SECTION 6.2: INSTITUTIONAL ADVANCEMENT

CONTENTS: SECTION 6.2

INTRODUCTION
FINDINGS OF THE COMMITTEE ON INSTITUTIONAL ADVANCEMENT

6.2 INSTITUTIONAL ADVANCEMENT
6.2.1 ALUMNI AFFAIRS
6.2.2 FUND RAISING

COMPLIANCE TABLES: SECTIONS 6.2—6.2.2

INTRODUCTION

FINDINGS OF THE COMMITTEE ON INSTITUTIONAL ADVANCEMENT

6.2 INSTITUTIONAL ADVANCEMENT

1. Each institution should have a program of institutional advancement, which may include development and fund raising, institutional relations and alumni affairs (Criteria 70).

The Committee on Institutional Advancement determined that the University complies with this imperative.

Sam Houston State University has a program of institutional advancement that includes the three functional areas of alumni relations, public relations, and development. These programs are administered through the Office of University Advancement, which, previously known as the Office of University Relations and Development, assumed its current name on September 5, 1997. (The organizational chart in the 1987 SACS Self-Study report reveals that the Alumni Association and the Development Office then reported to the Vice President for Finance and Operations.) The Public Relations Director and Alumni Relations Director both report to the Executive Director of University Advancement, who is responsible for overall administration of advancement and is, additionally, the chief development officer. The Executive Director of University Advancement reports to the President of the University and serves as a member of the President’s Cabinet.

2. If there is an advancement program, it must be directly related to the purpose of the institution (Criteria 70).

The Committee determined that the University complies with this "must" statement. The advancement program of the University directly relates to and supports the purpose of the institution. The advancement program supports the purposes of instruction, research, and community service in each of its three functional areas. The Office of Public Relations promotes the image of SHSU and its various offices and programs by promoting quality publicity about SHSU and assisting in the production of quality publications. These activities aid the recruitment of quality faculty and students and strengthen the ties of the university to the region it serves. The Office of Alumni Relations seeks to keep alumni connected to SHSU through a number of means and strives to build voluntary as well as monetary support for the programs of the university and, thus, to assist the University in accomplishing its mission. Fund raising and development activities, handled by the executive director and his staff, serve to identify sources of outside funding and to establish, build, and maintain relationships with individuals, corporations, and foundations to enrich instruction and research at the university. These activities accord with the University purpose and mission.

Colleges and departments contribute to University advancement through their direct contacts with alumni and other constituents. The Office of University Advancement maintains relationships with deans, chairs, and faculty to facilitate the organization of alumni events and fund-raising efforts. These college and departmental events and efforts support student scholarships, instructional enrichment, and faculty development, all consistent with institutional purpose.

3. Qualified persons should be responsible for administration of the program (Criteria 70).

The Committee on Institutional Advancement determined that the University complies with this criterion.

The advancement program at SHSU is administered by a well-trained, experienced staff. The Executive Director has over eight years of development experience and is a doctoral candidate in a program in higher education administration with an emphasis in institutional advancement. The two individuals in director-level positions for alumni relations and public relations hold graduate degrees, and one teaches at the University level in his area of expertise. The development area is headed by the Executive Director. Vitae are available in the Office of University Advancement.

Having determined that the University complies with all of the imperatives in this section of the Criteria, the Committee on Institutional Advancement makes no recommendations; to improve the effectiveness of institutional advancement, however, the Committee proposes the following suggestion:

RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS: SECTION 6.2

Sam Houston State University should place greater emphasis on fund raising, especially by tapping additional resources to increase private support for the institution.

6.2.1 ALUMNI AFFAIRS

1. The relationship between the institution and its alumni should be one that encourages former students to continue to participate in the development of the institution (Criteria 70)..

2. It should also assist in the evaluation of institutional effectiveness(Criteria 70).

3. Institutions are encouraged to maintain up-to-date records on the location of former students and to employ periodic surveys (Criteria 70).

