GOAL OF ROUNDTABLE:

To enhance the economic vitality of North Dakota and the quality of life of its citizens through a high quality, more responsive, flexible, accessible, entrepreneurial, and accountable University System.

CORNERSTONES:

Cornerstone #1 - Economic Development Connection: Direct connections and contributions of the University System to the economic growth and social vitality of North Dakota.

Cornerstone #2 - Education Excellence: High quality education and skill development opportunities which prepare students to be personally and professionally successful, readily able to advance and change careers, be life-long learners, good citi zens, leaders, and knowledgeable contributing members of an increasingly global society.

Cornerstone #3 - Flexible and Responsive System: A University System environment that is responsive to the needs of its various clients and is flexible, empowering, competitive, entrepreneurial, and rewarding.

Cornerstone #4 - Accessible System: A University System that is proactively accessible to all areas of North Dakota and seeks students and customers from outside the state. It provides students, business, industry, communities, and citizens wit h access to educational programs, workforce training opportunities, and technology access and transfer -- and does so with the same performance characteristics as described in the "Flexible and Responsive" cornerstone.

Cornerstone #5 - Funding and Rewards: A system of funding, resource allocation, and rewards that assures quality and is linked to the expressed high priority needs and expectations of the University System -- assures achievement of the expectati ons envisioned.

Cornerstone #6 - Sustaining the Vision: A structure and process which assures the University System for the 21st century, as described by these cornerstones, remains connected, understood, relevant, and accountable to the present and future res earch, education, and public service needs of the state and its citizens -- sustaining the vision.

WORKSHEET FOR CORNERSTONE #1

The Economic Development Connection

Goal - To enhance the economic vitality of North Dakota and the quality of life of its citizens through a high quality, more responsive, flexible, accessible, entrepreneurial, and accountable University System.

Cornerstone #1 - Economic Development Connection: Direct connections and contributions of the University System to the economic growth and social vitality of North Dakota.

The Rationale - Today’s economy is dependent upon knowledgeable and skilled people. For North Dakota and its citizens to prosper, the University System must support the economic development of individuals, businesses, industries, and the state as a whole. The University System will need to promote mutually beneficial alliances and partnerships with viable economic units within the state.

The Vision/Expectations - There will be an expanded client/customer base and a significant increase in partnering, collaboration, and joint ventures involving business, industry, economic development organizations, state and local agencie s, and the various departments and colleges within the University System. The specific purpose of the expanded client base and the collaborating arrangements is to more effectively leverage the capacity of the University System in impacting the economy a nd meeting the information, training, and technology development and transfer needs of businesses, industries and communities. The relationships will also provide university faculty with increased connectedness, professional growth opportunities, and an increased understanding of the private sector and development organizations in the respective industries, communities, regions and the state.

Questions to be answered - Economic Development Connection:

Core Questions:

1. What has to change in how campuses provide services (i.e., instructional, student, administrative, and delivery system) to achieve the expectations?

2. What would have to change by way of policy or regulations to achieve the expectations?

3. What resources would need to be in place to make this feasible?

4. What bench marking and data collection mechanisms are needed to provide useful information for policy and management decision-making?

5. How will progress and success be measured? (performance and accountability measures)

Customized Questions - Economic Development Connection:

1. What are the emerging and high priority economic development opportunities where a stronger partnering relationship involving the private sector and college(s) or department(s) could produce significant results?

2. What basic or applied research is needed to create new economic development opportunities or allow existing businesses to remain competitive? What is the role of the University System in supporting and capitalizing on those opportunities?

3. Are there barriers which are currently inhibiting business and industry from more effectively utilizing the knowledge and technology capacities of the University System? If so, what are they and how can the barriers be removed?

4. In what areas are economic development organizations experiencing difficulty in attracting, retaining, or expanding businesses? Where and how can the University System be helpful?

