Tennessee State University
College of Liberal Arts
2011-2015 Strategic Plan
October 31, 2011
Mission Statement
The College of Liberal Arts offers academic programs designed to engage students in
the study of human experience and human potential and to equip them for creatively,
critically, and collaboratively shaping their lives, careers, and communities.
Vision Statement
The College of Liberal Arts will advance as a vital center for the humanities, social
sciences, and creative arts within and beyond the University through outstanding
academic programs; superior teaching; excellent student outreach, mentoring, and
support; and active engagement as an intellectual community locally, nationally, and
globally.
Expanded Vision Statement
The College of Liberal Arts will grow as a thriving intellectual community of faculty and
students. It will increase enrollments, graduate rates, and the career placement of
majors, building strong undergraduate programs that support the creation of new
programs at the graduate level. The College will assure the intellectual and creative
vitality of the University through quality General Education courses and through
programs cultivating the arts and the life of the mind for all students. The College will
become a center for the arts, social sciences, and humanities in Nashville and pursue
active partnerships with other institutions in Tennessee, nationally, and globally.
Core Values
As a community of faculty and students, the College of Liberal Arts is committed to:
Integrative Learning
Liberal Arts programs recognize education as an inherently connected, cumulative, and
student-centered experience in which learning occurs across courses and across
disciplines.
Creativity
Liberal Arts programs value and nurture originality, imagination, discovery, the active
creation and appreciation of beauty, and the unique voice of each student. Rather than
providing "training", they seek to inspire students and draw inspiration from them.
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Responsibility
Liberal Arts programs recognize the development of integrity, ethical thinking, and social
and environmental awareness as essential goals of a college education.
Critical Thinking and Reasoned Judgment
Liberal Arts programs recognize discourse and the construction of knowledge as human
activities requiring the questioning of assumptions, logical reasoning, analysis and
synthesis, the appreciation of multiple perspectives, self-awareness, empathetic
capacity, and civility.
Professional Competency
Liberal Arts programs value, model, and cultivate excellence in written and oral
communication, task organization, collaboration, quantitative thinking, and literacy in
information technology, equipping students with transferrable professional skills.
Student Service and Support
Liberal Arts programs recognize the quality of the individual student's educational
experience as the primary measure of their effectiveness and are committed to the
highest standards of service for both traditional and non-traditional students in
curriculum design, course offering, instruction, learning assessment, co-curricular
activities, and academic and career advisement.
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Strategic Goal 1: Recruitment
The College of Liberal Arts will attract a growing and diverse student population through
effective outreach to high schools and community colleges, program adaptability to
changing career demands, and flexibility in course offerings and course delivery to meet
the needs of non-traditional students.
University Key Performance Indicator: Access and Diversity
Performance Measures:
Total fall enrollments in the College
Fall enrollments in College degree programs
Summer course enrollments
Performance Outcomes:
The College will achieve average fall enrollment of at least 1,800 students by 2013 and 2014. (Total fall
enrollment in the College for 2011 is 1,680.)
Retained undergraduate degree programs in the College with fall 2011 enrollments of less than 100
students will document an increased average fall enrollment in 2013 and 2014 measured against this
baseline.
Action Plan
Items to be completed during the current academic/fiscal year are indicated in bold.
Action
Administrative
Responsibility
Faculty and
Staff Support
Start
Completion
Redesign College
Website
Interim
Associate Dean
Public
Relations and
Recruitment
Committees
November 2011
January 2012
Develop Community
College Outreach
Program
Interim Dean
and Heads
Public
Relations and
Recruitment
Committees
January 2012
May 2012
Redesign Arts and
Sciences (IDS) Program
for Nontraditional Students
Interim Dean
and IDS
Program
Coordinator
IDS Advisory
Committee
January 2012
June 2013
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Maintain and Enhance
College Website
Interim
Associate Dean
Public Relations
and Recruitment
Committees
February 2012
June 2015
Implement Community
College Outreach Program
Interim Dean
and Heads
Public Relations
and Recruitment
Committees
August 2012
June 2015
Develop Liberal Arts
Outreach Initiative for
General Education
Courses
Interim
Associate Dean
and Heads
Public Relations
and Recruitment
Committees
August 2013
December 2013
Implement Liberal Arts
Outreach Initiative for
General Education
Courses
Interim
Associate Dean
and Heads
Public Relations
and Recruitment
Committees
January 2014
June 2015
Strategic Goal 2: Program Quality
Liberal Arts degree programs, minors, and co-curricular activities will meet or exceed
national standards and best practices in their learning goals, curriculum design,
program management, and excellence in teaching, focusing on the support of students
toward degree completion.
