Strategic Goals: Learning - West Chester University

Learning is a self-motivated and engaged activity based on intellectual curiosity and critical thinking. It is a sustained community-wide activity that occurs both curricularly within and across disciplines and co-curricularly, leading to diverse, holistic, and informed perspectives. Learning is enhanced by the active pursuit of scholarly and creative activity by students, faculty, and staff.

Learning

WCU's Strategic Plan: Pathways to Student Success

Goals, Outcomes, & Initiatives

Goal L1: Create and enhance structured curricular and co-curricular environments for the free exchange of knowledge among students, faculty, and staff.

  • Outcome L1-1: The University will increase the use of evidence-based practices, innovative pedagogy and technology that enhances teaching, learning, and community among faculty, students, and staff.
    • Initiative L1-1-1: In year one of the strategic plan, an inventory will be conducted that determines the use of evidenced-based practices, pedagogy and technology that enhances teaching, learning, and community among students, faculty and staff. Subsequently, benchmarks for years two and three will be set that call for increased adoption and use.
    • Initiative L1-1-2: Increase the communication and employment of information (e.g., via modules, workshops, etc.) that presents evidence about effective approaches to teaching, learning and community building.
    • Initiative L1-1-3: Increase the campus’ digital literacy and the deployment of related technologies (i.e. e-portfolios) through workshops and improved awareness of and access to technology resources and support services.
    • Initiative L1-1-4: Expand instructional design services to all faculty and staff for use inside and outside the classroom.
  • Outcome L1-2: The University’s facilities will be designed or redesigned with the goal of increasing the number, types, and usage of spaces intended for learning and collaboration.
    • Initiative L1-2-1: In year one of the strategic plan, an inventory of the institution’s facilities master plan will be undertaken to determine if future plans or projects maximize spaces for both formal and informal learning and collaboration. Subsequently, benchmarks will be set for facilities projects scheduled for years two and three.
    • Initiative L1-2-2: Create a communication plan that provides information to students, faculty, and staff about the availability of spaces designed for specific types of pedagogical interactions (i.e. active learning classrooms, independent and collaborative study, and face-to-face interactions that stimulate research collaborations).
    • Initiative L1-2-3: Create a training plan that provides instruction to students, faculty, and staff about the use of spaces designed for specific types of pedagogical interactions (i.e. active learning classrooms, independent and collaborative study, and face-to-face interactions that stimulate research collaborations).

Goal L2: Strengthen and sustain the opportunities for scholarly and creative activities.

  • Outcome L2-1: 25% or more of our undergraduate students will report having worked on a research and creative project with a faculty member. Undergraduate research and creative activity participation will be measured using the National Survey of Student Engagement.
    • Initiative L2-1-1: WCU will conduct an annual survey of all undergraduate students to assess their access to opportunities for doing research and creative activities. This will include monitoring their participation in course-based undergraduate research opportunities, independent studies, and capstone experiences.
    • Initiative L2-1-2: The Summer Undergraduate Research Institute will be complemented by the creation of an academic-year research and creative activity conference/peer-reviewed venue travel program. WCU will support this program with $12,000/year over the next three years with the expectation that at least 30 undergraduates will be funded each year at up to $400 per student.
    • Initiative L2-1-3: The Summer Undergraduate Research Institute will be complemented by the creation of an academic-year research and creative activity materials and supplies program. WCU will support this program with $24,000/year over the next three years with the expectation that at least 60 undergraduates will be funded each year at up to $400 per student.
    • Initiative L2-1-4: The Summer Undergraduate Research Institute will be complemented by the establishment of new summer and academic-year course-based undergraduate research and creative activity opportunities. In research and creative activity exposure courses, students will learn scholarly processes or skills and apply them to a highly-structured, short-term research or creative projects that have narrowly-defined scopes of work. In research and creative activity experience courses, students will participate in short-term research and creative projects that have broadly-defined scopes of work.
    • Initiative 3-1-5: WCU faculty will be encouraged to include support for undergraduates as they apply for external funding.
  • Outcome L2-2: The number of graduate students who present scholarly work or creative activity at conferences (or other peer-reviewed venues) will increase by 25%.
    • Initiative L2-2-1: WCU will conduct an annual survey of all graduate students to assess their access to opportunities for doing research and creative activities. The survey will track an increase in the number of graduate students who are tasked with participating in research or creative activity as all or part of their Graduate Assistant work over the next three years.
    • Initiative L2-2-2: WCU faculty will be encouraged to include support for Graduate Assistants as they apply for external funding.
    • Initiative L2-2-3: WCU will enhance the Graduate Dean’s Professional Development award to provide additional academic-year research and creative activity conference/peer-reviewed venue travel support. The university will support this program with an additional $30,000/year over the next three years with the expectation that at least 60 graduate students will be funded each year at up to $500 for domestic travel and up to $1,000 for international travel per student.
  • Outcome L2-3: Increased opportunities for faculty development through research and creative activities that have a measurable impact on student success as evidenced by integration of the scholarly work into the classroom and/or direct collaboration with graduate and undergraduate students and/or enhancing the reputation of the university.
    • Initiative L2-3-1: WCU will establish a centralized method for reporting faculty research and creative activity outputs that is searchable and can be integrated into annual reporting processes. This will include monitoring faculty facilitation of course-based undergraduate research opportunities, independent studies, and capstone experiences along with traditional activities such as publication, presentation, and performance.
    • Initiative L2-3-2: Internal grant opportunities will encourage research and creative activity that can be shared with students, integrated into coursework, or designed to involve collaboration between faculty and students by building a measurable student impact score into the review rubric.
    • Initiative L2-3-3:WCU will establish an annual faculty fellowship program that will support at least two faculty members each year with salary and AWAs to participate in research and creative activity projects with measurable impact on student success.
    • Initiative L2-3-4: The WCU Office of Research and Sponsored Programs will create a How-to Hub for research and creative activity. This hub will list all research and creative activity resources, initiatives, funding opportunities, programs, AWA-granting opportunities, etc. available for faculty pursuing increased scholarly activity.
    • Initiative L2-3-5: The WCU Office of Research and Sponsored Programs will establish Faculty Forums during which faculty members will share results, generate ideas, and build collaborations in the context of a multi-disciplinary research and creative activity theme. Forum participants will be encouraged to create and join Communities of Practice, which will support further scholarly interactions.
    • Initiative L2-3-6: The WCU Office of Research and Sponsored programs will support an increase in the competitiveness of proposals submitted for external funding by providing faculty with proposal development opportunities and services such as grant-writing workshops, copy-editing, and travel funds to meet with Program Officers at state and federal agencies.