The Committee determined that the University complies with these imperatives.

Sam Houston State University is strongly committed to maintaining close ties with its former students. Alumni are encouraged to assist in the growth and development of the institution and to participate in the evaluation of institutional effectiveness. This relationship is nurtured in part within the programs sponsored by the specific academic units that compose the University (see commentary below). These programs are complemented and assisted by activities relating to alumni involvement under the centralized Office of Alumni Relations. The Office of Alumni Relations plans its own activities and, as an umbrella organization, is frequently called upon by the academic units for advice in the planning of other alumni activities. In this manner, it is believed that potential problems such as conflicting communication and unproductive duplication of effort can be kept to a minimum.

University agencies concerned with alumni involvement in institutional advancement include the Office of Public Relations, University Development, the Bearkat Club, and individual colleges and departments. In attempting to disseminate information about alumni accomplishments and to promote a continued sense of "connectedness" with former students, the Office of Public Relations maintains the Access Sam web page, assists in the publication of the newsletter Legacy, and interacts with regional mass media. Alumni are encouraged to share personal and professional accomplishments through use of forums such as "Hometown Release" (which cites awards) and "Professional Achievements." In addition to its concern with institution-wide fund raising, the Office of University Advancement advises and communicates with alumni regarding the establishment of endowments, scholarships, and the like. Other organizations across the university such as the Bearkat Club, a sports booster organization, also include within their scope of activities the sponsorship of programs which both utilize and serve alumni. A number of SHSU colleges and departments utilize advisory councils which are geared to obtaining constructive input regarding the future development of University programs and services.

Many activities are available to alumni through a wide variety of institutional units. For example, the Department of Language, Literacy and Special Populations regularly invites alumni to its conferences both as guest speakers and participants. The College of Business Administration sponsors an Executive-in-Residence Program, distributes periodic surveys aimed at soliciting alumni input regarding its courses and programs, and oversees a number of professional organizations—headed by alumni directors—which provide field trips and internships for deserving students. Departments as widely divergent as Physics and Chemistry, Library Science, and Political Science sponsor annual dinners for alumni which help facilitate communication with faculty and current students. The Department of Music engages alumni both in service and recruitment for its summer camp programs. The Department of Art encourages former students to mount exhibitions in the Gaddis Geeslin Art Galley. Some disciplines also support professional fraternities for alumni; the College of Education and Applied Science, for example, sponsors Phi Delta Kappa. While restricted to those individuals who have participated in intercollegiate athletics at the University, the Letterman’s Association involves alumni in fund-raising drives and attendance at athletic competitions and other institutional events. Virtually all departments are making an effort—either individually or through their respective colleges—to accumulate data on their former students.

The goals and objectives of the Office of Alumni Relations, as outlined in its "Institutional Effectiveness" report, dated November 7, 1997, exceed SACS criteria. The mission statement of the office declares: "The Office of Alumni Relations will connect and reconnect alumni to the institution through the involvement of the administration, faculty, staff, students, and alumni for the advancement of Sam Houston State University and its alumni." As offshoots of its mission, the office is committed to maintaining accurate records of SHSU alumni; communicating with alumni through publications, invitations to special events, and general correspondence; providing the opportunity for intellectual and social interaction between alumni, administrators, faculty, staff, and students; and maintaining a close relationship with currently enrolled students at SHSU. The office endeavors to meet these goals through a number of initiatives: (1) sending at least one mailout per year to alumni with an address update request, (2) upgrading the computer database dedicated to gathering data on alumni and acting as a clearinghouse for the dissemination of alumni information, (3) distributing at least two issues annually of the alumni magazine Legacy, (4) compiling the Alumni Directory every five years, (5) maintaining timely correspondence with alumni, (6) planning and implementing fifteen alumni socials statewide per year, (7) communicating continuing education opportunities provided by SHSU, and (8) supporting a wide variety of student functions (for example, offering student scholarships and recruiting students for the Alumni Alliance).

