Strategic plan
(2005-2010)
Goal 1: Offer the best undergraduate experience
in a research university
Sub goal 1: Attract, recruit and retain a diverse high quality student body
- Devise systematic plan for recruitment and retention practices across campus.
- Recruit and retain diverse faculty, which will have an impact on attracting and retaining students
- Network with community colleges, tribal colleges, high schools, and tribal schools for recruiting students to the College of Education (COE).
- Secure and provide more scholarship opportunities for transfer and incoming students across campuses.
- Increase internal support for diverse students and their families.
- Provide orientation and mentoring for transfer students.
Sub goal 2: Create an academic culture that promotes and rewards one-to-one faculty to student and student interactions
- Reward one-on-one faculty mentoring of students in one’s content field.
- Involve undergraduates in research programs and projects with faculty and graduate students (promotes involvement in future graduate programs).
- Establish mechanisms for undergraduate representation on COE committees.
- Provide COE spaces to promote social interactions (conversation corners instead of benches).
- Provide increased awareness of service learning and integrate service learning opportunities to develop stronger connections to local community.
- Develop a COE calendar to communicate student-oriented events.
- Sponsor additional evening and weekend activities that involve faculty and students (e.g., scholarship banquet, mock interviews and hiring process).
Sub goal 3: Continually improve the quality of our program offerings and their delivery
- Support innovations and improvements in curriculum (funding, release time, TA support).
- Set goals for and maintain optimal class sizes.
- Integrate research in undergraduate curriculum (e.g., action research in student teaching).
- Develop systematic program review procedures.
- Develop systematic end-of-program assessment procedures.
- Expand collaboration with UI and cross-colleges.
- Create opportunities for student presentation of scholarship and arts.
Sub goal 4: Provide student advising and mentoring that improves retention, reduces time to degree, increases student satisfaction, and bolsters academic achievement
- Periodically evaluate advising policies and procedures.
- Continue to develop stable and coherent advising for undeclared majors through a central location with designated and permanent staff (available year-round).
- Recognize faculty advising in the major and in research as part of faculty load and in annual reviews and promotion/tenure.
- Use advising to improve transition of transfer students into undergraduate program.
- Explore value of developing a student or peer mentor program for all incoming undergraduate students.
Goal 2: Nurture a world class environment for research,
scholarship, graduate education, the arts,
and engagement
Sub goal 1: Recruit, develop and retain outstanding faculty researchers, scholars and artists
- Contribute to retention of faculty by combating salary compression.
- Provide competitive salaries for faculty and graduate assistants.
- Increase funding of faculty conference travel and professional development.
- Secure more funding for faculty recruitment, retention, and research.
- Facilitate and foster a sense of community amongst faculty.
- Consider gender and faculty rank distribution in recruitment discussions.
- Recruit and retain diverse faculty.
- Recognize individual profiles of faculty strengths and roles across the traditional areas of teaching, research and service.
Sub goal 2: Strategically develop areas of excellence in collaborative research, scholarship, and the arts
- Within departments and/or programs, identify areas of excellence and potential excellence that warrant increased support.
- Within and across departments, identify opportunities for potential collaboration.
- Recruit graduate students that can contribute to identified areas of excellence.
Sub goal 3: Develop targeted strategies to attract extramural funding
- Initiate small seed grant program for faculty research in the college (e.g., pilot studies, release time).
- Participate with Vice Provost of Research in seeking outside support.
- Publicize, establish and maintain communication with funding agencies.
- Provide and facilitate ongoing training for grant writing.
Sub goal 4: Strengthen the infrastructure that supports research, scholarship and the arts
- Establish or designate staff support for faculty research efforts and editorial activities.
- Provide adequate funding for participation in national/international research conferences.
- Maintain and expand COE lab facilities to support student and faculty research.
- Establish research participant pool and procedures.
- Provide adequate space for funded projects.
- Increase access to research journals by electronic access and journal purchase.
- Provide regularly scheduled hardware and software upgrades.
- Compete successfully for university resources to support targeted research and scholarship.
- Maintain quality of Brain Library as a premier multi-campus facility.
- Provide quality workspace and classrooms for faculty, staff, and graduate assistants.
Sub goal 5: Recruit a diverse high quality graduate student body and provide a supportive environment
- Increase the number of funded research assistantships.
- Increase the number of teacher assistantships with consideration given to those who are pursuing teaching careers.
- Increase graduate scholarship funds for both recruitment and retention.
- Provide appropriate offices and meeting places for graduate students.
- Increase quality of graduate students.
- Encourage and facilitate co-authorship between faculty & graduate students.
- Encourage early research involvement of graduate students.
- Provide admission, funding, and advising information in a timely manner.
- Create a process for student and faculty mentoring and professional development of graduate students.
