An Unprecedented University Commitment to Diversity and Global Engagement

  1. Continue robust efforts to make Elon a more diverse, inclusive, and culturally skilled community.
    1. Focus fund raising energies, enrollment efforts, and new program support to enhance student socio-economic diversity at Elon (first-generation and high-financial-need).
    2. Continue trajectory of progress in increasing faculty and staff diversity – e.g., from 12.3% faculty of color in 2009 to 17.9% in 2017.
    3. Continue trajectory of progress in increasing student diversity – e.g., from 13.4% undergraduate students of color in 2009 to 17.9% in 2017.
    4. Implement Diversity Edu, sustained dialogue, and intergroup relations programs as first steps in developing a national best practice model for promoting intercultural competence for all students in curricular and co-curricular opportunities.
    5. Implement key objectives from university-wide task forces and working groups, including establishing a permanent advisory committee for LGBTQIA inclusion, finalizing the report and recommendations of the Hispanic/Latino working group and completing the recommendations of the Black communities presidential task force.
    6. Increase participation in global experience from 80% toward 85% of graduating undergraduate students as part of goal to achieve 100% access to a global engagement experience either domestically or abroad.
    7. Create a framework to guide faculty and staff professional development related to diversity and inclusion that supports intercultural knowledge, skills, behaviors, and humility, and that also supports global engagement.
  2. Continue to develop and implement strategies to encourage civic engagement.
    1. Strengthen recruitment for the Civic Engagement and Periclean Scholars programs.
    2. Enhance the deliberative dialogues series on campus.

Supporting a World Class Faculty and Staff

  1. Implement programs to support an integrated Teacher-Scholar development model that works across the span of a faculty career and responds to the distinct challenges and opportunities of different career stages.
    1. Implement recommendations to enhance faculty development for post-probationary faculty, completing the objectives of the Presidential Task Force on Scholarship.
    2. Execute the plan proposed by the Taskforce on Department Chairs including recommendations to improve writing effective evaluations of teaching faculty (Unit III).
    3. Establish a working group in collaboration with Academic Council to explore ways of assessing and documenting effective, high quality teaching focused on the following faculty handbook definition: “Evidence of effective, high quality teaching may be seen through peer and student assessments related to a variety of possible indicators, as well as goal-driven, evidence-based critical self-assessment.”
    4. Develop and begin implementation of a plan to better orient and support part-time faculty in their work at Elon.
  2. Review and enhance professional development opportunities for staff in Academic Affairs and support staff development for teaching, learning, and mentoring.