According to the Executive Director of University Advancement, the number of alumni donors to university programs and related organizations has increased less than 1% over the past five years. There has been a 25% increase in the number of dues-paying members of the Alumni Association during this five-year period. The university, however, falls considerably short of the national average for traditional universities in both categories, and the Alumni Association has addressed this situation in its strategic plan for the future.

Table 6.2.1 shows statistics for alumni donations for fiscal year 1997 (excluding dues). Office of University Advancement records indicate that the total amount of gifts processed by the office for the year was $1,737,234.40; the total number of donors to SHSU during the same period was 1,053. In comparison, the total value of alumni donations was $363,618.97; the total number of alumni donors was 375. Alumni, representing 36% of the total number of donors, contributed 21% of the total donations.

Despite the Office’s active agenda, the overall number of members in the Alumni Association relative to the total number of alumni remains at about 2%. The office’s impact is enhanced, however, through cooperation with organized alumni groups in various colleges and departments. The Alumni Relations Director functions as a facilitator in coordinating university alumni outreach. Nevertheless, it remains likely that some alumni activities are less successful than they might be because of minimal interaction between the office and the various academic units. For example, efforts at developing one comprehensive alumni database remained in the formative stage until a comprehensive effort was made by the alumni office to gather together those records maintained elsewhere. While some departments have opted to maintain their own set of records, it appears that the Office of Alumni Relations possesses more up-to-date alumni information. The office has been engaged in converting the existing alumni database to a new data program during the past academic year. Completion of the project has been designated a high priority by the Executive Director of University Advancement; the target date for finishing is December 1998.

The university administration appears committed to utilizing alumni input. For example, the Alumni Association Advisory Board President has recently served on the search and screen committees for the position of President, Executive Director of University Advancement, and Director of Athletics. In addition, the findings of both unsolicited feedback and formal surveys conducted by many institutional units involving alumni are widely disseminated throughout the university community and considered in all planning activities.

RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS: SECTION 6.2.1

Having determined that the University complies with the imperative in this section of theCriteria, the Committee on Institutional Advancement has no recommendations; to encourage even greater participation of alumni in University affairs, however, the Committee proposes the following suggestion:

The University should develop a system which would provide input from alumni to university decision-makers on ongoing programs and curricula as well as the institution’s overall mission.

6.2.2. FUND RAISING

1. All fund raising must be related to the purpose of the institution (Criteria 70).

The Committee found that Sam Houston State University complies with this criterion.

All fund raising at SHSU relates to the University’s mission and purpose. Fund raising is conducted as a responsibility of the Office of University Advancement, which seeks to locate and develop external, private sources of funding to assist in university priority areas. The Office of University Advancement coordinates with and supports the fund-raising activities of individual colleges and departments. Though there is no specific policy at the university or system level that clearly states that all development activity at SHSU be coordinated through the Office of University Advancement, most units on campus seek assistance and counsel from this office. SACS Self-Study survey responses submitted by the individual units of SHSU confirm that fund raising at SHSU is related to the teaching, research, and service purposes of the university. Most departments that do fund raising use some funds to support student scholarships. In addition, outside funds raised may go for instruction enhancements such as visiting lectures and workshops (conducted by the Department of Art, for example) or learning activities (for example, the Beef Cattle Show Team supervised by the Department of Agricultural Sciences). Many departments support faculty development. Other units, like the College of Education and Applied Science and the Department of Biological Sciences, use funds to support student research facilities and give research awards to students. External funds generated in the Radio/Television area support the university radio station, which provides practical experience for students and a service to the community.

2. All aspects of fund raising must be incorporated into the planning process and evaluated regularly (Criteria 70).

The Committee on Institutional Advancement determined that the University complies with this "must" statement.

