Strategic Directions (2005-2006 Edition):

1. Facilitate student learning, development, and success toward essential outcomes.
   As BGSU strives to realize its vision, a focus on student learning, development, and success toward essential outcomes remains paramount.  As noted in the BGSU Academic Plan, it is our goal that our students will proficiently investigate and make connections, write and make presentations, and participate and lead as defined within the learning outcomes of their disciplines.  While we seek to empower students to become adaptive lifelong learners, we also bear the responsibility to teach and guide them within a supportive environment, in and outside of the classroom, where expectations are clear and possibilities abundant.

• Attract and retain faculty and staff who are successful and who contribute towards the learning community.
  As a learning-centered organization we seek to attract, retain, and advance the careers of faculty and staff through by providing a supportive employment environment that fosters respect for one another, cooperation, intellectual and spiritual growth, creative imaginings, and pride in a job well done.
   
• Produce the highest possible quality scholarship, creative achievements, and research, focused, although not exclusively, in targeted areas.
  As noted in the BGSU Academic Plan, faculty, staff, and student research and creative endeavors fuel the passion for inquiry across the learning community. Inquiry is the backbone of academic disciplines, a powerful vehicle for student learning, and a bridge between the University and society.  We must continue to provide an environment that is conducive to promotion of inquiry for all members of the community at all stages of their lives.

1. Actively engage external communities, embrace the Scholarship of Engagement,  and stimulate economic development through partnerships and outreach activities.
   The continuous flow of ideas between the University and the broader community invigorates the    process of inquiry and heightens individual and institutional achievement.  As noted in the BGSU Academic Plan and the Report of the Task Force on the Scholarship of Engagement, engagement engenders a sense of understanding about and responsibility for other  individual and for society at large.  While enhancing our students’ academic experiences and our faculty and staff members’ professional development, this exchange of talent and expertise has the potential to significantly influence our diverse external constituents and communities in many ways. 

• Support diversity, global understanding, and cultural competency.
  Cultural and cross-national competency is essential for students and faculty to function in a diverse and increasingly interdependent world.  As noted in the BGSU Academic Plan, the           challenge for BGSU is to enhance the ways in which our students and faculty experience and engage in domestic and international diversity issues and to enhance the opportunities to build mutually beneficial relationships with cultural others.
   
• Sustain a level of financial stability for the University that allows it to achieve its vision.
  External economic and political realities make it increasing less likely that BGSU will be able to realize its vision and strategic directions by continuing to draw upon traditional funding sources. In order to provide adequate resources we must draw upon private giving, sponsored research and outreach activities, partnerships, and other creative and fruitful approaches. 

Annual Imperatives (2005-2006 Edition):

• Maintain and communicate high and consistent standards for student learning and recognize student success as a joint responsibility.
  The University and its students hold joint responsibility for ensuring student learning and academic and personal success.  Student retention through graduation is one important outcome of this goal.  Everyone within the BGSU community is responsible for promoting an environment that is both challenging and supportive for students.  Developing, continuing, and assessing strategies for student success is our highest priority.
   
• Strategically invest in selected campus buildings and grounds as a tool for student, faculty, and staff recruitment and retention and as a method to promote long-term savings.

The University’s physical environment affects our ability to accomplish our goals as well as internal and external perceptions.  While being prudent in our spending, we must maintain and enhance our buildings and grounds in order to remain productive and competitive, and we must facilitate the development of our infrastructure as outlined in the Master Plan.
• Develop and implement creative approaches to staffing, compensation, and professional development.
  In an environment of numerous challenges and opportunities, it is important that we implement productive and innovative methods of structuring our workforce and rewarding and investing in employees in order to accomplish our plans.
   

• Continue to improve the infrastructure for research, scholarship, and creative activities, including improved student involvement.
  As noted in the BGSU Academic Plan, genuine passion for inquiry that is informed by vibrant scholarship is the signature of every great university and effective learning community. This passion is evident in faculty research and artistic activity and in students’ zeal and curiosity. Inquiry is the backbone of academic disciplines, a powerful vehicle for student learning and a bridge between the University and society. Sustained commitment to a strong and adaptive research infrastructure will enable the University to address the State’s social and economic challenges, now and in the coming decades.
   
• Explain engagement and how it fits the mission and structure of the University and more systematically coordinate engagement activities. 
  As noted in the Report of the Task Force on the Scholarship of Engagement, it is necessary and urgent for colleges and universities to respond in institutionally appropriate ways to calls for greater engagement with their external communities. All members of the BGSU community should be included in discussions concerning why engagement is consistent with the University’s history, culture, mission, and how everyone can contribute to this goal.
   
• Promote the diversity of ideas and experiences for the benefit of our students, the University, and our community. 
  As noted in the BGSU Academic Plan, learning about diversity within and outside of one’s own culture and nation enables students, faculty, and staff to consider their own values and practices in light of others’ cultural beliefs and values.  The challenge for BGSU is to enhance the ways in which our campus members experience and engage in domestic and international diversity issues and to enhance opportunities to build mutually beneficial relationships with people from other cultures.
   
• Aggressively and systematically communicate and improve understanding of the mission and activities of the University externally and internally in order to advocate for improved support.
  The state and federal political climate poses many challenges for higher education.  BGSU and other institutions must more effectively make the case for why higher education benefits the citizens of Ohio, why it must be better supported, and why the diversity of institutional missions should be respected and celebrated. 
   
• Enhance and evaluate the effectiveness of educational opportunities such as evening, weekend, degree completion and distance learning programs in targeted areas.
  While the University has historically served a traditional aged, full-time, residential undergraduate student population, many opportunities are emerging for providing enhanced educational opportunities.  These should be pursued when they fit with our mission, strengths, and resources and fill a critical niche.  They should also be systematically evaluated and the results should be used for ongoing improvement.