Vision Project Summary Report

1. What are Hofstra’s core strengths?                
2. What would you tell someone (prospective student, faculty member, or employee) about Hofstra if you wanted to recruit them to Hofstra?
3. If you were working at a competitor school, what would you tell someone (prospective student, faculty member, or employee) about Hofstra if you wanted to recruit them?
4. Ten years from now, what would you like to be able to say about Hofstra in describing its strengths? What would you like Hofstra to be known for?

Based on a content analysis, the external and internal facilitators initially identified 10 key themes. Next, a doctoral student and a faculty member with expertise on quantitative and qualitative assessment analyzed the data using Voyant Tools. Voyant Tools is an open source, web-based software program that is designed to analyze text. Particular emphasis was placed on the topic modeling results, frequency of specific words/phrases, and the context of those frequently used words/phrases. From these results, general themes representing strengths, challenges, and future directions were identified. Key positive and negative issues are listed under each of the 10 themes. It is important to note that this data was collected in fall 2021, and the responses are grounded in experiences with the prior administration.

Identity and Vision

• Hofstra is a small school with big school opportunities – we have a strong community feel and excellence in teaching.
• Lack of national reputation. Hofstra is a hidden gem.

Pedagogy

• We have small class sizes and high-quality teaching.

Research and Scholarship

• High-quality research is being conducted across the University.
• Traditionally, there has been a lack of resources and recognition for research.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

• Student demographics have rapidly evolved to represent the changing population.
• We have an inclusive community.
• There is a lack of diversity in faculty and lack of DEI across all University units.

Focus on the Student

• Hofstra is a high touch institution – small class sizes with caring faculty and staff.
• There is something for everyone at Hofstra – you can chart your own path.
• Expensive to attend.
• Lack of traditional college culture.
• Hofstra shuffle – bureaucratic obstacles.
• Lack of safety on campus and surrounding areas. In the past, the Department of Public Safety has been less responsive.
• We are tuition dependent.

Focus on the Faculty

• There is a good balance between teaching and research.
• Clear and fair tenure standards in most departments (“They hire you to keep you.”).
• No new faculty lines for many years leads to lack of new ideas and academic programs being under-resourced.
• Lack of resources.
• Limited social interaction opportunities between faculty.

Focus on the Employee

• Community and the people – teamwork culture at Hofstra.
• Benefits – tuition remission, tuition exchange, health care – are helpful.
• Cost of living high and compensation not keeping pace.
• Lack of remote work opportunities.
• Limited professional development opportunities are available for staff and administrators.

Resource Allocation

• Financial stewardship of the last decade has helped keep us on strong ground.
• Nimble – we pivot and change and quickly adapt to changing circumstances.
• We don’t put enough resources behind programs/initiatives (“house of cards,” “scaffolding” were terms that often came up).

Governance Issues

• Good relationships between faculty and individual school administrators (deans/chairs).
• Bureaucracy – We have to jump through many hurdles to enact change (e.g., contracts).
• Top heavy senior administration – Past leadership models were very directive, not necessarily consultative.

Location, Location, Location

• Proximity to NYC.
• Attractive campus.
• High cost of living in Long Island, NY.
• Lack of college town atmosphere.

Focus group participants were excited to share their ambitions for Hofstra. Some key ideas:

• Enhance regional, national, and global reputations with top-tier academic programs.
• Invest in establishing and nurturing the University brand as well as those of the schools. Communicate better all the great things that are being created at the University – we should not be a “hidden gem.”
• Continue to drive for a more diverse and inclusive culture and community that represents the changing demographics.
• Be the university that offers a clear and organic transition from the place of learning to the place of work – continue offering an outstanding Liberal Arts education while maintaining strong professional programs.
• Become a community-transformation entity that contributes to the development of Hempstead/Uniondale neighborhoods. Be able to “tear down fences and integrate into the surrounding communities…”
• Obtain the financial resources that we need to move forward – Diversify sources of funding to support tuition help, reduce teaching load, create a center for teaching excellence, enhance research, and community development programs.
• Promote more active and stronger alumni engagement.
• Be more cutting edge and forward-thinking – Strategic university growth that matches need. Leverage our human capital.
• Create global citizens.
• Develop winning sports programs that bring back the Hofstra Spirit! Create a sense of belongingness and ownership of our athletic teams.

Faculty groups also discussed increasing the quantity and quality of scholarly research and the possibilities offered by creating a satellite campus. Students discussed the importance of increasing the reputation of Hofstra University while retaining the intimate feel of a small school. Increased branding and marketing to increase Hofstra’s visibility was also mentioned across groups.

Focus group data were used to generate a survey that was distributed to the Hofstra community during the spring semester of 2022 (February 14-March 7). The survey was created using Baseline, a survey platform supported by the University and composed of items to understand Hofstra’s current strengths/limitations, as well as future ambitions for Hofstra.

