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Description
The
Mission Statement (see Catalogs: Exhibit
1.1) for Central Connecticut State University identifies its
distinctive commitment to teaching and scholarship; to the
development and application of knowledge through research and
outreach; and to preparing students to be thoughtful,
responsible, and successful citizens.
CCSU’s Mission Statement describes a
mutually reinforcing relationship among teaching and learning,
scholarship and research, and public service. With teaching as
its highest priority, CCSU sees scholarship and research as
informing our teaching with the ultimate goal of creating a
community of learners.
An important element of education at CCSU
is “the personal and social growth of our students.” Beyond
providing high quality undergraduate and graduate programs, CCSU
seeks to “foster a welcoming environment in which all members of
our diverse community receive encouragement, feel safe, and
acquire self-confidence.”
Official, public pronouncements
affirm CCSU’s primary mission to educate students. CCSU’s
Mission Statement has been formally adopted by the CSUS Board of
Trustees. Moreover, the
CSUS’s governing Mission Statement
focuses entirely on the role of the University to provide
“affordable and high-quality, active-learning opportunities” to
“students of all ages, backgrounds, races and ethnicities.” At
the campus level, all CCSU official web and print publications
express the University’s primary goal: “to improve the
educational experience of our students.” Similarly, the union
contracts (Exhibit 1.2) of the teaching and administrative
faculty emphasize the primacy and advancement of teaching. The
Faculty Senate, a governing body representing faculty and
administration, approved the current Mission Statement.
Moreover, all materials formally introducing students to the
mission emphasize that CCSU is an institution for learning and
for self-growth.
In the “Fulfilling the Mission” statement,
CCSU affirms its commitment to provide “access” to quality
higher education. By emphasizing access, the University
indicates that its students will include those whose finances
might preclude their attending college, or whose academic
preparation might require additional support for success.
(Extensive information about programs and initiatives to support
CCSU’s mission to provide accessible higher education is
provided in the chapter on Standard Six.)
The Mission Statement clearly addresses the
needs of society by emphasizing outreach, students’ civic
education, and the commitment to community engagement and to
workforce and economic development. The University aspires to
be respected for its contributions to the State’s cultural and
economic development; for providing innovative, learner-centered
education; and for its global perspective and outreach.
At the request
of the Board of Trustees, CCSU has engaged over the past year in
“a process that results in a distinctive mission for the
University.” Under the direction of the University Planning and
Budget Committee (UPBC),
all campus constituencies were invited to provide input on
establishing a distinctive identity for CCSU, separate from the
other three Universities within the system. UPBC brought their
recommendations to the Faculty Senate on April 14, 2008, which
formally endorsed the following four areas of CCSU’s distinctive
identity: (1) international education, (2) workforce and State
economic development, (3) community engagement, and (4)
interdisciplinary studies and cross-curricular initiatives.
The mission statements and strategic plans
of CCSU’s five schools reflect the University’s commitment to
serve the workforce needs of Connecticut. All five offer
undergraduate and graduate programs that respond to
Connecticut’s workforce needs. Notably, CCSU is one of only two
public universities in Connecticut to offer degrees in
engineering. CCSU has also received approval to offer a new
four-year B.S. degree in Nursing. Reflecting its origins as a
normal school, CCSU prepares more Connecticut teachers than any
other University in the State. Many of CCSU’s academic programs
also integrate experiential learning experiences, internships,
and cooperative education.
CCSU also serves the community through
its
Institute of Technology and Business Development,
Center for Public Policy & Social Research,
Institute for the Study of Crime & Justice,
and
Institute for Municipal & Regional Policy
(Exhibit 1.3), as well as through its sponsorship of the State’s
Small Business Development Center. CCSU has reorganized its
Office of Continuing Education as the Office of Continuing
Education and Community Engagement to facilitate increased
community involvement by faculty and students.
