UNCW Strategic Planning 2015
Subcommittee: Enable Students to Succeed
Committee Members:
Lindsay LeRoy
Laurie Patterson
Jeanne Persuit
Thom Rakes
Jimmy Reeves
John Rack
Rosalynn Martin
Jeffrey Bruinsma
Janine Iamunno
Tammy Hunt, Chair
Executive Summary
Our charge
As a part of the UNCW Strategic Planning process, several strategic priorities subcommittees were formed by the UNCW Chancellor and Executive Cabinet. We were charged to
examine current processes and brainstorm goals during the September through December
2015 time period. Our committee was charged to study and discuss the priority “Enable
Students to Succeed”.
Process of meetings
to collect and share information from reports, data and existing campus efforts
to collect additional information from certain faculty and staff
consider input of other individual faculty and staff, chairs and planning committees
integrate outcomes from SWOT and mission/values committees
to brainstorm and analyze possible alternative goals
utilize the prescribed template for presenting goals to consider/pursue
identify drivers, metrics, owners, timing, and funding sources
Themes that have emerged from our discussions:
a. Overall we found an engaged student body, along with caring faculty and staff. From
Move-In day to the celebration of Commencement, we found evidence of a satisfying
university experience.
b. In the idea of continual improvement to strive for excellence, we would recommend a
goal to build our student expectations of a lifetime commitment of being a Seahawk,
from acceptance to UNCW through life as a Seahawk alumnus.
c. Certain student success goals are aimed at admission, retention and the first two years
of student's time at UNCW.
d. Certain student success goals are focused on applied learning, global education,
graduate school admission, internship and career jobs focus for years 3 and 4 of the
UNCW student experience.
e. We consider success goals at both student timing points equally important.
f. Strong campus need for an easily accessible ONE database to track students and alumni
(not multiple locations all over campus) including “dashboards” of outcomes available to
external stakeholders. The goal should be to track requests for information from both
internal and external parties.
e. Strong need for new fulltime faculty and staff positions to enhance student success in a
growth environment
f. Need for more career orientation, or a split of UNI course and topics into years one and
two of university experience
g. Need to connect alumni with students more often, where appropriate.
Summary of resources needed for outcome success:
In a growth environment, with limited budget resources, we see the need to utilize state funds,
supplemented by university fund-raising efforts for:
a. One central database that is a repository (easily accessible to all) to track students while
at UNCW and alumni after graduation. All shadow databases would be shared with
central database and then eliminated. Additional staff in either Advancement Services
or ORA should manage updates.
b. Restoration of tenure track faculty positions lost in recent years to turnover and
retirement
c. New tenure track faculty positions for enrollment growth
d. Emphasize a balance of undergraduate and graduate program needs when allocating FT
lecturer and tenure track faculty positions. Do not allow UG to fall behind graduate
faculty growth.
e.
f.
g.
h.
Restoration of staff positions lost to turnover and retirement
New staff positions for enrollment growth
Full transparency must be included in the allocation of campus positions.
More robust utilization of Razor’s Edge software. In addition, purchases of software to
track student success better (degree audits/DegreeWorks, e-Portfolio, etc.). Need to
make sure they can all be effectively linked.
i. Equity among departments and schools regarding number of professional advisor staff
to work with students
j. Increase incentives to encourage more full-time faculty to teach UNI and honors
seminar courses, and to supervise students on internships, field experiences, DIS and
senior honors projects.
k. New staff in Alumni Relations to work with Career Center in Alumni Employer
Development, and to work with all groups on campus for mentoring opportunities for
alumni with students.
The UNCW planning process will be completed when stakeholders have had time to review the
goals and targets in their entirety and consider the priorities for the university’s final strategic
plan.
Strategic Priorities: Enable Students to Succeed
Goals:
1. Aim for 90% retention at first year
 Strengthen UNI course offerings by recruiting additional full time faculty, including
tenured and tenure track faculty, to teach UNI courses. Ensure that applied learning
opportunities, including DIS/Honors, community involvement, what it means to be a
Seahawk and an Alumnus in training, Internships and study abroad are presented by
practitioners or participants where possible.
 Increase number of learning community and themed UNI courses
Driver(s): Increased incentives to full time faculty who teach UNI classes, including counting
UNI as part of normal teaching load or compensating at overload course rate. Also
faculty incentives to those who advise with University College.
