This is a working draft meant to foster discussion and comment
The first iteration of the SU Strategic Plan 2003-08 is the result of the work of the Strategic Planning Team from August 2002 up to now
As the Strategic Planning Team continues to identify and solicit potential objectives for the 2003-08 plan, the draft may change regularly
The draft plan incorporates input from months of environmental scanning, a SWOT analysis, results from the January 2003 planning workshop, collaborative input from multiple groups, and lengthy SPT discussions regarding the core goals in relation to SU Mission. You may access details at: http://www.salisbury.edu/iara/StrategicPlanning/StrategicPlanning03-08/StrategicPlan03-08Home.htm
No part of the draft is finalized, although the goals are closer to completion than are the objectives
Modifications are anticipated and comments/suggestions encouraged; Comments/suggestions should be forwarded through your governance organization or directly to the Strategic Planning Team by May 31. There will be opportunity for additional comment, but it is important to have essential preliminary comments by that date.
No priority has been assigned to any objective of any goal, nor have those objectives been specifically identified for inclusion in the final working draft; conversely, key objectives may not yet have been identified and/or included in the draft plan
Comments/suggestions may be regarding any part of the plan
Not every worthwhile objective will be included in the plan; not every suggestion will be adopted. ALL will be considered.
The "final" working draft will define the core goals and primary objectives. See the glossary on page 2. In some cases, primary action steps or strategies may be identified, but the focus of the plan is necessarily broader rather than unreasonably prescriptive
An "Institutional Strategic Planning Congress" will be held on June 6, 2003 to finalize the working draft of the SU Institutional Strategic Plan 2003-08. Subsequent to that event, the SPT will forward the working draft to the Long Range Academic Planning Committee and the Provost. The Provost will forward the working draft to the campus community for discussion and comment through November 1, 2003.
The Planning Congress will involve approximately 50 participants representing the following: additional representatives selected or appointed by the Faculty Senate (9: 2 from each school and 1 professional librarian), the Executive Committee of the Faculty Senate; 11 academic department chairs (4 from Fulton, 3 from Henson, and 2 each from Perdue and Seidel); all of the academic deans; student representatives; the SU Executive Staff; a board member of the SU Foundation; the Strategic Planning Team; and an additional staff representative
It is anticipated that the plan will be finalized in December 2003

Mission

Salisbury University’s mission is to cultivate and sustain a superior, student-centered learning community where students, faculty and staff are viewed as both teachers and learners, and where a commitment to excellence permeates all aspects of University life. We recruit exceptional and diverse faculty, staff, undergraduate and graduate students and support them as they work together to reach the University's goals. Serving Maryland and the Mid-Atlantic region, we are concerned participants in responding to the educational, economic, cultural and social needs of our community and believe that service is a vital component of civic life. Our highest purpose is to empower our students with the knowledge, skills and core values that contribute to life-long learning and active citizenship in a democratic society and interdependent world. (1996)

Values

The core values of Salisbury University are excellence, student-centeredness, learning, community, civic engagement, and diversity. We believe these values must be lived and experienced as integral to everyday campus life so that students make the connection between what they learn and how they live. (1996)

Vision

Salisbury University will continue as a premier regional university that is recognized nationally for excellence by its peers and regionally for its commitment to model programs in civic engagement. Undergraduate research, service learning, international experiences, and co-curricular activities will continue to enrich the traditional academic curriculum and enable students to connect research to practice, theory to action. The University will provide graduates who will be recruited by the best employers and graduate schools, and who will contribute to the economic vitality of the State and the Nation. The University will continue to enhance the quality of life for its students, the State, and the region, and will explore opportunities to provide doctoral programs in areas of need. (MFR, 2001)

Glossary

Goals: core outcomes (aims) toward which the University directs its endeavors. They are guided by the University’s mission and vision statements, and reflect institutional values.

Objectives: quantifiable and measurable initiatives or targets toward which the University will focus its pursuits. Primary objectives are direct outcomes of University goals and should be both measurable and time-constrained.

Actions: specific steps, often referred to as strategies, that are necessary to accomplish objectives. Actions are vital to the annual planning process and implementation phases of a strategic plan.

Accountability: responsibility. A necessary process that must be established in any implementation phase of the planning cycle. It is usually assigned to divisional leaders and/or key groups.

Salisbury University Strategic Plan 2003-2008

Working Draft: 1st Iteration April 29, 2003

Goal 1:

The University will enhance an academic and learning environment that promotes intellectual growth and success.

Support General Education as the necessary foundational experience for all students. (See approved Student Learning Goals attached as an appendix)
Involve each student in experiential learning, including but not limited to, service learning, civic engagement, volunteering, internships, student research, study abroad, and various community outreach activities.
Provide support that fosters the library’s role as a learning center and that helps to place it at the top of the list of its performance peers. [Should also consider how the library can be reinvented as a collaborative enterprise.]
Provide effective and reliable classroom and computer lab technology and campus telecommunications infrastructure.
Promote student technology fluency in all academic disciplines, as well as faculty and staff development in the use of technology in teaching.
Assess current and potential graduate studies and adjust support for these programs as appropriate (remaining consistent with the University’s mission) (strategies: enrollment management; alternative scheduling, graduate scholarships)
Establish funding for endowed chairs/professorships.
Develop campus-wide policies regarding evaluation, tenure, and promotion that are consistent with the University’s mission.
Develop mechanisms for periodically adjusting faculty roles, rewards, and support systems in line with institutional priorities and environmental conditions.

Goal 2:

The University will advance a student-centered environment.

