Strategic Plan
Introduction | Goals and Objectives | Strategic Planning Council

Goals and Objectives

Objective 1.1: Formulate curricular and programmatic initiatives that respond to the diverse and evolving needs of learners.

Strategies:

• Develop and institute comprehensive strategies that address lifelong and career learning.
• Offer continuously developing course work--both in the major and in general studies--which provides knowledge, skills and perspectives that will be required of a 21st century global citizen.
• Improve student learning through assessment of both programs and student learning. Establish a collaborative environment for learning by creating linkages between academic and non-academic learning.
• Encourage experimentation and risk taking in teaching and learning.

Objective 1.2: Create a learning community that supports the discovery and application of new knowledge about learning processes.

Strategies:

• Promote a university-wide, interdisciplinary scholarly focus on learning and how it may be improved.
• Assign responsibility to an existing unit or create a research institute which would help to formulate scholarly projects, generate financial and other support, allocate research funds, and otherwise serve as an advocate for scholarly attention on learning, learning processes, and the host of interrelated empirical and normative issues.
• Develop avenues for faculty inter-disciplinary discussions regarding learning and incorporation of innovations into learning processes.

Objective 1.3: Meet academic degree and continuing education needs in the region.

Strategies:

• Offer off-campus degree and non-degree programs that meet the needs of site-bound students.
• Construct a permanent Coachella Valley Campus in Palm Desert.
• As funds are available, develop new degree programs that are consistent with needs in the University's service area.

Campus Environment
Goal #2 Ensure a welcoming and safe intellectual, social and physical environment that engages campus members in the life of the University.

Objective 2.1: Create an organizational culture that actively promotes activities that support teaching, learning, professional development and international perspectives.

Strategies:

• Coordinate and enhance the effectiveness of social, cultural and international activities that augment educational programs.
• Seek to improve diversity programs and facilities.
• Offer various services that meet student needs, including recruitment and admissions, financial aid, retention, advising, health, career counseling and placement, and other instructionally related activities.

Objective 2.2: Maintain a campus environment that supports faculty and staff efforts in all forms of scholarship: the scholarship of discovery, of integration, of application and of teaching.

Strategies:

• Provide institutional support for research, creative and scholarly activities.
• Involve students in faculty research, scholarship and creative activities.
• Provide resources necessary to maintain library and museum facilities.

Objective 2.3: Identify and implement practices that enhance a sense of belonging to the University and commitment to its many roles.

Strategies:

• Develop mechanisms for the involvement of students and personnel in the governance and leadership of the University.
• Promote collaborative and team-work processes.
• Foster an environment that accentuates civility, caring and respect.
• Encourage and reward University members' involvement in community organizations and activities.

Objective 2.4: Develop and maintain an administrative, fiscal and physical environment that supports the University mission.

Strategies:

• Develop organizational structures that best meet the goals of the University, engaging the campus community in the process.
• Develop a financial plan, which includes state-provided resources and private contributions, to ensure the University's fiscal integrity.
• Develop a comprehensive plan to ensure the quality of the University's facilities and physical environment.

Establish Foundation and Extended Education five-year business plans--including mission statements, goals, and objectives consistent with the University plan.

Objective 2.5: Utilize technologies to improve teaching, learning, communication and administration.

Strategies:

• Provide access and training for university students and personnel to utilize electronic communications.
• Improve programs and services provided via distance learning.
• Implement a five-year comprehensive university-wide information and technology plan.

Partnerships
Goal #3 Adopt a long-term strategy for university engagement in community partnerships.

Objective 3.1: Become the intellectual and physical hub of community activity directed toward educational, social, economic and cultural advancement.

Strategies:

• Inventory and assess activities between campus units and the community that contribute to regional advancement to determine their current range, scope and effectiveness.
• Identify and remove or improve structures and processes that pose as barriers between the campus and the community.
• Promote the campus as a central place for the community's engagement in social, economic, and cultural development.
• Assign responsibility to an existing unit or create a center to advance partnership development and to serve as a clearinghouse dealing with requests for university services.

Objective 3.2: Engage external communities in partnerships to promote educational, social, economic and cultural advancement.

Strategies:

• Involve the community in assessing regional needs to identify opportunities for collaborative partnerships.
• Create and implement structures and processes within and between the campus and the community to develop and apply solutions to university and community needs.
• Collaborate with area schools/districts to increase the college attendance of area high school graduates.
• Establish avenues for alumni and community leaders to become involved in the university through service on boards, speaking engagements and mentoring programs.

Objective 3.3: Value and reward activities related to community outreach and partnerships.

Strategies:

• Integrate community-based learning into programmatic goals and objectives.
• In both selection and performance review processes, include involvement in external partnerships and outreach.
• Develop explicit criteria for faculty and staff engagement in community partnerships that will be consistent with the role, purpose and good reputation of the university.