5. Are there specific programs toward which the University System should pay particular attention?

6. Is the four-part economy (value-added agriculture, energy-plus, advanced manufacturing, and export services including tourism) still relevant and provide a basis for focusing economic development in North Dakota? If changes or refinements are needed, what are they, particularly as they relate to the role and potential of the University System?

7. What changes are needed to create an entrepreneurial environment within the University System?

8. What changes or additions are needed to increase opportunities for students to explore entrepreneurship interests?

9. Who will be the major partners with the University System in making the economic development vision a reality?

WORKSHEET FOR CORNERSTONE #2

Education Excellence

Goal - To enhance the economic vitality of North Dakota and the quality of life of its citizens through a high quality, more responsive, flexible, accessible, entrepreneurial, and accountable University System.

Cornerstone #2 - Education Excellence: High quality education and skill development opportunities which prepare students to be personally and professionally successful, readily able to advance and change careers, be life-long learners, good citi zens, leaders, and knowledgeable contributing members of an increasingly global society.

The Rationale - Today’s customers expect high quality products and services. Individuals and organizations cannot compete unless they continually improve the quality of their work. Educational organizations in general are being challenge d to be accountable for quality learning experiences and learner outcomes. There is a direct tie between the quality of education and training and the ability of individuals and organizations to create quality products and services. In response to these expectations, the University System will need to foster a culture of quality throughout the System and develop the necessary systems of accountability.

The Vision/Expectations for Education Excellence - Graduates will posses the foundational skills to be readily employable, trainable and life-long learners. Students and employers will also have increased input into the curriculum conten t and greater choices regarding multiple delivery options. Instructional and administrative services will be modern and geared to the expectations of a high quality customer-oriented organization. The availability and application of technology will be c onsistent with industry use and standards making graduates especially prepared for, and attractive to employers. Employment and career opportunities within North Dakota, as well as nationally and internationally, will be readily available to learners thr oughout their secondary and postsecondary education leading to well-informed career choices. The academic environment will be entrepreneurial and there will be an increased focus on entrepreneurship as part of the curriculum choices available to students . There will be expanded opportunities for students and educators to obtain "practice experience" in business and industry.

Questions to be answered - Education Excellence:

Core Questions-

1. What has to change in how campuses provide services (i.e., instructional, student, administrative, and delivery system) to achieve the expectations?

2. What would have to change by way of policy or regulations to achieve the expectations?

3. What resources would need to be in place to make this feasible?

4. What bench marking and data collection mechanisms are needed to provide useful information for policy and management decision-making?

5. How will progress and success be measured? (performance and accountability measures)

Customized Questions - Education Excellence:

1. How will the high priority knowledge, skills and abilities needed in the modern workplace be effectively communicated in a continuous feedback loop between the University System and employers? What is required for individuals to be successfu l?

2. What is the most important evidence indicating that students have received excellence in education? Are there differences for graduates of different (kinds of) institutions or different kinds of students (e.g., traditional versus non-trad itional)?

3. What changes are needed to assure the programs offered by the University System are up-to-date and consistent with modern organization needs and practices? (also applies to the hardware and software systems and programs).

4. Is there a special obligation to prepare graduates to be successful in North Dakota?

5. What role should higher education be expected to play in the development of good citizens and community leaders?

6. What is the responsibility of the University System in ensuring students come to college with the tools needed to have a successful educational experience?

7. What is the responsibility of the University System in helping adults acquire the skills necessary to function in the society and economy of the 21st century -- even if these individuals choose not to pursue a college degree?

8. What impact should the pursuit of excellence in education have on the outreach and research programs of the University System?

9. What additional career and occupational information needs to be provided so students are able to make well informed career choices?

10. What policies, rewards, and incentives are needed to foster increased practice experience by students and educators?

WORKSHEET FOR CORNERSTONE #3

Flexible and Responsive System

Goal - To enhance the economic vitality of North Dakota and the quality of life of its citizens through a high quality, more responsive, flexible, accessible, entrepreneurial, and accountable University System.

