McNeese State University

Section 2:
Core Requirements
2.1	2.2	2.3
2.4	2.5	2.6
2.7.1	2.7.2	2.7.3
2.7.4	2.8	2.9
2.10	2.11	2.12
Section 3:
Comprehensive Standards
3.1.1	3.2.1
3.2.2.1	3.2.2.2	3.2.2.3
3.2.2.4	3.2.3	3.2.4
3.2.5	3.2.6	3.2.7
3.2.8	3.2.9	3.2.10
3.2.11	3.2.12	3.2.13
3.2.14	3.3.1	3.4.1
3.4.2	3.4.3	3.4.4
3.4.5	3.4.6	3.4.7
3.4.8	3.4.9	3.4.10
3.4.11	3.4.12	3.4.13
3.4.14	3.5.1	3.5.2
3.6.1	3.6.2	3.6.3
3.7.1	3.7.2	3.7.3
3.7.4	3.7.5	3.8.1
3.8.2	3.8.3	3.9.1
3.9.2	3.9.3	3.10.1
3.10.2	3.10.3	3.10.4
3.10.5	3.10.6	3.10.7
Section 4:
Federal Requirements
4.1	4.2	4.3
4.4	4.5	4.6
4.7	4.8

McNeese State University
Compliance Plan for Reaffirmation

Section 2.6: Continuous Operation

Judgment of Compliance

Compliance

Partial Compliance

Non-compliance

Requirement

The institution is in operation and has students enrolled in degree programs.

Narrative

McNeese State University is in compliance with Core Requirement 2.6.

The University has been in continuous operation since its inception in 1939. Students enroll in degree programs during fall, spring, and summer semesters.

The University enrolled 8,443 students during the 1995-1996 academic year when the institution was last visited for reaffirmation of accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Enrollment has remained constant since that time. Enrollment figures for Spring 2006 remained strong despite the effects of Hurricane Rita on the area. Loss of housing and employment and other factors arising from the disaster resulted in a slight enrollment decrease. Two hundred fifty one fewer students enrolled during the Spring 2006 semester than during the Spring 2005 semester. The table below illustrates the numbers of students enrolled and graduated from Fall 2004 through Spring 2006:

Number of Students Enrolled

Fall 2004	Spring 2005	Fall 2005	Spring 2006
8,784	8,159	8,992	7,908

Number of Students Graduating

Fall 2004	Spring 2005	Fall 2005	Spring 2006
669	688	737	675

Through its seventy-nine active undergraduate and graduate degree programs, the University awarded degrees to 1,357 students during the 2004-05 academic year and 1,412 during the 2005-06 academic year, an increase of fifty-five students.

Mandatory evacuation orders from city, parish, and state emergency preparedness officials coupled with University and University of Louisiana System concern for faculty, staff, and student safety resulted in temporary closure of the University campus on September 22, 2005. An on-site crisis response team instituted the University’s “ Emergency Preparedness Plan” and managed limited campus operations immediately prior to, during, and after Hurricane Rita. As soon as weather conditions permitted, the team began preliminary damage assessments.

The crisis-response team initiated a number of processes to ensure that the day-to-day operations of the University continued with minimal interruption. The University President and select members of the executive leadership team convened on Tuesday, September 27, 2005, and began formal disaster recovery and restoration of campus operations. The list below illustrates some of the efforts made by the crisis-response team during the evacuation, forced-closure, and recovery periods:

• The University's payroll schedule for classified and unclassified employees was uninterrupted, and paychecks were issued on standard issue dates. Employees who did not have paychecks directly deposited in their banks were given the option of receiving their paychecks through Western Union offices in areas to which they had evacuated.
• University data stored in off-site locations was secured.
• The University's website was in continuous operation throughout the closure through off-site hosting.
• Web-mounted Blackboard sites for all classes for which online instruction was available prior to Hurricane Rita were operational on September 26, 2005. Additional sites for every other course offered during the semester were created during the week of October 17, 2005, and faculty training and instructional support were initiated concurrently with activation of the course sites, thus permitting faculty and students to communicate regarding plans for completion of course requirements.
• Daily web postings alerted faculty, staff, and students to the latest information regarding the University.

Classes resumed as soon as resources permitted:

• Graduate nursing courses resumed instructional delivery via Blackboard within one week of storm impact.
• Undergraduate nursing courses resumed in local churches and health agency facilities by October 24th.
• Supervision of student teachers placed in local schools resumed progressively as schools reopened beginning with Allen and Beauregard parishes on October 3, Acadia Parish on October 5, Vermillion Parish on October 6, Jeff Davis Parish on October 10, Calcasieu Parish on October 24, and Cameron Parish on October 31.
• Students were advised of relocation of classes and revised schedules via the University web site.
• On October 26, 2005, faculty reported for work, adjusting syllabi to accommodate the changes in class times, make-up days, and revised University calendar.
• Classes officially resumed on October 27, 2005.

The University officially reopened most areas of the campus on October 26, 2005, following reallocation of available instructional space, conversion of non-instructional space to instructional use, and placement of temporary classroom buildings. The University progressively resumed all other campus-based courses in their original or alternate locations. The University also extended class times for each instructional period, instituted day, evening, and weekend sessions, and extended the academic term by nine instructional days in order to compensate for lost instructional time and to ensure the academic integrity of courses offered.

Another difficulty caused by Hurricane Rita was the loss of on-campus student housing. Several dormitories sustained significant damage. One entire dormitory and parts of other student housing units could not reopen for the fall semester. Some displaced students were housed on the Texas Clipper, a ship owned by Texas A&M University, which was berthed at the Port of Lake Charles. More than eighty students voluntarily agreed to stay on the Texas Clipper and a second ship, the Sirius, until alternative housing became available. Two librarians and one member of the crisis-response team who were displaced by the hurricane also stayed on the ship for several weeks. The City of Lake Charles provided transportation from the ship to the campus several times daily. Once Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) trailers became available, many students relocated to those facilities, which were parked at the University’s Burton Coliseum.

Despite the hardships engendered by Hurricane Rita, commencement was held on December 23, 2006, when 737 graduates received their degrees. Events and issues emerging during the mandatory evacuation and University closure necessitated a revision of the “Emergency Preparedness Plan.” The revised document entitled “ Disaster Recovery Preparedness Plan” more specifically addresses the use of technology as an essential tool in communicating with University constituents and in continuing University business and instruction in the event of evacuation and/or forced closure.