Mansfield Campus Master Plan

The Mansfield Campus Master Plan establishes a framework and long-range (ten-year) vision of the future Mansfield Campus. Home to The Ohio State University Mansfield and North Central State College, the campus is located in the northwest region of the City of Mansfield on 680 wooded acres of land. The Campus Master Plan provides for conserving the University's and College's finite and irreplaceable resources, unifying and integrating campus development, creating individual institution identities, improving the quality of campus environment by a commitment to strong planning and design principles, strengthening linkages between the institutions and the community.

The two-year planning process developed a comprehensive physical master plan. Final review and approval of the December 2002 Recommended Plan is expected in Spring 2003. The attached site drawings demonstrate the vision of the plan.

Comment or questions should be submitted to:

Superintendent, Plant Operation & Maintenance
Schuttera Service Center
1680 University Drive
Mansfield, OH 44906

Calls or Email may be sent to Brian White at (419) 755-4227 or white.808@osu.edu

For a full-sized version of either drawing, click on the corresponding picture.

Strategic Plan

I. Guiding Principles

High quality shall characterize everything about OSU-Mansfield. Therefore, in planning for the future, we will be guided by the following principles:

1. We will offer outstanding academic programs.

2. We will create an exemplary quality of life and enriching environment on campus, both academically and culturally, for students, staff, and faculty.

3. We will provide personal attention to students.

4. We will promote diversity.

5. We will effectively communicate who we are and what we do to students, the community, and the Columbus Campus.

II. Axioms

This document is subject to the following axioms:

1. Our intention from the outset was to formulate goals and recommendations that flow directly from and relate directly to the Guiding Principles. That is, there is a direct relationship between the Guiding Principles and the goals and recommendations which follow.

2. Goals are long-range in perspective. To achieve the long-term goals we present in this document, the campus community will need to establish appropriate interim goals as well as short-term "target" goals.

3. Although in some cases we suggest specific recommendations for meeting goals, our recommendations are not comprehensive and do NOT constitute an implementation plan. That task will be the charge of future committees.

4. We base our goals and recommendations on excellence, NOT on cost or political considerations. At the same time, we recognize that these considerations are real and will play an important role in implementation.

5. Finally, we recognize that certain goals and recommendations seem to conflict with others. We footnote some of these conflicts, realizing that additional ones will emerge. We warn our colleagues that the process of resolving these conflicts will be difficult. However, as a result of making decisions concerning the directions we choose to pursue, we may find that we have developed a richer, more defined sense of institutional identity. Certainly, we all would welcome that result.

III. Goals and Recommendations

Many recommendations from the strategic planning report developed by the OSU-Mansfield Board of Trustees correlate closely with recommendations in this report. We footnote those correspondences throughout this document. We also identify conflicts among goals and recommendations as footnotes.

A. We will offer outstanding academic programs.[1]

GOAL 1: In addition to a minimum of two years of course work being offered in most disciplines, OSU-Mansfield will offer three or four years of course work in selected fields.

Recommendation:

• Identify new four-year program and/or degree possibilities (i.e., Sociology, Criminology, Accounting, Economics, Business).

GOAL 2: In addition to continuing degree programs already in place (i.e., Education, English, Psychology), OSU-Mansfield will offer additional baccalaureate and graduate programs.[2]

Recommendation:

• In the process of identifying potential additions to our existing baccalaureate and graduate programs, we should consider:

  a) Student and community needs
  b) Strength of support or opposition by home departments
  c) Number of new faculty required

GOAL 3: Faculty, in consultation with administration and staff, will identify and establish one or more academic specialties in which Mansfield campus has particular strengths as a market "niche" (i.e., the writing program within the English department and the algebraic geometry specialty within the Mathematics department).

Recommendation:

• These identified areas would be eligible for special "academic enrichment" funding.

GOAL 4: OSU-Mansfield will attract a body of more academically able students.

Recommendation:

• Emphasize courses/programs that will attract such students[3]

GOAL 5: The Curriculum Committee will design and develop a comprehensive curriculum plan for OSU-Mansfield. The Faculty Assembly will then evaluate this plan.

Recommendations:

• Solicit information from all parts of the campus community to develop this plan.
• Review this plan every five years.