Cornerstone #3 - Flexible and Responsive System: A University System environment that is responsive to the needs of its various clients and is flexible, empowering, competitive, entrepreneurial, and rewarding.

The Rationale - The Information-Age, with its proliferation of technology, has created the expectations of customized services and products. Individuals and organizations have unique needs, and they expect that those needs will be met by the people and the organizations with whom they choose to do business. Learning has become an "anyone can learn anything, from anywhere, at anytime" business. The University System will need to operate in an environment where policies, process es, and structures will allow individuals, groups, and institutions to be flexible and responsive in meeting the legitimate needs of their clients.

The Vision/Expectations - There will be extensive and strong relationships between the University System and employers regarding educational programs offered, curriculums designed, and training provided. The result will be a University S ystem that is more closely attuned to the education, research, service, and the training needs of individuals and of business and industry. There will be an environment in which opportunities are created and seized and where the administration and facult y are empowered and rewarded for being entrepreneurial and for taking calculated risks. There will be a close alignment and consensus on the part of state policy makers regarding the expectations of the University System and the resources, policies, and incentives which drive the decisions and actions of the individual institutions and the System as a whole. The expanded flexibility will be accompanied by appropriate measures and systems of accountability.

Questions to be answered - Flexible and Responsive System:

Core Questions:

1. What has to change in how campuses provide services (i.e., instructional, student, administrative, and delivery system) to achieve the expectations?

2. What would have to change by way of policy or regulations to achieve the expectations?

3. What resources would need to be in place to make this feasible?

4. What bench marking and data collection mechanisms are needed to provide useful information for policy and management decision-making?

5. How will progress and success be measured? (performance and accountability measures)

Customized Questions - Flexible and Responsive System:

1. What are the standards to be applied in determining responsiveness: To whom? For what? How rapidly? Under what conditions -- sharing of costs, etc.?

2. What has to change for the University System to have the necessary flexibility to be responsive?

3. What is business and industries’ role in helping create a more responsive and flexible University System?

4. What are the untapped opportunities for cooperative/collaborative arrangements between campuses, state entities, and business and industry? What are the barriers to such collaboration? What do each of the parties have to do to mak e collaboration the normal way of doing business?

5. What processes or mechanisms are needed to ensure the desired knowledge, skills and abilities of graduates are continually assessed and aligned with the needs and expectations of employers?

6. What changes are needed to foster a more entrepreneurial environment within the University System institutions?

7. In what ways can the push to become more responsive simultaneously enhance the quality of education? What are the dangers of conflict between these two objectives and how can they be avoided?

WORKSHEET FOR CORNERSTONE #4

Accessible System

Goal - To enhance the economic vitality of North Dakota and the quality of life of its citizens through a high quality, more responsive, flexible, accessible, entrepreneurial, and accountable University System.

Cornerstone #4 - Accessible System: A University System that is proactively accessible to all areas of North Dakota and seeks students and customers from outside the state. It provides students, business, industry, communities, and citizens wit h access to educational programs, workforce training opportunities, and technology access and transfer -- and does so with the same performance characteristics as described in the "Flexible and Responsive" cornerstone.

The Rationale - Continuous, life-long learning is a requirement of any successful person in today’s world. Education, and the University System in particular, must now be accessible to an expanded definition of "student," " learner," and "client." The demographics of North Dakota make accessibility to the University System both a necessity and a challenge. The University System, through the use of technology and with the creation of a strong customer/client service orientation, needs to create policies and practices that will make programs and services more widely available to individuals and organizations throughout the state.

