In his annual Management Letter to the Rhode Island Board of Governors for Higher
Education, President Carothers stated the following goals for the Academic Area of the
University. As is known, goals for one division of the University cannot (and should not)
be separated from the goals of the other divisions or the goals for the University as a
whole. For this reason, some sections of this plan refer to areas technically considered
outside of Academic Affairs. Academic Goals as Articulated by the President include:
- focus efforts and drive resources to them;
- build a high-quality undergraduate student body;
- continue to enhance diversity in the student body, staff and faculty through recruitment
and retention initiatives;
- use information technology to advance active and collaborative learning;
- support graduate study, research and undergraduate learning through partnerships;
- ensure an accessible and affordable education;
- collaborate with Rhode Island College through joint ventures.
This plan provides more detail on those goals and presents some strategies for
accomplishing them. The report does not represent a new planning effort at the University;
rather it integrates the results of several recent smaller scale planning efforts and
affords us the opportunity to coalesce and evaluate our thoughts and proposals, to provide
information to the Board and to benefit from its counsel.
While changes and advances in technology are referred to repeatedly in this plan,
because of an infusion of funds resulting from a bond referendum, the technology report
will be separate this year. Future iterations of the academic plan will incorporate more
deliberately plans for technological advances.
Any new initiatives will require financial support, either new or reallocated-or a
combination of both. The University has developed the Program Contribution Analysis (PCA)
as one tool to provide us with information about program costs and the deployment of
resources for existing programs. We will continue to refine this tool in order to make it
more valuable in informing our decisions. The challenge was and remains not to confuse
profitability with quality. There is an emerging effort at the University to develop a
Quality Contribution Analysis (QCA) to provide us with additional information to aid in
decision making and guarantee fulfillment of mission.
Any workable plan is dynamic and must change as circumstances change. While those of us
responsible for academic planning can make certain assumptions about higher education and
about the University, in many areas we probably cannot even imagine what changes will take
place. As those changes occur, ongoing evaluation and adjustment in the plan will be
necessary. The one assumption we can confidently make is that change itself is a central
challenge.
In formulating this plan, the University reviewed its mission and vision statements,
its final report as a result of its ten-year accreditation review by the New England
Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), and other planning documents, and conducted a
day-long deans' meeting using the "Open Space" format. This is a draft plan, a
work in progress. Between now and the time at which the final plan is due in June, the
Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs will meet with constituent groups on
campus for further discussion. As a result of those discussions, it is anticipated that
the number of initiatives will be smaller in number. We felt it important, however, that
as a draft document for discussion, this should be more inclusive rather than less.
The University appreciates the interest and support of the Office of Higher Education
and the Board of Governors for this planning process and the concern about coordination
and collaboration between and among the three institutions within the system.
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