Goal L3: Foster life-long learning to encourage students to be informed and active citizens in a local and global context.

  • Outcome L3-1: West Chester University will graduate students who are prepared for citizenship in both local and global contexts through engagement with appropriate public institutions, representatives and programs/events.
    • Initiative L3-1-1: The institution will sponsor at least 2 events each semester, including speakers, public policy debates, open forums and webinars, aimed at fostering student engagement and learning related to both domestic and international issues.
    • Initiative L3-1-2: On-campus voter education and registration drives will continue to be organized and implemented, with a particular focus on mid-term and national elections.
    • Initiative L3-1-3: Support the incorporation of service-learning as a part of the general education curriculum. Create and sustain opportunities for first-year students to be engaged with their on- and off-campus communities. Starting in year one of the strategic plan, conduct an annual after-college data assessment through the Career Development Center that measures post-graduate engagement as active citizens, with growth of 25% by year three of the strategic plan.
  • Outcome L3-2: By year three of the strategic plan, there will be a 10% increase in undergraduate student participation in an approved global learning initiative, either credit-based or in a co-curricular setting, informed by the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
    • Initiative L3-2-1: Assess the current level of undergraduate student involvement in these aspects of global learning.
    • Initiative L3-2-2: Advance global learning priorities via new faculty orientation and new employee orientation, by providing faculty and staff with the information, tools, and learning modules necessary to designate curricular and co-curricular programs as “Global Learning.”
    • Initiative L3-2-3: Identify, secure and advertise additional funding sources (foundation grants, alumni donations, department scholarships, etc.) to subsidize the cost of study abroad programs, making them financially accessible to more students.
    • Initiative L3-2-4: International Programs and Services will host an open house and/or extended session for students and family members during the summer orientation program, to educate them about these opportunities.

Goal L4: Provide student experiences that ensure retention, persistence, program completion, and overall student success.

