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The Mansfield University self-study will be centered around three focus areas: Student Learning and Experiences, Faculty Roles and Expectations,
and Technology and Instructional Resources. In addition, cross-cutting themes are to be considered in conjunction with each of the primary focus areas. Scroll down to read the specific charges for each focus area below.
Area 1: Student Learning and Experiences
¨ Examine the range of experiences that students who enter and complete their education at Mansfield have.
Describe student levels of participation in the range of activities and services available, as well as students' opportunities to play meaningful roles in the campus community.
Explore the relationship between students' varied external roles and experiences off campus and their formal learning and participation in campus experiences.
Explore the barriers that may interfere with students' participation in the full range of college experiences and the ways in which we can accommodate the varied needs of students.
¨ Explore who actively engages the Mansfield experience and grows intellectually, personally, and socially through their learning and
other college experiences.
Describe the varied goals and expectations of students who come to Mansfield in terms of what they want from a college education and the experiences and opportunities they find here.
What are Mansfield's strengths in engaging students who are a good match for our learning community?
Who is it that leaves without completing their studies; who completes their studies without engaging our community or taking advantage of the range of opportunities we offer?
Are there steps Mansfield University should be taking to retain some types of students who now leave? What are these steps?
¨ Explore what Mansfield University does or fails to do to facilitate student learning and development?
What services does Mansfield provide, and who takes advantage of them? How is the availability of services promoted and communicated?
How do we help students discover and engage the opportunities associated with Mansfield University?
In what ways do we individualize the range of experiences for students who come to Mansfield?
¨ Recommend specific strategies for enhancing the full range of learning and developmental opportunities at the Mansfield University of
the future and for integrating student learning into a meaningful whole.
Relate recommendations to anticipated changes in student demographics.
How do we attract, develop, and retain high quality new students?
Explore why students come to Mansfield and the ways in which we can best address their educational needs.
¨ Explore the cross cutting themes as they relate to this area of focus and recommend ways in which student learning and experiences can
be improved in relation to these themes.
Area 2: Faculty Roles and Expectations
¨ Describe the Mansfield University faculty, their strengths and weaknesses, their teaching styles, and their abilities to address the
mission of the University.
Describe the demographics of the faculty and related implications.
Describe the faculty's level of awareness of our University mission and vision? Is our vision clear and appropriate?
What is the faculty's awareness of their teaching styles and the learning styles of our students? (Pedagogy as it relates to content.)
What is the connection between the University mission and what happens in our courses?
Explore the faculty's role in defining, communicating, and implementing the mission and vision of the University?
¨ Explore the ways in which faculty address change and advance the mission and vision of Mansfield University.
Where does the impetus for change come from? How do faculty become aware of the need for change? What is the faculty's responsibility in responding to, implementing, and managing
change?
Are faculty in tune with change in the larger world? How do they respond? Is their teaching affected?
How does the faculty's involvement in outside disciplinary scholarly and professional activities affect their abilities to be change agents on campus?
¨ Explore the ways in which faculty fulfill their commitment to scholarship and the ways in which they relate scholarship to student
learning.
Describe the scholarly activities of faculty.
To what extent does the University support scholarly activity of faculty?
Are we successful in translating those activities to the classroom? Explore the implications of these findings for the mission of the University
¨ Explore the ways in which faculty serve the campus and community and the ways in which they relate such service to student learning.
Describe the campus and community service activities of faculty?
To what extent does such activity translate to improved teaching and learning? Explore the implications of this relationship.
¨ Explore how the faculty support or fail to support the teaching and learning mission of Mansfield University.
By what means do faculty come to understand the profile of students they teach at Mansfield?
In what ways do they apply their understanding to the ways they teach Mansfield students?
In what ways do faculty interact with and support the learning goals of their students? How do faculty view their relationships with students? What aspects of the relationships do they
value and work to support? Why?
Explore the extent to which faculty encourage students to use the personal and learning support services available at Mansfield University.
¨ Explore faculty responsibility for development and improvement of the curriculum, the academic community, and its varied learning
experiences.
What opportunities exist for faculty participation in governance and planning? How do faculty respond to these opportunities?
In what ways are faculty roles at Mansfield different because of our flat administrative structure.
¨ Recommend specific strategies for supporting faculty development, preparing faculty for the future, and improving areas in which
concerns that emerge from the self-study may become apparent.
Relate recommendations to the anticipated changes in faculty demographics.
Explore why faculty come to and stay at Mansfield.
How do we attract, develop, and retain high quality new faculty?
¨ Explore the cross cutting themes as they relate to this area of focus and recommend ways in which faculty roles and expectations can
be improved in relation to these themes.
Area 3: Technology and Instructional Resources
¨ Describe Mansfield University's use of technology to support teaching and learning.
Are we using technology appropriately?
What drives our selection of technology? Why?
Describe our access to technology for students, faculty, and support staff. Is it sufficient?
What are the needs of our different user populations, including those in off-campus learning environments?
How effective are we at training members of the campus community to use technology; to adapt to new technologies?
¨ Assess our strengths and weaknesses in the use of technology to support other aspects of our mission.
Are there sufficient resources and support for our administrative and student service functions, including student advising?
¨ Assess the ways we use technology in its varied forms to enhance learning within the classroom.
What factors motivate faculty to integrate new technologies, as they become available, to support teaching and learning?
Are we doing this? How effective are we at doing this?
¨ Assess the ways we use technology to provide members of the university community with access to information and extended learning
experiences.
How do we use technology to provide access to information and learning experiences?
How do we keep members of the campus community informed about opportunities?
¨ Recommend the strategies and resources that will be needed to support our mission in the future and to ensure that we prepare our
students and faculty as users of evolving technology.
Is there a base level of technology proficiency that we should expect from all of our students and faculty? If so, what is that level?
Is there a base level of technology availability for students and faculty that we need to carry out our mission effectively? How do we keep this in our sights?
Should we have an expectation for computer ownership for entering students? What should that expectation be? Why? If there is an expectation, how can it be supported?
¨ Explore the cross cutting themes as they relate to this area of focus and recommend ways in which technology and instructional
resources can be enhanced and used more effectively in relation to these themes.
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