President’s Retreat set for August 24-26, 2011

The Presidential Retreat has been set for August 24 and 26, 2011 (Wednesday – Friday) at the FSM-China Friendship Sports Center Practice Gym, COM-FSM National Campus.  The slight change in date is to accommodate high level participation from the college in the upcoming JEMCO. The Interim President was informed late last week by SBOC and FSM JEMCO members that JEMCO will hold its meeting the last week of August in Honolulu.  It was indicated that the FSM will move to have the hold on college construction lifted at the meeting. SBOC and JEMCO strongly recommended that the college be represented at the meeting.  As it is vital for the Interim President and key staff to be at both the Presidential Retreat and JEMCO, his recommendation was to move up the retreat to August 24, 25 and 26, 2011. 

Critical issues to be addressed at the Retreat include:

• Vision, Mission & Values of the college – now and in preparation for 2023. A dialogue on the future and direction of the college.
• Master Plans
  1. Academic Plan Program Prioritization. A review of the process including criterion for prioritization and setting the timeline for decision making.
  2. Work Planning. Review and training in the process for setting work planning through key performance indicators. This process is to help the college ensure that continuous improvement occurs in a structured manner that is aligned with its mission and master plan.
  3. Review of the facilities and financial components of the master plan in preparation for the JEMCO meeting and implementation of the components.
• Open discussions on critical issues to the college. An open exchange on critical issues facing the college to develop a college-wide dialogue on improvement.
• Budget 2012 & 2013. Allocating financial resources of the college with priorities with an emphasis on assessment and alignment with the college’s new organizational structure.

Each of these items addresses critical issues raised by the accreditation commission. The recent letter from the commission is attached to assist with discussions and preparation for the retreat. In this line, it is vital that preparation/review/discussions be conducted prior to the Retreat. The following are recommendations for review and discussion prior to the Retreat by both departments and campuses:

Review and discuss the attached paper on “The Conflicted Realities of Community College Mission Statements to assist with review and discussions on the college mission. This paper concludes with a review of steps to take in review/development of mission statements, but also provides background on what mission statements are and are not. It provides information on the different types of mission statements from general to specific.

• The mission statement review needs to take into account
  1. What happens to the college after 2023 and the termination of the economic provisions of the compact? Are changes in direction needed now? What is our vision of the college and the FSM after 2023?
  2. What would be the impact on the college’s mission and vision if funding was reduced by 10%, 20%, 50%? What would be the impact on the structure of the college if such reductions occur?
  3. What is the impact on the mission if the college develops alternate sources of revenue and funding as described in the Term Financial Plan?
  4. What values would assist the college in meeting its mission?
• Review the master plan and individual components. Documents can be found at http://www.comfsm.fm/irpo/. What is being accomplished against the plan and what needs to be accomplished in the near future?
• Review and discuss the academic program prioritization process from Robert C. Dickeson “Program Prioritization Updated (attached) with emphasis on the criterion for review and establishing priorities. A webinar by Dickeson from NACUBO will also be presented at the Retreat that discusses the prioritization of academic programs. Establishing clear academic priorities based on evaluation and data is also critical for allocating resources and aligning priorities in student services and administration services to academics.