  • Outcome L4-1: Four-year graduation rate of all transfer students will improve from 65.9% (or updated number based on 2018 reports) to 67.5% in 2022.
    • Initiative L4-1-1: Develop a transfer student experience modeled after the first-year experience.
    • Initiative L4-1-2: Continue to build upon the transfer concierge model to create a space specifically focused on the needs of transfer students.
    • Initiative L4-1-3: Determine the availability of evening office hours, programming, and course and program offerings and expand if needed.
  • Outcome L4-2: Four-year graduation rate of minority achievement gap will be within 3-points of 53.23% by fall of 2023, which is the university's current 4-year graduation rate.
    • Initiative L4-2-1:  Building on past projects, including the Equity Score Card, an evidence-based initiative will be designed and implemented to rapidly remediate the minority achievement gap for African-American men, whose 4-year graduation rate is nearly 35% lower than the university's overall graduation rate.
    • Initiative L4-2-2:  Continue collaborative work among university divisions to identify and address needs of URM students.
  • Outcome L4-3: Develop an integrated and streamlined enrollment support services model to improve onboarding and retention for incoming and continuing students.
    • Initiative L4-3-1: Develop a plan to integrate the student-facing support operations (to include but not limited to university admissions, financial aid, registrar, bursar, and the graduate school).
    • Initiative L4-3-2: Conduct an administrative services and operational review of admissions, financial aid, registrar, bursar, and the graduate school to determine opportunities for improved efficiencies so that existing resources can be reallocated to the student-facing support operations (service model).
    • Initiative L4-3-3: Establish a Rapid Action Task Force to develop a coordinated approach to streamline the volume, timing, and method of communications to new and prospective students within 60 days of its kick off meeting.
    • Initiative L4-3-4: Establish a Rapid Action Task Force to develop a coordinated approach to streamline the volume, timing, and method of communications to continuing students within 60 days of its kick-off meeting.
  • Outcome L4-4: Undertake a critical review of the transfer student experience to identify opportunities to increase retention, persistence and graduation rates.
    • Initiative L4-4-1: Identify, streamline and reduce barriers to the recruitment, onboarding, enrollment, and retention of transfer students.
    • Initiative L4-4-2: Develop a transfer student experience modeled after the first year student experience to ensure an equitable and inclusive transition experience.
  • Outcome L4-5: Reduce the equity gap between underrepresented (URM) and Non-URM first-time full-time first year student 4-year graduation rates by 20% from 24.8 points (fall 2018) to 19.8 in fall 2023.
    • Initiative L4-5-1: Leveraging the work of previous initiatives such as the Equity Score Card, a sustainable plan will be instituted that focuses on closing the minority achievement gap for African American men, whose 4-year graduation rate (25.0%) is 30 percentage points lower than the university’s overall graduation rate (55.0%) in fall 2018.
    • Initiative L4-5-2: Continue collaborative work among university divisions to identify and address needs of URM students.
  • Outcome L4-6: First-generation students at West Chester University will experience a collegiate environment specifically designed to meet their needs, as measured by retention, persistence, completion, and graduation.
    • Initiative L4-6-1: Invite students to self-identify as first-generation students as part of the New Student Transfer, and Graduate Student Orientations Registration Process.
    • Initiative L4-6-2: Continue a collaborative effort between Academic Affairs and Student Affairs to create programming specifically designed for first-generation students, including the development of an affinity group among self-identified first-generation students.
  • Outcome L4-6: First-generation students at West Chester University will experience a collegiate environment specifically designed to meet their needs, as measured by retention, persistence, completion, and graduation.
    • Initiative L4-6-1: Invite students to self-identify as first-generation students as part of the New Student Transfer, and Graduate Student Orientations Registration Process.
    • Initiative L4-6-2: Continue a collaborative effort between Academic Affairs and Student Affairs to create programming specifically designed for first-generation students, including the development of an affinity group among self-identified first-generation students.

Goal L5: Continue to improve the advising experience for students, including all relevant structures, processes, and procedures.

  • Outcome L5-1: Establish a model where faculty advising loads are equitable across campus.
    • Initiative L5-1-1: Research methods for achieving equitable faculty advising loads.
    • Initiative L-5-1-2: By year three of the plan, identify and plan for the implementation of a pilot where advising is made equitable among a select group of academic departments.
  • Outcome L5-2: Provide a comprehensive professional development program for all WCU faculty advisors and student success staff.
    • Initiative L5-2-1: Identify best practice professional development programs related to advising for faculty and student success staff.
    • Initiative L5-2-2: By year three of the plan, identify and plan for the implementation of the professional development program.
  • Outcome L5-3: Institute an advising awards program that brings campus-wide recognition to excellent advising.
    • Initiative L5-3-1: Research and identify models of advising recognition.
    • Initiative L5-3-2: By year three of the plan, identify and plan for the implementation of the advising recognition program.
  • Outcome L5-4: In collaboration with APSCUF, institute a faculty advising assessment program.
    • Initiative L5-4-1: In collaboration with WCU-APSCUF, charge a committee to explore the possibility of evaluating faculty advising.
    • Initiative L-5-4-2: By year three of the plan, identify and plan for the pilot of an advising assessment process.
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