1. To engage the University community in a comprehensive examination of the challenges confronting Millersville University at the dawn of the twenty-first century;
2. To analyze where we are in light of where we want to go;
3. To document that we are working actively to fulfill our mission, to develop new strategies for fulfilling our current mission, and to launch a comprehensive review of our mission;
4. To develop new strategies to achieve our vision, and to encourage its constant review;
5. To create a positive agenda, lay out a road map for the future, and analyze how best to marshal the resources to get there;
6. To inform University constituents more fully of recent accomplishments, current challenges, existing options, and future plans, and to involve them in the ongoing process of change; and
7. To demonstrate that we are worthy of reaccreditation by giving the visiting team an accurate, honest portrayal and analysis of Millersville University.

We intend that this self-study will serve as a working document, not a report to be completed and then forgotten. The self-study preparation process has given us a systematic opportunity not only to assess and evaluate but also to look ahead. As the University prepares to meet the millennium, the self-study preparation process gives it a vehicle to begin a review of its long-term agenda.

Organization of the Self-Study

This comprehensive self-study is designed to reflect the University vision and the guidelines of the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. The self-study chapters reflect the vision's six themes:

• Strong, responsive student programs for academic and personal growth (Separate chapters address academic programs, faculty, student life programs, and support services for students.);
• Information technology;
• Equity, fairness, and inclusiveness;
• Community service;
• Effective management; and
• Resource development.

Additional chapters present an introduction to the University; discuss the University's mission, planning, and evidence of institutional effectiveness; and draw overall conclusions.

Each chapter includes an overview, including major changes over the past five years; a rigorous and intensive analysis of selected issues within the chapter topic; a summary of major strengths and areas for improvement; and recommendations and suggestions. Recommendations, which the University commits itself to acting upon over the next five years, are more comprehensive and require a more holistic response. Suggestions are typically clearly delineated tasks that can be accomplished within a specific unit and do not require University-wide support. In some cases, further study is required before we can commit to acting upon a suggestion.

Self-Study Steering Committee and Chapter Teams

In Spring 1997, the President designated the Strategic Planning and Resource Council (SPARC), a standing committee which oversees all University planning activities, as the body responsible for overseeing preparation of the self-study. SPARC, chaired by the President, is composed of leaders and elected and appointed representatives of the University faculty, student body, trustees, staff, and executive management team. In Spring 1998, the President appointed the Assistant to the President for Special Projects and a Professor of Anthropology as co-chairs of the self-study. The co-chairs appointed chapter chairs. Members of SPARC, the Faculty Senate, and the Student Senate were solicited for suggestions for chapter team members. These suggestions were shared with the chapter chairs, who assembled chapter teams using the following principles to ensure the broadest possible representation:

• Approximately eight to ten people should be on each chapter team.
• Each chapter team should include a broad cross-section of faculty and staff.
• Chapter teams may also include students, alumni, and business or community leaders.

Altogether more than 550 members of the University community served on self-study groups or as consultants to them, including 153 faculty members, 176 administrators and staff members, 213 students, five members of the Council of Trustees, and nine individuals outside the University.

Preparation of the Self-Study Proposal

In Spring 1998, members of SPARC, the Faculty Senate, the Student Senate, and chapter team members were solicited for suggestions for charges to each chapter team. In late Spring 1998, SPARC approved the self-study design proposal, which included a rationale for the comprehensive approach; self-study objectives and outline; charges to each chapter; membership of the self-study steering committee and chapter teams; a list of available data and information; a detailed timetable; editorial and format expectations; and suggestions for visiting team composition.

The proposal was submitted to and approved by the Commission on Higher Education in Summer 1998. The Commission found no deficiencies in the proposal and offered "...congratulations to all of those people who worked so hard to put this together. It should provide excellent guidance to those carrying out the tasks."

Preparation of the Self-Study Draft

During the 1998-1999 academic year, the chapter teams collected and analyzed information and drafted the self-study chapters. They were guided by the following principles in developing their drafts.

• The self-study is to be honest, fair, objective, candid, and dispassionate.
• The report should emphasize analysis and evaluation rather than mere description.
• Both strengths and areas for improvement should be given appropriate attention.
• Statements and conclusions must be based on rigorous and intensive review, stemming from solid information rather than anecdote.
• Recommendations must be clearly tied to analyses.

Announcements in the University newsletter, meetings of the co-chairs with administrative and faculty bodies, and announcements to the Council of Trustees kept the University community informed of self-study progress and engendered cooperation and support. The co-chairs edited the chapters into a single cohesive draft during Summer 1999.

Input from the University Community and Preparation of the Final Self-Study

In Fall 1999 SPARC approved the self-study draft. To ensure that all interested parties had an opportunity to review the self-study and that it accurately and properly reflected their assessment of the University, SPARC posted the draft to a secure University Web site and made paper copies available. Articles in the employee newsletter The Exchange and the student newspaper The Snapper requested comments. Three hearings were held, and written, electronic, and telephoned comments were also solicited. A total of 274 individuals visited the self-study Web site, 50 more than once, and eight individuals submitted written or electronic comments. Those commenting, along with the 554 people serving on SPARC and chapter teams, yielded a total of 562 individuals making direct contributions to the self-study.

SPARC approved the final version of the self-study in November 1999, and the Council of Trustees endorsed it in December 1999. The self-study was then disseminated to the University community and the Middle States evaluation team.