Policy and Report Library > Reports > 2008 Performance Measurement Report
Westfield State College
Emphasizing teaching, student advising and student involvement in the life of the College and the community, the primary mission of Westfield State College (WSC) is to assist its students to develop intellectually and to use their knowledge and skills to improve the social and economic conditions in their communities. The College seeks to instill among members of its community a sense of social responsibility and citizenship.
Program of Distinction
Collaborations
Access Indicators
Affordability Indicators
Student Success and Academic Quality Indicators
Fiscal Effectiveness and Efficiency Indicators
Program of Distinction
Using the tagline “Go Global!” the Office of International Programs directs the many global initiatives President Evan Dobelle has implemented in his first year at WSC. Among these initiatives are programming for local émigré communities, semester-long study-abroad programs, faculty-led short-term courses abroad, institution-to-institution exchanges of students and faculty and internships abroad. The college will welcome several dozen students from Asia in the fall of 2009 and is pursuing exchanges with institutions in other countries. In its inaugural short-term in January 2009, more than 125 students will travel to seven different countries. Led by WSC faculty during the 2009 winter break, the 3- or 4-credit courses will be taught in Belize, Ghana, London, Italy, Mexico, Morocco and St. Maarten. In the spring semester of 2009, over 30 students will study in 11 countries and on the Semester at Sea ship. WSC is committed to the globalization of its curriculum through support for faculty travel, additional world language offerings, the creation of ESL programming, global curriculum development and an international scholar exchange.
Collaborations
- The Westfield Professional Development School Network (WPDS) is now in its ninth year. Each of the participating five elementary schools develops a project working collaboratively with teachers and administrators. These projects are often connected to School Improvement Plans and range from broad ranging initiatives such as homework clubs to projects that target specific groups of students such as English Language Learners (ELL). In one school the focus was a literacy collaboration that involved 69 WSC teacher candidates. This group worked with a total of 104 elementary students ranging from grades one to four in an effort to improve written communication skills or to provide one-on-one support for first graders assessed as being "at risk" for literacy success. Similar to past years, outcomes for these projects demonstrated academic gains for the students and improved ability for WSC teacher candidates to assess students' literacy skills. There were two pilot projects where the focus was mathematics or science learning, respectively. At one school, 12 WSC teacher candidates developed mathematics games as interactive learning tools for 24 elementary students. At a different school, 48 WSC teacher candidates developed 16 interactive hands-on science lessons conducted for 48 fifth graders over the course of the term.
- The Center for Teacher Education and Research (CENTER) at WSC provides professional development and mentoring programs for area educators through partnerships with higher education institutions in the Commonwealth and across the country. The specific focus of two collaborations is support for teachers in science, technology, and mathematics (STEM). The CENTER joins several area community colleges and four year colleges in participating with the UMass Pipeline/STEMNET project. This project provides professional development through summer institutes for teachers in the STEM areas. The National Science Foundation partially funds an ongoing collaboration between the CENTER, UMass Dartmouth, Framingham State College, Montana State University and the University of California at Santa Cruz. This project, called eMSS-online, provides high quality e-mentoring to new science teachers. Additional collaborations support teacher development. Working with the University of California at Santa Cruz, the CENTER provides ongoing mentoring programming for new teachers, and also works directly with the UMass Dartmouth to support the Massachusetts Teacher Leadership Academy.
- The Institute for Criminal Justice Studies and Research at WSC received a $40,000 grant to serve as a Local Action Research Partner for the Holyoke/Chicopee Shannon Community Safety Initiative (Shannon CSI). This Initiative is funded by the Executive Office of Public Safety to "support regional and multi-disciplinary approaches to combat gang violence through coordinated programs for prevention and intervention." The role of the local action research partner is to provide strategic, analytic, and research support to Shannon CSI partnerships. The Holyoke-Chicopee Community Safety Partnership includes the Holyoke and Chicopee Police Departments, the Holyoke and Chicopee Boys and Girls Club, the Holyoke and Chicopee Mayor's Offices, the Department of Youth Services, the Hampden County District Attorney's Office, the Holyoke Housing Authority, Career Point and other social service agencies. Through faculty and student participation, this partnership has strengthened the relationship between WSC and the local community.
Section I: Access to Public Higher Education in Massachusetts
Access Indicators
Fall 2007 Enrollment
| Undergraduate Headcount |
4,699 |
| Undergraduate FTE |
4,337 |
| Graduate Headcount |
693 |
| Graduate FTE |
278 |
Fall Enrollment
Over the last three years, fall headcount enrollment has remained relatively stable.
Over the last three years, fall full-time equivalent (FTE) enrollment has increased 2.1%.
Annual 2007–2008 Enrollment
| Undergraduate Headcount |
5,275 |
| Undergraduate FTE |
4,408 |
| Graduate Headcount |
1,131 |
| Graduate FTE |
383 |
Annual Enrollment
Over the last three years, annual headcount enrollment has remained relatively stable.