Metric(s): Number of full time lecturers and tenure and tenure-track faculty teaching UNI
101. Compare UNCW data to peer institution and UNC system data
Owner(s): University College, Academic Chairs
Timing – Three years
Funding – Additional full time faculty positions must be secured; State funding, UNCW.
2. Aim for a 75% six-year graduation rate
 Restore lost tenure track faculty positions (due to turnover and retirements) and hire
additional tenure-track faculty positions for enrollment growth, to allow students to
complete degree requirements in a timely manner

Improve student advising by:
Establishing a university wide advisor/student ratio maximum of 1/175 for all
professional advising models to encourage consistency in quality. (FUS final report)
Establish a university wide advisor/student ratio maximum of 1/20 for all traditional
faculty advising models to encourage consistency in quality. Where student enrollments
make this impossible, provide additional advising support though mechanisms such as
the Student Services Support office (see below).
Simplifying University Studies requirements and/or improving degree audit format so
that fulfillment requirements and options are clear to both students and their advisors.
Establishing a student service support office in each of the Colleges and Schools to work
in conjunction with the Associate Dean to provide advising assistance to students and
faculty, ensure that transfer students receive maximum course credit in all aspects of
University Studies, increase student monitoring and assist with departmental support.
(FUS final report with modifications)
Provide more consistency across departments/schools with regard to number of student
services support office staff positions
Alumni mentor programs developed by each College and School, tracked through
central university database.
Provide regular faculty training for more effective and consistent advising
Driver(s): Increased funding for advising staff and faculty training
Metric(s): Advisor to student ratios, creation of fully staffed Student Support Centers.
Owner(s): University College, Academic Affairs
Timing – Three years to implement support, 5 years to reach graduation goal
Funding – Additional full time professional advising positions and staff positions such as in
Alumni Relations required.
3. Increase support for ETEAL and University College, particularly in the area of recruiting
lower achieving, minority, international, online and extension students to applied learning
opportunities.
Continue tracking first year students at risk, trying to involve them in support services
Introduce applied learning and ETEAL in UNI courses, market these opportunities
Ensure that online and satellite/extension campus students have access to applied
learning opportunities
Work UNCW with alumni to develop more applied learning opportunities
Driver(s): Increased funding for ETEAL
Metric(s): Numbers of students in these categories participating in applied learning activities.
Owner(s): ETEAL, Academic Affairs
Timing – Five years
Funding – Fund raising; UNCW budget.
4. Ensure recruiting, advising and career services work hand-in-hand to ensure student
success.
A. Current collaborations between Admissions, University College & the Career Center
Seahawk Saturday events with students and parents, sharing academic, career and
alumni information.
Orientation sessions for incoming students and their parents regarding career services,
skill development, etc.
Career services presentations in all sections of First Year and Transfer Student Seminars
Collaborative events for students hosted by these offices, including the Academic
Majors & Minors Fair, Making Your MAJOR Decision, MAJOR Confusion, etc.
Consultation Process for all students changing majors or who are unable to gain
admission into their first choice academic program. Students are required to work
with a UNCW career counselor on their decision prior to working with their
academic advisor.
Provide sponsored career assessment for all students, utilizing the KuderJourney. This
assessment provides a student with academic and career themes based on their
career interests, work values and transferable skills. Two other assessments include
the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (personality preferences for work environments,
etc.), and the CareerLeader (assessment of specific business career interests).
Extensive online career exploration resources including the locally developed and
maintained website, “What Can I Do With A Major In….?” , providing brief YouTubelike videos within CandidCareer, with hundreds of videos of career professionals
sharing information about occupations and industries.
Successful annual career information events like Career Carnival- featuring 60+
employers in eight major industry sectors sharing occupational and industry
information with our students.
Academic intervention plan for students below a 2.0 requires students to seek resources
on campus to assist in focusing their efforts on finding an appropriate major
B. Potential enhancements to the collaborative efforts of these functions.
Incorporate more information about UNCW alumni employment, graduate and
professional school outcomes into admissions events, orientation, First Year
Seminar, Transfer Seminar, etc. Use traditional and social media to further share
this information with student applicants and their parents, current students and the
general public.
Utilize alumni and their success stories with students, parents and the general public.
Utilize and incorporate alumni volunteers into Seahawk Saturday, Orientation, and First
Year Seminar sessions to explain the power of the Seahawk Network.
