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Foundations of Excellence^® Implementation Retreat & Advisory Support

Overview Since 2003, 147 two- and four-year colleges and universities, including your institution, have participated in the voluntary self-study process, Foundations of Excellence in the First College Year (FoE), leading to the development of an Action Plan to improve the beginning college experience. These institutions are now at various stages of implementing these plans. Frequently, we have been asked what type of support we could offer to assist institutions in the implementation of their Action Plans. A response we wish to offer is a “FoE Implementation Retreat” followed by one year’s advisory support. The initial retreat would convene a team of campus leaders in an off-campus setting, facilitated by staff of the John N. Gardner Institute for Excellence in Undergraduate Education (formerly Policy Center on the First Year of College), to assess the current status of the Action Plan implementation activities and help the institution move this plan forward to the next level of impact. Such a retreat should be held at a location conducive to minimizing distractions and encouraging creative thinking. An Invitation ♦ Advance Preparation ♦ Follow-Up Advisory Support ♦ Who should attend? ♦ Who would lead the retreat? ♦ Where would the retreat be held? ♦ When would the retreat be held? ♦ What would be the retreat format? ♦ Cost Structure

An Invitation to a Different Kind of Meeting

The Gardner Institute invites you and your colleagues to attend a meeting of a very different kind: a planning retreat that would be designed exclusively for a leadership team from your campus.
This retreat would be designed to help you take stock of your previously developed Foundations of Excellence Action Plan and assess changes you have implemented to date, develop a set of concrete action steps to move this change process to the next level of effectiveness, and consider what other related but new directions you might want to take in your pursuit of excellence in undergraduate education. As you work to implement your plan, you would also receive off-site consulting support from the Institute for a period of one year.

This retreat would be for a group from your institution that would include senior institutional leaders as well as first college year stakeholders and practitioners. In a retreat environment that is conducive to good thinking, planning, and relaxation, your team would be away from the normal press of campus affairs and able to really concentrate on issues related to beginning student success. The retreat experience would be supplemented by year-long consultation from the Gardner Institute staff.

Advance Preparation

The Institute would request that your institution provide background information on what steps you have already taken in implementation of your Foundations of Excellence Action Plan in advance of the meeting in order to help the Gardner Institute’s staff become more knowledgeable about where your campus is now with its first year as opposed to when we worked with you last. This information is not being collected for research purposes and would not be released to any other parties.

Follow-Up Advisory Support

The Gardner Institute would provide, for one year after the retreat, off-site advisory support to assist your institution in the implementation of its revised plan for the first year. This support would include: 

• The assignment of an Institute senior staff member to serve as primary liaison to the campus during the one-year follow-up period
• Written and verbal feedback, at your request, on your revised plan and related change strategies
• Participation in conference calls and/or individual telephone conversations.

Who should attend?

Your institution would have total discretion and freedom to determine its team. We suggest that for maximum benefit, each team should include individuals such as former Foundations of Excellence leaders, other campus leaders, first college year stakeholders, and practitioners. The team might include:

• individuals who led the previous Foundations of Excellence self study 
• the chief executive officer 
• the chief academic officer and/or the chief undergraduate education officer 
• the associate academic officer 
• the chief student affairs officer 
• the chief financial officer 
• the chief enrollment management officer 
• the chief institutional research/assessment officer(s) 
• senior faculty governance/curricular leaders 
• first-year program directors 
• other first-year stakeholders and leaders 
• a representative of the Student Government Association or other appropriate student leader(s)

Who would lead the retreat?

John N. Gardner, Betsy O. Barefoot, and the staff of the Institute for Excellence in Undergraduate Education. Click here to learn more about the Gardner Institute staff. 

Where would the retreat be held?

The retreat would be held at an off-campus location of your choice. For example, there are many retreat locations in the Asheville environs of beautiful western North Carolina, for example, the Highland Lake Inn in Flat Rock, NC. We are also open to holding this retreat at an off-campus site in your region.

When would the retreat be held?

The one- to two-day retreat could be scheduled at any time during the year.

What would be the retreat format?

The retreat is designed to be an intensive, interactive, and productive experience. Each retreat would be custom-designed to meet specific institutional needs.

Cost Structure

Base Professional Facilitation Fee for Institute Services

• $15,000, if held in western North Carolina 
• $20,000 plus cost of Institute staff travel, if held outside western North Carolina region 

 The fee includes planning and facilitation of the retreat in addition to one year’s off-site follow-up advisory support provided by Institute staff.

The cost for transportation, accommodations, and meals will vary depending on geographic location, site selection, and number of institutional participants and is the responsibility of the institution.

For more information contact John Gardner at gardner@jngi.org or 828-449-8044.