Academic Affairs Strategic Plan

Strategic Planning Process

Over the course of the 2022-2023 academic year the Academic Affairs Strategic Planning Taskforce consulted heavily with the campus community to develop a draft strategic plan. In the 2023-2024 academic year, the Provost in collaboration with the task force engaged with the Academic Senate and other campus stakeholders to review the draft, obtain and incorporate feedback. On March 26, 2024 the plan was officially supported without dissent by the Academic Senate. 

Academic Senate Affirmation

The Plan

Mission

We are an academic community committed to providing educational access and an inclusive learning environment to meet the needs of our region as our students evolve through their post-secondary educational journeys. Even more, we are leaders in facilitating educational access to those who have historically been excluded from institutions of higher education and those who still confront social inequities and oppressive ideologies. In pursuit of this mission, we commit to faculty excellence in scholarship and creative activities, anti-racist and inclusive teaching, best-practices in advising and effective and culturally-responsive support from staff and administrators. 

Vision

We aspire to be a hub of intellectual interconnectedness, meeting the evolving needs of the students we serve and the broader Central Valley region. In doing so, we aspire towards equitable access and inclusivity, which is rooted in economic, cultural, and academic support as well as extra-curricular engagement. We embrace our status as a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) and pursue efforts towards public awareness of that designation as well as meaningful service to Hispanic/Latinx student and other marginalized students. 

Values

We value and support the tenets of a strong liberal arts education. As an HSI, we commit to diversity, equity, inclusion, anti-racism, and social justice in our curriculum as well as encouragement of lifelong learning for all students, with particular attention to marginalized students. Additionally, as an educational institution, we value innovative, ethical, and sustainable research, practice, and teaching. And finally, as a community we value mental and physical wellness for faculty, students, and students, and staff, regional stewardship, and collaborative partnerships, both across campus and within the broader Central Valley region. 

Goals and Priorities

1. Promote equitable and inclusive access across the lifelong post-secondary educational spectrum.

1. In partnership with Admissions and Outreach, expend department and program outreach and recruitment efforts to potential students and increase opportunities for access through dual enrollment. 
2. Ensure that expending recruitment, retention, and persistence efforts is a division-wide responsibility of all in Academic Affairs.
3. Support equitable and inclusive access and experiences at both the Turlock and Stockton campuses. 
4. Support and expand current academic programs (undergraduate and graduate) and develop new programs that prepare students to be engaged citizens and marketplace ready to increase social mobility.
5. Ensure schedule, term length, and course modality address the diversity of student and faculty needs, student success, and pedagogical appropriateness.
6. Invest in ongoing quality improvement to streamline communication and reduce administrative barriers within Academic Affairs across other divisions. 
7. Increase funding for student success and curricular transformation projects aimed at addressing curricular inclusion, increasing retention and persistence, and eliminating equity gaps.
8. For alumni as well as potential new students, expand the portfolio of Continuing and Professional Education opportunities and graduate programs in modalities that balance evolving life circumstances with pedagogical appropriateness.

2. Engage in innovative and pedagogically driven approaches to teaching and learning.

1. Support faculty development to explore teaching techniques and technologies that enhance pedagogy that support responsiveness and adaptability to change.
2. Increase student opportunity to engage in experiential coursework and applied learning grounded in high impact practices
3. Ensure that the organizational structure, strategy, and budget of the FCETL appropriately supports the needs of faculty in pedagogical development as well as the integration of academic technology.
4. Explore and support advising models that maximize student success. 

3. Demonstrate action-driven commitment to DEISJ and visibility of HSI status.

1. Expand efforts to evaluate, enhance, and expand our commitment to DEISJ throughout the curriculum.
2. Increase training and support for maximizing equity and inclusiveness in all personnel processes.
3. Ensure policies, processes, as well as internal and external communications are intentionally grounded in our HSI status.
4. Ensure that technology platforms are enabled to incorporate inclusiveness in storage and communication of identities consistent with our DEISJ values.
5. Incorporate global/transnational issues into our DEISJ commitments. 

4. Ensure holistic support of faculty and staff to promote excellence and wellbeing.

1. Expand community and connection between faculty, staff, and students at and between our Turlock and Stockton campuses.
2. Promote opportunities for physical, mental, and emotional health with all campus personnel.
3. Devote resources to faculty development with particular emphasis on increasing lecturer participation in faculty development opportunities.
4. Expand opportunities and resources for faculty engagement in research, scholarship, and creative activities.
5. Devote resources to staff development with particular emphasis on promoting work-life balance.
6. Devote resources to developing a culture of mentorship and recognition that benefits faculty and staff.
7. Develop and support an equitable and data informed approach to decision-making regarding modality and format of divisional and departmental activities.

5. Expand and deepen ties to the region's needs and futures. 

1. Expand community engagement efforts and events to deepen our connection with the region and support life-long learning.
2. Expand opportunities for Academic Affairs to engage and support alumni.
3. Increase engagement and outreach with regional K-12 schools and community colleges.
4. Increase collaborations with community-based organizations including more conferences provided by the University, and building student connections that facilitate professional opportunities and personal community.

View a Printable Version of the Academic Affairs Strategic Plan