Academic Plan 2011-2015 (PDF 524kB) - SUNY Empire State College
Academic Plan 2011-2015 (PDF 524kB) - SUNY Empire State College
Academic Plan 2011-2015 (PDF 524kB) - SUNY Empire State College
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
8 <strong>SUNY</strong> <strong>Empire</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>College</strong>: <strong>Academic</strong> <strong>Plan</strong> <strong>2011</strong> - <strong>2015</strong>best interest. Strengthening the processes which allow for such mobility has benefits not only tostudents, but to faculty and to the college as a whole. In such an environment, faculty are affordedenhanced opportunities to develop, share and combine expertise in ways that promote professionaland scholarly development. The college benefits by retaining some students for extended periodswhen undergraduates envision possibilities for advancing their <strong>Empire</strong> <strong>State</strong> <strong>College</strong> education atthe graduate level. It also means that graduate faculty will be acquainted more readily with the skillsand knowledge of this group of incoming students. A more collaborative environment allows for theplanning, development and implementation of blended and accelerated programs. Finally, such anenvironment can facilitate the achievement of resource efficiencies to which <strong>SUNY</strong> is committed.We call, therefore, for faculty to look to the academic plan as a road map for bolstering professionalrelations across academic lines, and across centers and programs, so that the best interests of all whoare part of our extended academic community can be served. In so doing, we believe the academicplan will reinvigorate a sense of unity among all college faculty and staff while advancing the spirit andbenefit of our distinctive educational model.Ultimately, the college’s central interest is to help our students achieve success with respect to thepurposes which brought them to us. As we seek to chart an academic direction for the college,we need to remain attentive to the broader context, including regulatory constraints, programrequirements, organizational culture, a distinguished history, aspirations for growth, and opportunitiescreated by new environmental conditions. A primary purpose, then, of the academic plan is to offera guiding framework in which faculty, administration, and staff – along with our students – canpoint toward the academic future of the college with coherence. In so doing, we anticipate thisplan will contribute to an atmosphere conducive to active, sustained and meaningful discussion andcollaboration across academic areas in the service of helping our students thrive in the college.Organization of <strong>Academic</strong> <strong>Plan</strong>The plan is organized into three thematic sections which offer separate but inter-related goalsand objectives. Each of these sections was drafted by a subgroup of the <strong>Academic</strong> <strong>Plan</strong>ning TaskForce. The three themes around which the plan is organized include the following: <strong>Academic</strong>Programs; Environments for Mentoring, Teaching, and Learning; and Faculty <strong>Plan</strong>ning,Scholarship and Development.Theme A: <strong>Academic</strong> Programs was informed by a mandate to build on core college values and areasof academic and scholarly strength, so as to position the college to continue to be responsive to theeducational and professional goals of our students. This section focuses on interdependent tasks asreflected in these goals: (1) create a framework for academic program development, and (2) establisha thematic approach to academic planning by identifying cross-disciplinary and interdisciplinary topicswhich reflect the educational needs and professional interests of our students, values and traditionsof particular importance to the college, and areas of opportunity based on growth or increasingsocietal importance.The Task Force recognizes the importance of distinguishing between the following key terms includedin the academic plan: