Strategic Plan 2007-2012
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Mission Statement
The faculty, staff, and administration in the College of Arts and Sciences are committed to excellence in teaching, research, creative activity, and service. We provide a liberal arts and sciences foundation for all undergraduate students of the university as well as degree programs for undergraduate and graduate students. Through our departments, schools, institutes, and centers, we discover, create, advance, analyze, disseminate, and preserve knowledge.
Vision Statement
The College of Arts and Sciences will further our reputation nationally and internationally for excellence and leadership in all aspects of teaching, research, creative activity, and service.
The College of Arts and Sciences is committed to the core values of:
- Excellence in the Advancement of Knowledge through
- Critical Thinking
- Effective Communication
- Cultural Literacy
- Scientific and Technological Literacy
- Creativity and Love of Learning
- All Aspects of a Liberal Arts Education
- Respect and Appreciation for
- Diversity
- Needs of Students
- Traditions of Higher Education
- Concerns of Our Larger Community and Society
- Intellectual and Academic Achievement
- Shared Governance
- The Cornerstone Principle of Academic Freedom
Strategic Priorities and Goals
INVEST IN THE PEOPLE OF TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY
Goal 1. Access and Diversity: Recruit, retain, and graduate a larger, more academically prepared, and more diverse student body.
Benchmarks
Recruit
- Increase the numbers of all students.
- Increase the numbers of students from underrepresented groups in the U.S.
- Increase the numbers of international students.
- Increase the enrollment of graduate students.
- Increase the number of highly qualified undergraduate and graduate students who enter the college.
- Support unit efforts to increase the quantity, quality, and variety of courses and programs offered at a distance.
Retain
- Increase the retention rates for all students.
- Increase scholarship applications and awards.
- Increase planned seats to meet demand in highly subscribed general education courses and service courses.
Graduate
- Increase the graduation rates for all students.
- Increase the proportions of undergraduate students graduating within 4 years and 5 years.
Goal 2. Human Resources and Infrastructure: Increase and use resources to recruit and retain quality faculty and staff and to support an optimal work environment.
Benchmarks
Human Resources
- Increase faculty/staff retention rates (excluding retirements and terminations for cause).
- Encourage and provide opportunities for increased participation of faculty in the college faculty mentoring program.
- Increase the total number of faculty in the college commensurate with increases in enrollment and the advancement of research initiatives.
- Increase the diversity of faculty and staff in the college.
- Increase the number of staff as needed by departments to support their missions and programs.
- Increase the number and/or quality of faculty and staff achievements and awards.
- Continue highlighting faculty and staff achievements in the A&S e-News.
- Encourage and provide appropriate and effective professional development training opportunities for faculty and staff (e.g., EEO Refresher training, Banner training, etc.)
Facilities
- Update the physical environment for faculty, staff, and administrators within the college with regard to offices, classrooms, work spaces, equipment, and other resources necessary for quality performance.
- Expand scheduled instructional use of classrooms across hours of the day and evenings.
- Acquire more classrooms and faculty office space as university master plan allows.
Technology
- Maintain computing equipment replacement plan for the college.
- Encourage innovative uses of HEAF allocations for instructional equipment.
- Provide cost-effective access to information technology for students, staff, and faculty.
- Expand the online availability and delivery of academic and administrative services.
- Support the Information Technology Division in its goals to provide and maintain state-of-the-art technology resources for teaching, research, and administration.
Financial
- Reduce formula funding deficit, or increase formula funding profitability, for each unit annually.
- Increase the numbers of externally funded research projects.
- Increase the college donor base and donor funding.
- Increase academic fundraising and donor involvement by the departments, centers, and institutes.
ENRICH THE EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCE
Goal 3. Undergraduate Teaching and Learning: Provide excellent instruction and attain or exceed expected learning outcomes in our undergraduate programs.
Benchmarks
Teaching
- Increase lower division semester credit hours (SCH) taught by tenured and tenuretrack faculty.
- Decrease FTE student/faculty ratio.
- Attract and retain higher numbers of majors.
- Attract and retain higher numbers of students in A&S courses serving the Core Curriculum.
