Strengthening physical and technological infrastructures, systems and processes to improve business operations and enhance the campus environment has been a focus in Year 1.
Goal I1
We will institute an efficient process to periodically assess every graduate and undergraduate program from a strategic and fiscal perspective to ensure currency and relevance for our students, the employers and partners who hire them, and other key stakeholders.
OWNERS: PROVOST GEORGE KORFIATIS AND VICE PRESIDENT RANDY GREENE
This is a Year 1 goal. For the fiscal review of each program, responsibility center management is being implemented, which will take three fiscal years to complete. FY14 will begin the process of allocating revenue based on the academic unit where credits were taught, then designing meaningful reports that will provide this data to management. For the academic review, a draft policy has been developed.
Year 2: Continue.
Goal I2
A business and operational enhancement initiative will be established at Stevens.
OWNERS: VICE PRESIDENT RANDY GREENE AND VICE PRESIDENT MARK SAMOLEWICZ
Stevens has engaged a firm, Howard Teibel & Associates, to develop the initial structure to use to review a process or business unit. Through the first process/business unit review, appropriate staff will be trained in order to have internal staff capable of continuing the reviews for additional process/business units.
Year 2: Implement first process/unit review, develop internal team, and develop schedule for FY15 process/unit reviews.
Goal I3 (Augmented)
We will have an information technology enterprise that is an enabler for our research and educational missions, including the deployment of a Virtualized Learning Environment to support students’ access to powerful and specialized engineering applications from their own computers and mobile devices, support of academic online and digital learning initiatives, and the modernization of the University’s Data Center, to support enhanced information systems and network infrastructure in academics, administrative operations, and research.
OWNER: VICE PRESIDENT DAVID DODD
An experienced leader was recruited for the university’s first Cabinet-level Vice President for IT/CIO position. A strategic plan for IT was completed as was a reorganization of the division. Stevens received a competitive award of $7.25 million from the State of New Jersey to launch two pioneering IT initiatives that will dramatically enhance teaching and learning capabilities at Stevens: the Virtualized Learning Environment and the Unified Communications and Collaboration Environment. Implementation of the Slate student recruitment system to support undergraduate and graduate student enrollment is underway. A partnership with Workday to provide state-of-the-art HR/payroll system and a new student information system has been initiated. Nineteen classrooms received technology upgrades. The technology infrastructure for business continuity and disaster recovery has been significantly improved; most mission-critical systems now have backup/contingency plans in place. The Drupal web infrastructure has been reconfigured to overcome significant problems and has been awarded a certificate of health. The site is now cloud-hosted by an external vendor.(Goal initiated in Year 2.)
Goal I3-A (New)
Consistent with Stevens’ historical leadership as a pioneer in use of information technology in instruction, Stevens will identify, deploy and implement state-of-the-art IT systems to increase effectiveness and efficiency for administrative functions across the University, in financial systems, alumni and development, communications and marketing, human resources, admissions, student information/student services, facilities management, and other areas of university operations.
OWNER: VICE PRESIDENT DAVID DODD
(Goal initiated in Year 2.)
Goal I4
Stevens’ finances will improve to the point that the university will have sufficient liquidity to weather short-term adverse financial conditions, from a baseline of 0.2 in 2012 to a target of 1.0 by 2022.
OWNER: VICE PRESIDENT RANDY GREENE
The liquidity index measures whether the university has sufficient cash and liquid assets to cover a portion of its annual total operating expenses. A threshold value of 1.0 indicates that the university could cover approximately three months of its annual operating expenses. The historical June 30 balances for this metric are:
2012: 0.20
2013: 0.36
Additional indices related to the university's financial health follow: The net operating revenue ratio indicates whether the university is living within its means. Two percent is considered a reasonable amount to achieve on an annual basis. The historical June 30 balances for this metric are:
2012: 0.93%
2013: 2.0%
The return on net assets percentage indicates if the university is financially better off than the previous year. Four percent is considered a reasonable amount to achieve on an annual basis. The historical June 30 balances for this metric are:
2012: 1.54%
2013: 18.70%
The viability ratio measures the availability of the university's expendable net assets to cover its long-term debt. The threshold value is to have 2.0 times its debt in its expendable net assets. The historical June 30 balances for this metric are:
2012: 0.389
2013: 1.226
The primary reserve ratio measures whether the university has sufficient expendable net assets to cover a portion of its annual total operating expense. The threshold value is to be able to cover 0.4 of its annual total operating expense with existing expendable net assets. The historical June 30 balances for this metric are:
2012 0.171
2013: 0.508
The composite financial index is a weighted calculation of the first four metrics into a single measure of overall financial health. A threshold value of 3.0 is to be considered as the minimal acceptable financial health.
2012: 1.06
2013: 4.52
Year 2: Continue.
Goal I5
Stevens will construct a university center that will function as the heart of the university and a hub of student, faculty, staff and visitor interactions.
OWNER: VICE PRESIDENT ROBERT MAFFIA
A university center is one of the key needs identified in the Stevens Master Plan, along with additional academic and residential space. The master plan will be presented to the Stevens Board of Trustees and the Stevens community in early 2014. In addition, planning and design for an Academic Gateway Complex, a state-of-the-art academic and research facility, is underway.
Year 2: Continue.
Goal I5-A (New)
A Campus Master Plan, identifying the long-term vision to accommodate Stevens’ growth initiatives described in the Strategic Plan, will be developed and enacted. The Master Plan will address instructional and research space needs, student life and athletic needs, student housing, and associated administrative space needs related to a 60 percent and 30 percent growth in our undergraduate and graduate student populations, respectively, along with growth of faculty, research, and student services. Initial priorities are an Academic Gateway Complex creating a new south entrance to the campus, state-of-the-art laboratories, smart classrooms, conference rooms, collaboration space, and a visually stunning and welcoming pedestrian plaza, as well as a University Center that will function as the hub of student, faculty, staff, and visitor interactions.
OWNER: VICE PRESIDENT ROBERT MAFFIA
(Goal to be initiated in Year 2.)
Goal I5-B (New)
The physical infrastructure of Stevens, inclusive of all new and existing academic, student-oriented, and administrative buildings, as well as the campus environment, waterfront properties and green space, will symbolize excellence commensurate with a premier, student-centric, technological research university in one of the world’s most desirable locations.
OWNER: VICE PRESIDENT ROBERT MAFFIA
Goal I5-B (New)
The physical infrastructure of Stevens, inclusive of all new and existing academic, student-oriented, and administrative buildings, as well as the campus environment, waterfront properties and green space, will symbolize excellence commensurate with a premier, student-centric, technological research university in one of the world’s most desirable locations.
OWNER: VICE PRESIDENT ROBERT MAFFIA
(Goal to be initiated in Year 2.)
Goal I5-C (New)
Stevens will be a model of sustainability, through innovative energy initiatives, policies and programs to promote use of biodegradable materials and recycling, and smart transportation initiatives to reduce use of cars.
OWNER: VICE PRESIDENT ROBERT MAFFIA
(Goal initiated in Year 2.)