Eight for ’28: A Message from the President
Late last year we embarked on a lengthy and inclusive process to build on Farmingdale State College’s core strengths and sustained success, and identify areas where we can do better. This resulted in Eight for Twenty-Eight, a strategic vision for the next five years and beyond. This plan reflects the many ways Farmingdale has evolved, aligning with the rapid growth and development of our distinctive, talented, and diverse student body.
We’ve enjoyed remarkable success over the last decade. FSC is among the fastest growing school in the SUNY System, propelled by our highly regarded student-centric programs, great outcomes, and capital improvements. In recent years we have added new degree programs in emerging fields in business, computer science, health care and energy; funded an honors scholarship program in all four of our schools; secured funding for a new building to support our computer sciences and information systems programs; dramatically increased our fundraising efforts to provide a broader range of scholarship aid; and achieved Carnegie Foundation Classification for civic engagement.
This strategic plan resulted from one of the most inclusive processes I’ve seen in my four decades in higher education. The feedback we received in preparation for this plan helped us prioritize our commitment to academic excellence, student success and fostering a culture of inclusion and civic responsibility.
Eight for Twenty-Eight offers both the aspirational principles and an actionable plan to help us achieve even greater success. Soon we will adopt performance indicators and action items linked to each goal. A semi-annual review will hold us accountable.
I would especially like to extend my gratitude to the members of the Committee on Planning and Resource Allocation (CPRA), who collaborated with the FSC Cabinet members to develop this plan. They include:
| Kathy Machin, (co-chair) | Meeghan Rogers (co-chair) | Michael Figuccio |
| Keri Franklin | Dylan Gafarian | Karen Gelles |
| John Gross | Doug Kim (secretary) | Jonathan Lehrer |
| Canchu Lin | Lourdes Martinez | Ryan Mannix |
| Lukas Miedreich | Doug Nikias | Jeanne Soto |
| Brett Southard | Kevin Jordan |
I look forward to collaborating with the entire campus community, and our industry and government partners, to realize these goals over the next five years. I thank you in advance for your continued support, and your enthusiasm for helping us reimagine what’s possible at FSC.
John S. Nader, PhD
President
Mission of the College
Dedicated to student success, Farmingdale State College delivers exceptional academic and applied learning outcomes through scholarship, research, and student engagement for Long Island and beyond. FSC's commitment to student-centered learning and inclusiveness prepares graduates to be exemplary citizens equipped to excel in a competitive, diverse, and technologically dynamic society.
A Strategic Vision for Farmingdale State College – Five Years and Beyond
Objective 1: Identify collaborative opportunities to engage students in and out of the classroom.
Key Performance Indicator: 60% of students feel adequate engagement (based on NSSE and SSS).
Objective 2: Expand the use of high impact practices to improve student engagement and success.
Key Performance Indicator: Increase high impact practices year over year (Examples: Internships, FYE).
Objective 3: Enhance graduation rates by creating flexible and measurable retention strategies at each stage of the student experience.
Key Performance Indicator 1: Increase 6-year graduation rate from 52% to 65%.
Key Performance Indicator 2: Increase 4-year graduation rate from 35% to 45%.
Objective 4: Introduce and expand practices that are proven to boost academic performance and student success.
Key Performance Indicator: Increase Liberal Arts students converting to bachelor's degrees to 55%.
Objective 5: Prepare highly skilled graduates equipped with the critical thinking, technical competencies and global awareness to better the communities and industries we serve.
Key Performance Indicator: Increase the number of students receiving funding/stipend support for participation in internships/externships.
Objective 1: Enhance course design to ensure effective, innovative and flexible teaching, and learning processes.
Key Performance Indicator 1: Increase the number of online degree programs to 20% of total offerings.
Key Performance Indicator 2: Increase the number of microcredentials by 20%.
Objective 2: Integrate new and emerging technologies into the teaching and learning process.
Key Performance Indicator: Increase the number of courses offered through Hybrid and Hyflex modalities.
Objective 3: Develop unique, mission-consistent, undergraduate and graduate programs that support the needs of the communities that we serve.
Key Performance Indicator: Add an additional program in each of the four schools to support the mission of the institution within the next three year cycle.
Objective 4: Seek specialized accreditation for eligible programs.
Key Performance Indicator 1: Achieve AACSB, COSMA, NASAD accreditation.
Key Performance Indicator 2: Work towards accreditation in newer disciplines such as Nutrition Science, Health Promotion and Wellness, and Applied Gerontology.
Objective 5: Establish FSC as a leader in applied and experiential learning.
Key Performance Indicator: Increase the rate of student engagement in co-curricular learning/activities 5% annually.
Objective 1: Nurture the complete student with a focus on academic and non-academic support, holistic advisement, mentorship, and comprehensive health services.
Key Performance Indicator: Increase the rate of student engagement in co-curricular learning/activities 5% annually.
Objective 2: Deliver support services to directly address the specific needs of a highly diverse student population.
Key Performance Indicator: Increase student awareness and engagement tailored to specific needs of a highly diverse student population by 5% annually.
Objective 3: Create a welcoming environment for our commuter students through programming and services targeted to their unique needs.
Key Performance Indicator: 60% of students who completed student satisfaction surveys were satisfied that FSC provided a welcoming and inclusive environment.