The University has made a significant
effort in the past year to further its commitment to community
engagement, including the CCSU Provost’s participation in the
national Engagement Academy for University Administrators, the
commitment to participate in the
Greater Hartford Service Learning Initiative,
and the University’s selection to participate in the American
Association of State Colleges and University’s (AASCU) national
“Civic Agency Initiative.”
The University fulfills its mission to
build strong relationships with the surrounding community
through publications such as the
Central Courier and
the weekly “Scene @ CCSU” column in the New Britain Herald,
as well as through broadcasts via local-access cable
channels. Members of the campus community and local residents
have frequent opportunities to attend a wide array of
performances, exhibits, lectures, guest speakers, and sporting
events. In 2007, President Jack Miller established a Town &
Gown Committee to improve communication and relations between
the University and homeowners in the surrounding neighborhood.
The University is also placing greater emphasis on inviting
alumni to meet with students, speak to classes, and attend
university events.
The University’s distinctive
commitment to international education is administered by the
George Muirhead Center for International Education,
one of the State’s designated Centers for Excellence. CCSU’s
distinctive commitment to interdisciplinary and cross-curricular
initiatives is reflected in an array of interdisciplinary degree
programs (e.g., M.S. in Computer Information Technology, B.A.
and M.S. in International Studies), undergraduate minors (e.g.,
Entrepreneurship, Gerontology), and cross-curricular initiatives
in community engagement, diversity, international education, and
writing.
The mission and purposes of the University
guide curriculum development for undergraduate General
Education, undergraduate majors and minors, and graduate study.
The University Curriculum Committee, the Faculty Senate, and
deans of the five schools shepherd curricular decisions that
seek to ensure a quality educational experience. In addition to
activities overseen by the division of Academic Affairs, many
activities sponsored by the division of Student Affairs look to
encourage student learning. A large majority of the University’s
individual units—divisions, schools, departments, centers,
units—have developed mission statements aligned with CCSU’s
mission.
Appraisal
In many
ways, the Mission Statement accurately defines CCSU’s
distinctive character. The University provides an accessible,
quality education. Many of our programs are accredited by
national organizations. Many of our classes focus on
student-centered learning, and we provide a wide variety of
services to support students and to promote their success. A
majority of our students express satisfaction with their
learning experience. Most of our faculty conduct research,
scholarship, and creative activity that inform their teaching.
Many of our faculty, staff, and students are actively engaged in
service to the community. We strive to provide a welcoming
environment for a diverse community of learners.
There are
some ways in which CCSU falls short of these ideals. Whereas the
Mission Statement envisions a mutually reinforcing relationship
among education, scholarship and research, and public service,
the demands of scholarly and civic engagement on faculty
carrying heavy teaching loads and dealing with many
under-prepared students, often creates strains that many faculty
find unreasonable. Although teaching is a priority at CCSU,
there have only recently been attempts at systematic and
sustained efforts to measure the effectiveness of student
learning in all departments and at all levels, whether General
Education or majors courses. Although there is certainly
evidence that many of CCSU’s faculty are dedicated to
innovative, activity-based, life-long, and learner-centered
higher education, little evidence has been collected to
substantiate a systematic commitment to these values and to
document their impact. Many students have trouble navigating the
maze of offices for admissions, financial aid, registration, and
advising. Despite the Mission Statement’s ideal of a fully
integrated learning experience for students, the Academic
Affairs and Student Affairs divisions have often worked in
isolation. Recently, two highly publicized incidents involving
racist and sexist content in our student newspaper have sparked
concerns about the diversity climate at CCSU. The State’s
contribution to our funding has steadily decreased to the point
where it no longer covers half of the cost of educating each
student. Moreover, the State’s funding formula does not reflect
the additional costs required to support students who come to
CCSU under-prepared.
The
university community is aware of many of these shortcomings and
works aggressively to address them. In an effort to understand
the campus climate, the UPBC conducted a Noel-Levitz survey
during the fall 2007 term. From it we learned that a
preponderance of respondents was dissatisfied about the quality
of communication among the University’s various constituencies.
