Greetings,

For over 20 months, Academic Affairs has evaluated and re-evaluated the core elements of delivering a world-class education at Kent State University. Stemming from our evaluations, we have set our standards for attainment high – from increasing our retention rates to doubling research dollars, we have committed ourselves to success in the short and long-term. Short term goals are critical to the success of the university. Achieving short-term goals strengthens the platform upon which we create our own destiny as an institution. Long-term goals will enable us to look forward – beyond our current budget challenges and into a successful future for our growing university while building upon our current successes.

During the last year, we have faced significant challenges. Most recently, the announcement that the state’s newly enacted biennial budget cuts the Ohio College Opportunity Grant (OCOG) by $224 million statewide, affecting 7,000 Kent State students; compounded with the cut to the State Share of Instruction (SSI) funding is disheartening. These losses will not be offest with the 3.5 percent tuition increase. The budget challenges we have faced, and will continue to face, challenge our ability to move forward with all of our initiatives. But across our campuses, we have the ability to build upon our short-term successes, define the future goals of our university and continue to move into the 21st century with our forward thinking academic planning process.

The 21st Century Graduate Project defined the undergraduate vision at KSU. And in many ways, the 21st Century Graduate Project served as an impetus to drive our forward-thinking planning and implementation processes. The project gave us opportunities to evaluate our current methods and the impact of budget reductions while exploring new avenues for the support of student success. I congratulate and thank each and every participant in the process. We have completed a philosophy statement upon which to build a Kent State education. Destination Kent is in full swing, having welcomed new students to the university throughout the summer and culminating in a revised Week of Welcome prior to the start of the fall semester. In addition, guiding principles for the new Kent Core have been created. Soon, we will update the old LERs to create the Kent Core focusing on learning outcomes. And the Kent State undergraduate curriculum is under review.

It is critical that we continue to provide the support necessary to keep every student on the path to graduation. Current fall enrollment numbers show the diligence of faculty, staff and administrators across the university. We are soundly surpassing the 75 percent goal for Kent Campus retention and are steadily improving upon Regional Campus retention rates. In fact, as of July 27, Kent Campus retention reached 78.6 percent and Regional Campus retention reached 53 percent.

Further success is evident in a number of impactful areas. Summer enrollment jumped this year more than 18 percent across the university system. Extramural funding for research, instruction and public service for FY 2009 has surpassed the FY 2008 level by 43 percent. In just one year, research funding rose from $18.4 million to $31.8 million. Over the next year, we will continue to work on critical initiatives, including public health implementation and a revised and strengthened Regional Campus system.

Our short term successes are meaningful across the Kent State system. But their impact will have greater measure as we define our long-term goals. As part of our academic planning process, we must make tough decisions about defining our core strengths while focusing on providing an overall quality education to our students. We must define what we intend to achieve as an institution and where our greatest impact will be. While these important discussions await us, let me say again thank you and congratulations. Faculty and staff across our campuses have demonstrated Excellence in Action with notable achievements throughout the last year.

With warmest regards,

Robert G. Frank
Provost and Senior Vice President
for Academic Affairs