UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO DENVER GRADUATE SCHOOL STRATEGIC PLAN 2009-2015 MISSION: The Graduate School mission is to 1) guide, facilitate, and enhance educational quality, opportunities and experiences for all graduate students, 2) encourage excellence in research, creative and scholarly work and 3) recruit, retain, and graduate a diverse population of students trained to meet the needs of the city, state, nation, and world. VISION: The Graduate School is to become a leading center for graduate education by combining graduate programs at the Downtown and Anschutz Medical campuses. VALUES: We value attaining the highest levels of student learning, discovery, and creative work in an atmosphere of inclusion, collaboration, and community, being guided by the highest standards of ethical conduct. BACKGROUND: As part of the proposed model for the consolidation of The University of Colorado at Denver and the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, it was proposed that the two Graduate Schools explore the benefits of merging at a later date. In accordance with this proposal, the Graduate School is presently two separate entities in the process of becoming one. The Downtown (DC; consisting of 8 Ph.D. programs and 25 Masters programs) and Anschutz Medical (AMC; consisting of 20 Ph.D. programs and 4 Masters programs) campuses were consolidated in 2009 by realizing processes put in place in reports by two task forces: 1) Proposed Model for Consolidation of the Graduate School at the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center, December, 2006, Amended, May 2007 and 2) Graduate School Rules and Policies (revision: 2.3, 09/15/08). The Chancellor accepted the Proposed Model in May 2007. The Graduate Rules and Policies were recently approved in votes in each of the schools and colleges. The consolidated Graduate School will have a single Dean and Graduate Council. The new Graduate Council was chosen and began meeting in 2009. A national search for a Dean will begin in 2009. Until a new Dean is chosen, the current Deans of -1-
the DC and AMC will manage the everyday affairs of the Graduate School and the Graduate Council. STRATEGIC PRIORITIES: Consistent with the University Strategic Priorities, the Graduate School will work with the graduate faculty, schools, and colleges to achieve the following components of the following university strategic priorities: Strategic Priority #1: Maximize the opportunities of our consolidated university to achieve our vision. Goal 1.1: Consolidate the graduate programs at the Downtown (DC) and Anschutz Medical (AMC) campuses into a single Graduate School. Objective 1.1.1: Implement new Graduate School Rules and Policies. Objective 1.1.2: Choose members and convene joint Graduate School Council. Objective 1.1.3: Complete staffing of Graduate School office and implement the proposed reorganized administrative structure to serve both campuses effectively. Goal 1.2: Develop, strengthen, and sustain interdisciplinary and dual degree/research programs to maximize the strengths and bridge the disciplines of the Downtown and Anschutz campuses and to foster interdisciplinary collaboration across a single campus. (University Goals 1.1 & 1.2) Objective 1.2.1: Nurture and expand dual degree graduate programs that involve faculty from both campuses. Objective 1.2.2: Create Ph.D. programs that draw from and support interdepartmental and inter/multidisciplinary collaborations. Goal 1.3: Establish, strengthen, and sustain existing pipeline programs to increase the population of undergraduate students from the Downtown Campus enrolled in Graduate School programs. (University Goal 1.4) Objective 1.3.1: Nurture programs such as the Initiatives to Maximize Student Diversity (IMSD) program in proteomics and Graduate Experiences for -2-
Multicultural students (GEMS). Objective 1.3.2: Identify research laboratories at the AMC that will accept student interns from the Experiential Learning Center on the DC. Objective 1.3.3: Provide research opportunities at the DC and AMC for high school students at the Denver School for Science and Technology (DSST) and (the Aurora) Health Sciences Academy. Goal 1.4: Create programs and design technologies to enable collaboration between graduate programs in schools and colleges. (University Goal 1.5) Objective 1.4.1: Develop a comprehensive database of graduate students, alumni, and graduate programs. Objective 1.4.2: Insure smooth cross-campus registration using the new SIS. Objective 1.4.3: Work with schools/colleges on tuition structures to promote interschool/college registration. Objective 1.4.4: Organize interdepartmental and inter-school seminars to strengthen existing collaborations and to foster the formation of new ones. Strategic Priority #2: Deliver an outstanding and innovative educational experience. Goal 2.1: Educate graduate students who meet the needs of the city, state, nation, and world. (University Goal 2.2) Objective 2.1.1: Strengthen and expand graduate programs involving international universities. Objective 2.1.2: Provide opportunities for professional development to graduate students. Objective 2.1.3: Insure that our graduates meet the needs of the city, state, nation, and world. Goal 2.2: Encourage the creation of distinctive academic programs that provide flexibility for graduate students. Create dual degree programs, where feasible, within and between schools and colleges. (Related to University Goal 2.3) -3-
Objective 2.2.1: Expand the offering of certificate programs which broaden basic science graduate programs at the AMC. Objective 2.2.2: Foster development of Masters degrees that expand the education of students also earning professional degrees. Objective 2.2.3: Foster the establishment of dual Masters programs within and between schools and colleges. Goal 2.3: Expand or initiate selected educational programs that align with prominent and distinctive areas of research. (University Goal 2.5) Objective 2.3.1: Continue the practice of creating (or expanding the educational scope of) programs that align with new areas of research emphasis at DC and AMC. Objective 2.3.2: Expand the practice of creating (or expanding the educational scope of) programs that align with new areas of research emphasis at the DC and AMC. Goal 2.4: Provide opportunities for interprofessional and multidisciplinary education. (University Goal 2.8) Objective 2.4.1: Expand the existing opportunities and create new ones for graduate students to participate in interdisciplinary, translational, and clinical research. Goal 2.5: Broaden educational experiences for students to improve student success and creativity for societal good. (University Goal 2.9) Objective 2.5.1: Continue to develop partnerships with foreign centers of education to broaden the educational opportunities available to graduate students. Objective 2.5.2: Expand the use of workshops, courses and certificate programs to provide broadened training for graduate students. -4-
