Academic Excellence & Student Well-being and Success

Enhancing student success through curriculum innovation, interdisciplinary partnerships, and experiential learning. Actions include improving advising and launching programs in emerging fields, with metrics like enrollment and retention guiding the progress.

We aim to create a learning environment that is both intellectually stimulating and aligned with real-world needs. We will provide pathways and delivery models that fit a diverse range of students. Well-being and belonging are crucial for student success. They affect retention, academic achievement, engagement, and readiness for the world. Improving one area, such as students’ sense of belonging, can positively affect their overall well-being and academic success. 

Action Items

  • Explore launching new programs and follow through on support for recently approved programs​
  • Expand cross-campus partnerships for degree programs and certificates​
  • Integrate or sunset programs that are under-performing​
  • Align program and course offering with student interests and college mission​
  • Review existing minors with consideration of transition to certificates​
  • Enhance academic advising for students​
  • Increase study abroad and experiential learning opportunities​
  • Create greater sense of pride and belonging​
  • Collaborate with COER to expand career services for CASE undergrads​
  • Establish summer grants to incentivize curricular innovation/new course development ​
  • Support departments who have developed a feasible action plan to elevate their departments to ranked status​

Evaluation Metrics by Action Item

Disclaimer: As strategic plans naturally adapt over time and we are still developing the final plan, and while keeping in mind their key objectives, evaluation metrics may evolve.
Action Item
Evaluation Metric(s)

Explore launching new programs and follow through on support for recently approved programs

  • As part of department annual reports, list applicants, admits, and enrollees as well as retention and graduation for all programs, in addition to major recruitment activities, events, and yield from each. 
  • Tracking current advertising/marketing dollars being used and impacts, even if funds did not initiate with the college. Could be part of departmental report.

Expand cross-campus partnerships for degree programs and certificates​

  • At least one cross campus team submits proposal for internal funding such as IGSET, resulting in new program proposal.

Integrate or sunset programs that are under-performing​

  • Determine programs that are underperforming and set realistic goals with coordinators/chairs (a starting metric might be less than 10 undergraduate completers, 5 masters, or 3 PhD in the past three academic years as used by MDHEWD), rolling average examined annually

Align program and course offering with student interests and college mission​

  • Map of program/course offerings aligned with mission

Review existing minors with consideration of transition to certificates​​

  • MDHEWD paperwork completed for transition to certificate if appropriate, along with catalog change
  • Review data of completions for each minor with plans, could be part of department report 

Enhance academic advising for students

  • Separate advising survey for CASE or disaggregated existing data
  • Survey or focus group of CASE advisors for their needs and concerns
  • Identify pain points for CASE students, specific classes needed that always fill etc.

Increase study abroad and experiential learning opportunities​

  • Double the number of CASE students participating in study abroad
  • Increase number of students and faculty involved in experiential learning by xx percent

Create greater sense of pride and belonging

  • TBD

Collaborate with COER to expand career services for CASE undergrads

  • TBD

Establish summer grants to incentivize curricular innovation/new course development

  • Establish one new grant in 2026 and another in 2027, perhaps committee or DFLC could create grants and review applications
  • Monitor already created grants for impact, i.e. track enrollment for recent grantees for cross-disciplinary co-teaching courses

Support departments who have developed a feasible action plan to elevate their departments to ranked status​

  • Identify short list of departments with action plan
  • Identify metrics easily changed on ranking and predict if changes in faculty, students, etc. would raise program profile
  • Track ranks and metrics annually, include on social media if increases