University Goals and Objectives

Goal 1: Sustain and Enhance the Quality of Undergraduate Programs.

Subgoal 1: Continuous improvements of undergraduate education.

Objectives:

• Continuously evaluate, improve, and support undergraduate programs to ensure quality and relevance. Continue to develop MTU’s program for Assessment of Student Academic Success, and implement a process for periodic program review.
• Establish high standards of literacy, including competence in such areas as computers, problem-solving, social awareness and responsibility, and critical thinking.
• Become a national leader in engineering undergraduate education.
• Build consensus around a specific set of goals for the core curriculum, including both baccalaureate level skills and breadth of knowledge and understanding. Plan and implement a revised core curriculum consistent with this consensus, and establish a process for its continuous evaluation and renewal.
• Develop programs for first-year students that support successful transitions to university level education.
• Increase the rate of degree completion through improved counseling, mentoring in effective learning strategies, advising, and course scheduling.
• Incorporate total quality concepts into the undergraduate program.
• Increase rates of student persistence using strategies identified by the Retention Task Force.
• Continue to develop and improve student-centered learning environments that increase learning without increasing net cost.
• Enhance evaluation, improvement, recognition, and rewards to encourage excellence in teaching.
• Encourage and support faculty use of instructional technologies that improve student academic success with modest increases in cost.
• Revise the University academic calendar to better support student academic success, and better utilize University resources.
• Continue to plan, test, and evaluate innovative approaches to teaching and learning based both on the experiences of colleagues elsewhere and novel approaches developed at MTU.
• Strengthen and improve the General Education Program.
• Increase the number of students who take advantage of off-campus broadening opportunities in international study, cooperative education, and internships.
• Offer undergraduates the opportunity to engage in research and/or interact with industry.
• Develop a curriculum which encourages life-long learning.
• Develop student communication skills.
• Incorporate global perspectives--including those of women, minorities, and non-Western peoples--in curricula and other programs.
• Foster the development of interdisciplinary courses and curricula that go beyond arbitrary divisions between disciplines.
• Epitomize excellence in undergraduate education at a reasonable cost.
• Obtain external funding in support of undergraduate programs.

Subgoal 2: Assure the recruitment and retention of a high quality, diverse student body.

Objectives:

• Continue to develop effective recruitment strategies, with special emphasis on recruiting women and minorities.
• Maintain selective admissions standards to assure the excellence of entering students.
• Improve recruitment of international students.
• Develop student and alumni networks to aid in recruiting.
• Encourage the involvement of faculty in recruiting.
• Develop a unified marketing strategy.
• Develop partnerships with other institutions, especially those which are likely to be the source of students, faculty, and staff from under-represented groups.
• Offer quality student placement services to enhance graduates’ professional and career opportunities.
• Continue to improve access to Michigan Tech through timely competitive financial aid packages.
• Develop comprehensive, unified retention programs, which include special efforts for new students, international students, and minority students.
• Enhance the university’s ability to track and monitor students’ academic progress, with intervention procedures for at-risk students.
• Enhance faculty mentoring skills in order to improve minority and women graduation rates.
• Recruit students whose academic interests enhance intellectual diversity.

Subgoal 3: Provide an environment that enhances the quality of student life.

Objectives:

• Create and sustain an atmosphere of civility on campus.
• Provide a quality living environment for on-campus students.
• Encourage a quality undergraduate experience outside the classroom, including opportunities to develop leadership skills and social-political-cultural involvements.
• Design and implement leadership development activities in the residence halls and the Greek system.
• Communicate opportunities for involvement to new students, especially through orientation.
• Integrate programming in living units with the academic curriculum.
• Continue aggressively to develop programs to prevent alcohol and substance abuse.
• Provide increased opportunities for faculty and students to interact.
• Improve advising of student organizations.
• Assure that needed services are available for disabled and non-traditional students.
• Provide meaningful employment for student workers.
• Strive for national recognition from our Division I hockey program and state and national recognition for our Division II programs.

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