Academic Excellence and Innovation - Academic Affairs

ACADEMIC AFFAIRS - link to complete division plan

PRIORITY 2 - ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE AND INNOVATION

GOAL: Hire and support a workforce (faculty and staff) expressive of California's diversity.

TACTIC
Align our hiring policies with our inclusivity and diversification goals (e.g., how hiring committees are constituted, etc.)
Assess current diversification and unconscious bias focused practices in recruitment processes
Create compensation packages and professional development support that enable us to attract and retain a high-quality, diverse workforce
Create a change in climate to reduce unconscious bias; promote a sense of belonging and inclusive excellence

GOAL: Deliver academic programs that prepare students for the regional and global workforce and to contribute meaningfully to 21st century society.

TACTIC
Identify (e.g., through a study and existing data) programs SSU could offer to better align with regional workforce needs and projected needs.
Work with employers around the county to see what skills they desire in competitive college employees post grad (e.g., GIS skills)
Develop more internships and corporate partnerships to ensure strong employment opportunities for our students as they graduate.
Integrate workforce and career readiness into GE and/or majors so students know what skills they are gaining and need to be effective professionals in the workforce and in their chosen fields.
Provide professional development to faculty to support the incorporation of more real-world, project-based learning, community-based research into teaching and learning at SSU.

GOAL: Amplify and support the expression of SSU's core values and strategic priorities in our curricula.

TACTIC
Devise support mechanisms to enable cross-disciplinary and inter-disciplinary collaborations in service of new programs, certificates, especially around our core values (sustainability, social justice, community engagement, adaptability).
Develop and implement a meaningful, distinctive GE program.
Support asset mapping across curricular and co-curricular activities to enable more coherence of purpose and more cross-fertilization across programs, schools, and areas.
Identify and address barriers to innovation and interdisciplinarity.