- Increase numbers of faculty achieving a teaching effectiveness score greater than 4.0 on the university Student Evaluation of Course and Instructor. College of Arts and Sciences 05/14/07
- Decrease numbers of faculty achieving a teaching effectiveness score less than 3.00 on the university Student Evaluation of Course and Instructor.
- Increase the numbers of courses achieving a course effectiveness score greater than 4.0 on the university Student Evaluation of Course and Instructor.
- Publicly recognize noteworthy faculty achievements in teaching (e.g., awards, named as influential faculty by graduating students, etc.)
- Encourage faculty and unit development of new courses and sequences based on program assessments.
Learning
- 100% of academic units report assessment data indicating attainment of expected learning outcomes in their baccalaureate degree programs.
- 100% of academic units report improvements to their baccalaureate degree programs based on assessments of learning outcomes.
- Increase percent of undergraduate students attaining degree program learning outcomes.
- Increase percent of students passing teacher certification exams in each content area.
- Obtain championships or top-five placements in national student academic competitions (e.g., Speech and Debate Team).
- Increase nominations of students for external awards, especially state, regional, and national awards.
- Increase numbers of undergraduate students placing into graduate programs upon their commencement from Texas Tech.
- Increase numbers of undergraduate students placing into post-graduation jobs commensurate with their degree programs and career aspirations.
Goal 4. Graduate and Professional Education: Provide excellent instruction and attain or exceed expected learning outcomes in our graduate programs.
Benchmarks
Teaching
- Increase enrollments in graduate programs.
- Increase retention rates in graduate programs.
- Note and encourage faculty efforts to deliver distance courses.
- Note and encourage faculty efforts to develop graduate certificate programs.
- Increase numbers of graduate students involved in faculty research programs.
Learning
- 100% of academic units report assessment data indicating attainment of expected learning outcomes in their graduate degree programs.
- 100% of academic units report improvements to their graduate degree programs based on assessments of learning outcomes.
- Increase percent of graduate students attaining degree program learning outcomes.
- Increase nominations of students for external awards, especially state, regional, and national awards.
- Increase numbers of master's students placing into Ph.D. programs upon their commencement from Texas Tech.
- Increase numbers of graduate students placing into post-graduation jobs commensurate with their graduate degree programs and career aspirations.
- Increase numbers of scholarly presentations by graduate students at conferences.
- Increase numbers of publications achieved by graduate students.
Goal 5. Engagement: Provide scholarly outreach opportunities that contribute to students' learning and that benefit our communities, the state, and the nation.
Benchmarks
- Increase numbers of publications achieved by graduate students.
- Increase unit activities and courses having service learning component.
- Account for research projects having components or outcomes with potential for direct benefit to communities, the region, or the state.
- Increase number of outreach events and programs presented by academic units and interdisciplinary programs.
- Increase community participation in events and programs presented by academic units.
- Increase number of A&S students participating in Study Abroad programs.
- Increase student and faculty participation in A&S interdisciplinary programs.
- Increase student and faculty participation in university interdisciplinary programs (e.g., Southwest Studies, Women's Studies).
ADVANCE RESEARCH AND CREATIVE ENDEAVORS
Goal 6. Research Productivity: Increase research productivity and funding for all units of the college. Benchmarks
Productivity
- Increase number of journal articles and book chapters published within each unit.
- Increase number of scholarly presentations by faculty and students in each unit.
- Increase number of grant proposals submitted to external sources.
- Increase number of grants awarded.
Funding
- Increase research awards in dollars.
- Increase F&A dollars returned.
- Account for patents submitted and awarded, where appropriate.
- Account for start-up dollars allocated, where appropriate.
- Increase dollars generated as a function of start-up allocated, where appropriate.
STRENGTHEN PARTNERSHIPS
Goal 7. Partnerships: Build strategic partnerships and alliances with communities, government, business, industry, and schools, colleges, and universities.
Benchmarks
Productivity
- Increase numbers of faculty and projects involved in community partnerships
- Increase numbers of faculty and projects involved in government partnerships
- Increase numbers of faculty and projects involved in business and industry partnerships
- Increase numbers of faculty and projects involved in partnerships with other educational institutions