***Change the current format of Freshman Seminar (UNI) course to be a 2 hour course
in the first year (study skills topics, choice of major, resources available on campus,
library and technology, etc.), with a one hour required component in the sophomore
year to include more career orientation, e-Portfolio, and information on applied
learning, study abroad and internships. The one-hour component for year 2 could
have instruction from academic departments and/or University College.
***AND/OR Establish a career development elective course for second-semester
freshmen and sophomores. The course would be career exploration and planning,
and helping prepare students for internships, job searches, and graduate and
professional school applications. Include alumni relations in this and recruit alumni
to make presentations to these course sections.
Invest time and money in establishing a rigorous data collection process to continuously
gather contact and career information about our alumni, including email addresses,
telephone numbers, education subsequent to UNCW, job titles and employers.
***Mandate that all areas of the university turn over their shadow databases and use
one database where all updates on alumni are kept. Utilize only one database for
campus.
Academic departments provide admissions, university college advising, and career
services with a student profile that can assist in advising and attracting majors.
Driver(s): Increased funding for Career class/UNI proposed changes to enhance the
information flow to students across a two year time period versus one semester.
Metric(s): Track students from pre-admission interests to potential major identified at
freshman/transfer orientation to major declarations to changing majors to graduation.
Identify patterns in students’ paths to degrees.
Owner(s): University College, Associate Deans, College/Department Professional Advisors,
Academic Department Chairs, Admissions, Career Center
Timing Fall 2016
Funding – includes an additional staff position in Advancement services to manage updates and
distribution of information from the central database, and alumni relations/career
center position in Alumni Employer Development
5. Aim to bring 100+ Fortune 500 companies and top government organizations and
NGOs to campus to recruit students annually.
5A. Using technology to bring these companies to campus through web-based technology
5B. Continue and grow graduate school college fairs.
5C. Grow job recruiting fairs, through partnerships with other UNC campus schools and
peer institutions.
Recruit skilled Associate Director for Employer Development to formulate plans for
impactful outreach to major companies, federal agencies and NGOs for internships
and jobs.
Secure funding for an Assistant Director of Alumni Employer Relations to work in
tandem with Associate Director of Employer Development to build relationships and
engage the alumni from different national and global organizations.
Initiate enhanced partnership between the Career Center and Alumni Relations to
identify UNCW graduates working in target organizations and develop stronger entry
into internship and job opportunities in their organizations.
Create a network of UNCW Administrators, Deans, Faculty and Staff to coordinate the
enhancement of existing connections with these major companies, federal agencies
and NGOs to include increased identification of placement opportunities.
Create database of Fortune 500 companies, federal agencies and NGOs and make an ongoing effort to identify regional recruiter and UNCW alumni contacts for the
database. Continually update alumni employment information in this database.
Explore the use of high quality digital media to provide opportunities for distance
employer interactions with students and alumni.
As many Fortune 500 companies plan recruitment strategies around the hiring of interns
and new graduates in the IT, Engineering and Business areas, expand these academic
programs at UNCW. Experience on other U.S. university campuses is that
recruitment of these high demand majors creates recruiting opportunities for all
majors.
Ensure rankings are of the caliber where we are a top prospect for Fortune 500
companies and federal agencies are attracted to UNCW and our students.
Increase marketing efforts on a national level to recruit students to UNCW.
Driver(s): Number of employers participating in career fair events, number of employers
contacting UNCW students virtually.
Metric(s): Number of new employers on campus. Number of interactions with alumni who
work with these employers.
Owner(s): Academic Affairs, Career Center, Alumni Relations, Faculty in key programs
Timing: within 3 years
Funding – Full time ALR staff member focusing on hosting events at employer sites and
identifying specific alumni to help feed these programs. Travel, entertainment, event
and marketing budget for Career Center and Alumni Relations professionals. Funding
for key faculty from certain programs to make connection visits with firms.
6. Ensure students develop a personal identity/brand plan from day one to compete in the
marketplace or to pursue graduate education. (**Personal E-Portfolio**)
Build upon the work currently being done with the Skill Seeker in all Orientation sessions
and in all sections of UNI Seminar. Explore innovative methods to help students
understand the importance of building an e-Portfolio throughout their UNCW
careers, from activities both inside and outside the classroom.
Provide a variety of opportunities such as the Career Carnival for students to network
with employers for information about occupations and industries, as well as
contacts for internship and job opportunities.
