The university is in the process of strategic planning, which will help university leaders in decision-making and budget priorities.
Kelly Meredith, director for institutional research, is the product manager for the committee and is in charge of gathering information for the strategic plan.
Meredith heads the steering committee, which deals with planning focus groups to gauge opinions of students, faculty, staff, and alumni.
The university started with strategic planning not too long after the prioritization process. Prioritization allowed officials to see where university money was being spent and determine if changes should be made to academic and support programs.
Officials are working with Huron Consulting Group to gather resources for the new strategic plan.
“They’re the facilitators,” Meredith said. “They have a structure and an outline, and they make sure we’re staying on track.”
OCU reached out to Huron after releasing a request for proposal. They found that Huron met their needs because they have worked with the University of Oklahoma in Norman more than once and have a lot of experience in higher education strategic planning.
Through Thanksgiving Break, the strategic planning committee will be gathering information and collecting data, and will host weekly strategic planning focus groups.
Meredith encourages students to sign up for the focus groups so that the committee can gain a better perspective about what students need.
“I understand that students are busy, but I want to encourage them to be involved,” Meredith said.
The first focus group met Nov. 3, with the participation of one student.
The next focus group will be hosted from 1-2 p.m. Nov. 17.
“We are really hoping for more people to come out, but we will make an offer available for students who cannot attend,” Meredith said.
During focus groups, students are asked what the university is doing well, what the university could do better, why they enrolled, what they would change about the university, and how they think education is going to change.
Meredith said it is important that the committee understands how technology and education are changing because they want to meet the needs of students.
Interim Provost Kent Buchanan sent out an email Nov. 1 with an attached survey to gauge student opinion about upcoming focus groups. They received good feedback from the survey, but few students signed up for the focus groups, Meredith said.
Suzy Newsom, university studies freshman, said she is not interested in participating in the focus groups because she does not have time, but she advises students to participate if they can.
“I think it would give a good overall opinion of the university and what they could be doing better, so I know that the money that I’m giving them is being spent wisely,” Newsom said.
If she could change anything about the university, she would improve the meals, she said.
Newsom said that she feels like OCU will gain popularity among prospective students because an increase in social media coverage will allow students to see how impressive the music theater program is.
Nic Rhodes, economics/finance senior and SGA president, is a part of the steering committee and is the only student who has participated in a focus group thus far.
He said that most of their feedback from students is about improving the wifi and addressing problems with housing.
The steering committee is focusing on having conversations about updating the university’s mission statement.
“The biggest thing we want to do is figure out OCU’s identity,” Rhodes said. “I don’t think we ever really lost it, but we’re just finding more of what describes us.”
Rhodes encourages students to participate in the upcoming focus groups.
“If you want your voice heard, these focus groups are the best way because the committee actually cares what students have to say,” he said.
Students can email Meredith at kmeredith@okcu.edu if they are interested in joining a focus group.
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