.S. program in Management is designed to prepare professionals to be effective managers and leaders in their organizations.  It consists of 33 semester hours of required courses in management, including a culminating project.

 

Keuka began offering courses at Corning in the fall of 2001.  Courses meet one evening per week, for four hours, or on weekends.

 

C. Students.  Keuka sees the proposed interinstitutional program as serving the needs of working adults in the Southern Tier and central to western New York.  In the spring 2004 term, Keuka had 292 ASAP students across all locations; 55 (18.8 percent) were at Corning, 52 (17.8 percent) were at Onondaga, 45 (15.4 percent) were on the main campus, and 140 (47.9 percent) were at other off-campus locations.  Of the 55 students at Corning, 41 (74.5 percent) were enrolled in organizational management courses, 6 (10.9 percent) in criminal justice systems courses, and 8 (14.5 percent) in graduate management courses.

 

For admission to ASAP’s B.S. programs students must be at least 25 years old with at least two years of prior work experience, and approximately 60 semester hours of transferable credit.  Adults who do not meet all these criteria may be admitted conditionally.

 

For admission to ASAP’s M.S. program, applicants must be at least 25 years old and employed full-time in a managerial position, or possess an appropriate equivalent combination of maturity, experience, and motivation.  They must hold baccalaureate degrees from accredited institutions with minimum grade point averages of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale, provide two recommendations addressing the applicant’s ability to do graduate-level work, and present personal statements/essays that address specific strengths, professional goals, and future plans.  Applicants lacking the required GPA may demonstrate readiness for graduate study by completing six credits with grades of B or higher at Keuka as nonmatriculated students.

 

Once admitted, students enter cohorts of at least 6 but not more than 18 students that remain together throughout the program.  The College admits cohorts three times a year (in January, May, and September).

 

D. Administration.  Keuka’s Center for Professional Studies and International Programs has oversight of all the College’s off-campus activities.  Its associate dean reports directly to the Provost.  Each program has a program coordinator who provides academic oversight as well as a student services coordinator to provide student support.  At Corning, a local site coordinator will be responsible for on-site support for faculty and students.      

 

E. Faculty.  The program coordinators will choose faculty for the programs offered at Corning from a pool of full-time and adjunct faculty teaching ASAP courses on the main campus, at Onondaga, or at Corning.  Assignments are subject to review and approval by the program directors, the Associate Dean for Professional Studies and International Programs, and the Provost.  The proposal included information on 49 faculty members available to teach the B.S. programs in organizational management and criminal justice systems, and the M.S. program in management across all locations; 26.5 percent hold doctoral degrees.  Seven of the 49 (14.3 percent) are full-time at Keuka.  Thirty-one of the 49 (63.3 percent) have taught Keuka courses at Corning. 

 

F. Resources.  Corning Community College supports the formal partnership, which is modeled on Keuka’s partnership with Onondaga Community College.  Corning will give adult learners and faculty in the nontraditional programs access to classrooms, instructional technology, library resources, and academic support services.  The educational resources complement those offered to adult learners through Keuka’s main campus.

 

Corning Community College’s main campus consists of 8 buildings and an observatory and planetarium on 550 acres, where it offers associate degree and certificate programs in the discipline areas of Business, Education, Engineering, the Fine Arts, the Health Professions, the Humanities, the Physical Sciences, and the Social Sciences.  For the fall of 2004, Corning reported a total enrollment of 4,757 students.  At Corning, Keuka will offer its courses on evenings and weekends, which will make it possible to use regular Corning classrooms at “off-peak” periods.  Most Corning classrooms seat 25 students; all are wired for Internet access; some are “smart classrooms” equipped with data display projectors and computers.  Keuka students will have the same access as Corning students to Corning’s academic computing labs.

 

Course packets that include all required reading materials are delivered to students at the beginning of each course.  In addition, students would have access to the Corning Community College library, which would give them access to the collections of Alfred University, Cornell University, Elmira College, and Ithaca College through interlibrary loan.  Keuka College’s library has a collection that includes more than 80,000 volumes as well as a range of databases that students can access remotely.  Students may request that the library send materials to them, as well.

 

Across all locations Keuka’s adult degree completion activities had budgeted expenditures of some $1.7 million and budgeted revenues of about $2.4 million in 2003-04, for a budgeted surplus of about $0.7 million.

 

Keuka College's financial condition has improved from the prior year.  The balance sheet shows that it has $305,439 in cash.  The College is averaging expenses of almost $1,596,237 per month.  While the cash balance is low compared to expenses, the College has $10.5 million in unrestricted net assets, including more than $6 million in investments.  For 2003-04, total revenues exceeded total expenses by $2.1 million. This represents a healthy ten percent-unrestricted net income ratio.  The Federal composite score for the period ending March 30, 2004, is 2.5, which is interpreted as financially healthy.  This is an improvement from the previous year when the composite score was 1.4. 

 

G. Program Registration.  The Department has determined that the proposed programs would meet the standards for registration set forth in the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education. 

 

Planning Review

 

          H. Need.  Keuka’s nontraditional programs seek to serve the needs of individuals seeking personal enrichment and professional advancement whose work and family responsibilities make it impossible to attend classes full- or even part-time during the day.  Because the Keuka programs are accelerated in format and delivered in the evenings and on weekends, full-time working adults are given increased access to higher education in a shorter period of time. 

 

Through the continued education of working adults, Keuka seeks to contribute to the economic and social well being of persons in its service areas.  The effort to increase access to higher education for underserved constituencies is consistent with the College’s mission.  To reach the working professionals served by Keuka’s accelerated, evening programs, the College depends on partnerships with off-campus sites around the State.  A steady increase in enrollment over the last 18 months in the Keuka courses offered at Corning as an extension site illustrates the market need. 

 

According to Keuka, the Criminal Justice Systems program prepares students to advance in the ranks of law enforcement or for higher-level entry in law enforcement agencies.  The Organizational Management program prepares its students for entry- or mid-level management positions, especially in public sector and non-profit organizations.    The Nursing program opens opportunities in nursing for RNs prepared at the diploma or associate degree level.

 

Except for network and computer system administrators, the State Labor Department does not list management positions among either the fastest growing occupations in the Southern Tier or those with the largest number of annual job openings.  Positions in law enforcement also are absent from that list.  Nursing, however, is a different story.  The Labor Department lists Registered Nurses among the 10 occupations in the Southern Tier with the largest number of annual job openings (an average of 230) per year through 2010, with 110 of the openings resulting from employment growth.  Despite the projected lack of regional employment opportunity in management, generally, and in law enforcement, the programs in those fields proposed for the Corning interinstitutional center may be attractive to adults already working in management or law enforcement and seeking advancement. 

 

I. Effect on Other Institutions.  In the Genesee Valley Region, nine institutions offer baccalaureate and/or master’s degree programs in the subject areas of business management and administration; nursing; or police, law enforcement, and corrections: the State University College at Brockport, the State University College at Geneseo, Elmira College, Medaille College (Rochester campus), Nazareth College, Roberts Wesleyan College, Rochester Institute of Technology, Saint John Fisher College, and the University of Rochester.  Except for Elmira, they are located in or adjacent to Rochester, over 100 miles from Corning.  Elmira and Corning are less than 20 miles apart.

 

A canvass was conducted of all colleges and universities in the Genesee Valley Region.  No institutions responded to it.