Increase the level of funding for needs and merit-based scholarships while establishing a method to allocate resources to each group.
Increase Foundation support of undergraduate and graduate scholarships.
Create a "Student Learning and Enrichment Center."
Maintain and improve high quality of advising, individualized for undergraduates and graduates, aiming at achieving the following outcomes: 80% of students will rate advising as good to excellent. (additional issues: faculty/advisee ratios will be established at levels consistent with BOR policies and school guidelines; all schools will have a full-time advising coordinator).
Encourage "soft skill acquisition" by supporting student portfolio development. (strategies: approach for program and career purposes; encourage more faculty involvement via advising and selecting evidence or artifacts for the portfolios.)
Improve accessibility to healthcare and wellness services, programs, and facilities.
Facilitate student access to administrative IT functions (by providing a campus portal).
Examine the feasibility of creative alternative scheduling options and support services to meet the needs of our students (strategies: winter-terms, summer-terms, trimesters, Saturday courses, etc.)

Goal 3:

The University will foster inclusiveness as well as cultural and intellectual pluralism.

Provide multicultural and sensitivity training for the campus community and foster the integration of all students into social and academic support programs.
Increase visibility and accountability of specialist staff and programs campus-wide. (issue: entire campus needs access to and knowledge about these programs.)
Expand academic and social practices/support (i.e. ESOL) for the integration of international students into SU and the local community.
Establish SU linkages to existing immigrant services, specifically assessing needs of the immigrant populations.
Recognize, develop, and implement multiple admissions criteria for excellence (other than SAT scores and including: academic recommendations, civic engagement, extracurricular activities, leadership opportunities, writing essays for admittance, interviews, faculty contacts and interviews, etc.)
Reorganize existing funding to target potential diverse faculty to special / endowed positions – with an emphasis on competitive salaries.
Foster the growth of a student and employee population that is more reflective of regional diversity. (The SU vision of diversity is broadly inclusive of individuals and groups from all racial, cultural, philosophical, gender, socio-economic, educational, religious, and lifestyle associations).
Promote international educational opportunities as a means of broadening life experience and cross-cultural understanding for students and faculty.

Goal 4:

The University will utilize strategic collaborations and targeted community outreach to benefit Maryland and the region.

Audit all SU strategic collaborations and targeted community outreach activities for the purpose of organizing these activities in line with institutional priorities (using clear yet dynamic and flexible structure(s), policies, procedures, and F&A support; and for the purpose of aligning the expected benefits with the internally allocated and/or externally sought resources.)
Perform a "Regional Needs versus Institutional Capabilities Gap Analysis, including regional business, economic, community, and workforce development needs in all subject areas (covered by our degree and non-degree programs, as well as those covered by our strategic collaborations and targeted outreach activities in order to identify those that SU can and should address under its mandates, institutional mission, and strategic priorities)
Develop a comprehensive university marketing plan that targets all internal and external audience segments.
Encourage and support the development of grant and sponsored research projects and programs that support the University’s mission.
Encourage and support the development of continuing education programs as revenue sources.
Establish the roles of students, faculty, and staff involved in (SU) strategic collaborations and targeted community outreach activities, and recognize and reward their contributions in line with our institutional mission and priorities.
Establish collaborations with schools, community, government, and non-government organizations.

Appendix

Student Learning Goals

8/21/00

Building on the foundation provided by the University’s Mission Statement and the "Attributes Document" accepted by the Faculty, the General Education Task Force proposes the following principles and goals for General Education at Salisbury University. The principles and goals represent the concepts embedded in the Mission Statement and the Attributes Document. They will help guide the development of the general education program.

Learning Principals

The general education program is designed to foster the personal, intellectual, and social development of the Salisbury University student and is based on the following set of principles.

The liberally educated person:

communicates effectively in diverse situations;
uses multiple strategies, resources, and technologies for inquiry and problem solving;
demonstrates qualities related to personal, social and professional integrity;
integrates knowledge from the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences to broaden perspectives;
reasons quantitatively and qualitatively;
demonstrates global awareness in order to function responsibly in an interdependent world.

These principles are expressed by the following set of student learning goals.

Student Learning Goals

A. Skills

Acquire the personal and intellectual skills necessary for productive membership in contemporary society.

Critical Thinking:
Acquire abilities to engage in independent and creative thinking and solve problems effectively.
Command of Language:
Acquire abilities to communicate effectively—including reading, writing, listening, and speaking.
Quantitative Literacy:
Acquire abilities to reason mathematically.
Information Literacy:
Acquire abilities to use libraries, computer applications, and emerging technologies.
Interpersonal Communication:
Acquire abilities to relate to and work effectively with diverse groups of people.

B. Knowledge

Posses knowledge and understanding commensurate with that of a well educated person.

Breadth of Knowledge:
Possess knowledge from and familiarity with modes of inquiry and creative processes used in a variety of disciplines including:
1. Visual and performing arts (art, music, dance, theatre)
2. Literature (English, foreign language-based)
3. Civilization: cultural and historical perspectives
4. Contemporary global issues (peoples, cultures, institutions)
5. Second language or culture
6. Mathematics
7. Social and behavioral sciences
8. Biological and Physical Sciences
Interdependence Among Disciplines:
Possess an awareness of the interdependence among disciplines in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences.

C. Dispositions

Examine qualities that contribute to personal well-being and social and professional integrity.

Social Responsibility:
Tolerance and respect for diverse groups of people and a disposition toward responsible citizenship and a connection to the community.
Humane Values:
An informed regard for humane values and the ability to make judgments based on ethical and environmental considerations.
Intellectual Curiosity:
A propensity for reflection and life-long learning.
Aesthetic Values:
An awareness of and appreciation for aesthetics.
Wellness:
Issues of personal well-being.