University Key Performance Indicator: Academic Quality and Student Success
Performance Measures:
Accreditation and TBR academic audit of non-accredited programs
Senior exit examination results
Major field assessment
Electronic portfolio assessment
Performance Outcomes:
All College programs applying for reaffirmation of accreditation or undergoing external review as a part of
the TBR Academic Audit initiative will meet or exceed program performance expectations.
Average general scores of Liberal Arts majors on the University's senior exit examination in 2013-2014
and 2014-2015 will show improvement measured against a 2010-2011 baseline.
Graduating seniors completing major field assessments with reference to comparative data in 2013-2014
and 2014-2015 will achieve an average score at the 50th percentile or higher.
At least 75% of graduating seniors completing internally developed major field assessments in Liberal
Arts programs will demonstrate satisfactory achievement of program learning outcomes.
At least 6 of the College's 8 undergraduate degree programs will be prepared to document student
learning using electronic portfolios by May 2015.
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Action Plan
Items to be completed during the current academic/fiscal year are indicated in bold.
Action
Administrative
Responsibility
Faculty and
Staff Support
Start
Completion
Develop College Student
Learning Outcomes
Interim Dean
and Heads
Assessment
Committee
January 2012
May 2012
Develop Arts and
Sciences (IDS) Learning
Outcomes
Interim Dean
and IDS
Program
IDS Advisory
Committee
January 2012
May 2012
Integrate Arts and
Sciences (IDS) Learning
Outcomes with Program
Courses
Interim Dean
and Heads
IDS Advisory
Committee
August 2012
June 2013
Integrate College Learning
Outcomes with Program
Courses
Interim Dean
and Heads
Assessment
Committee
August 2012
May 2014
Implement Electronic
Portfolio in Major
Programs
Interim Dean
and Heads
Assessment
Committee
August 2013
June 2015
Strategic Goal 3: Business-Friendly Practices
The College of Liberal Arts will promote high standards of professionalism among its
faculty, staff, students, and administration in public relations, service to students,
advisement, and course management through the documented use of instructional
evaluations and other institutional data for quality assurance and improvement.
University Key Performance Indicator: Business-Friendly Practices
Performance Measures:
Student evaluations of instruction
Senior exit survey results
Performance Outcomes:
Beginning in 2011-2012, instructors in 85% of courses in the College will achieve average ratings of
"effective" or "very effective" on student evaluations with reference to "Course Organization and
Planning," "Communication," "Faculty/Student Interaction," and "Assignments, Exams, and Grading."
Beginning in fall 2012, surveys administered to graduating seniors in the College will document average
ratings of "satisfied" or "very satisfied" with reference to instruction and advisement.
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Action Plan
Items to be completed during the current academic/fiscal year are indicated in bold.
Action
Administrative
Responsibility
Faculty and
Staff Support
Start
Completion
Develop Senior Exit
Survey
Interim
Associate Dean
and Heads
Assessment
Committee
January 2012
May 2012
Analyze Results of Student
Evaluation of Instruction
Interim
Associate Dean
Assessment
Committee
January 2012
June 2015
Ensure Accuracy and
Effective Implementation
of Online Degree Audit for
College Programs
Interim
Associate Dean
and Heads
Retention
Committee
June 2012
December 2012
Develop Prioritized
Inventory of Facilities
Needs and Concerns
Dean
Resources
Committee
August 2012
December 2012
Administer Senior Exit
Survey
Interim
Associate Dean
and Heads
Assessment
Committee
November 2012
May 2015
Develop Prioritized
Inventory of Computer
Technology Needs and
Concerns
Dean
Resources
Committee
January 2013
June 2013
Maintain Comprehensive
Inventory of Faculty and
Student Support Needs
Dean
Resources
Committee
July 2013
June 2015
Strategic Goal 4: Resourcefulness
Liberal Arts degree programs will seek significant support for the enhancement of
teaching, learning opportunities for students, research, and service through grants and
will work in partnerships within and outside the University to make optimal use of
available resources.