In response,
Web-based vehicles for campus-wide
communication were instituted, including CCSU Now, a
description of institutional initiatives and programs that is
continually updated, and
360 Degree Communication, which
highlights selected accomplishments of faculty and staff.
President Miller also conducted a
survey to establish strategic priorities. We have established an
Assessment Committee to help institutionalize and improve our
assessment of student learning. CCSU has made a commitment to
participate in the Voluntary System of Accountability and
administered the Collegiate Learning Assessment to a sample of
freshmen and seniors in 2007-08. A new budgeting process has
enabled deans to increase the level of support for faculty
research and travel. The recently created Retention and
Graduation Council is working toward streamlining procedures to
reduce hurdles faced by students. Efforts are now being made to
overcome institutional barriers to collaboration. One objective
in the University’s Strategic Plan specifically calls for
increasing collaboration between the Academic Affairs and
Student Affairs units to define co-curricular learning outcomes.
Many initiatives are being undertaken to improve the campus
climate for diversity, including appointing a
Blue Ribbon Commission on Diversity
and filling a newly upgraded position of Chief Diversity
Officer.
Many
efforts are underway to better fulfill the University’s mission
with regard to students, including efforts to improve advising,
to consolidate academic support services, and to upgrade
athletic and fitness facilities. There are also new efforts
from the Provost’s office to promote community engagement, and
the Curriculum Committee’s General Education Subcommittee seeks
to expand CCSU’s commitment to Writing across the Curriculum,
although to date, there have been few concrete results.
CCSU’s
Vision Statement remains appropriate for the institution. As an
academic leader in engineering, technology, education, and
business, CCSU has a legitimate claim to preeminence within the
State. Owing to efforts of the Development Office and Alumni
Association, the institution is well regarded by alumni and the
community. Because most of our students pursue careers in
Connecticut, CCSU makes a significant contribution to the
economic development of the State. On-campus programs and
institutes, an international component to the General Education
requirement, and a dynamic Center of International Education,
ensure that CCSU will continue to be global in its perspective
and outreach.
Though few at
CCSU could recite the Mission Statement, most administrators,
faculty, staff, and students would agree that the University
endeavors to be a “community of learners dedicated to teaching
and to scholarship.” That is, CCSU’s primary goal is to provide
a very good educational experience for our students, and thus
teaching and learning should take precedence over all other
concerns.
Projection
Following
approval by the Faculty Senate of the four elements of CCSU’s
distinctive identity, the UPBC plans to incorporate these
elements in a revised Mission Statement that will be submitted
to the Senate in fall 2008. The four distinctive elements of the
University’s identity and the revised Mission Statement
anticipated for adoption will be submitted to the CSU Board of
Trustees for formal approval. Discussion of the distinct role
CCSU plays within the Connecticut State University System will
raise awareness of the mission among all constituencies.
Specific objectives for each unit will be revised to reflect the
new Mission Statement and the four elements of distinctive
identity. The NEASC self study, coinciding with the mandate from
the Trustees to specify a distinctive identity, has led to the
current ongoing reevaluation of the mission by the university
community. Each administrative unit will re-assess its
strategic plan and its effectiveness in meeting the University’s
mission.
Institutional Effectiveness
CCSU periodically reevaluates the
content and pertinence of its mission and purposes in light of
changing circumstances, such as shifting priorities within the
State or demographic changes. In 2003, a University Taskforce
developed a revised Strategic Plan, which was approved by the
Faculty Senate in 2004.
Over the past three years, President Miller has
actively involved the university community in a strategic
planning process to review and update goals and objectives for
CCSU. An integral phase of this activity has been to demonstrate
that all goals are derived from the Mission Statement and to
document the continuity between the new plan and previous plans.
Most units have strategic plans that are well aligned with the
mission (exhibit for different units’ strategic plans). The
recent process of identifying areas of distinctiveness for CCSU
is expected to result in modifications to the Mission Statement
in the coming year.
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