College of Health and Human Services Strategic Plan 2007-2012
Mission The College of Health and Human Services is committed to educating and preparing human service professionals to become innovative practitioners and leaders. The College promotes the integration of teaching, research, policy, and public service in an interdisciplinary context. Knowledge, skill, and caring provide the foundation for educating a diverse workforce of the future who effectively serves multicultural urban communities from a local and global perspective. The College strives to be student-centered, faculty and staff focused, and community minded. College of Health and Human Services Strategic Plan 2007-2012 Page 2
Strategic Directions ifornia University Los Angeles Strengthen and develop excellent programs for the local, regional and global communities Create a culture where decisions and actions are openly made Establish L.A. as a nationally recognized institution for supporting the transformation of traditional and non-traditional students into well-educated, highly competitive graduates Make the University a thriving place to learn, work and live Expand the campus population of diverse, well-qualified students, faculty, staff and administrators Significantly increase university resources above state funding College of Health and Human Services Strengthen and develop excellent academic and applied programs for the local, regional and global communities Expand and retain the College population of diverse, wellqualified students, faculty, staff and administrators Maintain a culture where decisions and actions are openly made Make the College, its schools and its departments thriving places to learn, work and live Realign and increase, where possible, College resources Establish the College as a nationally recognized entity for supporting the transformation of traditional and non-traditional students into well-educated, highly competitive graduates and service professionals College of Health and Human Services Strategic Plan 2007-2012 Page 3
Strategic Initiatives Undergirding the College s Strategic Directives are key Strategic Initiatives that were reviewed and updated at the HHS faculty retreat on March 6, 2009. z Offer Excellent Academic Programs z Create a Student-Centered, Friendly Learning Environment z Improve Infrastructure and Facilities to Support Teaching, Research, and Practice z Foster a Student Life Environment that is Positive, Professional, Challenging and Supportive z Develop Solutions for Reducing Faculty Workloads in the Interest of Supporting Scholarship, Research and Teaching z Identify Strategies and Resources that Improve Faculty Recruitment and Retention College of Health and Human Services Strategic Plan 2007-2012 Page 4
I. Strengthen and develop excellent academic and applied programs for the local, regional and global communities Goal 1.1 Goal 1.2 Goal 1.3 Goal 1.4 Goal 1.5 Goal 1.6 Provide services to increase student competency in basic skills, communication skills, research skills and critical thinking Continuously engage quality faculty in full- and part-time positions as resources allow through marketing strategies that emphasize the benefits of CSULA employment and distinctive mission of HHS Develop and maintain cutting-edge curricula that are in keeping with best practice/pedagogic standards and that embrace current theoretical and professional knowledge Develop strategies to support faculty in improving their instructional competency through faculty development support services, including utilizing the Center for Effective Teaching and securing development funds, mentoring assistance, and support for conference attendance Convene a College inter-departmental committee to advise on metrics for assessment of learning outcomes and program evaluation Explore creation of new master s degree programs and joint doctoral programs, including interdisciplinary degrees, in response to emerging professional and academic areas of advanced preparation College of Health and Human Services Strategic Plan 2007-2012 Page 5
II. Expand and retain the College population of diverse, well-qualified students, faculty, staff and administrators Goal 2.1 Goal 2.2 Goal 2.3 Goal 2.4 Goal 2.5 Goal 2.6 Goal 2.7 Explore ways to support student retention (e.g., whether students receiving financial aid can retain their awards while reducing the number of enrolled units to less than 12, holding events for students families) Ensure that student advising is consistent across advisors and is sufficiently thorough to support informed decision-making on curricular and career directions Recognize and reward faculty for advising/mentoring and for the provision of student-focused services Use Dean s Brown Bag luncheon meetings to address student advising/ mentoring and student and faculty recruitment and retention Create rewards system for faculty who meet or exceed student enrollment projections based on criteria developed by faculty committee Create policies pertaining to strategies that support junior faculty development such as course releases, minimizing new course preps, research mentorships, and publication assistance Establish specific objectives for recruitment and retention of qualified faculty at the College and departmental levels College of Health and Human Services Strategic Plan 2007-2012 Page 6