The Vision/Expectations - All areas of the state will have ready access to the education, research, and services available through the University System and, thereby, have increased opportunities to remain competitive and economically via ble. Specifically, there will be broad-band and high speed Internet access throughout North Dakota. The capability will exist to provide education and training through real-time interactive video to urban and rural areas of the state. High speed access to the Internet and to real-time interactive video will be affordable. The University System campuses will serve as brokers of educational programs and services in collaborative relationships with other University System campuses as well as tribal and p rivate colleges, vocational centers, high schools and private businesses. There will be learner/response centers designated or established to increase access and expand opportunities to communities, companies, and citizens throughout North Dakota. The n umber of part-time and placed-bound learners who will be able to take advantage of the increased access to education and training opportunities will expand significantly. The University system will more effectively serve as an engine for economic growth beyond the current capacities of the Extension Service and beyond the limited number of other outreach services currently being provided.

Questions to be answered - Accessible System:

Core Questions:

1. What has to change in how campuses provide services (i.e., instructional, student, administrative, and delivery system) to achieve the expectations?

2. What would have to change by way of policy or regulations to achieve the expectations?

3. What resources would need to be in place to make this feasible?

4. What bench marking and data collection mechanisms are needed to provide useful information for policy and management decision-making?

5. How will progress and success be measured? (performance and accountability measures)

Customized Questions - Accessible System:

1. What is the measure of accessibility? How will one know if it is being achieved?

2. Under what terms should learners at remote locations be provided access? Should tuition be the same as on-campus instruction, for example?

3. What minimal set of services should be available at remote locations? Technology? Student support services? Who should pay for creation and maintenance of this capacity? With what other organizations might the learning centers be most appropriately located --Extension Service, tribal colleges, vocational centers, high schools, national guards?

4. What needs to be done to assure all areas of North Dakota have access to broad-band, high-speed Internet service?

5. What changes in policies or incentives are necessary to encourage greater collaboration in program offerings, and brokering of programs and services, among University System institutions?

6. What changes are needed to encourage greater collaboration in program offerings, and brokering of programs and services, among the University System and tribal and private colleges, vocational centers, high schools, and private sector busi nesses?

7. What are the legitimate expectations and learning needs of the adult/mature/non-traditional learner? What changes are needed to better serve the education and training needs of part-time and place-bound learners?

8. What does increased access mean for state borders and current residency restrictions?

9. Are there programs that need to be offered more broadly? i.e., associate degrees, certificates, information technology, etc.

WORKSHEET FOR CORNERSTONE #5

Funding and Rewards

Goal - To enhance the economic vitality of North Dakota and the quality of life of its citizens through a high quality, more responsive, flexible, accessible, entrepreneurial, and accountable University System.

Cornerstone #5 - Funding and Rewards: A system of funding, resource allocation, and rewards that assures quality and is linked to the expressed high priority needs and expectations of the University System -- assures achievement of the expectati ons envisioned.

The Rationale - Education is a costly expenditure that can be viewed as an expense or an investment. Today’s successful individuals and organizations treat education as a required investment. Funding for the University System must be ade quate, fair, and aligned with the new vision for the University System. There needs to be funding mechanisms and reward systems that allow and encourage individuals, groups, and institutions to aggressively meet the vision for the University System creat ed by the Roundtable.

The Vision/Expectations - There will be a comprehensive and coherent system of funding, resource allocation, and rewards that provides a clear driving-force for the creation of a University System designed for the 21st century. There wil l be a close alignment and consensus on the part of state policy makers, regarding the expectations of the University System and the resources, policies, and incentives which drive the decisions and actions of the individual institutions and the System as a whole (as is true of the other cornerstones and the High Quality Education Cornerstone, in particular). The expectations of the University System will be achieved through a number of means, including: a direct connection and contribution of the Univer sity System to the economic development generation of the state; matching the expectations of the University System with the revenue generation capacity of the state and System; interagency collaboration arrangements; increased research investments beyond general fund sources, and; from partnering arrangements with the private sector.

Questions to be answered - Funding and Rewards:

Core Questions:

1. What has to change in how campuses provide services (i.e., instructional, student, administrative, and delivery system) to achieve the expectations?

