UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER
GRADUATE SCHOOL STRATEGIC PLAN
2009-2015
MISSION: The Graduate School mission is to 1) guide, facilitate, and enhance educational
quality, opportunities and experiences for all graduate students, 2) encourage excellence
in research, creative and scholarly work and 3) recruit, retain, and graduate a diverse
population of students trained to meet the needs of the city, state, nation, and world.
VISION: The Graduate School is to become a leading center for graduate education by
combining graduate programs at the Downtown and Anschutz Medical campuses.
VALUES: We value attaining the highest levels of student learning, discovery, and
creative work in an atmosphere of inclusion, collaboration, and community, being guided
by the highest standards of ethical conduct.
BACKGROUND: As part of the proposed model for the consolidation of The University of
Colorado at Denver and the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, it was
proposed that the two Graduate Schools explore the benefits of merging at a later date. In
accordance with this proposal, the Graduate School is presently two separate entities in
the process of becoming one. The Downtown (DC; consisting of 8 Ph.D. programs and
25 Masters programs) and Anschutz Medical (AMC; consisting of 20 Ph.D. programs
and 4 Masters programs) campuses were consolidated in 2009 by realizing processes put
in place in reports by two task forces: 1) “Proposed Model for Consolidation of the
Graduate School at the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center,”
December, 2006, Amended, May 2007 and 2) “Graduate School Rules and Policies”
(revision: 2.3, 09/15/08). The Chancellor accepted the “Proposed Model” in May 2007.
“The Graduate Rules and Policies” were recently approved in votes in each of the schools
and colleges. The consolidated Graduate School will have a single Dean and Graduate
Council. The new Graduate Council was chosen and began meeting in 2009. A national
search for a Dean will begin in 2009. Until a new Dean is chosen, the current Deans of
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the DC and AMC will manage the everyday affairs of the Graduate School and the
Graduate Council.
STRATEGIC PRIORITIES: Consistent with the University Strategic Priorities, the Graduate
School will work with the graduate faculty, schools, and colleges to achieve the
following components of the following university strategic priorities:
Strategic Priority #1: Maximize the opportunities of our consolidated university to
achieve our vision.
Goal 1.1: Consolidate the graduate programs at the Downtown (DC) and Anschutz
Medical (AMC) campuses into a single Graduate School.
Objective 1.1.1: Implement new Graduate School Rules and Policies.
Objective 1.1.2: Choose members and convene joint Graduate School Council.
Objective 1.1.3: Complete staffing of Graduate School office and implement the
proposed reorganized administrative structure to serve both campuses effectively.
Goal 1.2: Develop, strengthen, and sustain interdisciplinary and dual degree/research
programs to maximize the strengths and bridge the disciplines of the Downtown and
Anschutz campuses and to foster interdisciplinary collaboration across a single campus.
(University Goals 1.1 & 1.2)
Objective 1.2.1: Nurture and expand dual degree graduate programs that involve
faculty from both campuses.
Objective 1.2.2: Create Ph.D. programs that draw from and support
interdepartmental and inter/multidisciplinary collaborations.
Goal 1.3: Establish, strengthen, and sustain existing pipeline programs to increase the
population of undergraduate students from the Downtown Campus enrolled in Graduate
School programs. (University Goal 1.4)
Objective 1.3.1: Nurture programs such as the Initiatives to Maximize Student
Diversity (IMSD) program in proteomics and Graduate Experiences for
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Multicultural students (GEMS).
Objective 1.3.2: Identify research laboratories at the AMC that will accept student
interns from the Experiential Learning Center on the DC.
Objective 1.3.3: Provide research opportunities at the DC and AMC for high school
students at the Denver School for Science and Technology (DSST) and (the Aurora)
Health Sciences Academy.
Goal 1.4: Create programs and design technologies to enable collaboration between
graduate programs in schools and colleges. (University Goal 1.5)
Objective 1.4.1: Develop a comprehensive database of graduate students, alumni,
and graduate programs.
Objective 1.4.2: Insure smooth cross-campus registration using the new SIS.
Objective 1.4.3: Work with schools/colleges on tuition structures to promote interschool/college registration.
Objective 1.4.4: Organize interdepartmental and inter-school seminars to strengthen
existing collaborations and to foster the formation of new ones.
Strategic Priority #2: Deliver an outstanding and innovative educational experience.
Goal 2.1: Educate graduate students who meet the needs of the city, state, nation, and
world. (University Goal 2.2)
Objective 2.1.1: Strengthen and expand graduate programs involving international
universities.
Objective 2.1.2: Provide opportunities for professional development to graduate
students.
Objective 2.1.3: Insure that our graduates meet the needs of the city, state, nation,
and world.
Goal 2.2: Encourage the creation of distinctive academic programs that provide
flexibility for graduate students. Create dual degree programs, where feasible, within and
between schools and colleges. (Related to University Goal 2.3)
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Objective 2.2.1: Expand the offering of certificate programs which broaden basic
science graduate programs at the AMC.
Objective 2.2.2: Foster development of Masters degrees that expand the education
of students also earning professional degrees.
Objective 2.2.3: Foster the establishment of dual Masters programs within and
between schools and colleges.
Goal 2.3: Expand or initiate selected educational programs that align with prominent and
distinctive areas of research. (University Goal 2.5)
Objective 2.3.1: Continue the practice of creating (or expanding the educational
scope of) programs that align with new areas of research emphasis at DC and AMC.
