What’s the Big Idea?

Buffalo State College

Fall Stakeholders Conference

October 28, 2003

Spring 2002: Distinctiveness Task ForceAnn Colley, Chair

Distinctiveness is thought of in 3 ways:– Strengths– Unique characteristics– Possibilities

Buffalo State exhibits the following areas of distinctiveness– Scholarship– Diversity– Community service– Location– Comprehensiveness of academic program– Commitment to teaching and learning– Accessibility

The committee suggested that the college think about both vertical and horizontal types of distinctiveness

Strategic Direction 4Academic and Institutional Distinctiveness

Strategic Initiative 4.1

Establish a process and criteria to identify existing and potential areas of academic and institutional distinctiveness.

Goal

Complete a campuswide effort to determine activities, programs, services, community involvement, and research themes for which the college will be known and admired.

Spring 2003 Action Step 4.1.1: Overall program distinctivenessChair: Kevin Railey

Define the critical elements of distinctiveness and develop rubrics for measuring distinctiveness and evaluating programs.

Committee Charge1. Define 3-5 critical elements that make a program, initiative or

horizontal theme distinct.

2. Develop a rubric that defines or describes levels of achievement for each critical element

3. Develop an overall scale for current programs, initiatives

4. Develop an overall scale for potential programs, initiatives

Institutional Distinctiveness: HorizontalA unique sense of place

Buffalo State College, the engaged campus

Engaged in student-centered learning– Excellence in teaching– Scholarship/undergraduate research

Engaged in creating a rich learning environment– Student focus and a culture of caring– Understanding and respecting diversity and cultural differences

Engaged in the community– Learning through experience– Service focus on campus and in the community– Dynamic location leading to life enrichment– Applied research

Fall 2003 Institutional Distinctiveness: Work Group on Distinctiveness Strategy

Charge: Using the themes that were presented to the College Planning Council in Spring 2003 as a starting point, identify a primary area of institutional distinctiveness for Buffalo State. That is, determine what strategy could be a key leverage point, a catalyst to move us toward our vision and differentiate Buffalo State in the marketplace.

Outcome: A statement with bullet points that explains the concept more fully. For example,

Distinctiveness in ______ is suited to Buffalo State because…

Buffalo State will be known for…

Consideration should be given to both existing and potential institutional strengths

Fall 2003 Institutional Distinctiveness: Work Group on Distinctiveness Strategy

Work Group MembersFrederick Howe, Professor, Educational Foundations Department

Claire Jones, Director, College Relations

Louise Keene, Graduate student

Douglas Koritz, Associate Professor, Economics and Finance Department

Kevin Railey, Chair and Professor, English Department

Janet Ramsey, Associate Vice President for Undergraduate Education

Kerran Sanger, Director, Center for Interdisciplinary Studies

Andrew Walsh, Undergraduate student

Gail Wells, Coordinator, Minority Student Services Office

Liaison to the CPC: Hal Payne, Vice President for Student Affairs

Facilitator: Gerard Puccio, Chair and Professor, Creative Studies Department

Staff support: Dorcas Colvin, Senior Adviser to the President for Strategic Planning

Criteria for Distinctiveness

The “Big Idea”…– Plays out in all corners of the campus

– Must be inspiring

– Affects what happens inside and outside the classroom

– Should be specific enough to guide behavior

– Must generate internal buy-in

– Must be connected to our current strengths (feasible)

– Engages the community (professional, academic, local)

– Must be integrative (brings together different departments and units)

– Attracts positive attention (in the academic community, among

students, nationally)

The “Big Idea”

Buffalo State defines its distinctiveness

through its commitment to

integrating inquiry and action.

Integrating Inquiry and Action

Our shared goal is to transform lives, teaching processes of intellectual inquiry, and encouraging students to question the ethics, aesthetics, and logic of situations around them.  

We ask students to apply what they have learned to productive, thoughtful, and meaningful actions in their personal and public lives.  

We believe that theoretical knowledge is integrated to application in a continuous process: thoughtful questioning leads to problem-solving and creative productivity, and these actions lead again to new inquiry.

Integrating Inquiry and Action

Distinctiveness in integrating inquiry and action is suited to Buffalo State because:

• We are teacher/scholars in the classroom, closely and directly challenging students

• We mentor students, encouraging them to develop as leaders and to make transitions to the professional world

• We conduct research in the scholarship of teaching and learning, the processes of creative thought, and the foundations of educational development, and we can use this research to improve and enrich our teaching

Integrating Inquiry and Action

• Our small classes promote situations where students can actively solve problems, and we provide opportunities for laboratory, field, and studio experiences

• Our developing culture of undergraduate research will enable students to be actively involved in research and creative activities, in and out of the classroom

• Our urban location means that students engage in a variety of off-campus experiences as student teachers, interns, service learners, and volunteers; professionals from the working world can readily come to campus to share their expertise with our students

Integrating Inquiry and Action

We aspire to become an institution known for:

• Our best practices in integrating inquiry and action, theory and application

• Our general liberal education program, which offers students a common exploration of the modes of intellectual inquiry, gives them processes of thought to use in their major fields of study

• The expertise we have in the scholarship of teaching and learning, and in problem-based and inquiry-based learning

Integrating Inquiry and Action

• Our creation of classroom situations that facilitate and encourage students to become intellectuals, problem-solvers, and agents of change

• Our requirement that all students participate in a culminating course or experience in which they apply the lessons of their discipline

• The fact that our students and their teachers, indeed all members of the Buffalo State community, are engaged in professional or service activities in Western New York and beyond

Integrating Inquiry and Action

What do you think of the “Big Idea”?

Task One: Identify ways to achieve the “Big Idea”• Identify the top ten action steps or activities Buffalo State

should pursue to integrate inquiry and action (15 to 20 minutes)

Task Two: React to the Core Concept• Use the evaluation criteria to identify five strengths and five

weaknesses of the “Big Idea”• Provide a global reaction to the “Big Idea” (i.e., thumbs up,

thumbs sideways, or thumbs down)• Provide feedback based on your global reaction

(20 to 25 minutes)

Managing your small group discussion

Be prepared to share the outcomes of your discussion in about 45 minutes

You will need a…

• Recorder

• Timekeeper

• Spokesperson