The survey yielded a 23% response rate (42% among Hofstra employees and 14% among Hofstra students), with 412 administrators, 444 faculty, 154 staff, and 1322 students responding.

Survey results were analyzed using R as well as jamovi where appropriate. Analyses of variance and chi-square tests were employed to determine if any significant differences occurred between groups. In addition, all open-ended responses were analyzed using Voyant Tools, similar to the focus group analyses.

Overall, the Hofstra community is moderately satisfied with Hofstra (Mean = 3.74, 1-5 scale with 5 indicating highly satisfied).

Administration (M = 3.87, n = 404) provided a significantly higher satisfaction rating compared to students (M = 3.68, n = 1293) (t (2282) = 3.72, p < .01).

Respondents were asked to rate Hofstra’s strength on eight characteristics identified from the focus group data. The eight characteristics were:

• Having faculty and staff who care about student success
• Vibrant team-oriented community
• Small class size
• Strong local and regional community and corporate-based partnerships
• Increased scholarship and research productivity by the faculty
• Desirable geographic location
• Strong alumni relationships
• Diverse and inclusive community of faculty, students, and staff

*Participants were allowed to check an “other” characteristic to provide additional data.

The current top 3 strengths across all groups were small class size, having faculty and staff that care about student success, and diverse/inclusive community. Faculty rated having faculty and staff that care about student success (M = 4.39, n = 438) the highest, whereas every other group rated small class size higher (Staff: M = 4.22, n = 108; Students: M = 4.13, n = 1307; Administration: M = 4.325, n = 317).

Current Hofstra Strengths

Data combined across groups

When asked to pick just one of the eight as Hofstra’s greatest strength, having faculty and staff that care about student success was picked most frequently by Administration (n = 144, 36.29%), Faculty (n = 260, 58.96%), Staff (n = 53, 35.33%), and Students (n = 339, 25.74%).

Respondents were asked to rate the same eight characteristics in terms of how important they are for Hofstra to possess over the next decade. Similar to the previous question, having faculty and staff that care about student success was rated the highest. Other highly rated items were diverse/inclusive community and vibrant team-oriented community. When asked to choose the one most important characteristic for the future, the most frequently picked item was having faculty and staff that care about student success. However, when broken down by self-reported race/ethnicity of the participant, underrepresented minority groups chose having a diverse/inclusive community of faculty, students, and staff most often.

In the next set of questions, respondents were asked to rate eight characteristics on the extent to which they limited Hofstra’s ability to serve students, faculty, and staff. These eight characteristics were:

• Sufficient number of faculty, staff, and administrative hires
• Tuition scholarships/grants that can be offered
• Compensation
• College town experience
• Availability of remote work
• National reputation
• Campus safety
• Athletic programs

Overall, the three factors rated as most limiting were the number of tuition scholarships/grants that can be offered, compensation, and college town experience. However, administration and staff rated compensation as the most limiting factor, whereas students and faculty rated tuition scholarships/grants that can be offered as the most limiting factor.

Data combined across groups

Data combined across groups

Open-ended responses on the survey were examined using Voyant Tools. When asked, “What is Hofstra University best known for right now?” the most common responses were:

• Location of Hofstra
• Debates (i.e., Presidential)
• Medical School/Affiliation with Northwell
• Campus/Community on Campus (Small)
• Caring faculty and staff
• Local reputation on Long Island

When asked to state one reason why respondents joined the Hofstra community, common responses were as follows:

• Small class size
• Location/Campus
• The Hofstra community characterized as welcoming, diverse, and inclusive
• Reputation of the University
• Opportunities (academically, professionally)
• Balance between teaching and research – “Emphasis on teaching while performing research”
• Benefits and job security

When asked about what they would like Hofstra University to be best known for 10 years from now, the most common themes were:

• High quality of education
• Increased Reputation/Prestige (i.e., Rankings)
  • International/World Presence and to be known beyond just Long Island
• Hofstra/Hofstra Community to be Successful
  • Graduates go on to have successful careers
  • Hofstra continues to grow and develop
• Increased Diversity/Diverse Community
• Providing students with a great overall experience – academically and socially

Some Main Takeaways:

Who are we right now?

• We have strong academic programs
• We are a hidden gem
• We have a strong local reputation
• We have caring faculty and community
• We have strong alumni connections

Our ambitions for Hofstra University:

• To have an increased national and global reputation and presence
• To build strong brand recognition for Hofstra University
• To strengthen diversity across faculty and students
• To enhance our connection to our alumni networks
• To strengthen research and scholarship
• To continue to build on our current strengths
  • Strong caring community
  • Small class sizes

References

Sinclair, S., & Rockwell, G. (2016). Voyant Tools. Web. http://voyant-tools.org/.
RStudio Team (2020). RStudio: Integrated Development for R. RStudio, PBC, Boston, MA
The jamovi project (2021). jamovi (Version 1.6) [Computer Software]. Retrieved from https://www.jamovi.org