Special Emphases in Trinity College’s
Reaccreditation Self-Study

Trinity College has elected to focus its self-study efforts on three areas of special emphasis.  During the Cornerstone Planning process in 2004, and in other recent evaluation and planning efforts, it became evident that these three areas are crucial for Trinity’s mission and strategic interests.  The self-study for reaccreditation provides an opportunity to focus attention on the three areas; to integrate past study, evaluation, and planning efforts in the areas; and to make realistic projections and commitments about what can and should be accomplished in these three areas during the next five years.

The three areas of special emphasis are:

1. Student intellectual engagement and campus community among students and between students and faculty and staff;
 
2. Trinity’s urban and global programs as distinguishing characteristics of liberal arts at Trinity, and;
    
3. Effective and integrated planning and budgeting assuring the effective use of resources to advance Trinity’s mission and strategic interests.

An issue that is related to all three special emphases is a widespread agreement that Trinity does not have the pervasive sense of trust and common purpose among and between students, faculty, and staff required for effectively dealing with difficult challenges and changes.  The problem is embedded in the recent history, culture, and organizational structures of the College, and changing it will be slow and difficult.  We believe that marked improvement in all three of our special-emphasis areas will lead to an improved sense of community, trust, and common purpose which, in turn, will help significantly in advancing the three areas of special emphasis.  As part of its self-study, Trinity will analyze past and current efforts in this area and make realistic plans for improvement.

Special Emphasis on Student Engagement and Campus Community

The Mission of Trinity College begins with the statement that “Trinity College is a community united in a quest for excellence in liberal arts education.”  An element central to the success of the mission is “a talented, motivated, and diverse body of students who are fully engaged with their studies, their professors, and one another.”  Qualitative and quantitative evidence indicates that much more needs to be done to engage students in the intellectual and academic life of the College and to form a united, trusting, and supportive community among students and between students and faculty and staff. 

There have been many efforts to address these problems, and some of the efforts are having positive results.  The Cornerstone Plan charts some strategies and ways to measure our progress, but there needs to be much more focused effort in both areas.  The attainment of our mission depends upon our developing even more effective means for improving the academic and intellectual engagement of students and the development of a positive and supportive sense of community for all students.

The College consequently has elected to focus on student engagement and campus community as one of the special emphases in its self-study.  The College will:

1. Review and summarize (a) the information on the current nature of student engagement and the sense of community for students and (b) past and current efforts to improve student engagement and the quality of the campus community.  The review and summary should provide background and support for an informed analysis of the issues and proposals for the future.

2. Building on past studies and proposals, analyze (a) the factors contributing to the current levels of student engagement and campus community, (b) the effectiveness of past efforts at improvement, and (c) the most promising approaches to change in the future.  Among the issues to be covered in the integrated analysis are:

• The curricular and pedagogical approaches that can best foster student engagement;
• The factors in residential life and the social activities and programs available at the College that affect both intellectual engagement and sense of community;
• How the physical spaces and facilities of the College support or detract from student engagement and the strength of the campus community, and;
• The role of admissions and financial aid in affecting both these aspects of the campus culture.

3. Based on this analysis, present a set of proposals and steps that should be taken during the next five years for improving student engagement in the intellectual and academic life of the College and the quality of support, trust, and sense of common purpose among students and between students and faculty and staff.

4. Identify procedures and indicators that the College will use to monitor progress and guide improvement in student engagement and campus community.

Special Emphasis on Trinity’s Urban and Global Programs

As stated in Trinity’s mission, taking “imaginative advantage of the many educational resources inherent in Trinity’s urban location and international ties” is central to Trinity’s quest for excellence in liberal arts education.  Among the key goals in Trinity’s 2005 Cornerstone Plan is to become the nation’s leading urban-oriented liberal arts college and to “appropriately and creatively pair global and urban educational efforts.”  As part of its civic responsibility and in its own self interest, Trinity has also been actively supporting improvement in the surrounding neighborhood and the city of Hartford.  The Cornerstone Plan sets the goal of consolidating and strengthening Trinity’s “responsive, reciprocal, and mutually beneficial partnerships” in the greater Hartford community.

One of the great challenges for Trinity is to address these many urban and global goals within the context of a liberal arts education in ways that are effective, mutually reinforcing, and sustainable.  Drawing upon past studies and proposals, Trinity must develop a coherent plan for enhancing its urban and global programs in ways that advance our mission and strategic interests.

The College has thus elected to focus on urban and global programs as one of the special emphases in its self-study.  The College will:

1. Review and summarize Trinity’s urban and global programs and its many different academic, social service, and institutional links to Hartford communities.    The review and summary should provide background and support for an informed analysis of the issues and proposals for the future.

2. Drawing upon past evaluations and proposals, (a) clarify the goals and priorities for Trinity’s urban and global programs and (b) analyze the strengths and weakness of Trinity’s urban and global programs, initiatives, organizational and administrative structures, and sources of support in light of these goals and priorities.  Among the issues to be covered in the integrated analysis are:

• Academic urban engagements, including the Hartford Studies Project and other academic programs focusing on the city, courses with community-based learning components, the cities gateway program, and internships;
• Structures and programs for enhancing and supporting student volunteer civic engagement;
• The possible role of urban studies as an academic program in Trinity’s goal of being an urban-oriented liberal arts college;
• Trinity’s global sites and other study-abroad programs and options;
• Efforts to “internationalize” the experiences of students and faculty on the Hartford campus;
• The most appropriate and effective linkages between Trinity’s urban and global programs;
• Support for and stimulation of faculty research, scholarship, and creative efforts related to urban and global programs;
• The various programs for using Trinity’s intellectual capital to support the neighborhood, such as Trinfo Café and the activities initiated by the Trinity Center for Neighborhoods;
• Trinity’s institutional activities to support the neighborhood,  and;
• Effective organizational and administrative structures to support and integrate these many facets of urban and global engagement.

3. Building on this analysis and synthesizing past work and new ideas, present a set of proposals and steps that should be taken during the next five years for developing effective and mutually reinforcing activities, organizational structures, and sources of support that will enhance our urban and global programs in ways that advance Trinity’s mission, goals, and strategic interests.

4. Identify procedures and indicators that the College will use to monitor progress toward Trinity’s urban and global goals and guide improvement in the effectiveness of the programs’ structures and activities.

Special Emphasis on Planning and Budgeting

As the report of the Visiting Committee in 1996 noted, Trinity does not have a strong history of coordinated, continuing, and effective planning and budgeting.  Planning efforts have often been done within “silos,” have been short-lived, and have generally not been integrated with the budget-making process.  Until recently, Trinity has also operated without adequate budget control and constraint.

 The Cornerstone Planning process begun in 2004 was a promising step toward a more integrated planning effort linked to the College’s mission and strategic interests; that process must now be sustained and improved and more closely linked to the budgeting process.  Concurrently, the recent budget crisis has begun to force greater monitoring of revenues and expenses and budgetary constraints.  The review and revision of the campus master plan also provides an opportunity to integrate planning for the physical plant with other aspects of planning and budgeting.  The challenge before the College is to build constructively on these beginning efforts so that we can achieve an integrated, continuing, and effective planning and budgeting process that will serve the College for the next several years.

The College consequently has elected to focus on planning and budgeting as one of the special emphases in its self-study.  The College will:

1. Review and document the recent history of planning and budgeting structures and activities at the College, including for the physical plant, and related fiscal and program strengths and weaknesses to provide the framework analysis, recommendations, and projections.

2. Analyze past and current planning and budgeting efforts and proposals with the twin goals of understanding the sources of strengths and weaknesses and identifying areas that can be used as foundations for improvement.  Among the issues to be covered in the integrated analysis are:

• Priority setting in light of the College’s mission and strategic interests and the use of those priorities in focusing and guiding planning and budgeting;
• The linkage between planning and budgeting and effective ways that priorities and planning can guide budgeting;
• Issues of College organization, coordination, and governance as they affect planning and budgeting, and;
• The organization and processes of the planning and budgeting functions of the College.

3. Building on this analysis, present a set of proposals and steps that should be taken during the next five years for developing a coherent and inclusive planning and budgeting process that will support and advance the mission and strategic interests of the College.

4. Identify procedures and indicators that the College will use to monitor progress and guide improvement in the planning and budgeting process as a critical aspect of institutional effectiveness.

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