7-10-98 OFFICIALS REPORT TO TRUSTEES ON STRATEGIC INDICATORS COLUMBUS -- The Ohio State University, already a top 20 public research institution in the country, is positioning itself to achieve its goal of becoming a top 10 university, several administrators told the Board of Trustees Friday (7/10). "Ohio State can and should aspire to be one of the country's top 10 public institutions," said Edward J. Ray, senior vice provost and chief information officer. "After discussions across the university, a consensus is emerging that reaching to be among the top 10 is an appropriate and achievable goal. The next step is to focus even more strenuously on enhancements to academic quality and the student experience, and generating more financial resources. The point of that goal is not to earn bragging rights but to provide Ohio with the high-skilled work force that the economic competition of the 21st century will require." Possible strategies to achieve the top 10 goal and a preliminary report on Ohio State's strategic position were outlined to trustees by Ray; William J. Shkurti, vice president for finance; Alice Stewart, director of strategic analysis and planning; and Eric Kunz, assistant vice president for resource planning and institutional analysis and assistant provost. In the continuing pursuit of improving the value of the university to the people of Ohio, performance is being measured in categories of teaching impact, academic impact, service impact and financial performance. The incoming student profile and overall student outcomes also are measured. To achieve the first step of the goal -- a national standing between eight and 14 -- analysts gave examples of some changes needed at Ohio State: -- Student profile: Increasing the student diversity index by 7.8 percent, meaning attracting 263 more undergraduate minority students; and moving from 23 percent to 32 percent in the percentage of new autumn quarter freshmen who were in the top 10 percent of their high school class, meaning 540 more freshmen in that top 10 percent (a 39.1 percent increase). -- Student outcomes: Improving the freshman retention rate from 79 percent to 84 percent, or retaining 300 more freshmen (a 6.3 percent improvement); and improving the six-year graduation rate from 59 percent to 65.5 percent (an 11 percent increase), or graduating an additional 390 students within six years. -- Academic impact: Increasing Ohio State's share of the federal research funding market by 22.2 percent, or achieving a $26.6 million sustained increase in federal research funding; achieving 1,870 (26.4 percent) more faculty citations each year in quality journals -- an increase from 3.4 citations per faculty to 4.3; and moving from 46 to 96.6 in the number of additional patents and royalty-generating licenses each year (an increase of 110 percent). -- Financial performance: Generating $19.3 million in new revenue each year, or $441.50 per student (full-time equivalent). Those measuring Ohio State's progress in meeting strategic objectives already have identified nine benchmark institutions for comparison purposes in further analyses of Ohio State's performance. They are Pennsylvania State University and the universities of Minnesota, Washington, Texas, Michigan, Illinois, Arizona, Wisconsin and California, Los Angeles. The next step is a campuswide discussion as to which of these measures and goals are most appropriate for Ohio State as a whole and for individual colleges, Ray said. That discussion will continue into the fall. Stewart reported on Ohio State's strategic position relative to the benchmark universities in several performance categories. "These are just a few examples of strategic indicators, but they give a sense of how close we are to where we might want to be," she said. "These are tough benchmarks. We specifically sought similar universities, but of higher overall survey ranking, to increase the probability that programs, initiatives and policies which work to affect performance in these institutions may be more easily transferable to Ohio State." The following are examples of how Ohio State ranks in comparison with its nine benchmark institutions: Teaching impact: Ohio State ranks fifth in student diversity; 10th in the number of freshmen who were in the top 10 percent of their high school class; ninth in freshman retention; and eighth in the six-year graduation rate. Academic impact: Ohio State ranks 10th in market share of federal research funding; 10th in citations per faculty; and eighth in patents and licensing. Financial performance: Ohio State ranks eighth in revenue per student (full-time equivalent). University administrators also have defined a number of broad initiatives designed to help achieve major goals in improving the university's strategic position, including: -- Implementing the Leadership Agenda, which links strategic goals to operational activity in the areas of academic excellence, the student experience and revenue growth; -- Continuing to attract more highly qualified students through aggressive recruitment and retention plans; -- Implementing recommendations put forward by the Research Commission concerning investments in and advancement of research and graduate studies; -- Enhancing faculty development; and -- Continuing to make strides in improving the quality of the student experience for undergraduate, graduate and professional students. Two major goals in the context of long-standing goals to enhance academic quality, the student experience and fiscal responsibility are increasing the value and visibility of Ohio State in Ohio, the nation and internationally, and increasing revenue from state and nonstate sources. The initiatives also will help in the effort to sharpen the university's academic focus and to define Ohio State's continuing access mission. Consideration of the need for more resources will be incorporated into the annual budget process and a forthcoming budget restructuring, Shkurti said. # Contact: Edward J. Ray, (614) 292-5881 William J. Shkurti, (614) 292-9232 Alice Stewart, (614) 292-1312