IUS Times

Chancellor's Outlook - We're Going Places

"If you don't know where you're going, any road will do." At IU Southeast we do know where we are going. We aspire to become - and to be recognized as - a top-notch regional university. We have achieved excellence in a number of areas on campus, but we certainly have much more work to do.

To reach our goal, we needed a roadmap, and our new long-range, comprehensive Strategic Plan has already served us well. As I explained in my recent State of the Campus Address, we have made remarkable progress on initiatives under all seven of our major goals during the first year of the Strategic Plan implementation.

In particular, I must highlight three areas of achievement under Goal 1 - Educational Excellence: First, the General Education Committee did an excellent job completing the preparations for the new program implementation this Fall, which has occurred right on schedule. This general education program is a critical piece in our students' preparation for life-long learning and success, and I wish to commend the General Education Committee for their very hard work and also Vice Chancellor Gil Atnip and Dr. Chris Bjornson, the committee chair, for their fine leadership.

Second, we have made dramatic advancements in our assessment programming on campus. In comparing 2004 data with 2003 we find the following:

• 71% vs. 50% of programs reported assessment data
• 95% vs. 40% indicated plans for further development of assessment programs
• 86% vs. 33% included assessment discussions in faculty meetings
• 71% vs. 40% used assessment data

Our development of assessment mechanisms, our collection and analysis of information, and our programmatic responses to assessment data will all play a significant role in our continuing quest to enhance academic quality across campus.

Third, this past year also saw much work by the Commitment to Excellence Task Force. From across campus the committee solicited 41 proposals for high-quality programs designed to enhance IUS's academic reputation and better serve our region's needs. The Task Force recommended 16 proposals and prioritized them, and during this first round of Commitment to Excellence funding, we targeted eight proposals for implementation, ranging from faculty-student research groups to international studies enhancements. I am confident these programs will make a significant impact on the quality and range of our academic offerings on campus.

Our work on the General Education curriculum, assessment programming, and Commitment to Excellence initiatives are key steps on our path to educational distinction. In the upcoming months I look forward to sharing with you the progress we are making on these initiatives as well as the other goals targeted in our Strategic Plan.

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