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Focus Areas/Opportunities
July 2006
Opportunity 1: Enhancing Academic Quality offers the opportunity to
provide high quality undergraduate and graduate programs to a diverse
student population, taking into consideration the educational and career
needs of students, and the economic, social, and cultural needs of the
global community.
Opportunity 1 Goal ??- Develop and sustain high quality graduate programs, supported by quality faculty, staff, facilities, and equipment, that are consistent with Western’s state-wide mission in applied learning and that serve local, regional, and state needs. Objective 1: Determine and implement, through needs-based market research, graduate programs which best meet the needs of the region. Objective 2: Examine and evaluate graduate policies and graduate programs on a regular basis to assure maintenance of quality. Objective 3: Develop a funding strategy for graduate education, including gaining access to extramural research and program funding from granting councils, government, and private foundations. Objective 4: Develop faculty hiring strategies that bring and retain quality faculty with the skills and qualifications to serve both the undergraduate and graduate populations. Goal 1 –Develop high quality, challenging graduate programs, supported by sufficient quality faculty, staff, facilities, and equipment, that are consistent with Western’s state-wide mission in applied learning and that serve local, regional, and state needs. Objective 1: Define criteria and create a plan for developing graduate programs. Objective 2: Develop a system to review graduate programs in conjunction with broader program review. Objective 3: Develop strategies for gaining access to external research funding from granting councils, government, and private foundations. Goal 2 – Create a learning environment that develops and sustains a high level of engagement, academic achievement, and service by our students, and promotes a broad global/cultural perspective. Objective 1: Integrate curriculum, student development, and support services into a unique Western experience that makes education at Western distinctive from that of other institutions.
Objective 2: Give each student an opportunity to participate in a semester of civic engagement/leadership, study abroad/travel, or an integrated learning experience. such as the Outdoor Semester. Objective 3: Prepare students for a more diverse workforce by promoting cultural competency education. Objective 4: Require all students to take a foreign language. Objective 5: Introduce technology as a part of career fields, Action 1 : Include the level of technology required in courses on the syllabi. Goal 3 –Improve student learning outcomes in discipline-specific content, higher order thinking, and general education. Objective 1: Develop and implement a plan for assessing and improving student learning outcomes in general education and in the majors. Action 1 : Identify a common set of learning outcomes expected of all graduates, including general education outcomes, and outcomes in the majors. Action 2 : Design outcomes assessment measures, establish benchmarks, and identify comparative peer and national data. Action 3: Embed general education learning outcomes and common learning outcomes for graduates into all academic curricula and student development. Objective 2: Develop curricula and course patterns based on pre-requisites and measurable learning outcomes. Objective 3: Broaden the learning experience in General Studies and programs in the majors to promote engagement, service, cultural exposure and diversity education. Action 1: Broaden the student-faculty-staff experience by integrating social and cultural activities into the learning experience (general studies core), including symposiums and co-curricular events. Action 2: Create a structure for discussion groups and identify a theme for each semester of general studies. Action 3: Create innovative ways to encourage and reward students for attending events promote cultural exposure and diversity education. Objective 4: Strengthen retention, graduation, and placement outcomes of students. Goal 4 – Review, develop and sustain programs that support learning, teaching, research, and faculty development. Objective 1: Establish/revive a Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning. Action 1: Hire a director with concrete experience in teaching/learning and grant writing. Action 2: Coordinate internal grant opportunities for faculty. Objective 2: Strengthen the support structure for research and creative activities, including multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research. Action 1: Allocate research and summer teaching funds to involve more faculty_._
Objective 3: Evaluate the impact of residency requirements for high ability students. Objective 4: Increase the enrollment of international students by x percent and increase the percentage of travel abroad participation by x percent. Objective 5: Attract high ability students to the residence halls, achieving a 90% occupancy rate. Goal 3 – Seek new and broader ways to communicate Western’s contributions to the region, state and the world, particularly in the areas of academic quality, engagement, and service. Objective 1: Promote Western’s new status as a university building graduate programs in the applied sciences and arts and the benefits of this status to the region and the state. Objective 2: Develop and implement initiatives to enhance the University’s image and visibility, and measure and track perceptions with appropriate instruments. Objective 3: Market MWSU to media by communicating the quality of Western’s student outcomes, faculty achievements, and programs. Action 1: Increase the awareness of Western employees to 100 percent. Action 2 : Increase the awareness of the St. Joseph Region to 50 percent. Objective 4: Communicate student, staff, and faculty engagement and service to external audiences. Goal 4 –Replace, upgrade, and improve the technology infrastructure. Objective 1: Maintain and update smart classrooms. Objective 2: Expand wireless network. Objective 3: Provide technology as part of tuition—computer, jump drives. Objective 4: Develop Banner reporting capacity.
Opportunity 3: Engaging the University Community offers opportunity
for dialogue and interaction among university constituent, leading to a
cohesive, participative, and collaborative learning community engaged
intellectually, culturally, and socially.
Goal 1 – Build a first-year experience that enables Western to achieve enhanced student learning outcomes, increases retention, and engages students in community service. Objective 1 – Implement the Foundations of Excellence® in the First Year Experience plan. Action 1: Identify constituent groups that will be involved in the implementation. Action 2: Identify resources needed to implement the plan.