Launch the use of an e-portfolio platform (Target is Spring 2016) to allow students to
gather evidence of their learning- inside and outside the classroom- and of their
experiences in applied learning. Track outcomes in university central database.
Consider what it means to be a UNCW student – how developing this identity can
prioritize what behaviors students engage in while at UNCW. Initiate this
conversation in UNI courses.
Driver(s): Number of students who begin to build their e-Portfolio each year.
Metric(s): Measure understanding of personal and professional identity through qualitative
and quantitative research; benchmark with peer institutions who have done this.
Owner(s): Student Affairs (including Career Center, SGA, Office of Student Leadership and
Engagement, Fraternity/Sorority Life, and Student Organizations), Athletics, Housing &
Residence Life, University College, UNI Instructors
Timing: In place for Fall 2016
Funding – Programming funding to engage students with what it means to be a UNCW student
and how their college experience can form their personal and professional identity.
Funding for Co-Curricular Transcript/e-Portfolio Coordinator in Career Center to lead
implementation and management of campus-wide initiative.
7. Ensure students’ participation in experiential learning, study abroad and internships.
Increase current participation rates in all three areas by 15% within three years.
Develop extensive applied learning opportunities with major organizations, both
domestic and abroad.
Continue to expand the student, faculty and staff participation in ETEAL Applied
Learning activities. Include alumni interactions wherever possible and track
interactions in UNCW central database.
Continue to expand the student participation in departmental for-credit internships, and
in Career Center’s non-credit Certified Internship Program (CIP).
Using the resources of the International Programs Office, the Career Center, the
GoinGlobal international platform, and Trans-Atlantic Business Alliance (TABSA),
expand students’ participation in international internships and jobs.
Identify alumni overseas and connect to interested students to global internship
opportunities. Document and track this in UNCW central database.
Provide funding for students who want to study abroad but who do not have the
financial resources to do so, through both federal financial aid and university funds.
Track students who complete experiential activities, study abroad exchange and
internships. Use them for marketing testimonials on website. Place all data in
central database.
Driver(s): Numbers of students participating in Experiential learning, study abroad coursework
and internships.
Metric(s).We have a significant amount of assessment data concerning applied learning on
campus. It is a SACS requirement that we demonstrate improvement through the
implementation of our Quality Enhancement Plan. Put all this data on the ONE
university database system. Put all internship and study abroad experiences and
contacts into database.
Owner(s) ETEAL; Dean of Undergraduate Students; Assessment Directors; Office of
International Programs; Career Center; Financial Aid
Timing: 2.5 years remaining on the QEP, 3 years for all other goals
Funding – QEP must be funded, according to SACS. Work with Director of ETEAL to identify
other areas requiring funding. State funds, university fund raising.
8. Increase the number of UNCW students awarded admission to graduate school programs
by 15% within the next three years.
Offer more graduate school admission workshops and career fairs.
Discuss graduate school options early in UNI courses, learning communities, mentoring,
advising, and in gateway, required courses in degree programs.
Grow the number of pre-professional student organizations to emphasize process of
successful graduate school admission
Driver(s): Number of student applications and tracking acceptance rates.
Metric(s): Growing the number and quality of graduate school acceptances over a three year
period.
Owner(s): Academic Affairs, Faculty, Graduate School, Career Center, and University College
Pre-Professional Programs
Timing: within 3 years
Funding: State funds, university funding.
9. Commit to additional faculty and staff hiring, increased training and incentives to increase
participation in student success initiatives. These hires should be to restore positions lost to
turnover and retirements, as well as tenure-track faculty and full-time staff positions due to
enrollment growth.
Driver(s): Staff and tenure track faculty positions to restore positions lost to employee
turnover and retirements. Stop the process of "holding" faculty line positions in AA for
one year delay in recruiting. Add staff and faculty commensurate with university
enrollment growth.
Metric(s): Number of faculty and staff positions allocated to academic departments and
student support staff. Number of successful hires through recruiting efforts.
Owner(s): Academic Affairs, Deans, Department Chairs
Timing: On-going, beginning Jan 2016
Funding: State Budget, UNCW budget
10. Ensure that Assurance of Learning is in place throughout the campus.
Every college, department, and division must assess its efforts, and report to Assessment
Office. Housing this data under the new one, central UNCW database in partnership with
existing structures would allow this to happen.