Dear Profile Readers,

In fall 2023, a group of FSU employees, appointed by the president with representation among shared governance groups, enrolled in and completed the Self-Study Institute (SSI) through the Middle States Commission on Higher Education (MSCHE). This process occurs every eight years as a requirement of the institution to be authorized to be a degree-granting institution eligible to receive federal financial aid. The self-study design process became our roadmap for the next three years to collect evidence and to reflect on progress, and to establish a future road map. Ultimately, demonstrating how we serve our students and live our mission. We established priorities for this Self-Study and the next three-year strategic plan through reflection on the previous strategic plan.

The general vision for both FSU’s strategic plan (2024-2026) and our Self-Study institutional priorities was to focus on increasing enrollment and strategies that focus on promoting a more inclusive campus culture. There were seven working groups established to represent each of the Middle States Standards of Accreditation and who were charged with the collection and analysis of the criteria under each standard. Several campus forums, fire-side chats and meetings lead to the University’s full engagement in the process. Additional working groups were also part of the process, representing in total approximately 100 campus Bobcat family members who were actively engaged in the process of synthesizing and crafting of the final document.

We discovered many strong examples of how we are serving our mission. We did an audit of regular processes and procedures to ensure that operations were grounded in ethics and integrity. Further, we found that Frostburg demonstrates strong teamwork and collaboration between offices, which are essential components of many processes on campus. FSU is committed to supporting the student experience through engaging programs, professional student services and enhanced academic success initiatives. The University has found significant institutional strength in a shared identity as a student-centered university that is committed to providing distinctive personal attention to students.

An analysis of the FSU Dual Advising Model demonstrates increasingly positive perceptions of the advising relationship, improved persistence and retention rates and improved outreach and intervention. FSU is hopeful that these promising early indicators will result in improved graduation rates and corresponding student success outcomes. The University has also established undergraduate and graduate-level learning goals consistent with the mission of the University. All degree programs have articulated program-specific learning goals aligned with these institutional learning goals and with disciplinary standards and employer expectations. FSU also has a vigorous and mature planning and budgeting process aligned with the Strategic Plan, supporting the institutional mission and goals and a strong administrative, advisory and governance structure that encourage broad participation from the campus community.

As for future improvements, Goal 2 of our strategic plan focuses on improving campus climate. Former FSU president, Dr. Ron Nowaczyk, instituted the Bobcats Belong group to address concerns amidst the current challenges of declining enrollments and resources. Additionally, many departments have revised their curricular programming to align with workforce demands, faculty resources and student needs. This process should remain ongoing to ensure student success and continued investment in student engagement opportunities. Universal campus use of one assessment platform is our goal because of findings related to student learning assessment. We have a bright future embedded into our sustainable long-term budget plan to place FSU on solid financial footing while permitting strategic investments in FSU’s future in alignment with our mission.

Our “Frostburg Forward” document was uploaded on Jan. 16 to the Middle States Commission on Higher Education for our site evaluation team to begin their peer analysis. The team visited campus March 9-12, allowing them to meet with all stakeholders who could amplify the evidence provided in our document. There were open sessions for faculty, staff and students to participate in during the visit as well. We held many preparatory meetings with stakeholder groups in advance of the visit.

As a member of the Bobcat family, we thank you for your participation in the vital self-study process. The ultimate goal of this process is to establish a path forward for the University based upon our own self-reflection and the guidance of our peer evaluators' analysis, consistent with the Middle States Standards of accreditation, so that we can continue to provide the best educational opportunities for our students.

Sincerely,  

Dr. Sara-Beth Bittinger '00/D'17

Associate Vice President in the Office of the Provost
Co-Chair of the Self-Study Steering Committee