Strategic Plan 2015
3 October 2011
The School’s mission is to educate Architects, Planners, Preservationists, Developers and the many allied stakeholders whose work and scholarship focuses on the quality of the built environmentand promotes social justice, cultural value, resource conservation and economic opportunity.
1. Lead in professional education / learning:
1)Integrate service/experiential learning (real world, actual problems with community clients) into studios and coursework.
Working with community organizations and client groups on real world problems advances the skills that are required by students to enter the professions of architecture, planning, preservation and real estate development. Active learning develops their management, collaborative, and communicative skills while giving them experiences where their analytical abilities can assist in addressing multiple, and often competing, perspectives on critical issues.
(Measures: a.) Count the number of studios and courses that conduct community-based problems; b.) Count the number of students who participate each year; c.) Count the number of reports/projects/community presentations per year; d.) 30 % of all graduate students participate in community-based problem by the academic year 2013-14).
2)Create interdisciplinary courses.
The School’s disciplines are regularly address problems through inter-disciplinary efforts. Working on planning and design problems requires collaboration between many disciplines to gain insight into the problem and develop implementation strategies that avoid undesirable side effects. Creating interdisciplinary courses is the first step to achieve trans-disciplinary education.
(Measures: Count number of students who participate in cross-disciplinary courses per year to establish baseline data. Pursue a 5% increase per year for the next three academic years).
3)Expand global opportunities for students
Our graduates are entering a global economy where they will be asked to make plans and designs for different cultures. Globalization brings the historic distance between cultures into an extremely close proximity causing new challenges for professionals. Global learning opportunities provide students with experiences of cultural difference while also giving them a vantage from which they can gain perspective on their own cultural bias.
4)Intensify communication skills (written, oral and graphic)
For professions founded on collaboration and dedicated to servicing varied stakeholders, communication is a core skill. We will expand the opportunities for our students, both undergraduate and graduate, to practice these skills and develop mastery through direct observation, analysis, and feedback.
(Measures: a.) 75% all graduate students with electronic portfolios by AY 2015; b.) 50% all undergraduates with electronic portfolios by FY 2015).
2. Lead in sustainability education
1) Create a centerpiece course on sustainability for all students in the School
Our mission places sustainable planning and design in the foreground. Consequently, we will maintain our prominence as a national leader in sustainability education through the integration of sustainable principles, practices and knowledge into our curriculum.
2) Develop a minor in sustainability for our undergraduates
Our undergraduates are entering the workforce where environmental degradation is perhaps the most pressing problem they will face. We are dedicated to integrating sustainable education into all levels of our curriculum so that the topic is not a subject for one course but represents a core value of our curricula.
(Measures: a. Establish a minor by AY 2012-13; b. 25% of all undergraduates should participate in a minor or honors by 2015).
3. Enhance research / scholarship / creative activity efforts:
1) Showcase faculty achievement
Our faculty members are leaders in their fields and continue to express their creative ideas in written word, oral presentations, and actual projects. We will work to share these achievements with a broader audience to aid in interdisciplinary appreciation of our disciplines and to celebrate our achievements so alumni and students are aware of the contributions we are making to scholarly and creative activities.
(Measures: a. Increase faculty participation (faculty and student) in conferences and competitions by 20%; b. Increase national media exposure).
2)Improve the faculty’s integration of digital technologies into their teaching
As a faculty we are aware that digital technologies are changing the planning, design, preservation and development professions. At the same time we are acutely aware that emerging technologies are changing the craft of teaching. To address this change we will expand the use of digital and other technologies in the courses and studios we teach so that we might promote the learning of our students and better assist them to enter their chosen professions.
(Measures: a. Increase percent of faculty who know identified technologies by 50%; b. Count the number of opportunities (e.g. workshops) for the faculty to learn new technologies; c. Count the number of courses that incorporate new technologies -- bring the number up to 15%; d. Find or pioneer literacy standards for faculty).