2. What would have to change by way of policy or regulations to achieve the expectations?

3. What resources would need to be in place to make this feasible?

4. What bench marking and data collection mechanisms are needed to provide useful information for policy and management decision-making?

5. How will progress and success be measured? (performance and accountability measures)

Customized Questions - Funding and Rewards:

1. How should higher education in North Dakota be financed? What should be the state’s responsibility? What should be the individual’s responsibility (and how should "prices" be established vis-a-vis ability to pay)? W hat additional funding sources, if any, will need to be established to meet the expectations identified? Under what conditions should communities and employers bring resources to the table?

2. What should be the structure (major components) of a funding model designed to promote the achievement of the expectations expressed by the Roundtable?

3. By what process should a new resource allocation mechanism be developed? Who should take the lead? Who should be involved? What must be done to help ensure legislative and gubernatorial support?

4. What changes in the allocation process -- and associated financial accountability processes -- are required to give the University System the flexibility needed to be responsive to unpredictable client-established needs?

5. What incentives should be used as a mechanism for ensuring/rewarding attention to the statewide agenda (the previous two cornerstones)? For institutions? For units/ departments within institutions? For individuals?

6. How will equity among institutions be defined?

7. What disincentives currently exist for achieving the expectations identified?

WORKSHEET FOR CORNERSTONE #6

Sustaining the Vision

Goal - To enhance the economic vitality of North Dakota and the quality of life of its citizens through a high quality, more responsive, flexible, accessible, entrepreneurial, and accountable University System.

Cornerstone #6 - Sustaining the Vision: A structure and process which assures the University System for the 21st century, as described by these cornerstones, remains connected, understood, relevant, and accountable to the present and future rese arch, education, and public service needs of the state and its citizens -- sustaining the vision.

The Rationale - Creating a vision is a leadership function. For the vision to become a reality will require the commitment and courage of leaders throughout North Dakota and the University System. The University System vision must encour age and drive the creation of visions for all of the System institutions, groups, and individuals. The University System will need to intentionally, systematically, and aggressively develop and encourage policies, practices, and structures to ensure ever yone throughout the System is working toward the compelling purpose and vision.

The Vision/Expectations - A structure and process will be established which will provide for on-going communication and understanding among the State Board of Higher Education, state policy-makers, the private sector, and the citizens of North Dakota regarding the role and expectations of the University System in North Dakota. There will be consensus among the State Board of Higher Education and state policy-makers regarding the vision and major expectations of the University System. The primary benefit and result will be a University system that is "drawn by a vision, rather than driven by a budget." The structure and process will increase opportunities to explore ways the capacities of the University System can be more effec tively connected to the challenges and opportunities of the state.

Questions to be answered - Sustaining the Vision:

Core Questions:

1. What has to change in how campuses provide services (i.e., instructional, student, administrative, and delivery system) to achieve the expectations?

2. What would have to change by way of policy or regulations to achieve the expectations?

3. What resources would need to be in place to make this feasible?

4. What bench marking and data collection mechanisms are needed to provide useful information for policy and management decision-making?

5. How will progress and success be measured? (performance and accountability measures)

Customized Questions - Sustaining the Vision:

1. What needs to be done to ensure all leaders in the University System, the governor, legislature, and elected officials are "on board" and following through on making the Roundtable expectations a reality?

2. What formal mechanisms should be put in place to: Sustain the effort? Continue the dialogue and routinely update the needs of the state and the expectations for the University System? Ensure appropriate accountability to the political le adership and citizens of North Dakota?

3. What has to be done in the short-term to ensure the necessary statutory, regulatory and University System policy changes are made? Who has to do what? What is the time frame?

4. What process is needed to allow legislators, particularly newly elected legislators, the opportunity to become familiar with the roles, missions, and expectations of the University System -- in addition to receiving information which shows the extent to which the System is meeting the roles, missions, and expectations?