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Provost's Action Plan: Planning for the Year
2000 FOREWORD "What is needed now is a new model of
undergraduate education at research universities which incorporates the
undergraduate experience as an integral part of the an integrated whole.
There should be a symbiotic relationship between all three components
of the university life and learning in order to provide a new kind of
undergraduate experience available only at research institutions. A way
needs to be found to integrate the undergraduate experience with the research
mission, without compromising the research mission and without short-changing
the undergraduate experience. The human and technological resources of
the research universities are dazzling in their depth and variety, and
the undergraduate students would be immeasurably benefited by programs
that allowed real access to those resources . . .. There is no reason
to assume that the small liberal arts college model is the only workable
pattern for undergraduate education or that an entirely new approach to
the education of the undergraduates in research universities could not
be devised, an approach that would create a cohesive, integrated community
of research faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates. Distinctly
different from the college experience, the university undergraduate experience
can offer a clear alternative." This
quotation is from a
report by the National
Commission on Educating
Undergraduates in the
Research University,
a commission sponsored
by the Carnegie Foundation
to undertake a study
initiated by the State
University of New York
at Stony Brook. The
report formed the basis
of discussion at a session
on Undergraduate Education
at the Research University
during the summer 1996
meeting of the Chief
Academic Officers of
the member institutions
of the National Association
of State Universities
and Land Grant Colleges
(NASULGC). Most
striking is how this
quotation, although
its emphasis is on undergraduate
education, mirrors the
first, and central,
priority in our Strategic
Plan. Integrating the
creation, application
and dissemination of
knowledge is an approach
promulgated by Ernest
Boyer in his book "Scholarship
Reconsidered."
It is exactly what the
Commission means when
it talks about "an
integral part of an
integrated whole"
or when it says,
"There is no reason
to assume that (we could
not devise) an approach
that would create a
cohesive, integrated
community of research
faculty, graduate students,
and undergraduates."
This emphasis upon
a cohesive whole that
unites our sometimes
disparate activities
and brings together
a complete community
of learners forms the
vision that should drive
us as we endeavor to
implement the Strategic
Plan on our own campus. In
the UWM Strategic Plan,
Chancellor Schroeder
notes that UWM will
enrich the learning
experiences of students
by more widely organizing
instruction around a
"paradigm of discovery."
The expression "paradigm
of discovery" has
been used recently in
higher education and
by UWM planning committees
to describe an ideal
for the learning process.
This ideal is particularly
appropriate for a research
university in which
the discovery of new
knowledge is one of
our defining activities.
A university engaged
in the "paradigm
of discovery" brings
the excitement of the
creation of knowledge
to all levels of the
academic endeavor so
that not just the knowledge
itself but also the
thrill of the creation
process is part of what
our students experience
and learn. UWM
has great resources,
but they are not the
resources of a small
liberal arts college
and we should not pretend
that they are. They
are, instead, the resources
of a major urban research
university and we must
find ways to use them
to create the "paradigm
of discovery" for
our students. This demands
the successful integration
of knowledge creation,
dissemination and application.
We must be recognized
as a place where great
learning takes place
at all levels of our
endeavor, from the beginning
freshman, or even the
pre-college student,
through to our most
prestigious faculty.
We, in turn, recognize
that many of our best
opportunities to integrate
the creation, dissemination
and application of knowledge
come about in the context
of our urban mission,
another priority of
our strategic plan.
We will be known as
a place where learning
occurs as a community
endeavor in which all
share. This will be
the trademark of UWM
as a great university.
With
a strategic plan in
place, UWM is now poised
to put into action a
number of steps to realize
our strategic goals.
In this report, I will
describe the changes
that are expected over
the next several years,
the steps that campus
administration will
take to implement the
strategic plan, the
planning strategies
each unit will be asked
to describe in implementing
the campus plan, and
the budget planning
strategies that will
provide the resources
necessary to realize
these changes. Following
the completion of each
school, college, and
division long-range
plan, I will provide
a comprehensive strategic
implementation plan
in Spring, 1997. We
have a great opportunity
to move our institution
toward a common goal.
To do so, we must work
collaboratively and
within the reality of
our resource base. We
cannot be willing to
let current or even
potential budget restrictions
prevent us from increasing
the quality of our programs
and institution. Instead,
we must be willing to
look closely at how
we spend our time, money,
and physical facilities
to assure the greatest
effect in meeting the
goals of our strategic
plan. We must also continue
to encourage and support
creative ideas for program
and service development,
and be willing to curtail
some ongoing programs
and activities in order
to do so.
"THE
MAIN OBJECTIVE OF THE
STRATEGIC PLAN IS TO
FIRMLY ESTABLISH UWM
AS ONE OF THE NATION'S
PREMIERE URBAN RESEARCH
UNIVERSITIES WITHIN
THE NEXT DECADE AND
THEREBY INCREASE THE
VALUE OF A UWM DEGREE
AND INCREASE THE UNIVERSITY'S
VALUE TO MILWAUKEE AND
WISCONSIN."
#1
Strengthen and integrate
the university's main
purpose - the creation,
dissemination, and application
of knowledge. Action
steps requiring reallocation
of resources at the
campus and unit levels:
Actions
steps requiring review
and redistribution of
targeted funds held
at the campus and/or
unit level:
Actions
steps not requiring
immediate allocation
of resources:
#2 Stabilize Enrollments and Resources Increase
student enrollment and
retention, better utilize
existing resources,
and find ways to enlarge
the university's resource
base. Action
steps requiring reallocation
of resources at the
campus and unit levels:
Actions
steps not requiring
immediate allocation
of resources:
#3 Expand Technology Employ
appropriate information
and communication technology
to improve the academic,
student service and
administrative operations
of the campus. Action
steps requiring reallocation
of resources at the
campus and unit levels:
Actions
steps not requiring
immediate allocation
of resources:
#4 Enhance the Campus Environment Improve
the support systems
and physical facilities
that make the campus
environment conducive
to learning and working. Action
steps requiring reallocation
of resources at the
campus and unit levels:
Actions
steps requiring review
and redistribution of
targeted funds held
at the campus and/or
unit level:
Actions
steps not requiring
immediate allocation
of resources:
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