3)Faculty development funds for each faculty. Priority for tenure-track junior faculty
The School will foster more faculty success in research, creative activity and scholarship through direct support. This activity is at the core of the School and enriches the classroom experience of our students.
(Measures: Measures: Increase dollar amount in budget by FY 2015 for faculty development (travel, fellowships, start up costs for new faculty, research support, etc.)
4)Institute structured global mentor/mentee relationships
Mentoring faculty through the tenure and promotion process has greater significance to the School because of the recent retirement of senior faculty. We will develop a culture of guiding faculty toward tenure success and promotion through the professorial ranks while preserving and fostering our diversity and commitment to inclusion.
(Measures: Statistics on faculty promotion show increased success)
5)Produce a new and transparent APT policy
We have not revisited the appointment, promotion and tenure policy since the school expanded its size and diversified the represented disciplines. We pledge to diligently work to review our criterion and make them inclusive and more transparent so that all faculty members are knowledgeable about requirements and expectations.
(Measure: Draft new APT document and seek University approvals by 2013.)
4. Recruit and retain high quality students to all programs through increased opportunities and resources:
1)Increase student scholarships
To recruit the very best students to our undergraduate program we require an increase in student scholarships to remain competitive, particularly when recruiting out of state students. We plan to increase our scholarships for incoming students while maintaining our tradition of supporting scholarships for travel abroad programs.
(Measures: funding goal target for student scholarships at $200,000 by FY 2015).
3) Improve the admissions process to recruit the best and brightest
To meet our enrollment objectives we need to actively recruit students and inform them of their acceptance in a timely manner. To accomplish this objective we need to continue to develop the necessary infrastructure, both personnel and media, to recruit students nationally and internationally and gain their acceptance to the program of choice.
4)Build a greater sense of community
The esprit de corps of the Architecture Building is legendary on campus. However, as we expanded and diversified the School our community has become more fragmented. To fulfill our mission we wish to overcome our fragmented community –undergraduates fragmented by place and graduate students fragmented in time – so that we can share our common mission while learning from one another.
(Measures: Survey students to establish benchmark).
5)Improve student job placement services.
To meet our aspirations we will more proactively assist students in launching their careers. We will use University resources and develop our own infrastructure to help our students get prepared for their job search with the goal of employment before graduation.
6) Promote internships
Professional work experience is the hallmark of a professional education. To meet one of our core tenants -- to prepare students to be leaders in their profession -- we will develop the necessary infrastructure to assist students in obtaining internships before graduation.
5. Contribute to the advancement of the professions by faculty and students:
1)Facilitate local resource orientation (professional and specific to MAPP)
The future success of our faculty and students requires that they become aware of the rich resources within the University that are available to help them accomplish their aspirations. Mentoring (formal and informal), workshops and information resources will help new members of our community harvest resources and cultivate relationships.
2)Increase diversity of faculty
We are dedicated to building and supporting a diverse faculty so that our scholarly community is enriched and our students’ benefit.
(Measures: a. Percent of female faculty members [benchmark is to mirror the percentage of female students]; b. Percent of under represented classes [achieve 22% by AY2016]; c. Increase the number of female full professors.)
3)Increase production and promote faculty creative and scholarly accomplishments to the professions
We are dedicated to advancing our professions through research, scholarly effort and creative activity. We recognize that our respective professions, and our students, rely on our ability to apply research, innovate, and imagine new processes and products.
(Measures: Increase research dollars to $5.0 million by FY2016.)
6. Pursue life-long value for alumni and friends
1)Showcase alumni achievements
Our alumni are widely recognized as leaders of the profession and community. The School should recognize their achievements and use them to serve as a testament to the value an education at the School of Architecture, Planning and Preservationadds.
2)Provide multiple venues for alumni to participate with the School
Educational excellence and professional enrichment is achieved by developinga strong relationship between practitioners and educators. Through meaningful interaction theyboth advance.
(Measures: Increase number of alumni attending School events.)