III. Maintain a culture where decisions and actions are openly made Goal 3.1 Goal 3.2 Goal 3.3 Goal 3.4 Goal 3.5 Explore strategies that ensure equity in faculty workload and reward structures (e.g., course load, advisement, grad checks, release time) Develop core values as they relate to College processes (e.g., clarify the value and importance of research as it pertains to the ARTP process) Develop a process for addressing inequity in faculty salaries within the College Devise ways to improve communication among faculty concerning publicly announced University and College developments to address perception that faculty is always the last to know Develop communication processes via website, email, Meet the Dean sessions to improve openness and transparency College of Health and Human Services Strategic Plan 2007-2012 Page 7
IV. Make the College, its schools and its departments thriving places to learn, work and live Goal 4.1 Goal 4.2 Goal 4.3 Goal 4.4 Goal 4.5 Goal 4.6 Goal 4.7 Goal 4.8 Goal 4.9 Advocate, through faculty senate and other avenues, for university-wide, centralized, student-friendly supportive services Develop policies concerning the engagement of peer advisors and walkin advisement services Encourage inter-disciplinary cooperation and joint activities through ongoing dialogue and identification of opportunities for cross-discipline collaboration, including co-teaching of courses Develop new partnerships that lead to institutional, departmental and administrative collaborative relationships in areas where research, teaching interests and participant strengths are complementary Foster a College environment that offers a positive, professional, nurturing setting for faculty and student life Create venues and environmental resources that reflect diverse approaches for attaining a campus-wide healthy lifestyle (e.g., meditative/ reflective spaces, tai chi, comfortable reading places, soft music) Create a student lounge for students where they and faculty can relax and engage in informal conversation Identify collaborative research opportunities where faculty can mentor students interested in academic and applied studies Identify opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration in academic, administrative and other pursuits College of Health and Human Services Strategic Plan 2007-2012 Page 8
V. Realign and increase, where possible, College resources Goal 5.1 Goal 5.2 Goal 5.3 Goal 5.4 Goal 5.5 Goal 5.6 Goal 5.7 Goal 5.8 Goal 5.9 Goal 5.10 Goal 5.11 Increase the number of digital classrooms Provide training and mentorships in grant writing for faculty, administrators and students Develop a method for identifying and promoting research, teaching and service-learning grant opportunities at the departmental and College levels Explore release time and/or incentive program for faculty engaged in grant writing activities Develop at the College level interdisciplinary groups to seek external grants and contracts, possibly collaborating with colleagues at other universities Develop College-level process for the identification of potential non-cash (in-kind) resources that can be solicited from corporate donors and other community partners Explore ways to increase the corpus in the Dean s discretionary fund and to use these monies for faculty release, new project startups, and seed money for new initiatives Ensure that on grants and contracts there is sufficient indirect cost return to the College Strengthen relations with alumni and community businesses to raise funds for improvements in technology, equipment and facilities Advocate for change in policy to allow departments to solicit support from alumni Convene a committee to explore ways to increase funding for faculty salaries and additional positions in lieu of budgetary support College of Health and Human Services Strategic Plan 2007-2012 Page 9
VI. Establish the College as a nationally recognized entity for supporting the transformation of traditional and non-traditional students into well-educated, highly competitive graduates and service professionals Goal 6.1 Goal 6.2 Goal 6.3 Goal 3.4 Goal 6.5 Goal 6.6 Goal 6.7 Goal 6.8 Convene interdepartmental committee to address student advising and remedial educational issues affecting optimal student performance and achievement Review current pathways by which students enter the College, and explore alternative avenues by which they are apprised of degree programs to which they may seek admission Explore alternative approaches to student education, including the use of distance technology and web-based instruction Conduct a survey of College students, profiling their backgrounds, experiences, career aspirations, and other diverse and unique attributes Develop a dynamic, user-friendly web presence for the College that showcases student and faculty accomplishments Develop a periodic web-based newsletter for the College Develop promotional and branding strategies that distinguish the College from liberal arts and other academic programs vis-à-vis its innovation and service-driven focus Capitalize on CSULA s distinctive location, facilities and infrastructure, students, faculty and staff as part of promotional activities College of Health and Human Services Strategic Plan 2007-2012 Page 10