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Sonoma State University

University Strategic Plan

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 as a general learning outcome 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

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 service 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
  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, and staff diversity and incorporate cultural diversity awareness and competence in all aspects of University operations.

Objectives:

  1. Develop a comprehensive five-year plan for improving 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. Develop a five-year strategic plan for recruiting and supporting a more diverse student population
  4. Develop a plan to facilitate and coordinate outreach to organizations—including SRJC and community commercial, political, and non-profit organizations—that are currently serving diverse populations that are under-represented at Sonoma State University

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 strategic objectives in diversity, cohort distribution, and distribution of majors to support the mission of SSU
  4. Actively 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.

Objectives:

  1. Attract and retain excellent and 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, staff, and administrators
  4. Develop means to ease the financial strain 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. Address administrative needs in Foundation and Grants and Contracts
  5. Address campus administrative, instructional, and student information technology needs, including continued enhancement of CMS

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. Create communities through activities and programming that develop a sense of belonging and strengthen SSU traditions
  4. Help students become ethical, reflective decision-makers that assume personal responsibility for their decisions
  5. Help students learn to respect and value diversity
  6. Promote and cultivate a healthy campus community
  7. Support student personal growth, 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 one or more sustainability initiatives for each strategic goal of the University Strategic Plan
  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 and endowment support for sustainability programs and activities
  5. Position SSU as a leader in regional sustainability

New University-wide Funding Initiatives

AY 2007-08

  1. Devote full growth funding of instruction to add new faculty at funding SFR of 18.9 and consistent with intent of ACR 73 (75%-25% full-time/part-time faculty composition).
  2. Allocate an initial $200,000 of new permanent dollars to faculty development (to reach $1 million by AY 2012-13).
  3. Maintain SFR at CSU average.
  4. Make progress in repairing the base budget of the University.

AY 2008-09

  • Provide enhanced support for academic technology from new CSU funding.
  • Continue to devote full growth funding of instruction to add new faculty at funding SFR of 18.9 and consistent with intent of ACR 73 (75%-25% full-time/part-time faculty composition).
  • Allocate a second installment of $200,000 of new permanent dollars to faculty development.
  • Continue progress in repairing the base budget of the University.

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