Plan for Institutional Actions

STUDENT FUTURES & LIFELONG LEARNING...create environments that empower students to acquire intellectual and social capital to realize individual aspirations.

We will:

• Adopt a student-centered approach to all University operations and policies that values and includes all students.
• Ensure curricula, systems, policies and practices increase academic persistence and steady progress to graduation.
• Adopt a coordinated approach to admissions, matriculation, persistence, completion and the career success of our students.
• Develop an approach to the admission and matriculation process that advances the retention and completion strategy

ACADEMIC DISTINCTION AND DISCOVERY OF KNOWLEDGE…fosters the development of a community that will grow intellectually, socially, and ethically in which individuals put knowledge into practice.

We will:

• Implement a continuous, purposeful strategy to improve teaching, learning and national research distinction.
• Adopt university-wide learning outcomes throughout the curriculum.
• Develop internships, service, experiential and applied learning projects with local businesses and organizations that provide opportunities for students to apply their knowledge in scholarly activity.
• Implement continuous and regular assessment of student learning outcomes and best teaching practices to ensure the fair and equitable success of all students.
• Improve student, faculty, and staff access to advanced technologies, equipment, and facilities.

COLLECTIVE IMPACT WITH THE REGION…create deliberate, mutually-beneficial, educational, civic, industry, and philanthropic partnerships that achieve equitable and innovative regional development.

We will:

• Listen to the needs of the community and address these needs collaboratively.
• Actively collaborate with community partner organizations which share in our mission.
• Develop activities that demonstrate impact and purpose in accordance with the university’s mission.
• Communicate the impact and value of community engagement activities.
• Align community engagement activities with institutional learning outcomes.
• Ensure that current and future partnerships are inclusive, equitable, and grounded in accessible systems, practices, and goals.

Strategy: Ensure all students benefit from holistic, relational, developmental, and integrated academic advising

Strategy: Develop and deploy comprehensive, integrated and proactive student intervention strategies

Strategy: Enhance student experiences through implementation of specific initiatives designed to actively engage them in co-curricular and extra-curricular activities

Strategy: Improve support and resources for students facing non-academic challenges

Strategy: Focus on post-graduation planning across the student life cycle to reinforce the value of completion

Strategy: Develop an integrated and comprehensive market and brand communication strategy to distinguish the value of the YSU degree

Strategy: Develop an enrollment cultivation strategy linked to the value proposition of earning a YSU degree for each program of study

Strategy: Expand and enhance outreach and engagement with students prior to enrollment

Strategy: Develop innovative approaches to increase enrollment and completion of under-represented students

Strategy: Develop and enhance partnerships and collaboration agreements with international universities

Strategy: Institute specific initiatives to help guide student success objectives and strategies: create the working group to implement the strategy

Strategy: Establish consultation and timely reporting expectations to inform the campus community about institutional progress related to student success

Strategy: Create timely reports and dashboards related to student progress

Strategy: Create a structure of feedback to assess the impact and influence of student success objectives and strategies

Strategy: Update University policies and guidelines, including promotion and tenure documents, to reflect the importance of faculty engagement in innovative teaching strategies

Strategy: Define expectations and provide training opportunities for faculty to learn and apply best pedagogical practices

Strategy: Enhance the quality and capacity of technological support that promotes learning. Provide faculty and students with the support and infrastructure needed to excel in technology-based learning

Strategy: Coordinate with the Institute for Teaching and Learning to develop tools for the improvement, evaluation and assessment of teaching and learning

Strategy: Implement a faculty development and mentoring plan

Strategy: Complete program effectiveness and enhancement review including rubrics for recommendations regarding actionable outcomes

Strategy: Develop a mechanism to continually identify, assess, and implement new academic programs, badges, credentials, certifications or coursework integration

Strategy: Develop a plan to integrate diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout the university, including in purchasing, hiring, and in the curriculum

Strategy: Revise General Education Requirements to reflect the learning outcomes approved by Academic Senate

Strategy: Identify areas of research, service, and scholarship, in alignment with the Mahoning Valley Innovation and Commercialization Consortium, that focus on teaching and life-long learning and mutually beneficial community engagement

Strategy: Establish definitions and evaluation criteria for the designation and continuance of university centers and institutes. Inventory, document, and periodically evaluate all campus Centers, Institutes for outcomes, impact, and continued relevance

Strategy: Update University policies and guidelines, including promotion and tenure documents, to reflect the importance of the scholarship of teaching, life-long learning and community-based research

Strategy: Aggressively pursue and secure regional, state, national, and foundation funding in support of university and community priorities

Strategy: Inventory and communicate all community engagement activities

Strategy: Develop a framework to optimize, coordinate, and manage community engagement

Strategy: Establish community engagement and experiential learning as key components of the YSU educational experience through an enhanced new student experience, and enhanced coordination of community and business engagement initiatives

Strategy: Update University policies and guidelines for tenure, advancement, and promotion across departments and divisions to reflect the importance of community engagement initiatives and activities

Strategy: Broadly incorporate community engagement and experiential learning into curriculum