University Key Performance Indicator: Revenue Generation/Research/Resourcefulness
Performance Measures:
Number of grant applications submitted
Grant funds generated
Research released-time productivity analysis
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Performance Outcomes:
The number of grant applications submitted by programs in the College for the years 2012-2013, 20132014, and 2014-2015 will increase with reference to a 2011-2012 baseline.
The total annual grant funds awarded to programs in the College for the years 2012-2013, 2013-2014,
and 2014-2015 will increase with reference to a 2011-2012 baseline.
Research released-time productivity reports by College programs will document satisfactory completion
for at least 75% of released-time contracts for 2012-2013, 80% for 2013-2014, and 85% for 2014-2015.
Action Plan
Items to be completed during the current academic/fiscal year are indicated in bold.
Action
Administrative
Responsibility
Faculty and
Staff Support
Start
Completion
Develop College
Research Support Plan
Interim Dean
Research
Committee
January 2012
May 2012
Redesign Released-Time
Reporting to Allow
Aggregation of Reports
Interim Dean
Research
Committee
January 2012
May 2012
Develop Annual Research
Award(s) Process
Interim Dean
Research
Committee
August 2012
December 2012
Conduct Monthly Faculty
Research Seminars
(Brown-Bag Lunches)
Interim Dean
Research
Committee
August 2012
May 2015
Implement Annual
Research Award(s)
Process
Interim Dean
Research
Committee
January 2013
May 2015
Strategic Goal 5: Active Learning, Collaboration, and Engagement
Liberal Arts programs will promote collaboration and will extend their educational
mission beyond the University through community partnerships, international programs,
service learning, and the public impact of scholarship and service.
University Key Performance Indicator: Engagement
Performance Measures:
Number of internship and service-learning courses
Number of students participating in study-abroad programs
Senior exit survey results with reference to active learning and engagement
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Performance Outcomes:
The College will document the offering of internship and service-learning opportunities in all of its
programs by 2012-2013.
The annual number of students participating in study-abroad programs for 2012-2013, 2013-2014, and
2014-2015 will increase with reference to a 2011-2012 baseline.
Senior exit survey results averages will rate active learning in College programs as "good" or "excellent"
in 2013-2014 and 2014-2015.
Action Plan
Items to be completed during the current academic/fiscal year are indicated in bold.
Action
Administrative
Responsibility
Faculty and
Staff Support
Start
Completion
Constitute International
Studies/Study-Abroad
Committee
Interim Dean
International
Studies
Committee
January 2012
January 2012
Conduct Inventory of
Curricular ServiceLearning and Internship
Opportunities
Interim
Associate Dean
Assessment
Committee
January 2012
May 2012
Develop and Promote
International Exchange
and Study-Abroad
Opportunities
Interim Dean
International
Studies
Committee
January 2012
May 2015
Maintain Inventory of
Curricular ServiceLearning and Internship
Opportunities
Interim
Associate Dean
Assessment
Committee
January 2012
May 2015
Identify Local College or
University Partner
Institution for Joint Liberal
Arts Symposium
Interim Dean
Public Relations
Committee
August 2013
December 2013
Establish International
Faculty Exchange
Program
Interim Dean
International
Studies
Committee
August 2013
June 2014
Co-Host Liberal Arts
Symposium with Local
College or University
Partner Institution
Interim Dean
Public Relations
Committee
August 2014
May 2015
Begin International Faculty
Exchange Program
Interim Dean
International
Studies
Committee
August 2014
May 2015