Currently the Office of University Advancement takes part in the University planning process. The University’s Strategic Planning Committee, chaired by the Vice President for Academic Affairs, is developing the University’s strategic plan for 1998-99. On March 4, 1998, the Executive Director for University Advancement was appointed to the Strategic Planning Committee. As a primary unit of the university, the Office of University Advancement has submitted goals for all functional areas to be included in the university’s strategic plan, including goals and objectives for development. Therefore, development will be directly incorporated in the University’s strategic planning process. Prior to the appointment of the current Executive Director, fund-raising planning was not formally integrated with University planning. The past director talked with the President, deans, and department chairs and then set fund-raising priorities.

The need for regular evaluation of fund-raising activities, though lacking in the past, is currently being addressed. The Executive Director of University Advancement has submitted goals and objectives for the development area in connection with the University’s institutional effectiveness program. Involvement in the strategic planning and institutional effectiveness processes gives the development area an opportunity to conduct regular and periodic evaluations of the unit’s performance.

No regular reports have ever been generated that would measure fund- raising results against fund-raising priorities for a given year. Much of the lack of measuring performance has been related to the inability of the existing database to produce these statistics easily. The office is compiling actual performance numbers manually this year for the first time. With conversion to the new database (an office priority), however, performance information, needed for evaluation, will be much simpler to obtain. Reports measuring fund-raising results against fund-raising objectives will be prepared in the future in connection with strategic planning and institutional effectiveness goals.

Under the new Executive Director, SHSU will also complete and submit the annual "Voluntary Support of Education Survey" of the Council for Aid to Education.

3. An institution must develop policies and procedures for fund raising and ensure that such policies are appropriately disseminated and followed (Criteria 70).

The Committee on Institutional Advancement determined that the University does not comply with this imperative.

Currently the University has no written policies and procedures for fund raising which are distributed to the University community. The Office of University Advancement under its new Executive Director is investigating system-level policies and current University practice related to development. Though official policy is minimal at the system level and lacking at the University level, a number of departments that reported their fund-raising activities indicated that they follow University policies. Thus there exists within the University a sense of a proper way to go about fund raising and a widespread reliance on the Office of University Advancement. The Office of University Advancement exercises some control of activities through its support and coordination of functions because the Office can review those activities that are reported to them. Since there are no written policies and procedures in place, however, reporting of college and departmental fund-raising activities and resulting gifts is voluntary.

RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS: SECTION 6.2.2

Having determined that the University does not comply with the third of the "must" statements in this section of the Criteria, the Committee on Institutional Advancement makes the following recommendation:

Sam Houston State University must establish comprehensive written policies and procedures for fund raising and publish them in a widely available document such as Administrative Policies and Procedures so that all University units can become familiar with them and follow them.

The Committee also offers the following suggestions:

The University should maintain and encourage the newly begun incorporation of fund-raising information in the strategic planning process and act to ensure the regular evaluation of fund raising.

Nonprofit foundations utilized by a number of universities have the freedom to accept a variety of gifts and to invest and use them in ways not available to Sam Houston State University as a state institution. The University should consider establishing a separate, nonprofit University foundation as a vehicle to enhance fund-raising efforts for University programs and scholarships.

COMPLIANCE TABLES: SECTIONS 6.2—6.2.2

SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS: SECTIONS 6.2—6.2.2

RECOMMENDATIONS:

Sam Houston State University must establish comprehensive written policies and procedures for fund raising and publish them in a widely available document such as Administrative Policies and Procedures so that all University units can become familiar with them and follow them.

SUGGESTIONS:

Sam Houston State University should place greater emphasis on fund raising, especially by tapping additional resources to increase private support for the institution.

The University should develop a system which would provide input from alumni to University decision-makers on ongoing programs and curricula as well as the institution’s overall mission.

The University should maintain and encourage the newly begun incorporation of fund-raising information in the strategic planning process and act to ensure the regular evaluation of fund raising.

Nonprofit foundations utilized by a number of universities have the freedom to accept a variety of gifts and to invest and use them in ways not available to Sam Houston State University as a state institution. The University should consider establishing a separate, nonprofit University foundation as a vehicle to enhance fund-raising efforts for University programs and scholarships.