Strategic Priority #3: Conduct outstanding research and creative work for the public good. Goal 3.1: Be a global leader in the translation and application of discovery, innovation, and creativity for societal good. (University Goal 3.1) Objective 3.1.1: Provide the highest quality graduate programs and a large pool of highly qualified graduate students to work with faculty to insure success in discovery, innovation and creativity. Objective 3.1.2: Work with the schools and colleges to promote graduate education in the signature areas on the DC and with the Colorado Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (CCTSI) at the AMC. Goal 3.2: Enhance our reputation for internationally recognized research in basic biomedical science, as well as for translating discovery into practice. (University Goal 3.2) Objective 3.2.1: Expand the pool of highly qualified students for basic biomedical research through a combination of community outreach, national recruiting and development of pipelines between the DC and AMC. Strategic Priority #4: Enhance the UC Denver s world-class health care programs to achieve recognition as a premier academic health center in the nation. Goal 4.1: Invest in selected areas of scientific research to improve clinical practice. (University Goal 4.2) Objective 4.1.1: Work to expand existing graduate programs in the areas of translation and clinical science, and health care delivery. Objective 4.1.2: Foster the development of new programs in areas directly related to improving health care and health care delivery. -5-
Strategic Priority #5: Enhance diversity university-wide and foster a culture of inclusion. Goal 5.1: Recruit and retain a critical mass of traditionally underrepresented and international students. (University Goal 5.1) Objective 5.1.1: Continue to encourage and help foster programs designed to recruit underrepresented undergraduate students into graduate programs such as IMSD, GEMS, and The Bridge to the Doctorate program (part of the CO-AMP program run by Colorado State University). Objective 5.1.2: Expand and extend underrepresented minority recruiting efforts in high schools by seeking further partnerships with both the Denver and Aurora public schools. Objective 5.1.3: Increase the Graduate School s participation in partnerships with foreign universities, especially partnerships designed to bring fully funded graduate students to UC Denver. Goal 5.2: Recruit and retain a diverse faculty and staff throughout the university. (University Goal 5.2) Objective 5.2.1: Recruit a pool of highly qualified diverse graduate students to aid in the recruitment and retention of diverse faculty. Goal 5.3: Expand research and community-based programs to reduce health and educational disparities. (University Goal 5.3) Objective 5.3.1: Strengthen graduate programs that are involved in health disparities and education disparities research. Objective 5.3.2: Increase graduate program participation in the CCTSI s efforts to engage community partners in reducing health-care disparities throughout Colorado. Goal 5.4: Demonstrate and communicate the University s commitment to diversity. (University Goal 5.4) -6-
Objective 5.4.1: Constantly review graduate program curricula to guarantee the inclusion of diversity components and to promote dialogue, mutual respect, and cultural sensitivity. Strategic Priority #6: Grow strong, mutually beneficial partnerships that engage our local, national, and global communities. Goal 6.1: Promote and expand partnerships in all sectors (including business, industry, non-profits, government, and venture capitalists) to optimize intellectual and cultural capital for societal use and to advance the success of our students and partners. (University Goals 6.1 & 6.2) Objective 6.1.1: Continue existing partnerships, and establish new ones, with the surrounding public school systems. Objective 6.1.2: Exploit existing and develop new relationships with local and regional professional and service organizations that at least partially share mission with the Graduate School. Objective 6.1.3: Form a viable alumni association from graduate students who identify strongly with the Graduate School. Strategic Priority #7: Secure the resources to achieve our vision while being responsible stewards of those resources. Goal 7.1: Invest in providing the infrastructure (services and facilities) necessary for a world-class learning and discovery environment for the benefit of our students, faculty, staff and communities. (University Goal 7.2) Objective 7.1.1: Increase the amount of fellowship aid available to students to expand successful programs. Objective 7.1.2: Increase the amount of fellowship aid available to students to attract a diverse population of high caliber students. Objective 7.1.3: Work to minimize the impact of geographical separation of the campuses in the delivery of outstanding and innovative graduate education. -7-
Objective 7.1.4: Embrace new educational technologies, of proven value, as they become available. Goal 7.2: Enhance the effectiveness of administrative services and systems to support the universities mission and vision, and seek innovative approaches to optimizing efficiencies. (University Goal 7.3) Objective 7.2.1: Employ electronic communication between branches of the Graduate School, and between the School and its faculty and students to increase effectiveness and efficiency. Objective 7.2.2: Work to provide seamless interaction between all programs in the Graduate School, regardless of geographic location. -8-