Appendix F: Work Plan
WASC Outreach Implementation Plan
Outreach Efforts
At the 2007 Convocation, the Chair of the Academic Senate introduced the audience to WASC in his speech. Approximately 500 WASC Q&A handouts were distributed on a table at the event. Subsequently in fall of 2007, the CSULB WASC Web site was redesigned and re-launched. In spring of 2008, the President sent an e-mail to the entire campus community, informing them about WASC and encouraging them to participate. This e-mail message was followed up later in the semester by a more detailed e-mail message from the Academic Senate Chair again urging broad participation. More than 30 individuals representing faculty, staff, and students answered the call.
In the summer of 2008, a design for the WASC campaign was developed, tested, refined, and further tested. The idea of a design or identity for WASC, however, was turned down by the WASC Implementation and Steering Committees in late summer. Based on the success of the previous Convocation, 500 WASC informational handouts, developed to convey the key messages to faculty and staff, were distributed at the WASC table at the 2008 Convocation. The Chair of the Academic Senate again addressed the topic of WASC in his speech, using humor to make the upcoming WASC visit memorable to the audience. Throughout the entire process, materials have been updated and/or added to the WASC Web site.
Challenges and Opportunities:
- Challenge #1: The campus community is extremely broad, and reaching all of them is highly improbable.
Opportunity #1: Outreach efforts can be directed toward the most engaged among the campus community – those individuals who are most active and interested in campus affairs. Opinion leaders influence their constituencies. A broad audience is quite reachable through the opinion leaders and engaged members who influence it.
- Challenge #2: Most members of the campus community are uninformed about WASC. While a few members have heard of WASC, they know little about it.
Opportunity #2: Since awareness and knowledge levels are presumably low, few members of the campus community have preconceived notions about WASC. Therefore, Outreach is able to create a strong identity for WASC – one that would stimulate interest in knowing more about the process.
- Challenge #3: The Implementation and Steering Committees declined the creation of a separate visual campus identity for WASC.
Opportunity #3: Visualization is a highly effective tool for communication campaigns. Informational programs are less effective without a strong identity, theme, and type treatment. Nevertheless, many other means of communication exist. This situation provides an opportunity to rely heavily on strong and powerful interpersonal communication through the use of compelling presentations to campus groups.
Key Messages:
- The university is in the process of reaffirmation of accreditation or reaccreditation and is anticipating a site visit in March 2009.
- WASC is a self-reflective practice that informs us. It acknowledges our best and not-so-best practices and gives us an opportunity to reflect and improve on our educational effectiveness in the context of our mission and what we value.
- WASC is an external validation system, which provides credibility to the institution.
- All members of the campus community are responsible for achieving the institutional mission and for student success and educational effectiveness and should examine their role and contribution in this process.
- CSULB is a learning organization, engaged in self-reflection. It is committed to constantly learning and using what it’s learned to improve the future and meet its mission.
- In this WASC review, CSULB is addressing three core commitments of the university: organizational processes and communication interfaces (how we’re organized and our methods of communicating information); personnel issues (recruitment, retention, and quality of life for faculty and staff); and student success (the enhancement of students’ educational experiences and the reduction of barriers to graduation).
- The members of the WASC visiting team are our colleagues from other institutions who are donating their time to help us be the best we can be.
- All members of the campus community are invited and encouraged to get involved in the WASC process by lending their expertise to the effort, offering ideas, giving feedback, conducting research, and/or participating in events.
Goals:
- to increase awareness among members of the campus community about the WASC process and the upcoming WASC visit in March 2009, regarding the CPR
- to educate the campus community about the WASC process and the upcoming WASC visit in March 2009, regarding the CPR
- to promote widespread participation in the WASC process by extending invitations and providing opportunities for involvement
Objectives
- To increase awareness of the WASC process and the March 2009 visit among the members of priority audience #1 by 40 percent by the end of the spring 2009 semester
- To increase awareness of the WASC process and the March 2009 visit among the members of priority audience #2 by 25 percent by the end of the spring 2009 semester
- To get 20 percent of the priority audiences to participate in the WASC process
Strategies and Tactics:
Strategy: Sponsor a series of special events in which to disseminate key messages
Rationale: Group communication is second best to one-on-one interpersonal communication. In addition, members of the target audience are more likely to attend special events that appear interesting. Town halls are notorious for being boring and at times confrontational. Town halls are unlikely to attract staff and student leaders, unless students are required to attend. Therefore, a more appealing special event is recommended for each semester. For instance, student musicians might play jazz music at the Gourmet Coffee Break while classical music might be featured at the High Tea Timeout. Table tents in the Chartroom and special invitations through campus mail will invite individuals to attend. Staff members will be permitted and encouraged to attend these events during their normal work hours.
