Institutional Planning, Assessment & Research
Strategic Action Plan 2010-13
Graduate School
ECU Values:
ECU’s Graduate School adheres to the established “enduring values” outlined in ECU
Tomorrow: A Vision for Leadership and Service (2007), ECU’s long-range strategic
plan and is aligned to the Strategic Action Plan, 2010-13 and its corresponding Key
Performance Indicators that advance our Mission.
ECU’s values are outlined below:
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Respect;
Authenticity;
Accountability;
Teamwork; and
Commitment to Serve.
ECU Mission:
To serve as a national model for public service and regional transformation
by:
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Preparing our students to compete and succeed in the global economy and
multicultural society,
Distinguishing ourselves by the ability to train and prepare leaders,
Creating a strong, sustainable future for eastern North Carolina through
education, research, innovation, investment, and outreach,
Saving lives, curing diseases, and positively transforming health and health
care, and
Providing cultural enrichment and powerful inspiration as we work to
sustain and improve quality of life.
Approved by the UNC Board of Governors - November 13, 2009
Graduate School Strategic Action Plan
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Institutional Planning, Assessment & Research
Key Strategic Planning Principles:
Several key planning principles were established to develop this strategic plan:
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Support for student success throughout the continuum of their college
learning experience;
Adherence to ECU Tomorrow: A Vision for Leadership and Service, 2007 and
the ECU Strategic Action Plan, 2010-13;
Support for effective leadership and professional development;
Purposeful decision-making, moving towards clearly defined goals and
measurable objectives;
A commitment to institutional effectiveness; and,
Allocation of resources to ensure attainment of established priorities.
Goals:
GOAL 1:
GOAL 2:
GOAL 3:
GOAL 4:
GOAL 5:
Reach for prominence by delivering outstanding graduate education
programs.
Develop and sustain (nationally) recognized graduate research
opportunities with a focus on partnerships and interdisciplinary
approaches.
Recruit, retain, and graduate highly qualified individuals to make
advanced contributions in their chosen field of study.
Enhance and refine processes to improve administration of graduate
programs and provide increased training and guidance for unit
graduate programs
Enhance recruitment, retention, and graduation rates of students
from minority and culturally diverse backgrounds.
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Goal 1:
Reach for prominence by delivering outstanding graduate
education programs.
Outcome Objective:
 Create more competitive financial packages for graduate students to
allow the recruitment of best applicants to ECU's graduate programs.
Measure(s):
 Measure and compare the average amount of assistantships and
tuition remissions awarded to graduate students to that of
previous years by college and department.
 Assess whether "better" students were recruited to be graduate
assistants (average GPA - domestic and GRE scores) each year as a
result of increased financial support.
 Assess the change in applications and enrollment of students in
research intensive graduate programs (define) annually.
Goal 2:
Develop and sustain (nationally) recognized graduate research
opportunities with a focus on partnerships and interdisciplinary approaches.
Outcome Objective:
 Increase the graduate research agenda by creating incentives for
graduate student support, increasing expenditures of external support for
graduate research assistantships.
 Advance the Graduate School research/creative education and training
agenda through participation in the annual Research and Creative
Achievement Week.
Measure(s):
 Measure and compare expenditures for graduate assistantships
from external grants, contracts and other non-state sources of
funds to that of previous years by college and department.
 Compare the number of students submitting research posters and
presentations for ECU Research Week to previous years.
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Goal 3:
Recruit, retain, and graduate highly qualified individuals to make
advanced contributions in their chosen field of study.
Outcome Objective:
 Facilitate timely admissions decisions through improved processes.
 Create more competitive financial packages for graduate students to
facilitate the recruitment of the best applicants to ECU graduate programs
Measure(s):
 Collect and compare data on applicant pool compared to admitted
and enrolled graduate student populations at each stage of the
application process for annual cohort analysis.
 Review annual student graduation surveys to identify and
prioritize quality of service factors to be addressed.
 Conduct an annual meeting of graduate program directors to
present the above data, develop a plan to increase accountability
and develop quality enhancement, retention enhancement and
time-to-degree enhancement plans.
Goal 4:
Enhance and refine processes to improve administration of
graduate programs and provide increased training and guidance for unit
graduate programs.
Outcome Objective:
 The Graduate School will increase access to information and
accountability via the development and dissemination of a Graduate
Director's Handbook.
 The Graduate School will develop and conduct training sessions for
Graduate Program Directors.
Measure(s):
 Collect and measure feedback from unit program directors to
improve the Unit Program Director's Handbook.
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Institutional Planning, Assessment & Research
Goal 5:
Enhance recruitment, retention, and graduation rates of students
from minority and culturally diverse backgrounds.
Outcome Objective:
 The Graduate School will attend special research symposia and recruiting
events for academically talented minority students, and will recruit
graduate and professional students from HBCUs (historically black
colleges and universities) and Native American institutions.
Measure(s):
 Collect and measure feedback from ECU Institutional Assessment
Office based on graduate enrollment and graduation data, and
feedback from additional first year and exit survey questions
written to address minority and culturally diverse students.
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