Attaining the Highest Levels of Achievement across our Academic Programs

  1. Create innovative opportunities for students to engage in high impact practices that enrich the Elon educational experience for all students.
    1. Develop and implement plans to assess the five Elon Experiences and use assessment evidence to propose and plan for strategic improvements.
    2. Collaborate with Athletics to implement a program that serves as a national model for Division I Athletics to enhance high-impact learning experiences of student-athletes, specifically in each of the five Elon Experiences.
    3. Finalize fall 2018 first-semester in Dublin program for 20 first-year students through University College Dublin (UCD) and in collaboration with the Foundation for International Education (FIE) and develop programs for those students to transition to Elon for the spring semester.
    4. Implement year five of the Writing Excellence Initiative and develop first full overview assessment report.
  2. Implement new programmatic and curricular enhancements.
    1. Strengthen academic engagement during Winter Term.
    2. Provide new opportunities for students, faculty, and staff to learn and apply design thinking.
    3. Offer immersive learning opportunities in live video and game production for athletics (Maroon Sports).
    4. Align teaching licensure programs with CAEP (Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation) undergraduate and graduate standards and prepare assessment system components related to these new standards.
  3. Advance initiatives to enhance and assess integrative learning in the Elon Core Curriculum, residential neighborhoods, living learning communities, academic advising, and across the undergraduate experience.
    1. Continue to implement curricular and training enhancements to the Elon 101 program and assess second iteration design thinking and social change Elon 101s.
    2. Enhance the first-year experience by identifying themes and goals that can be applied throughout onboarding, orientation, and the first year.
    3. Develop programs that allow students to meaningfully plan and integrate their Elon Experiences into their graduation plan.
    4. Develop a plan to redefine Elon’s learning assistance built upon deep collaboration among partners in Belk Library and the Koenigsberger Learning Center.
  4. Continue Elon’s commitment to enhancing intellectual climate, attending to the Intellectual Climate Strategic Plan’s four pillars of challenge, mentored experiences, student leadership opportunities, and community, and taking action on the 20+ items for years two and three, including:
    1. Develop and implement a comprehensive assessment of the state of curricular challenge on Elon’s campus, including out-of-class academic experiences.
    2. Offer competitive departmental grants to enhance academic challenge and intellectual climate, and residential neighborhood grants to advance intellectual engagement.
    3. Complete and distribute guidelines that support full-time faculty and residential campus staff to engage with students in high-quality intellectual activities, deep learning, and high impact practices throughout the college experience.
    4. Complete a “student operator’s manual” that guides students about how to make the most of their undergraduate experience.
    5. Pilot opportunities for undergraduate research students to connect with residents in living-learning communities.
  5. Integrate academic and residential life in support of the Living and Learning at Elon initiative.
    1. Expand the faculty affiliate program and increasing the overall number of faculty/staff involved in residential mentoring roles to at least 150.
    2. Develop at least five new academically linked living-learning communities.
    3. Develop the theme and programmatic infrastructure for the new East Residential Neighborhood, opening in Fall 2018.
    4. Assess residentially linked courses to identify ways to support and strengthen related programming and offer residentially linked sections of STS 110.
    5. Develop new residentially linked disciplinary arts and sciences courses for first year students living in the historic neighborhood.
  6. Leverage technology and space to enhance teaching and learning and improve efficiency and effectiveness.
    1. Inventory, organize and centralize information regarding Elon’s global opportunities through a common website, common language around global goals and the identification of pathways for students.
    2. Develop and implement a new communications plan for incoming students, including re-envisioning “Are You Ready” to ensure consistent messaging and a more seamless transition from admissions to matriculation.
    3. Develop a comprehensive and continuous quality assurance process for online courses including a focus on faculty development and course planning.
    4. Explore the interest in and feasibility of developing Open Educational Resources (OERs) as possible alternatives to traditional, high-cost textbooks in some curricular areas.
    5. Drawing on faculty interest and research about how technology and space impact teaching and learning, enhance learning spaces to support new pedagogical practices.
    6. Implement year three of data access enhancements using SAS-VA and develop data collection and access procedures and policies.
    7. Implement the Smart Catalog Curriculum Management system component of  Smart Catalog, enhance the Graduate Catalog, and identify process improvements available within the Student Information System.
  7. Complete the comprehensive study of introductory and upper level course enrollment patterns and number of majors and minors in low or declining enrollment academic programs and develop and implement recommendations related to course scheduling, curricular changes, marketing/messaging, and recruitment.
  8. Develop School of Law as the nation’s foremost innovator in legal education.
    1. Create an advisory board and a strategic planning process for the Elon Law Center for Engaged Learning in Law (CELL).
    2. Continue longitudinal assessment of the new curriculum with funding from Access Group, and share results as a best practice
    3. Enroll 140 students in fall 2018 with average and median LSAT scores at least one point above those of the class entering in fall 2017
    4. Meet Academic and Bar Support (ABS) goals for improvement in bar exam support and bar pass rate (year over year improvement in bar pass rate and moving toward at least 80% bar passage rate).
    5. Institute a strategic planning process for Elon Law Center for Entrepreneurship Law.
  9. Prepare for successful accreditation visits.
    1. Complete the reaccreditation process for the School of Communications including hosting a successful site visit in Fall 2017.
    2. Creating the fifth-year report for the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC).
  10. Develop plan to recruit and support outstanding students who will earn the most prestigious fellowships (e.g., Rhodes, Gates Millennium, Schwarzman, Knight-Hennessy, Goldwater, Marshall).
  11. Partner with admissions to enhance yield events for admitted students.

Launching Strategic and Innovative Pathways in Undergraduate and Graduate Education

  1. Develop new programs for cohorts of incoming students, providing scholarships and programing that support those with interests in the following academic and co-curricular areas.
    1. Maroon Sports (15 students)
    2. Health Professions/Pre-health (15 students)
    3. Pre-law (15 students)
    4. Global – Dublin (20 students)
    5. Change Makers – Civic Engagement (15 students)
  2. Study and plan for new pathways that diversify curricular offerings, improve student preparation for post graduate work, and provide new opportunities for students to pursue professional interests.
    1. Finalize the curriculum and implement a new engineering degree in fall 2018.
    2. Explore the development of 3+3 programs for physical therapy education and physician assistant studies.
    3. Explore a Winter Term or post-baccalaureate bridge program in business targeted to liberal arts graduates who seek careers in business and modeled after the highly successful Tuck School Bridge program at Dartmouth.
    4. Integrate professional development programming more intentionally within programs in Elon College.
    5. Explore and create pathways to integrate competency based learning in the undergraduate teacher licensure programs the MAT and M.Ed. programs in the School of Education.
    6. Develop and implement a model for career programming and employment preparation for student-athletes in conjunction with the athletics department and coaches.
  3. Launch the M.S. in accounting program and complete plans for implementing the M.A.in higher education program, including recruiting the first cohorts of students for both programs.
  4. Enhance collaboration with area community colleges to articulate pathways to Elon.

Significantly Enhance Elon’s Campus with Premier New Academic and Residential Facilities and a Commitment to Protecting our Environment

  1. Complete planning for the following projects:
    1. Koury Athletic Center renovation after completion of Schar Center
    2. Engineering and Physics Building
    3. Elon Elementary School replacement
  2. Start construction for the following projects:
    1. Richard W. Sankey Hall
    2. Koenigsberger Learning Center addition to Belk Library
  3. Complete renovations for the following:
    1. McEwen JMC
    2. Loy Farm
    3. Elon Poll relocation to Powell 2nd floor
    4. Gray Pavilion
    5. Carlton 221
    6. Belk Library 113
    7. Alamance 201
    8. Koury Business School offices
    9. Center for the Arts storage
    10. MakerHub – Downtown
    11. Law School phase 2 renovations

Additional

  1. Redesign university commencement ceremonies to include an opening ceremony for all students on Scott Plaza/Young Commons and then individual school and college ceremonies in venues across campus.