Action 3: Evaluate program effectiveness through retention and student satisfaction data. Action 4: Suggest opportunities for expansion and change in the freshman year experience program. Objective 2: – Revise the content, structure and delivery of COL 101 to produce engaged learners involved in the community. Objective 3: – Build a residential life environment that integrates students into university life, enhances their academic study and personal development, and enables them to become productive citizens and leaders. Objective 6: Review mentorship programs and build into integrated, enhanced system. Action 1: Reactivate Parents’ Council. Objective 7: Improve student learning outcomes. Goal 2 – Develop a sophomore-to-senior experience program that enables Western to achieve enhanced student learning outcomes, increases retention, and engages students in community service. Objective 1: Develop a sophomore to senior experience program that increases student learning outcomes. Action 1: Increase retention and graduation rates by 10 per cent. Action 2: Demonstrate improved value-added learning through the Collegiate Learning Assessment instrument. Objective 2: Enhance honors program. Objective 3: Develop a support program for international students and faculty. Objective 4: Expand opportunities for students to conduct original research and creative activities. Goal 3 –Build a support structure for graduate students, including social and residential. Objective 1: Provide married student housing. Goal 4 –Measure and track student satisfaction through a student’s career, providing feedback enhancing the University’s ability to respond to students’ needs. Goal 5 –Encourage meaningful interaction between students, faculty, and staff through expanded programs and co-curricular activities.
Opportunity 4: Building Connections provides opportunity for Western
to serve as a bridge that connects the community and campus, expands
public and private partnerships, and supports the university mission.
Opportunity 5: Using Measurement and Assessment offers Western the
opportunity to demonstrate improvement in the quality of student results
and in institutional effectiveness.
Goal 1 –Create an infrastructure that supports data-driven decision making processes and emphasizes results, assessment, and continuous improvement across all units. Objective 1: Expand the Institutional Research Office as a data warehouse for institutional and student data with a primary purpose of supporting continuous decision making and quality enhancement. Objective 2: Integrate Banner’s reporting capabilities to the fullest extent, including the development and dissemination of customized reports. Action1: Create a comprehensive plan to compile, analyze, and develop reports and surveys that are readily accessible to the campus and community. Action 2: Train faculty and administrators to use Banner’s reporting capabilities. Action 3: Make decisions based on the data and reports obtained through Banner. Action 4: Manage information flow. Action 5: Simplify and illuminate very important information. Objective 3: Establish effective procedures for improving usability, accuracy, and consistency of data. Goal 2 – Create a comprehensive, university-wide assessment plan. Objective 1: Review and evaluate institutional initiatives and prioritization of resources needed to implement and evaluate institutional effectiveness. Objective 2 : Establish an institutional compliance team. Objective 3: Establish a team that recommends prioritization of resources. Objective 4: Create a formal feedback mechanism to collect, track, and act on suggestions and concerns received from students and others. Objective 5: Research, recommend, and disseminate regulatory and policy issues that impact institutional operations. Objective 6: Create an assessment plan for general studies and the majors. Goal 3 –Make accurate and timely information available to facilitate strategic and operational planning. Objective 1: Have units develop and implement processes to ensure that critical information is available through the Institutional Research Office. Objective 2: Direct units and directors and chairs to collaborate with the Office of Institutional Research to identify, compile, and make available information critical to maintaining institutional effectiveness.
Opportunity 6: Valuing People offers Western an opportunity to create
an inclusive learning environment where students and employees choose
to invest their intellectual energy and time.
Goal 1 – Strengthen the service mission throughout all areas of the institution. Objective 1 : Develop a program to assess and recognize “people friendly” offices throughout the university. Objective 2: Recruit, train and support all employees through a comprehensive, yet friendly, service mission through the Human Resources department. Objective 3: Hold quarterly meetings to update employees on recent changes in institutional policies/procedures Goal 2 – Organize the work environment, work activities, and job responsibilities to strengthen the focus on student learning and development. Goal 3 –Create processes in Human Resources that develop leadership (orientation, training), promote employee satisfaction, encourage diversity, and reward professional development. Objective 1: Encourage leadership through service, research, and individual creativity. Objective 2–Acknowledge diversity in faculty and staff, promoting the values of civility and respect. Objective 3: Create an internal plan for communicating and disseminating information and data. Objective 4: Require all employees to complete at least one type of professional development activity. Action 1: Survey employees to determine what professional development opportunities are available and appropriate to specific job applications. Action 2: Develop a plan to communicate professional growth opportunities. Objective 5: Support faculty development that focuses on learning, applying, and improving teaching and delivery strategies. Objective 6: Create a process that measures employee satisfaction and addresses identified areas of growth. Action1: Collect and analyze employee exit interviews. Objective 7: Create a structure to promote internal team building. Objective 8: Develop a campus-wide space usage plan that includes attention too office space. Objective 9 – Create a system to recognize and reward healthy lifestyles.
Goal 4 – Develop a four-year plan for determining tuition and fee rates and work
with students to help them develop an understanding of the important role tuition resources play in the quality of their educational experiences.
Goal 5– Provide adequate support and reward structures to develop new student
populations and funding opportunities.
Goal 6– Generate increased credit hours, increasing return on investment, while
increasing the persistence to graduation.
Goal 7– Develop a master plan for land use and to guide campus facility
improvement. Note: at tipping point, emerging institution, opportunity to go from good to great.