Objective 4: Continuously improve residence halls and the residential experience.
Key Performance Indicator: Continue 70% rate of retention of students in housing, growing waitlist.
Objective 1: Provide the campus community with the resources necessary to foster a culture of diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice.
Key Performance Indicator: Increase the number of programs offered through DEI grant initiative.
Objective 2: Expand opportunities for international engagement and global perspectives through Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL), and study abroad options.
Key Performance Indicator: Increase the number of opportunities available for students to participate in COIL, or study abroad by 10% annually.
Objective 3: Identify new ways to embrace and celebrate Farmingdale’s position as a noted diverse campus and community.
Key Performance Indicator: Increase the number of programs offered through DEI grant initiative.
Objective 4: Increase co-curricular activities to support initiatives that encourage diversity, equity, inclusion, civic responsibility, and student engagement.
Key Performance Indicator: Increase the number of opportunities available for students to participate in DEISJ co-curricular opportunities by 5%.
Objective 1: Recruit and retain a broad and diverse pool of talent through innovative and focused strategies.
Key Performance Indicator: Increase minority faculty and professional staff to 10% of total population via recruitment and retention.
Objective 2: Grow our own professional staff by actively recruiting FSC graduates for campus positions.
Key Performance Indicator: Recruit FSC graduates to possible positions on campus.
Objective 3: Foster a culture of professional growth with development opportunities for faculty and staff.
Key Performance Indicator: Increase support for sponsored research, professional development and travel.
Objective 4: Implement recommendations arising from assessments of functional areas to ensure clear campus communication and efficiencies of operations.
Objective 5: Strengthen mentorship, support, and guidance for new faculty and staff from the point of hiring through awarding continuing and permanent appointments.
Key Performance Indicator 1: Strengthen the mentorship program.
Key Performance Indicator 2: 100% of new hires participate in mentorship campus-wide.
Objective 1: Encourage the integration of campus-wide waste reduction, reuse, and recycling practices.
Key Performance Indicator: Establish targets for composting, waste and energy reduction and recycling.
Action Item: Increasing awareness and promoting best practices. Increase recycling infrastructure in: a) Composting, b) Recycling, and c) Reduce/reuse.
Objective 2: Develop relevant academic programs that address the generation and distribution of renewable energy that serve the industry's growing workforce needs.
Objective 3: Implement new measures to accommodate campus energy needs through renewable sources.
Key Performance Indicator 1: Decrease the annual fossil fuel-based energy consumed by the campus by 65,000 MMBtu.
Key Performance Indicator 2: Decrease the annual carbon footprint of the campus by 2,000 metric tons CO2 equivalent.
Objective 4: Beautify our campus community with ongoing aesthetic improvements to buildings and grounds.
Key Performance Indicator 1: Maintain current level of investment to beautify campus.
Key Performance Indicator 2: Beautifying campus with philanthropic support.
Objective 1: Build an annual fundraising strategy aligned with donor interests and institutional priorities, including a dynamic digital donor experience.
Key Performance Indicator 1: Increase number of individual donors to exceed 2,000 year to year.
Key Performance Indicator 2: Retain 60% of donor base.
Key Performance Indicator 3: Award $1M I scholarship annually.
Key Performance Indicator 4: Achieve $20M endowment milestone.
Objective 2: Encourage and support faculty and staff to seek grant funding to support programs, scholarly research, and other creative activities.
Key Performance Indicator: Increase support for sponsored research on campus as measured by annual submissions.
Objective 3: Use data-informed decision-making strategies to reach new audiences and elevate institutional standing.
Objective 4: Expand partnerships and programming with businesses, non-profit institutions, and other colleges to offer new educational, civic, and service learning opportunities.
Key Performance Indicator 1: Successfully expand partnerships with NCC, SCCC, SUNY Old Westbury.
Key Performance Indicator 2: Renew Carnegie Designation.
Objective 1: Build a distinctive brand identity for FSC across Long Island and beyond.
Key Performance Indicator 1: Increase enrollment beyond traditional catchment areas.
Key Performance Indicator 2: Increase targeted recruitment and marketing initiatives.
Objective 2: Raise the profile of FSC's dynamic, new academic programs to a broader range of relevant audiences.
Key Performance Indicator: Marketing & Communications and Enrollment Management will review, update, and improve program-specific publications, videos, and messages.
Objective 3: Enhance and support our robust technological infrastructure to improve efficiency and security.
Objective 4: Implement the Strategic Enrollment Management Plan.
Key Performance Indicator 1: Increase retention from 80% to 85% in first year and increase 2-year retention from 65% to 75%.
Key Performance Indicator 2: Meet or exceed targets established by SEM Plan.
Objective 5: Leverage campus spaces and facilities to build community and raise public awareness of the College and its programs.
Objective 6: Align effective stewardship of resources with institutional priorities and practices, and processes.
Key Performance Indicator: Improve tracking of external request to use campus space.
Eight for Twenty-Eight Brochure
Download a PDF of the "Eight for Twenty-Eight: A Strategic Vision for the Next Five Years and Beyond" brochure.
office of the president
Horton Hall, 2nd Floor
934-420-2145
president@farmingdale.edu
Monday-Friday 8:30am-4:30pm