Over the last three years, annual FTE enrollment has increased 2.9%.
Looking Back: Undergraduate and Graduate Fall Headcount Enrollment
Fall 2007 Minority Enrollment
9.0%
Minority Enrollment
Lower than the Northeast Region's minority representation of 13.2%.
Fall 2007 Community College Transfer Students
177
Community College Transfer Students
Over the last three years, the number of community college transfer students has decreased 22.4%.
Section II: Affordability of Massachusetts Community Colleges
Affordability Indicator
2007–2008 Tuition and Fees as a Percent of Median Family Income
7.9%
% of Median Family Income
Below the Northeast regional average of 9.1%.
Looking Back: Tuition and Fees as a Percent of Median Family Income
|
FY2004 |
FY2005 |
FY2006 |
FY2007 |
FY2008 |
| Westfield State College Tuition and Fees |
$4,558 |
$4,857 |
$5,658 |
$5,950 |
$6,210 |
| State Median Family Income |
$67,527 |
$68,701 |
$71,655 |
$74,463 |
$78,497 |
| "X" as a Percent of State Median Family Income |
| X = Westfield State College Tuition and Fees |
6.7% |
7.1% |
7.9% |
8.0% |
7.9% |
| X = Massachusetts State Colleges' Average Tuition and Fees |
6.7% |
7.3% |
7.5% |
7.8% |
7.7% |
| X = Northeast Average Tuition and Fees |
|
9.2% |
9.3% |
9.3% |
9.1% |
Section III: Student Success and Academic Quality
Success and Quality Indicators
Fall 2006 Cohort First-Year Retention Rate
76.4%
Fall Cohort First-Year Persistence
Above the segmental rate of 74.4%, the institutional peer retention rate of 70.8%, and the national rate of 73.6%.
Looking Back: Fall-to-Fall Retention Rate
|
Cohort |
|
Entering 2002 |
Entering 2003 |
Entering 2004 |
Entering 2005 |
Entering 2006 |
| Westfield State College Rate |
75.4% |
74.6% |
79.4% |
75.4% |
76.4% |
| Peer Rate |
|
70.5% |
70.3% |
70.3% |
70.8% |
| Massachusetts State Colleges Segment Rate |
74.6% |
75.2% |
76.2% |
73.5% |
74.4% |
| National Average |
|
74.3% |
74.0% |
73.7% |
73.6% |
1999–2001 Cohort Six-Year Graduation Rate (3-Year Average)
54.8%
Six-Year Graduation Rate
Above the segmental rate of 47.3% and the institutional peer rate of 43%.
Looking Back: Six-Year Graduation Rate
|
Cohort |
|
|
Entering 1998
Grad. by 2004 |
Entering 1999
Grad. by 2005 |
Entering 2000
Grad. by 2006 |
Entering 2001
Grad. by 2007 |
Rolling Average Entering 1999– 2001 |
| Westfield State College Rate |
53.1% |
52.7% |
56.2% |
55.6% |
54.8% |
| Peer Rate |
41.2% |
41.0% |
43.6% |
44.4% |
43.0% |
| Massachusetts State Colleges Segment Rate |
47.6% |
47.2% |
48.9% |
45.9% |
47.3% |
Total Degrees Conferred in FY2008
1,082
Degrees Conferred
Average degrees conferred per year over the last three years: 1,065
Looking Back: Degrees Conferred
2007 Pass Rate on the Massachusetts Test for Educator Licensure
99%
Number of Students Passing MTEL
96
Massachusetts Test for Educator Licensure Pass Rate
Above the Board of Higher Education's target pass rate of 80%.
Percent of New Students Who Were Special Admits in Fall 2007
5.6%
Special Admissions Students
Meets the Board of Higher Education requirement of enrolling less than 10% special admissions students per year. (See Appendix.)
Section IV: Effective and Efficient Use of Resources
Effectiveness and Efficiency Indicators
Effective Projects and Initiatives
- Over 100 faculty members have participated in a "paperless initiative" by learning to post syllabi, readings and handouts on-line.
- Expanded recycling in residence halls which resulted in over 5,000 pounds of cardboard being recycled during the September "move-in" period.
- Pooled insurance policies with other state colleges saving up to 60 % in premiums.
- Raised $908,672 through private fundraising.
- Established a Committee on Sustainability which developed a plan to expand our commitment to sustainable operations and to integrate environmental awareness into the curriculum.
Resource Allocation
Expenditures per Student—Actual, National Peers, and Budget Formula
Note: This graphic was revised on May 6, 2009. The previously posted graphic displayed the data inaccurately.
FY2008 Primary Reserve Ratio
| Unrestricted Reserves (UR) |
$16,721,331 |
| Total Operating Expenses (TOE) |
$76,310,514 |
| Primary Reserve Ratio (UR/TOE) |
21.9% |
Primary Reserve Ratio
Compliance
No materials weaknesses based on annual external independent audit:
