Academic Strategic Plan
Overview
September, 2009
 Short overview of ASP Committee work
Presentation of Strategic Initiatives
 Mechanisms to provide input in the next phases of the
planning process
C. Brewer: Senate Presentations, Sept 2009
ACADEMIC STRATEGIC
PLANNING COMMITTEE
• Carol Brewer, Chair
• Committee Members - Barry Brown,
Blakely Brown, Perry Brown,
Ray Carlisle, Sarah Cullison,
Reed Humphrey, Stephen Kalm,
Andrew King-Ries, Peggy Kuhr,
Mark Medvetz, Jakki Mohr,
Sean Morrison, Bill Muse,
Andrew
Ware
CONTEXT FOR ACADEMIC
STRATEGIC PLANNING AT UM
• Foundation for upcoming
Accreditation process
• Identify key issues and opportunities to
address over the next five years
• Guide for prioritization and decision
making
GOALS OF STRATEGIC
PLANNING PROCESS
• Develop up-to-date and ambitious Academic
Strategic Plan
• Decision-making guide over the next five years.
• Align with the Mission and Core Values of UM
• Complement, inform and be informed by other
planning efforts at UM (including at unit level)
• Inform how we focus resources and energy on key
issues
• Complement work for accreditation visit
• Help us build an even more effective university
MAJOR STEPS IN STRATEGIC
PLANNING PROCESS
• Organization - Spring 2008
– Define process
– Plan for coordination with Accreditation
• Environmental Scan - Summer and Fall 2008
– Develop background information (data, reports, etc.) and
context for the Academic Strategic Plan
– Prepare first report to be presented at the beginning of new
academic year
• Identify Strategic Issues - Early Winter 2008
– Key issues to address in plan
– Align with UM mission and vision
MAJOR STEPS, continued
• Campus Forums & Feedback - Spring 2009
– Prioritization of Strategic Issues Based on Campus Feedback
• Strategic Goal Setting - Spring 2009
– Define goals and indicators for each strategic issue
• Articulate Key Actions - Spring and Summer 2009
– Identify a set of clear actions to achieve strategic goals
– Articulate resources needed for achieve goals
• Campus Review of Draft Plan - Aug and Sept 2009
• Develop Annual Review Plan - Sept and Oct 2009
– Timeline and process for campus input and discussion of plan
annually
– Metrics for annual review of progress toward implementation
• Publication of Academic Strategic Plan - Oct 30, 2009
ENVIRONMENTAL SCAN
• Focused on both internal and external influences
• Internal Scan Areas - UM student body, access and
affordability, the UM work force related to Academic
Affairs, academic programs offered, technological
capabilities and funding trends
• External Scan Areas - demographic trends,
technology, trends in K-12 that reach into higher
education, economic environment, political and
regulatory environment, defining our competitors,
natural resource issues, and international factors
EXAMPLES OF TYPES OF
DATA GATHERED
• System-wide published strategic plans
• Reports of trends and expectations for higher education
in Montana and beyond (economic, demographic,
policy, etc.)
• Unit operating plans from 2007
• Data on enrollment, retention, cost of education, time
to graduation, the workforce, diversity, research and
creative activity, demographic trends, and so on
• Interviews of individuals with particular expertise
related to the environmental scan
• Targeted campus stakeholders responded to short
survey
ASPIRATIONS FOR ACADEMIC
AFFAIRS AT UM - in 5 years…
• UM will be known for having an exciting and stimulating
intellectual atmosphere for undergraduates, graduate students,
faculty and staff, for example,
– UM will be renowned for an intellectually exciting and
distinctive undergraduate experience that is integrated across the
curriculum and prepares students for addressing the big
questions that we face as a global society.
– UM will provide a world-class experience for graduate students.
– UM will be a leader in two- and four-year education, offering
academic, professional/technical, transfer, and workforce
programs that address the needs of diverse student populations
and regional employers.
– UM will be a recognized regional leader in online and distance
education.
– UM will have faculty and students who are globally connected
and engaged.
ASPIRATIONS, continued
• UM will be well along the path to becoming a major research university
with an entrepreneurial spirit, and will be a major force in the evolution
of Montana’s economy and culture.
• UM will achieve/maintain an optimum intellectual and real world blend
of the arts, sciences, and cultural experiences for a truly interdisciplinary
and collaborative campus.
• UM will be recognized as a leader and innovator in key disciplinary
areas, capitalizing on our unique environment and location.
• UM will be the leader in Montana in diversity and will be a major force
in the diversification of both the workforce and student body.
• UM will have an all-encompassing, seamless information technology
environment for all aspects of teaching, learning, and research.
STRATEGIC ISSUES TO ADDRESS TO
ACHIEVE OUR ASPIRATIONS
a. The Undergraduate Experience - create a world class curriculum and
mindfully connect teaching and learning to best deliver this curriculum; this
requires that we know who we are we preparing, what we are preparing them to
do, and how best to retain them and prepare them to be successful.
b. Development of COT/Community Colleges in Montana – better articulation
and synergy.
c. Articulation Between K-12 and Higher Education in Montana– including
dual enrollment, teacher certification and in-service professional development,
addressing deficiencies in preparation, and consistent outreach from UM to K12 schools in Montana.
d. Enabling Technology for Teaching and Scholarship – how technology is
funded and managed, looking toward the future of devices and web 2.0; paying
attention to training, nimbleness.
STRATEGIC ISSUES, Continued
e.
f.
g.
h.
i.
j.
k.
l.
Perceptions and Reality of the Cost of Education versus the
Value of Education at UM – who has access, addressing
affordability; better branding and communication with stakeholders
(in MT and beyond) of our scholarship and community service.
A Coherent Vision for Research, Creativity, and Scholarship
Strengthening Communication and Transparency
Workplace Conditions
Cultivate Graduate Programs - attract excellent students and
prepare them to make scholarly and creative contributions in their
field; curriculum and research opportunities matched to our current
reputation, student demand, and that capitalizes on our location;
enhanced stipends and in-state status.
Diversity
The Changing World Around Us – attention to international
programs and exchanges, research, key languages sustainability,
interdisciplinarity, demographics, globalization, economies.
Achieving Optimal Enrollment – what is optimal for UM and for
the educational experience we value.
Town Hall Meeting Schedule
TOPIC
DATE
Issues Prioritizing Fri Feb 6
Strategic
TIME
1:10-2:30 PM
LOCATION
UC 330
Undergraduate
Education
Tues Feb 10
3:30-5:00 PM
UC 330
Graduate
Education
Wed Feb 18
12:00-1:30 PM
UC 326
Research,
Fri Feb 20
Creativity & Scholarship
2:00-3:30 PM
UC Theater
Technology
12:00-1:30 PM
UC 330
1:10-2:30 PM
UC326
Wed Feb 25
International
Fri Feb 27
Connections/Engagement
Strategic Initiatives for
Academic Affairs
• FIRST INITIATIVE – Cultivate Learning and Discovery in
Undergraduate Education
• SECOND INITIATIVE - Cultivate Learning and Discovery
at the Graduate Level
• THIRD INITIATIVE - Create a Coherent Vision for
Research and Creative Scholarship
• FOURTH INITIATIVE - Build Community through
Engagement and Outreach
• FIFTH INITIATIVE - Embrace Diversity and Global
Engagement
• SIXTH INITIATIVE - Improve the Workplace
Environment
1 - Cultivate Learning and Discovery
in Undergraduate Education
• Goal 1 - Create a College of Discovery to offer a
distinctive first year curriculum to all incoming
students focused around Big Questions that
address challenges of the 21st century. This first
year will be followed by invigorated major
courses of study that link learning and discovery.
• Goal 2 – Fully integrate the College of
Technology into the fabric of UM.
• Goal 3 - Improve undergraduate advising at all
levels.
2 - Cultivate Learning and Discovery
at the Graduate Level
• Goal 1 – Enhance graduate education, spanning research
and professional programs, to transform the intellectual
atmosphere at UM and create significant cultural and
economic impacts in Montana.
• Goal 2 - Create a stimulating and supportive
environment for graduate students that facilitates learning
and positive outcomes for Montana.
• Goal 3 - Increase the proportion of graduate students
enrolled to between 25-30% of all students at UM.
• Goal 4 - Increase Regional, National and International
Awareness of UM graduate programs.
3 - Create a Coherent Vision for
Research and Creative Scholarship
• Goal 1 - Work with the Research Office to implement a
planning process to chart a coherent vision for research
and creative activity across all Colleges and Professional
Schools, and to identify and build areas of distinction.
• Goal 2 - Build and maintain appropriate infrastructure
and resources to support and foster research and creative
activity.
• Goal 3 – Transform discovery into application in the
service of society and to stimulate the Montana economy.
• Goal 4 - Support research, scholarship, and creative
activities across the natural and exact sciences, social
sciences, arts, and humanities, and enhance opportunities
for interdisciplinary connections.
4 - Build Community through
Engagement and Outreach
• Goal 1 - Expand the array of educational programs relevant to traditional
and nontraditional students, professionals, and the general workforce –
in Montana’s urban and rural areas and beyond - by enhancing effective
access to UM (including COT) courses.
• Goal 2 - Respond to the growth in demand for educational opportunities
for adult learners, including returning veterans, displaced workers,
professionals seeking additional training, and older adults.
• Goal 3 - Enhance outreach and continue to expand partnerships with the
K-12 sector to develop concurrent programs and to improve continuation
rates of Montana high school graduates.
• Goal 4 - Develop an Academic Affairs communications and outreach plan
that enables UM’s Colleges and Professional Schools to better tell our story,
both within our campuses and beyond.
5 - Embrace Diversity and
Global Connections
• Goal 1 - Provide a dynamic educational environment by
respecting, welcoming, encouraging and celebrating diversity in
all its forms.
• Goal 2 - Ensure access for American Indians and foster the
preservation of the cultural integrity of American Indians.
• Goal 3 - Correct inequities that persist from the historical
exclusion of underrepresented populations.
• Goal 4 - Enhance international learning and research
opportunities for faculty and students.
6 - Improve the Workplace
Environment
• Goal 1 - Improve the work-life quality of the
faculty and staff in Academic Affairs.
• Goal 2 - Create a campus climate that actively
supports sustainability, including environmental
responsibility, sustainable operations, and
stewardship in our community.
• Goal 3 - Maximize technological innovations.
NEXT STEPS
• Campus Review of Draft Plan - Sept 2009
– Provide Feedback to any committee member or send to
carol.brewer@umontana.edu
– Plan is available of Faculty Senate Website
• Action from Senate requested is an endorsement of the
plan after members have had time to review it
• Fine tuning of plan, and development of metrics for
annual evaluation in October 2009
• Publication of Academic Strategic Plan - Oct 30, 2009
• Move from Planning to Implementation: 2010 - 2014