October 8, 2024 - Updates from September BOV meeting

 

W&M's Board of Visitors met on campus September 25-27. Members of the Dean Team attend every BOV session and below are a few key updates to be aware of following this BOV's meeting. As always, the board agenda, minutes and pre-reads are available online.

 

KPIS - Comprehensive performance measurement: Ahead of this board meeting, five committees were charged with developing key performance indicators (KPIs) that allow board members to understand how William & Mary's Executive Leadership Team measures performance at a glance.

• Student Success: The graduation target for W&M is 94% or above (within 6 years), built on increases in graduation rates based on student income levels and demographics. Currently: 91% overall; Pell=84% vs. 92% others; Students of Color=90% vs. 91% others.
• Applied Learning Opportunities: We recommend retention of the original goal as a placeholder while the Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) process tied to W&M’s decennial reaffirmation further develops the infrastructure for more robust tracking of student ALEs. Original goal: At W&M, overall rates of participation in for-credit internships will increase by 30% [by 2026], returning these rates to near pre-covid levels, when more than 10% of students graduated with those credentials.
• Post Graduation Income Levels: Within the next five years, achieve a knowledge rate of 95% or greater for students who share their salary data through data collection instruments, i.e., the Next Destination Survey, National Student Clearing House, Alumni Career Survey, Lightcast Alumni Pathways and Analyst, Bureau of Labor Statistics, etc.
• Research Grants: W&M will increase externally sponsored research expenditures from State, Federal, Business, and Non- Profit entities (four of the seven components of HERD R&D expenditures) by 5%/year from FY24 through FY28. FY22 sponsored expenditures were $47.2 million. Goals for FY24 are $52 million; FY25 $54.6 million; FY26 $57.4 million; FY27 $60.2 million; and FY28. $63.3 million.
• Faculty Impact and Workload-Teaching: Move the student-to-faculty ratio to 12:1 to align W&M with USNWR top 50 rankings. YELLOW status: W&M’s faculty-to-student ratio is currently 13:1.
• Faculty Impact and Workload-Research: Using a combination of traditional and emerging metrics and supports, increase the visibility and impact of W&M faculty scholarship while also increasing W&M's bibliometric score in USNWR rankings
• Enrollment-Pell Composition: 20% in-state Pell recipients by 2026. Currently 17%. Consider resourcing needed to achieve 10% out-of-state (OOS) Pell by 2030. OOS Pell currently 3%.

You can dive into the data and reporting metrics for the KPIs for Academic Affairs, Administration, Building and Grounds, Financial Affairs, Institutional Advancement and Student Experience. For updated metrics for August 2024, click on the little boxes that say KPI (PDF) at the bottom right of each metric.

 

Emphasis on holistic faculty assessment: The Provost emphasized the need for diverse evaluation methods, highlighting that success and impact must be measured holistically across multiple forms of knowledge production and service, rather than a singular metric. The Board supported this comprehensive approach to performance assessment and recognized the vital role faculty play in advancing strategic goals, particularly in student success, student retention, and other key indicators. Pam Eddy, Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs & Development, Tim Wolfe, Associate Provost for Enrollment and Dean of Admission, and Scott Swan, Peebles Professor of Business and Faculty Representative to the Board, all underscored the importance of faculty-driven student engagement. The discussion reaffirmed the transformative role of faculty in shaping student experiences and advancing institutional goals, highlighting the multifaceted nature of their contributions.

 

Faculty handbook revisions: During the meeting of the Committee on Academic Affairs, Adam Gershowitz provided an update (see prereads) on the continuing faculty handbook revision project. 

 

Updates on ISC4: Updates to the committee on Administration, Building & Grounds updates included that current capital projects overall are on-target or will be on target for completion and ISC4 is slated to open mid fall ‘25. 

 

Need for improvements in Facilities Management: During the meeting of the committee on Audit, Risk and Compliance, Kent Erdahl, Director of Internal Audit, shared recommendations for Facilities Management, which included moving more work in-house, improving billing and turnaround time to a less-than-60-day closeout, and establishing long-term programs for preventive maintenance.