Strategic Themes
Academic Distinction goes to the heart of the University's aspirations and springs from its heritage of excellence. This includes:
- A quality educational environment.
- Focus on excellence and distinctiveness.
- A community of open and vigorous intellectual inquiry.
- Career-focused education with a strong liberal arts foundation.
- Preparing students, faculty, and staff to function effectively in a diverse, global environment.
- Cultivation of adequate resources for the attainment of distinction.
- Applied research and scholarly or creative activities, particularly student-faculty and community-focused projects.
- Critical consideration and skillful integration of technology into academic pursuit and administrative tasks.
A Service Community will lead to a more respectful and secure campus environment for everyone. This includes:
- Placing students as our first priority in everything we do.
- More flexible instructional and service systems for students.
- Advising that is accessible, accurate, provides information on careers, and addresses transitional issues and the needs of diverse students.
- Training and development on needs and issues of international students, faculty, and staff.
- Recognition and use of the talents and resources of faculty, staff, and students who have lived abroad, international students, and community resources that foster a global outlook.
- Valuing communication and the free and open exchange of ideas.
Cultural Diversity and Social Justice will allow the University to better serve our rapidly-changing world and foster a community of people of many backgrounds and perspectives working successfully together. This includes:
- Providing a supportive, respectful, and welcoming environment for all members of the University community including those traditionally disenfranchised by virtue of ethnicity, socioeconomic background, gender, disability, or sexual orientation.
- Recruitment and retention of a high-quality, diverse body of faculty, staff, and students.
- Developing ways to celebrate our multicultural, international character and better integrate this rich tradition in all aspects of campus life.
- A harassment-free, tolerant environment.
- Building university-external relationships and individual experiences that encourage diversity ad a global perspective.
- Appropriate technology to provide more "windows" on the world.
Information Technology is an important tool to realize many strategies. This includes:
- Enhanced teaching and learning.
- Preparation of students for the rapidly-changing environment.
- Increased building and maintenance of relationships.
- Appropriate use of information technology to enhance safety and security.
- Widespread us of information technology to provide easy access and more "user-friendly" services.
- Increased levels of institutional research.
- Identification of resources to strengthen and support information technology infrastructure and use.
University-External Relations will be the key to many of our aspirations. Community perception of the value that the University provides determines the level of our support. As a public university, SCSU has the responsibility to be a leading force in intellectual, cultural, and economic development and contribute to the fabric of central Minnesota and the Upper Midwest. This includes:
- Applied scholarly and creative activities on community issues.
- Developing relationships that allow students and faculty to be aware of work and career outside the University.
- Strengthening the relationship between alumni and the University.
- Building multicultural and international relationships that provide opportunities for students, faculty, and staff to expand their experiences.
- Use of technology to enhance our range and quality of relationships.
- Providing resources through these relationships to enhance learning
