Spring 2017 Highlights - Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College

Strategic Priority 1

Elevate the distinctive, high quality education that has been a hallmark of education at SMWC.

Increased new deposits for fall 2017-18 on campus students by 96 percent over fall 2016-17 numbers; added a Priority Student Registration Day; completed early financial aid packaging for all students
Set a plan to roll out the following new majors for the 2017-2018 academic year: Undergraduate – Health & Wellness, Pre-Art Therapy, Pre-Art Therapy Minor and Leadership Minor; Graduate – Masters in Nursing; and business concentrations in Entrepreneurship and Professional Prep
Was awarded F-1 Status by the US Department of Homeland Security for the The English Language Institute, opening international recruitment possibilities to a larger group of potential students
Established a Maymester, allowing students to take credit for faculty-led trips abroad; the first trip launches in 2017 to Dublin, Ireland
Established the Sustainability Summit to promote sustainable issues with the support from a newly created Sustainability Endowment
Fully outfitted and finalized installation of classroom technology for the Learning Resource Center
Conducted an athletics visioning session to discuss growing enrollment through strategically adding new sports for women and men
Began development of a new online student application portal to launch in July
Launched a bi-weekly newsletter to increase student awareness of the Writing Center
Conducted advising and CampusVue workshops and released the best practices in advising to the faculty
Created a communication dialogue for faculty to discuss how they currently connect with first year students and ideas for improvements in the future
Designed and distributed a survey of faculty and staff to assess the current experiences available to students

Strategic Priority 2

Provide a college environment that is relevant to overall student success and enhances students’ quality-of-life through improvements to facilities, spiritual offerings, and an enhanced financial structure.

Conducted a visioning session with the SMWC Board of Trustees and the Sisters of Providence Mission Advisory Board in February 2017 out of which came a prioritized list of projects for the two entities on which they will work together
Completed a landscape plan and a capital improvements plan to help better prioritize campus projects
Replaced the front doors of Rooney Library, which was made possible by a gift
Initiated the renovation of the former Learning Resource Center space to become the Sacred Heart Chapel
Replaced the Le Fer Hall tower windows, which was made possible by a gift; work is underway to repair the roof and interior water damage
Set a plan to add air conditioning, humidifiers, acoustic treatments, paint and new carpet to practice rooms in the Conservatory in May
Completed the dredging and bridge deconstruction work at Le Fer Lake; the final stage of construction and reestablishment of the habitat will be complete by summer 2017
Developed a plan to upgrade all buildings with a card-access system; calling for installation of the system in 1-2 building per year with the top three priorities being the Conservatory, Guerin Hall and the Jeanne Knoerle Sports and Recreation Center.
Established a plan to create a culture where campus-wide safety and risk prevention is a priority; drafted a new strategic focus dealing with physical and personal safety, emergency situations, lock down drills and security breaches in the residence hall
Established a Web Committee to work on the design of a new intranet site
Installed Forms Builder, Workflows, Skype for Business and YouSeeU virtual classroom
Set a plan through the work of the Greening of the Woods Committee to work with the Sisters of Providence on improving the campus-wide recycling system

Strategic Priority 3

Enhance perception of the College through renewed focus on outreach and partnerships, emphasizing the value of relationships that has always been a critical part of education at SMWC.

Increased the prominence of SMWC’s Catholic identity through new e-communications and increasing Catholic-related social media posts by more than 400 percent
Established five new endowments to support students and programming
Increased the advertising budget by 20 percent to improve awareness in key markets
Established a Mission Effectiveness Council, which includes community members, alums and representatives from the Sisters of Providence, to serve as advisors promoting the College’s Catholic identity and values in the community
Established the Brand Committee; created and implemented an editorial calendar and social media strategy
Expanded new faculty orientation to include mission effectiveness orientation
Began the development stage of the new mobile website to launch in August 2017
Created an onboarding process for new employees at SMWC