Objective 2.3.2: Expand the practice of creating (or expanding the educational scope
of) programs that align with new areas of research emphasis at the DC and AMC.
Goal 2.4: Provide opportunities for interprofessional and multidisciplinary education.
(University Goal 2.8)
Objective 2.4.1: Expand the existing opportunities and create new ones for graduate
students to participate in interdisciplinary, translational, and clinical research.
Goal 2.5: Broaden educational experiences for students to improve student success and
creativity for societal good. (University Goal 2.9)
Objective 2.5.1: Continue to develop partnerships with foreign centers of education
to broaden the educational opportunities available to graduate students.
Objective 2.5.2: Expand the use of workshops, courses and certificate programs to
provide broadened training for graduate students.
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Strategic Priority #3: Conduct outstanding research and creative work for the public
good.
Goal 3.1: Be a global leader in the translation and application of discovery, innovation,
and creativity for societal good. (University Goal 3.1)
Objective 3.1.1: Provide the highest quality graduate programs and a large pool of
highly qualified graduate students to work with faculty to insure success in
discovery, innovation and creativity.
Objective 3.1.2: Work with the schools and colleges to promote graduate education
in the signature areas on the DC and with the Colorado Clinical and Translational
Sciences Institute (CCTSI) at the AMC.
Goal 3.2: Enhance our reputation for internationally recognized research in basic
biomedical science, as well as for translating discovery into practice. (University Goal
3.2)
Objective 3.2.1: Expand the pool of highly qualified students for basic biomedical
research through a combination of community outreach, national recruiting and
development of pipelines between the DC and AMC.
Strategic Priority #4: Enhance the UC Denver’s world-class health care programs to
achieve recognition as a premier academic health center in the nation.
Goal 4.1: Invest in selected areas of scientific research to improve clinical practice.
(University Goal 4.2)
Objective 4.1.1: Work to expand existing graduate programs in the areas of
translation and clinical science, and health care delivery.
Objective 4.1.2: Foster the development of new programs in areas directly related to
improving health care and health care delivery.
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Strategic Priority #5: Enhance diversity university-wide and foster a culture of
inclusion.
Goal 5.1: Recruit and retain a critical mass of traditionally underrepresented and
international students. (University Goal 5.1)
Objective 5.1.1: Continue to encourage and help foster programs designed to recruit
underrepresented undergraduate students into graduate programs such as IMSD,
GEMS, and The Bridge to the Doctorate program (part of the CO-AMP program run
by Colorado State University).
Objective 5.1.2: Expand and extend underrepresented minority recruiting efforts in
high schools by seeking further partnerships with both the Denver and Aurora public
schools.
Objective 5.1.3: Increase the Graduate School’s participation in partnerships with
foreign universities, especially partnerships designed to bring fully funded graduate
students to UC Denver.
Goal 5.2: Recruit and retain a diverse faculty and staff throughout the university.
(University Goal 5.2)
Objective 5.2.1: Recruit a pool of highly qualified diverse graduate students to aid
in the recruitment and retention of diverse faculty.
Goal 5.3: Expand research and community-based programs to reduce health and
educational disparities. (University Goal 5.3)
Objective 5.3.1: Strengthen graduate programs that are involved in health disparities
and education disparities research.
Objective 5.3.2: Increase graduate program participation in the CCTSI’s efforts to
engage community partners in reducing health-care disparities throughout Colorado.
Goal 5.4: Demonstrate and communicate the University’s commitment to diversity.
(University Goal 5.4)
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Objective 5.4.1: Constantly review graduate program curricula to guarantee the
inclusion of diversity components and to promote dialogue, mutual respect, and
cultural sensitivity.
Strategic Priority #6: Grow strong, mutually beneficial partnerships that engage our
local, national, and global communities.
Goal 6.1: Promote and expand partnerships in all sectors (including business, industry,
non-profits, government, and venture capitalists) to optimize intellectual and cultural
capital for societal use and to advance the success of our students and partners.
(University Goals 6.1 & 6.2)
Objective 6.1.1: Continue existing partnerships, and establish new ones, with the
surrounding public school systems.
Objective 6.1.2: Exploit existing and develop new relationships with local and
regional professional and service organizations that at least partially share mission
with the Graduate School.
Objective 6.1.3: Form a viable alumni association from graduate students who
identify strongly with the Graduate School.
Strategic Priority #7: Secure the resources to achieve our vision while being
responsible stewards of those resources.
Goal 7.1: Invest in providing the infrastructure (services and facilities) necessary for a
world-class learning and discovery environment for the benefit of our students, faculty,
staff and communities. (University Goal 7.2)
Objective 7.1.1: Increase the amount of fellowship aid available to students to
expand successful programs.
Objective 7.1.2: Increase the amount of fellowship aid available to students to attract
a diverse population of high caliber students.
Objective 7.1.3: Work to minimize the impact of geographical separation of the
campuses in the delivery of outstanding and innovative graduate education.
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Objective 7.1.4: Embrace new educational technologies, of proven value, as they
become available.
Goal 7.2: Enhance the effectiveness of administrative services and systems to support
the universities mission and vision, and seek innovative approaches to optimizing
efficiencies. (University Goal 7.3)
Objective 7.2.1: Employ electronic communication between branches of the
Graduate School, and between the School and its faculty and students to increase
effectiveness and efficiency.
Objective 7.2.2: Work to provide seamless interaction between all programs in the
Graduate School, regardless of geographic location.
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