GOAL 6: OSU-Mansfield will use distance learning to enrich and complement programs, not to define them.

Recommendations:

• The Curriculum Committee should draft a policy to guide implementation of distance learning. Its guidelines may reflect principles such as:

  a) We will not offer degree programs supported primarily by distance learning.
  b) We will use distance learning to enhance curriculum offerings (i.e., increase course offerings in existing programs or to expand course offerings in new fields).[4]
  c) We will not allow distance learning to compromise the integrity of academic programs or to diminish the faculty/student experience.

• Cooperate with Columbus Campus and other regional campuses regarding distance learning links.[5]

GOAL 7: OSU-Mansfield will use technology to expand the reach of its academic programs.[6]

Recommendation:

• Explore the use of technology to offer web-based or distance learning courses at remote sites where need exists.

GOAL 8: OSU-Mansfield will use technology to enrich the content and methodology of individual courses (i.e., new teaching methods, simulations, etc.).

GOAL 9: Tenure-track faculty holding terminal degrees in their fields will be the primary instructors for most courses taught at OSU-Mansfield.

Recommendation:

• Increase the percentage of classes taught by tenure-track faculty. A minimum target ratio representing hours taught by part-time vs. full-time faculty should be established and maintained.[7]

GOAL 10: OSU-Mansfield will conduct searches for faculty with the goal of attracting the best possible candidates, who demonstrate excellence in teaching, research, and service and who will be able to contribute positively to the Mansfield Campus.[8]

 

Strategic Plan

  

III. Goals and Recommendations (cont.)

C. We will provide personal attention to students.

GOAL 23: OSU-Mansfield will maintain its commitment to student-centered education and campus life.

Recommendations:

• Continue to improve student services (such as advising, registration, and financial aid) with appropriate uses of technology.
• Improve access to library and student services.
• Develop "protective restraints" (i.e., admissions and registration deadlines, limiting the number of credit hours per quarter) for entering students with weak ACT scores or GPA.
• Develop alternative student housing options, in addition to Campus Village apartments, such as contracts with local churches, living arrangements with elderly persons, etc.
• Continue to identify student needs by conducting periodic surveys.[15]
• Encourage the formation of an OSU-Mansfield student association to give students a permanent voice in campus issues and policies. Provide this association with a faculty adviser with release time for this responsibility.

GOAL 24: OSU-Mansfield will promote the importance of students making education a top priority.

Recommendation:

• Provide students with information and skills necessary to make intelligent decisions leading to academic success.[16]

GOAL 25: OSU-Mansfield will treat students with respect and consideration.

Recommendation:

• Renovate Student Services offices to provide private areas for confidential discussion with students and their families.

GOAL 26: OSU-Mansfield will improve student access to and use of technology.

Recommendations:

• Provide more lines to increase remote access to OSU Homenet.
• Continue to provide orientation for basic computer services on campus.
• Continue to provide support for students to improve their computer skills (perhaps in the form of a basic computing class).
• Make computer literacy for all students a high priority.
• Monitor the need for increased campus computer lab hours, and perhaps designate one lab for open student access.
• Explore the feasibility of helping students to own computers at home (perhaps as a scholarship or grant).

GOAL 27: To the extent possible, the schedule and location of classes will accommodate student needs.

Recommendations:

• Expand weekend and evening offerings.[17]
• Expand off-campus sites where courses are offered.[18]

 

GOAL 28: OSU-Mansfield will maintain small class size.

Recommendation:

• Limit classes to 25 students whenever possible. When classes exceed that number, instructional assistance should be provided.

D. We will promote diversity.

GOAL 29: OSU-Mansfield will increase the overall diversity of the student body.[19]

Recommendations:

• Increase the percentage of minority students so that the percentage of minorities in our three most represented counties is mirrored on campus.
• Provide campus-wide diversity workshops.
• Ensure adequate support and funding for on-campus minority organizations.

GOAL 30: OSU-Mansfield curriculum will attract a more diverse student body.

Recommendations:

• Offer more multicultural courses.
• Emphasize diversity content in all courses, where appropriate.

GOAL 31: OSU-Mansfield will increase the diversity of staff and faculty.

Recommendations:

• Actively recruit minority applicants for positions.
• Increase the percentage of tenure-track women faculty.

