Strategic Planning
Initiatives
- Academic Program Enhancement and Effectiveness - APEEI is supported by Gray Associates having developed an information interface with data on nearly all fields of study catalogued in the U.S. Department of Education's Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP). With the Gray Associates platform, it is possible to assess competitors’ program offerings, local and national student demand, and employment opportunities for over 1,000 fields of study. These data are useful in identifying new programs to be considered, and opportunities for enhancing the viability of the current academic programs.
- Curricular Efficiency - Curricular efficiency and effectiveness focuses on improving student/academic success through a variety of different measures that ultimately improves, among others, student learning, student retention, graduation rates and costs both to the student and the University. Curricular effectiveness focuses on doing the right things in pursuit of appropriate goals and using resources to their fullest. The curricular efficiency team has reviewed course data from across the University and developed tools to assist programs and the University.
- Academic Program Transformation - Academic Program Transformation embraces a commitment to aligning educational programs with the goal of ensuring that our students are personally enriched, engaged, and productive citizens of the world. It acknowledges the obligation to ensure curriculum and program offerings continually adapt teaching and learning innovations to meet the needs of those served by the institution. Through Academic Program Transformation, we intend to ensure the institutional mission and program goals provide faculty members and students a distinctive experience that serves as a differentiator for a YSU education. Establishing institutional learning outcomes that enhance the value of a YSU degree as well as a unique and transformative general education program, are integral to this initiative.
- Community Engaged Campus - The community engaged campus is driven by the value that arises from mutually beneficial campus community partnerships which incorporate diverse perspectives that strengthen the collective impact on the region. Through the utilization of the GivePulse (PenguinPulse) platform, YSU will collect all community engaged experiential learning occurring both within and outside of the classroom. PenguinPulse serves as the community engagement clearinghouse to enhance communication, collaboration and coordination. The PenguinPulse newsletter showcases community engagement impacts and serves as the source of campus communication for community engagement and partnerships. The Community Partner Advisory Committee provides opportunities for input from community partners and adheres to the value of listening to the needs of the community and addressing needs collaboratively. The Community Engagement Council will lead the development of the YSU application to the Carnegie Foundation Elective Classification for Community Engagement.
Phases
Upon the recommendation of leadership, the Board of Trustees in Spring 2023, agreed that sufficient progress had been made implementing the Plan that it should be renewed.
Five working groups were created and convened by a member of the leadership team and a dean, each with 5-6 members, and met regularly. The conveners also met regularly to share progress and to cross-populate insights. The working groups were in the areas of sustainability (new), academic portfolio, student success, marketing, community/workforce. A draft renewed Plan was presented to the Academic Senate in Fall 2023 for input, and a Penultimate draft was presented to the Board of Trustees, which was endorsed in September, 2023.
This is the final version of the renewed Plan with one new area of focus, sustainability, seven fewer Goals (from 15 to 8), and thirty-six fewer Strategies (from 67 to 31).
The Board of Trustees have discussions and receive reports on various aspects of the Plan over time such that the Board of Trustee’s Key Performance Indicators, presented annually, and other measures are reviewed for progress.
