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