Strategic Plan 2002 - 2007

ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT

The External Environment
In order for the College of Creative Arts to plan effectively, it is critical for administration and faculty to understand the external environment that consists of the following:

the demographics of the potential student applicant pool;
the needs and appropriate expectations of the University, community, region, state, and nation;
the changing character of the arts professions that we promote and advance;
the current and future donors whose commitment and generosity supports our Mission.

To this end, we maintain full and candid communication with the Provost and others in University administration. We are both attentive and responsive to the feedback received from the re-accreditation processes successfully concluded in 1998 by the Division of Music and in 1994 by the Division of Theatre and Dance, and ongoing in 2001 by the Division of Art. In addition, the Dean and the Chairs regularly interact with the College’s Board of Visitors and with current and potential donors. Officers of the College continually interact with alumni/alumnae, community partners, and agencies, as well as peer institutions. They also consult professional journals and other sources of information concerning the professions.

Further, in 1999, the College of Creative Arts initiated a survey on the impact of the Creative Arts Center on the community. The National Endowment for the Arts, the President’s Office of the University, the College of Creative Arts, Citizens Bank of Morgantown, and the Greater Morgantown Charitable Trust supported this survey. The results of the survey contributed invaluable information that enables the College to enhance an already well-established relationship with the community.

The Internal Environment
Just as attention must be paid to the external environment in order for the College of Creative Arts to plan effectively, it is equally important for administration and faculty to understand the internal environment, which consists of the following:

the facilities;
the relationships among administrators, faculty, staff, and students;
faculty-student ratios;
faculty and staff workloads.

An effective way to ensure the ongoing vitality of any institution is through periodic, candid, and disciplined analysis of its strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and challenges. The College of Creative Arts periodically conducts such a review. Furthermore, each Division is required to execute a Strengths and Weaknesses, Opportunities and Challenges analysis to satisfy the "self-study" requirements of its accrediting agency. To that end, the Division of Theatre and Dance recently concluded a self-evaluation for the National Association of Schools of Theatre; the Division of Music for the National Association of Schools of Music; and, during 2001, the Division of Art is engaged in a self-study for the National Association of Schools of Art and Design, with the re-accreditation process having begun in the Fall, 2001.

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