Key Strategic Initiatives: Undergraduate Education

Initiative 1: Attract, Recruit, Train Tomorrow's Professionals

  1. Increase undergraduate applications 5 percent each year of strategic plan (five-year average 2017-2021 for ASEC 69, 5 percent = 3.45 more student applications).
  2. Increase annual yield rate by 2.6 percent (actual accepted admissions).
  3. Maintain a minimum 90 percent retention rate.
  4. Increase graduation rate by 3 percent (3 percent of 38=1.14 more students).
  5. Encourage 85 percent of students to engage in University Transformational Learning experience (includes study abroad, Issues-360, student organizations, undergraduate research, internships, World Food Prize).
  6. Increase College of Agriculture CATE experiences by 25 percent, including a “global” aspect, by the end of 2023.

Metrics for This Initiative

  • Collect metrics on university transformational experiences. In 2019, this number was 19 undergraduate students.
  • Develop base metric for CATE involvement of ASEC undergrads — use to determine need for increased involvement in ASEC CATE initiative like Ambassadors, Study Abroad, and Issues-360, other ASEC CATE initiatives.
  • Document outcomes and impacts of undergraduate study-abroad programs and publish the results in peer-reviewed journal.

Initiative 2: Prioritize resources for high-quality learning experiences

  1. Increase shared responsibility for undergraduate programming through shared responsibilities and increased resources. Ensure entire department staff are invested in enhancing the quality of the undergraduate programs.
  2. Enhance student support for navigating course offerings.

Metrics for This Initiative

  • Develop metric of FTE involvement in undergraduate teaching, develop a plan to balance undergraduate teaching load.
  • Document funding stream for resources for undergraduate teaching.
  • Review graduate curriculum.
  • Document outside activities, time commitment, clarify ASEC priorities relative to College of Agriculture and resource allocation.
  • Develop a departmental rubric/policy that clarifies expectations for faculty and staff teaching.
  • Survey student issues with navigating course offerings; develop remediation plan.
  • Review and agree on prioritization responsibilities outside the department for the College of Agriculture.

Initiative 3: Continue to build on recent changes in curricula for the undergraduate programs through innovative curriculum in STEM integration, science communication, and international engagement.

  1. Develop programming that engages the department collaboratively in undergraduate education — (such as a minor in Issues Engagement).
  2. Continue to develop the communication focus in environmental communication and persuasive communication.

Metrics for This Initiative

  • Increase scholarship of undergraduate study abroad programming.
  • Develop a public relations course.
  • Update existing lab space to include state-of-the-art technologies for education and communication programs.

Initiative 4: Enhance efforts in recruiting and admitting a diverse pool of undergraduate students (see DEI section).

Initiative 5: Increase collaboration and diversity and leverage these to improve learning experiences for students.

  1. Build strong relationships with the College of Education.
  2. Enhance existing relationships with the Brian Lamb School of Communication.

Key Strategic Initiatives: Graduate Education

Initiative 1: Attract, recruit, and train tomorrow’s professionals.

  1. Increase online course offerings by 30 percent.
  2. Increase participation in USDA-NIFA National Needs Fellowship Program, NSF Research Traineeship Program (NRT), SARE, and FFAR by 30 percent.
  3. Maintain excellence in recruiting a diverse range of graduate students.

Metrics for This Initiative

  • Catalogue current online course offerings through ASEC.
  • Establish a metric for participation in USDA-NIFA National Needs Fellowship Program, NSF Research Traineeship Program (NRT), SARE, and FFA.
  • Expand graduate student enrollment.
  • Develop an ASEC recruiting plan for graduate students.

Initiative 2: Enhance coordination of graduate offerings.

  1. Continue offering flexible criteria, so students can tailor their programming.
  2. Develop an integrated approach to balance teaching, research, engagement, and service appointments among graduate faculty.
  3. Expand offerings for research competency (literature review course or others).

Metrics for This Initiative

  • Evaluate teaching/research/engagement load for faculty. Develop a coordinated plan to balance responsibilities and identify gaps in programs offered through the department.
  • Review and update graduate curriculum. Graduate committee will review graduate curriculum, address deficiencies in statistical course offerings, and update courses.

Initiative 3: Expand measurement of graduate student learning.

  1. Develop evidence-based assessments of graduate student productivity to ensure learning objectives are being met

Metrics for This Initiative

  • Develop a more focused method to collect information that measures graduate student involvement. This can include recording grant writing, co-authorship, etc. in individual development plans and for the