The northeastern U.S. region is faced with a sharply declining college aged demographic. As a state institution, we are responsible to our students, alumni and community, to assure the most effective use our state resources and tuition-and-fees revenue; this extends beyond decision-making and budgeting, to policies, and procedures that make achieving a college degree as barrier-free as possible.
ACTION ELEMENTS
Ensure Faculty and Staff Have the Adequate Resources Necessary to Excel
Details: SRU is tasked with creating an optimal learning environment, within a strict fiscal framework, yet we recognize that responsible risk-taking, design and ideation will strongly drive our future, as a result. We will foster an environment that promotes design thinking, experimentation and assessment, as a means of supporting the actions of our faculty and staff.
Sub-Committee: Future action (the steering committee has identified this element as a ‘next action’)
Status: Future action.
Develop and Implement an Efficient Departmental Structure in Each College
Details: As work to optimize the use of our resources, at the university, college and departmental level, we will engage in on-going discussions on academic departmental structure that brings efficiency and effectiveness to delivering on our curriculum, and one that breaks down barriers students might face in their progress-to-degree.
Sub-Committee: Future action.
Status: Future action.
Simplify Processes and Procedures That Are Most Burdensome for Students and Employees
Details: As a campus family that interacts and collaborates, as part of our culture, we seek to be increasingly purposeful in our interactions, in a way that examines and reshapes departmental and university practices that might be disjointed, or burdensome to students on their educational journey.
Sub-Committee: Future action.
Status: Future action.
Implement Flexible Work and Learning Options That Improve Efficiencies
Details: We recognize the importance of employee retention, coupled with the needs and expectations of our students, in terms of accessing critical services and advice. We will continue to shape our policies in a way that meets the expectations of our students, while offering flexibility and and time-to-create, to our employees.
Sub-Committee: Future action (SRU HR has policies in place for flexible work practices).
Status: Future action.
Break Down Communication Barriers
Details: This element speaks to the availability of information among our various student service, academic and administrative departments. We aspire to create a more structured and centralized method for sharing contemporary information, so that our employees feel informed and secure.
Sub-Committee: Future action.
Status: Future action.
Improve Decision-making to Appropriately Fund Initiatives That Generate Value
Details: In past strategic planning initiatives, administration developed funding models around both institutional and state system goals. As we update our strategic plan, and move forward with actions, ideated by our sub-committees, we will develop a funding model that assures 1) that all actions have flowed from or been vetted through our DEIB Strategic Plan, and that planned actions meet one of the action elements articulated in our strategic planning framework.
Sub-Committee: Future action (this action may be combined with ‘assuring that faculty and staff have adequate resources).
Status: Future action.
