Strategic Areas

(In Alphabetical Order)

Academic Programs

Strategic Goal:

Sustain and develop challenging, innovative, intellectually rigorous academic programs that engage students and faculty in life-long learning, critical thinking, inquiry, and reflection.

Objectives:

  1. Provide an excellent teaching and learning environment
  2. Provide a nurturing and supportive environment for faculty scholarship
  3. Strengthen the coherence, effectiveness, and distinctive liberal-arts-and-sciences character of our academic programs
  4. Establish cultural competence and civic engagement as general learning outcomes in baccalaureate and graduate programs
  5. Sustain and develop academic programs with clear career paths that address the economic and social needs of the community
  6. Provide balanced support for a quality curriculum in General Education, the majors, and graduate programs.

Community Engagement

Strategic Goal:

Enhance collaborative relationships with the local communities and the surrounding region to foster educational, social, cultural, and economic development.

Objectives:

  1. Identify and strengthen community involvement and civic engagement opportunities for students in the curriculum and across all university programs
  2. Provide strong leadership in developing, strengthening, and coordinating community-wide partnerships and collaborations to improve the welfare and quality of life of individuals and groups in our community
  3. Increase participation and attendance of university and community members at university cultural and athletic events
  4. Strengthen the role of the university as a resource in the economic development of the community.

Diversity

Strategic Goal:

Increase student, faculty, staff, and administration diversity and incorporate cultural diversity awareness and competence in all aspects of University operations.

Objectives:

  1.  Foster diversity awareness and sensitivity in the culture of Sonoma State University
  2. Examine and encourage diversity in the curriculum through the Program Review process
  3. Recruit and support a more diverse student population
  4. Facilitate and coordinate outreach to community colleges and commercial, political, and non-profit organizations serving diverse populations that are under-represented at Sonoma State University
  5. Support diversity training that values differences in culture, socio-economic background, sexual orientation, ability, gender, national origin, age, and religious beliefs.
  6. Support individuals with disabilities.

Enrollment Management

Strategic Goal:

Manage enrollment to achieve our target and maximize student retention, graduation, and satisfaction.

Objectives:

  1. Achieve our enrollment targets
  2. Develop a comprehensive enrollment management process and strategy
  3. Develop and implement strategic objectives in diversity, cohort distribution, and distribution of majors to support the mission of SSU
  4. Manage the composition of the student body to match University strategic objectives on areas such as growth of majors, lower/upper division balance, and diverse experiences
  5. Increase retention and graduation rates.

External Support

Strategic Goal:

Increase private and public sector support of the University’s mission.

Objectives:

  1. Meet CSU mandate to raise private funds equal to 15% of our General Fund appropriation
  2. Increase investment in the Development, Alumni and University Affairs operations to bring them in line with appropriate CSU benchmarks in order to raise funds for university educational priorities
  3. Complete the fundraising campaign to open the Green Music Center
  4. Grow the Sonoma State University Endowment by 50%
  5. Prepare for and launch a comprehensive university-wide fundraising campaign to raise the level of excellence in all aspects of academic and campus life
  6. Expand support for research, scholarship and instruction from external sources.

Faculty and Staff

Strategic Goal:

Enhance a supportive environment that will attract and retain faculty and staff and contribute to their professional growth and their ability to support the University’s mission.

Objectives:

  1. Attract and retain excellent, diverse faculty and staff in sufficient numbers to accommodate enrollment growth
  2. Support comprehensive professional development and training opportunities for our faculty and staff
  3. Develop cultural competence in faculty and staff
  4. Develop means to ease the cost of living and working in Sonoma County for our faculty and staff.

Infrastructure

Strategic Goal:

Address infrastructure needs and prepare the physical plant for enrollment growth while meeting sustainability objectives

Objectives:

  1. Provide needed space capacity for programs, services, and student residences
  2. Provide needed equipment and maintenance for programs, services, and student residences
  3. Open the Green Music Center and the University Center
  4. Support administrative needs in Foundation and Grants and Contracts
  5. Address changing campus administrative, instructional, academic, and student information technology needs.

Quality of Student Experience

Strategic Goal:

Provide SSU students with a quality co-curricular experience and a residential environment that leads to enhanced learning and personal growth.

Objectives:

  1. Enhance and support academic programs through co-curricular activities
  2. Enhance infrastructure and services to support the co-curriculum  in an active residential campus
  3. Promote and cultivate a healthy campus community
  4. Create communities through activities and programming that
    • Develop a sense of belonging and strengthen SSU traditions
    • Help students become ethical, reflective decision-makers who assume personal responsibility for their decisions
    • Help students learn to respect and value diversity
    • Support student community involvement and volunteerism.
    • Support student personal growth, self-knowledge, social development, and career planning.

Sustainability

Strategic Goal:

Establish sustainability as a key element of Sonoma State University's identity on campus and in the region.

Objectives:

  1. Develop sustainability initiatives for each University strategic area
  2. Coordinate and disseminate information about sustainability initiatives in academics, co-curriculum, infrastructure, and development activities at SSU
  3. Design and implement curricular initiatives focused on sustainability
  4. Seek external support for sustainability programs and activities
  5. Position SSU as a leader in regional sustainability.

Operating Fund Budget

  • Mandatory Costs
    • Employee Benefits
    • New Space
    • Utilities
  • Compensation

  • Quality Access
    • 18.9 SFR
    • 75% 25% Tenure Track/Lecturer Mix
    • CSU Base Starting Salary
    • Full marginal cost funding for academic support, student services, and institutional support
  • Financial Aid Related to Access

  • Faculty Development
    • $1,000,000 Base Budget by 2011-2012
  • Diversity Initiatives
    • $325,000 Base Budget by 2009-2010
  • Repairing the Academic Base to Support the Curriculum
    • $1,000,000 Base Augmentation by 2012-2013 (Dependent upon enrollment growth)
    • Long Term Needs (Dependent upon CSU System funding)
      • Information Technology
      • Libraries
      • Maintenance
      • Student Services Initiative

    Capital Outlay

      • Tuscany Construction And Equipment
      • University Center Construction And Equipment
      • Domestic Water Tank Construction
      • Annual Classroom Renovations
      • Infrastructure Sustainability Initiative
      • Professional Schools Building
      • Faculty Staff Housing  

      Endorsed by the Campus Reengineering Committee (12/8/08), Academic Affairs Budget Advisory Committee, President’s Budget Advisory Committee (12/18/08).