Academic Affairs Strategic Plan Input from the Faculty and Staff

1. Academic Affairs Strategic Plan Input from the Faculty and Staff Tim Greene, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs 1/28/2010

2. Who Provided Input - Written 22 Academic and support units 3 Faculty Senate Councils 8 Individuals 61 Pages of written input

3. Input Provided - Face to Face Three University forums Met with the faculty of two colleges Met with the faculty of 10 departments and schools Met with the leadership teams of three colleges, OCHAD, WSA and GSAC Met with RPC and GSC

4. Consideration of Input and Finalization of the Plan Provost Council reviewed the written input over the winter holidays, working in small groups on each section Vice provosts met for a half-day retreat Deans met for a full-day retreat Several follow-up meetings to finalize the plan

5. Main Themes People are pleased that the University has created an academic affairs strategic plan People are pleased with the plan People have wide differences in opinion about what WMU is currently and what we should be in the future

6. Main Themes (continued) Some commented on how the plan was originally conceived, e.g., top down versus bottom up Many felt that the plan did not specifically address their area Some thought that there should be a greater emphasis on the humanities

7. Main Themes (continued) Some felt the plan was not bold enough; others felt it was too bold Some questioned how this strategic plan would be funded and implemented Some thought that the Metrics of Success were underdeveloped and were not tied closely enough to goals or strategies Some thought we should be more explicit describing who the faculty are, e.g., teachers, researchers, scholars, clinicians, artists, etc.

8. Undergraduate Versus Graduate Education Some people thought the University needs to move back towards our origins with a greater focus on undergraduate education Some thought the University needs to focus more on graduate education

9. Teaching Versus Research and Creative Endeavors Some thought there was too much emphasis placed on research and creative endeavors and not enough on teaching and learning Some thought there was not enough emphasis on research and creative endeavors

10. Externally Funded Research Versus University Sponsored Research and Scholarly Endeavors Some people thought the plan had focused too heavily on external research and not enough on creative endeavors and scholarship Some thought the University needs to invest more in obtaining externally funded research

11. Examples of Changes in the Academic Purpose Section Added emphasis on the humanities Refined the overall language to be more inclusive and precise, e.g., “We are in the business to grow students” was eliminated Recognized this plan is part of a suite of plans at WMU

12. Examples of Changes in the Undergraduate Teaching, Learning, Research, and Scholarship Section Strategy 1.1 Expanded the focus to include continually enhancing all the curricula Changed “Global literacy” to “Global understanding and sensitivity” Added areas including: Quantitative and reasoning skills Artistic literacy Information literacy

13. Examples of Changes in the Research And Creative Endeavors Section Changed the focus from seeking externally funded research to seeking external funding Clarified the fact that disciplines have different external funding opportunities

14. Examples of Changes in the Academic Community Section Increased attention to professional staff development Clarified the criteria for how the 25 new faculty lines will be utilized: expand funded research in specific areas, work with students on scholarly activities and research projects, and improve faculty to student ratios to enhance the quality of the educational experience

15. Changes in the Metrics of Success “Metrics of Success” changed to “Indicators” The “from to” ranges deleted at this time Recognition that this is an area that still needs considerable work Need to use the Indicators campuswide to measure change Indicators have to be visible to everyone

16. Path Forward The plan will be posted on the Provost Office Web site Colleges will continue to move forward on their strategic planning consistent with the Academic Affairs Strategic Plan The Academic Affairs Strategic Plan will be periodically reviewed and updated with broad input from faculty, staff, and other constituents Provost Council will discuss and prioritize strategies this spring semester

17. Examples of Strategies That May Receive Early Attention Indicators Strategy 1.7: Provide support services to ensure success at WMU for special and nontraditional student populations Strategy 1.6 & 3.6: Use a consultative and integrated program review process for creating, sustaining, growing, and eliminating academic programs Strategy 2.2 & 4.6: Investigate, and if possible implement, differential tuition to address the demand for and/or the cost of offering the programs Strategy 2.1 & 4.5: Manage enrollment capacitybydetermining the capacity of each program, matching enrollment to capacity, or as appropriate, increasing or decreasing capacity to ensure quality education and maximize resource utilization Strategy 5.3: Recognize, publicize, and reward the scholarly works and creative accomplishments of our faculty and students Strategy 7.5: Mentor new faculty members and provide them with the support needed to ensure promotion and tenure

18. Thank You to Everyone who Provided InputQuestions and Comments?