Tactics:
- Host a Lunchtime Symposium in fall of 2008
- Host a Gourmet Coffee Break in spring of 2009
- Host a Wine and Cheese Forum in fall of 2009
- Host a High Tea Timeout in spring of 2010
Strategy: Deliver presentations to key campus groups
Rationale: Small group communication is more effective than direct and mass communication. Plus, it is a way to reach a captive, quality audience of campus leaders. Repetition of the key messages is especially important, but each presentation should be fresh and
engaging. Each presenter should be carefully selected for each audience. Prominent members of the campus community – including former members – can be powerful presenters.
Tactics:
- Make presentation to the Academic Senate
- Make presentation to the Academic Senate Councils
- Make presentation to the Academic Senate Committees
- Make presentation to the campus retreats – Senate, ASI, Colleges
- Make presentation to the various Faculty Councils
- Make presentation at the New Faculty Orientation
- Make presentation at the New Chairs Orientation
- Make presentation at an advisors meeting
- Make presentation to a meeting of the college assessment coordinators
- Make presentation at each college chairs meeting
- Make presentation to the Staff Council
- Make presentation to the President’s Cabinet
- Make presentation to the Senior Management Council
Strategy: Use direct media to disseminate key messages
Rationale: Direct media can be extremely useful in reinforcing key messages made during presentations or in making the target audience aware of activities.
Tactics:
- Create a table tent announcing the special events to be placed in the Chartroom
- Produce invitations to the various special events
- Create a flier addressing key messages
- Develop an announcement for the poster session
Strategy: Use local and campus media to disseminate key messages
Rationale: To effectively reach our target audiences, our key messages need repeated through multiple vehicles of communication. One way to achieve that is to use local and campus media. Stories must be newsworthy, interesting, and worthy of placement.
Tactics:
- Write and release press releases each semester about WASC activities
- Run story in 2009 spring and 2010 fall issues of Inside CSULB
- Attempt to secure story in Daily 49er and Union in fall 2008 and 2009 about WASC activities
- Attempt to secure story in Daily 49er and Union in spring 2008 and 2009 about site visit
- Attempt to secure follow-up story in fall 2008 about CRP site visit
- Attempt to secure two story placements in the Long Beach Press-Telegram – one about the spring 2008 visit and another about the 2009 site visit
- Attempt to secure story placement in the Los Angeles Times about WASC
- Attempt to secure story placement in The Orange County Register about WASC
- Run an advertisement in the Daily 49er and Union, announcing the visits in the spring
Strategy: Hold a poster session and reception for faculty, staff, and students in fall 2010 to coincide with the WASC educational effectiveness visit
Rationale: Individuals are motivated by their own self-interests. Faculty want to achieve tenure and promotion, students want to earn good grades and other accolades that will help them achieve their goals, and staff want to be acknowledged for their contributions. Participation in the poster session should be a condition of the 3E Award.
Tactics:
- Present each participant with a certificate
- Give an award to the top posters for each of the three commitments for each target audience, totaling nine awards
- Send each winner a personal congratulatory letter from the President or Provost
- Publish the winners in a proceedings or monograph
Strategy: Use electronic materials to disseminate materials
Rationale: Electronic communication is ever increasing in its effectiveness. This medium should be used to reinforce ongoing communication efforts.
Tactics:
- Send communiqué via e-mail, updating the campus community about WASC activities
- Continue to update and expand Web site
- Announce spring and fall visits on BeachBoard
- Utilize MySpace and Facebook
- Use ASI electronic newsletter to disseminate WASC messages
