Strategic Emphasis Themes and
Defining Characteristics

 

Strategic Emphasis Themes for 2008-09
Managing Our Growth * Enriching Our Culture

Listed below are the strategic emphasis themes for the year 2008-09.

ACADEMIC PROGRAMS

Nurture and advance

• High need programs
• STEM programs
• Liberal Arts programs
• Innovation

ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

Inspire personal and organizational engagement

• Facilities and land use
• Education and research
• Awareness and community involvement
• Energy, food and natural resources

DIVERSITY

Foster continued emphasis

• Enhance the cultural aspect of the educational experience
• Hire and retain diverse faculty and staff
• Recruit, admit and retain diverse students
• Offer university-wide training and development opportunities
• Celebrate our new and continuing programs
• Expand our international focus

PHILANTHROPY

Create a culture of giving

 

Defining Characteristics

The following are the characteristics that define the type of institution that James Madison University
strives to become during the planning years 2006-2012. 

ACADEMIC PROGRAMS

• The university will offer a wide variety of quality academic programs: general education core, liberal arts, professional programs, and graduate programs of distinction.
• Goal: Develop new academic programs in such a way that the comprehensive nature and quality of the curriculum are maintained.


• The university will be innovative in its programs and services.
• Goal: Establish a process to assess societal needs; recommend and implement new and innovative programs.


• The university will complement its residentially-based academic offerings with non-degree, competency certification and distributed education programs.
• Goal: Establish a process to assess societal needs; recommend and implement non-degree and competency based post-baccalaureate programs.


• The university's students will possess optimum competencies in written and oral communication, critical thinking, information systems, quantitative literacy and scientific literacy as basic graduation requirements.
• Goal: Establish and assess optimum competencies for the General Education program (GENED).


• The university's faculty will integrate scholarship, service and teaching to enhance student learning and provide a challenging and supportive environment with a heightened sense of intellectual stimulation.
• Goal: Enhance the rigor and frequency of intellectually challenging experiences, while providing expanded and improved academic support.


• The university will develop and offer international curricula, associations and experiences that enhance the global competencies of the student.
• Goal: Develop and implement plans for expanding opportunities for studying abroad, international internships, international service learning programs, international student recruitment, international programming on campus, and the infusion of international components into the curriculum.


• The university will continue to be a selective institution in our admission practices and admit students who will enable the university to realize its mission.
• Goal: Establish admissions criteria for all students that will result in selection processes that identify students who will benefit from the university and in turn, advance its mission.Establish a process to assess societal needs; recommend and implement new and innovative programs.


• The university will focus on student learning and development through collaboration across all divisions.
• Goal: Enhance students’ learning and development through attention to the university’s curriculum, its classroom environments, its policies and procedures, faculty-sponsored activities outside of the classroom and other out-of-class activities.
  

COMMUNITY

• The university will be a diverse community whose members share in, and contribute to, a common JMU experience.
• Goal: Increase the diversity of the student body, faculty and staff.


• The university will provide students with a wide array of extracurricular activities.
• Goal: Develop, maintain, and continually assess the value of extracurricular programs for student engagement and development.


• The university will serve our state, region and nation, and will be recognized on a national basis.
• Goal: Create and pursue strategic opportunities for prominence and national recognition and promote the accomplishments of our people.


• The university will maintain our heritage of nurturing and cultivating enduring relationships with its constituencies.
• Goal: Increase the participation and contribution of JMU alumni, parents and friends.
  

INFRASTRUCTURE

• The university will enhance and diversify funding sources, expand its strategic alliances, and develop broad-based financial support among a variety of constituents.
• Goal: Identify, pursue and obtain enhanced and diversified funding sources.


• The university will possess sufficient resources (financial, facilities, human and technology) to achieve its goals.
• Goal: Attain base adequacy funding, diversify the revenue profile, construct or renovate facilities, provide necessary technological resources and expand and support human resource development.


• The university will involve the entire campus community in a well-defined, consistently used and commonly understood process for planning and decision-making that emphasizes accountability and ties resource allocation to institutional effectiveness.
• Goal: Develop, communicate and implement a comprehensive university planning process which integrates planning, budget allocation and assessment/evaluation.


• The university will be an attractive, safe, friendly and service-oriented campus.
• Goal: Meet or exceed constituents’ expectations regarding campus attractiveness, safety, friendliness and service.


• The university will invest in the professional development of its people.
• Goal: Increase the financial and personnel resources committed to advancing the professional expertise of our faculty and staff.