GOAL 32: OSU-Mansfield will improve access and support for physically challenged students, faculty, and staff.

Recommendations:

• Form a support group on campus for physically challenged persons.
• Ensure adequate funding to meet the needs of disabled persons.
• Provide furniture and fixtures throughout the campus to accommodate persons with different needs (e.g., make available sufficient left-handed desks in classrooms).
• Investigate ways to ensure that all students with learning disabilities are properly identified and provided with support.

GOAL 33: OSU-Mansfield will establish a climate of appreciation for diversity among faculty, staff, and students.

Recommendations:

• Create through décor an environment that promotes recruitment and retention of a diverse faculty, staff, and student body.
• Exhibit multicultural art in all buildings.

E. We will effectively communicate who we are and what we do to students, the community, and the Columbus Campus.

GOAL 34: OSU-Mansfield will explore new approaches to educating the public about our faculty, staff, and campus.[20]

Recommendations:

• Hire a public relations firm to initiate and direct a Campus Publicity Campaign.[21]
• Create a more dynamic campus web site.
• Attract more media coverage for all aspects of campus life, people, and academics.
• Use up-to-date technology to communicate effectively with media.
• Create more publicity for scholarship programs.

GOAL 35: OSU-Mansfield will use technology to communicate more effectively with and market our campus to the community and region.

Recommendations:

• Explore the viability of radio/TV broadcasting from campus.
• Engage in community outreach through distance professional continuing education (e.g., as a conduit for conferences and seminars from OSU's professional colleges).
• Serve as a demonstration site of new technology uses for the community (i.e. local school districts).
• Engage in community outreach by sharing technical expertise, systems, etc., where appropriate. Ensure that such sharing will not drain resources from academic programs and on-campus needs.

GOAL 36: OSU-Mansfield will effectively package courses and programs for visibility and marketability.

Recommendation:

• Develop and continuously update campus web page with pertinent course information.

GOAL 37: OSU-Mansfield will improve and expand its image in local high school communities.[22]

Recommendations:

• Continue to support recruitment efforts with help of Buckeye Ambassadors.
• Multiply efforts of recruitment office with technology-aided follow-up of applicants.
• Continue to promote post-secondary (Academy) options for academically able high school students.

GOAL 38: OSU-Mansfield buildings and grounds will reflect a sense of pride and identity.

Recommendations:

• Create a flowerbed with an OSU theme in a high visibility area on campus (for example, in front of Ovalwood Hall).
• Decorate the cafeteria to advertise and promote OSU-Mansfield (respecting the shared campus environment).
• Renovate lobby areas of Ovalwood, Eisenhower, and Bromfield to reflect a positive image to persons entering these buildings.

GOAL 39: OSU-Mansfield will project a welcoming attitude by making its resources available to the community and engaging in reciprocal community involvement.[23]

Recommendations:

• Use more community volunteers to assist on campus (i.e., friends of the library, tutors, garden clubs).
• Promote Project 60 opportunities in the community.

IV. Conflicting Goals and Recommendations

The SPS Committee has noted that certain goals and recommendations within this report seem to conflict with others. Two points of conflict seem clear:

1. On one hand, the entire campus community seems to believe that our small college atmosphere should be nurtured, emphasized and enhanced; on the other, we feel pressure from many directions to expand outward through involvement in distance learning, web-based courses, and off-campus teaching sites.
2. Although we seem to believe that a larger percentage of courses should be taught by tenure-track faculty, we also know that the most likely strategy for addressing the expressed faculty need for more research time would be one that calls for increased use of non-tenure track instructors.

The committee believes that resolution of these important questions must precede the creation of a plan for implementation.

V. Recommendations for Next Steps

1. The Strategic Planning Steering Committee recommends that OSU-Mansfield faculty, staff, and administration engage in thorough discussion of the goals in this plan to achieve consensus regarding those issues. Conflict among goals will require negotiation and resolution. (However, reaching consensus about the recommendations is not essential at this time because they only represent potential means for attaining goals.) As part of this discussion, we should review and revise the OSU-Mansfield Mission Statement to reflect the new realities of the campus.
2. Once the campus community reaches consensus regarding the goals, a Strategic Planning Oversight Committee should be appointed to develop an implementation plan based on this strategic plan. At this point, any conflicts with political or financial realities will have to be resolved. The Oversight Committee should set a timeline for implementation.
3. As part of this plan, the SPS Committee recommends that the Oversight Committee review the function and nature of all offices at OSU-Mansfield to realign responsibilities across the campus in a more systematic and rational manner.
4. Finally, the Oversight Committee, in consultation with appropriate campus committees and offices, should monitor and direct the implementation of the plan and should issue quarterly progress reports to the OSU-Mansfield campus community.

 

Respectfully submitted, July 15, 1999
OSU-Mansfield Strategic Planning Steering Committee

Mark Ellis
Steven Joyce
Major Price
Janet Tarino
Barbara Lehman, Chair

 

[1] Correlates with OSU-M Board of Trustees committee report: "Continue to be The Ohio State University providing quality education in a personal environment."

[2] Correlates with OSU-M Board of Trustees Committee report: "Determine if there are post-secondary community education needs (not being met) which OSU ought to be meeting."

[3] Recognizing the land-grant mission of OSU, this recommendation may conflict with that mission and the university‰s open admission policy. Nevertheless, the goal of attracting more academically able students has widespread support among OSU-Mansfield faculty.

[4] Correlates with OSU-M Board of Trustees Committee report: "Expand distance learning to broaden range of courses especially for business and education."

[5] This recommendation may conflict with the recommendation to create a small college atmosphere on the OSU-Mansfield campus. (See second recommendation under Goal 12.)

[6] This recommendation may conflict with the recommendation to create a small college atmosphere on the OSU-Mansfield campus. (See second recommendation under Goal 12.)

[7] This recommendation may conflict with the recommendation regarding work patterns for tenure-track faculty. (See Goal 20.)

[8] Correlates with OSU-M Board of Trustees committee report: "Maintain high standards for faculty and staff."

[9] Correlates with OSU-M Board of Trustees Committee report: "Assure upkeep of campus facilities."

[10] Correlates with OSU-M Board of Trustees committee report: "Expand health and fitness activities and facilities."

[11] Correlates with OSU-M Board of Trustees committee report: "Expand health and fitness activities and facilities."

[12] Correlates with OSU-M Board of Trustees committee report: "Explore activities for nontraditional students that include families. Build on connection to OSU, e.g., pep rallies, Columbus campus groups to perform here."

[13] There are several Goals and Recommendations throughout this plan advocating release time for faculty for various reasons. Providing more release time may mean either hiring more tenure-track faculty or increasing the amount of teaching by non-tenure track and part-time instructors. The latter case conflicts with the recommendation to increase the percentage of classes taught by tenure-track faculty.

[14] As noted previously, this may conflict with the recommendations to increase the percentage of classes taught by tenure-track faculty and to create a small college environment. On the other hand, it also would strengthen our identity as OSU and aid in attracting the best faculty.

[15] Correlates with OSU-M Board of Trustees Committee report: "Continue to increase scholarship dollars. Consider providing baby-sitting during events [on campus]."

[16] Correlates with OSU-M Board of Trustees Committee report: "Study the problem of student time overload and develop action plan."

[17] This may conflict with the recommendation to increase the percentage of classes taught by tenure-track faculty, because many weekend and evening offerings are presently taught by part-time, non-tenure track instructors.

[18] This recommendation may conflict with the recommendation to create a small college atmosphere on the OSU-Mansfield campus. (See second recommendation under Goal 12.)

[19] Correlates with OSU-M Board of Trustees committee report: "Develop recruitment program to target minorities and lower socio-economic groups at an early age (parents, churches, students)."

[20] Correlates with OSU-M Board of Trustees committee report: "Continue public relations focus on faculty and student successes. Continue to educate people about actual costs of OSU-M."

[21] Correlates with OSU-M Board of Trustees committee report: "Develop PR campaign to showcase faculty, students and facility, and quality education at the Ohio State University."

[22] Correlates with OSU-M Board of Trustees committee report: "Connect alumni to students with joint activities."

[23] Correlates with OSU- M Board of Trustees Committee report: "Investigate being more community-friendly with campus resources (e.g., library, Conard, distance learning). Expand collaboration with schools, business, and social agencies."