- Further refine and monitor goals for recruitment/retention of diverse graduate students.
- Provide access to appropriate hardware and software to conduct research.
- Encourage graduate student affiliation with relevant professional organizations.
Sub goal 6: Establish a culture of engagement with problems and issues of interest to external constituencies
- Collaborate with K-12 schools and other organizations, agencies, and policy makers regarding research and practice.
- Establish WSU as leading research institute for OSPI research on implications of policy on practice.
- Encourage development of Brain Library as a regional resource.
Goal 3: Create an environment of trust
and respect in all we do.
Sub goal 1: Ensure just, equitable, and transparent decision making processes throughout the university through open communication that fosters understanding
- Inform faculty, staff and students about key issues affecting the university and the college.
- Provide opportunities for reactions and reflection from faculty, staff and students on decision making relative to key issues.
Sub goal 2: Create and support classroom and workplace environments that actively encourage substantive dialog and communication among members of the university community
- Model open dialogue, collegial behavior, and direct communication within the college.
- Encourage tolerance and respect amongst students and faculty within the classroom and other instructional environments.
- Review and continuously evaluate mechanisms for communication within and across all campuses and with external constituencies.
- Make information that affects college decision-making and climate available in a timely manner to all relevant constituencies at all campuses.
- Communicate relevant college information in a timely manner to a larger college community.
Sub goal 3: Align the review and funding of all areas, units, and their personnel (faculty, staff and administrators) with university goals and values, including diversity
- Program and area revision including personnel (faculty and staff) must reflect the college and university strategic plans and commitment to diversity.
- Streamline and coordinate faculty annual reviews and progress toward tenure reviews where possible.
- Clarify and articulate the review process articulating steps, personnel involved, definition of personnel categories, and criteria/rubrics. Create and disseminate a schematic of the process.
- Further strengthen faculty and staff mentoring system.
- Provide assistance to individuals needing training and experiences related to goals and values.
Sub goal 4: Promote a positive workplace in which employees are valued and professional growth encouraged
- Foster and reward positive interpersonal communication and interaction with internal and external constituents.
- Encourage and recognize professional development and positive interaction among all employees.
Sub goal 5: Develop and implement institutional programs that enable all members of the community to productively participate in a multicultural, pluralistic university
- Plan annual events that involve the college faculty staff and students as well as the larger community in focusing on and promoting social justice.
- Support the work of existing college committees and programs that advance the goals of social justice
- Initiative new activities that expand social justice, sensitivity, awareness and action.
Sub goal 6: Foster a high quality of life for all individuals throughout the university community
- Assure a safe and secure workplace environment.
- Foster and encourage positive interactions among faculty, staff and students in an environment where people can feel valued and respected.
- Make sure all employees are informed about and have access to appropriate referral agencies.
Goal 4: Develop a culture of shared commitment
to quality in all of our activities.
Sub goal 1: Develop strategies that foster a university culture dedicated to adopting and extending best practices that promote an ongoing commitment to continuous improvement
- Foster the strengths of faculty and staff by initiating or continuing recognition programs or activities that support/demonstrate best practices and that promote an ongoing commitment to continuous improvement.
- Provide professional development opportunities (retreats/seminars) that promote an ongoing commitment to continuous improvement.
- Encourage ongoing commitment to continuous improvement by analyzing and adopting appropriate benchmark practices of selected nationally accredited exemplar colleges of education.
- Develop and implement a deliberate plan for increasing (recruiting) the diversity among our faculty, staff, and students, and provide on-going intensive and appropriate support to this population.
- Offer intensive and on-going mentoring training to faculty and staff to ensure that new hires (especially those from underrepresented groups) receive important and appropriate support.
Sub goal 2: Create a university culture that supports efficient and effective collaboration
- Develop widespread pride in achievements and attainment of quality efforts.
- Share effective practices with other units.
- Encourage innovation and new ways of doing things at all levels.
- Develop a technology plan for creating and encouraging efficient and effective collaboration including the adequate use of technology.
Sub goal 3: Provide technologies that enhance effective links among teaching, research and outreach and that increase quality.
- Support the acquisition of technology needed to carry out teaching, research and outreach responsibilities.
- Apply new uses of technology to improve current practices and conserve human resources.
- Provide appropriate technology training for those involved in teaching, research and outreach responsibilities.
Sub goal 4: Communication/Collaboration Externally
- Develop widespread pride in accomplishment and quality of efforts and college and department accomplishments.
- Continue communication efforts with other colleges with whom we work.
- Publicize COE research and accomplishments and service to the broader community.
- Improve campus and public perception of COE.
- Align responsibility, authority and accountability.
- Work smarter (not just harder).
- Benchmark best practices of other colleges of education.
- Provide incentives for innovative teaching.
