Iowa State University

University-wide Strategies to Achieve Goals

A set of University-wide strategies for each goal will serve as Iowa State's primary strategies. As primary strategies, they define the overall scope of initiatives that Iowa State will craft, each of which will then have concomitant strategies.

With regard to relationship and articulation within the broader educational environment and marketplace, we will implement our strategic plan in accordance with the guidelines and expectations of the Board of Regents, State of Iowa, reflecting the public characteristics of governance. We will work collaboratively with the other Regent institutions as appropriate in order to complement each other with our strengths. We also will maintain a working relationship with the Iowa Coordinating Council for Post-High School Education (ICCPHSE) that will serve the best interests of our constituent stakeholders.

We recognize that strategies can change or be modified based on circumstances and results. Thus, the University-wide strategies are designed to provide a flexible overall framework. The University-wide initiatives will be designed and implemented based on annual or multi-year priorities and action plans. It is understood that many more strategies will need to be developed for specific initiatives at unit-level strategic planning.

The major University-wide strategies during 2000-2005 to achieve Iowa State's goals will be premised on a platform of three basic characteristics:

Excellence in educational programs that is affordable to students
Commitment to attracting and retaining world-class faculty and staff, along with competitive employee compensation and support for success
Institutional agility and resource flexibility in order to capture emerging opportunities, and to be readily and creatively responsive to the needs of constituent stakeholders at the state, national, and international levels

Based on this premise, the major University-wide strategies to achieve Iowa State's 2000-2005 strategic plan goals will be as follows.

Strategies for Learning (including but not limited to the following):

Expand and emphasize student-centered learning environments (such as Learning Communities) engaging academic variety and student diversity, with the goal of providing a holistic and collaborative approach to learning; learning through discovery, experience, and innovation; and effective use of information
Continue to increase student, faculty, and staff diversity with due attention to underrepresented populations
Enhance student recruitment at both undergraduate and graduate levels to reach annual enrollment targets; to attract high achieving students; to provide access and opportunities to those qualified but disadvantaged; and to maintain balance among residents and nonresidents, including international students
Expand student financial assistance from both public and private sources, with due regard to competitive recruitment of qualified students, cost of education and student need, enrollment characteristics, scholastic achievement, and educational enrichment
Continually develop information technology and its widespread access, and use it as a catalyst in the execution of other strategies, especially in the creation of new mechanisms for effective engagement of service
Systematically improve and expand academic facilities-classroom, library, laboratory, and studio spaces-to support innovative teaching and learning
Support faculty for innovation in learning/teaching/assessment; attend to appropriate class size for necessary student-faculty interaction; expand interdisciplinary and collaborative teaching and learning experiences
Integrate student support services, including engaging the academic and nonacademic sectors of support-Provost, Business and Finance, Student Affairs, and External Affairs
Expand service learning experiences for students through hands-on community service opportunities and internship opportunities that complement their career objectives
Continue to expand and enrich student learning through international experiences and other outstanding enrichment programs
Selectively enhance academic programs for national and international distinction (mostly in or related to science and technology)
Effectively communicate and promote institutional achievements and faculty, staff, and student accomplishments among the constituent stakeholders, and enhance national and international visibility
Conduct formal assessment of student outcomes at the University level at least every other year and, more frequently, assess the outcomes and effectiveness of academic programs, courses, and targeted initiatives in the interest of continuous improvement

Strategies for Discovery (including but not limited to the following):

Nurture and support the initiatives and interests of both accomplished and promising faculty members to succeed in their endeavors of scholarship, and knowledge creation
Pursue a limited number of targeted programs, based on Iowa State's strengths, that are synergistic with state, national, and international interests
Systematically maintain and improve scientific, technical, and physical facilities to provide an optimum level of support for discovery; support leadership initiatives; and selectively create state-of-the-art laboratories and enhance related resources
Increase interdisciplinary and collaborative endeavors; increase the engagement of students in various dimensions of scholarship; and increase the infusion of scholarship into curricula
Form a base for ubiquitous use of information technology (such as through the Project Acropolis proposal and the electronic library); and invigorate the pursuit of world-class initiatives in information technology with the potential of national and international recognition (such as Virtual Reality - C6)
Selectively undertake bold visionary world-class initiatives (such as the Plant Sciences initiative), based on Iowa State's strengths, that are central to the interests of the state, and are of national and international significance and priority
Continue vigorous pursuit of sponsored funding, engaging increased numbers of faculty and staff, and employing interdisciplinary and collaborative approaches
Effectively communicate and promote institutional achievements and faculty, staff, and student accomplishments among the constituent stakeholders, and enhance national and international visibility
Systematically promote career achievements of faculty and staff and assist with their nomination for and induction into prestigious national and international academies and professional societies, institutions, or organizations

Strategies for Engagement (including but not limited to the following):

Systematically involve Iowa State's constituent stakeholders as clients in periodically assessing their needs and priorities, and in building stronger relationships by nurturing their interests
Effectively deploy Iowa State's critical resources-knowledge and expertise-toward understanding the needs of Iowa communities, and addressing them with visionary initiatives (such as Extension 21) involving multidisciplinary issue teams
Develop two-way partnerships and collaborative approaches to respond to the needs of Iowa communities, and other contemporary societies in the nation and the world
Expand targeted distance learning degree programs in areas of Iowa State's strengths
Vigorously pursue licensing and patenting of Iowa State's discovery and innovation with an emphasis on advancing economic development in Iowa, and national/international technology transfer
Provide leadership to improve Iowa's environmental quality and workforce development through initiatives that enhance the state's place competitiveness, public sector competitiveness, and private sector competitiveness
Enrich student learning through community service and service learning programs
Employ widely accessible use of up-to-date information technology in all Extension and outreach activities in the state, nation, and abroad
Provide leadership in enhanced programming for youth development
Enrich student extracurricular experiences through broad-based programs in student life and leadership development
Expand student practicums, experiential projects, and community-based activities focused on bringing information science and technology expertise to the community, including the expansion of partnerships with Iowa schools using internet technologies
Provide quality cultural and athletic events that engage the interest and support of our constituencies by meeting their needs
Systematically communicate to Iowa State's constituent stakeholders, as well as to national and international target audiences, Iowa State's progress toward strategic plan goals and the aspiration of becoming the nation's premier land-grant university
Assess citizen satisfaction of Iowa State's performance at least every three years, focusing on the views of constituent stakeholders