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UW Tacoma Mission & Vision
To read the full Mission & Vision download the UW Tacoma Strategic Plan
MISSION
"The University of Washington Tacoma educates diverse learners and transforms communities by expanding the boundaries of knowledge and discovery."
With this mission, the University of Washington Tacoma was founded in 1990 to serve and provide access to higher education for upper-division place- and time-bound students in the South Puget Sound and to act as a catalyst for revitalizing Tacoma. UW Tacoma has done both.
Now, with the addition of lower-division students and the expectation of significant enrollment growth at all levels of the institution made necessary by educational, demographic and economic challenges facing the region and the state, UW Tacoma must plan where it wishes to go and what it plans to be in the coming years. The reality of rapid change and growth requires a framework and process that can manage these expectations within available resources. The University needs a focus for sustaining a culture of excellence that benefits both the campus and the communities which it serves.
In planning for this future, we will remain loyal to the mission and purpose that have guided our campus since 1990 while also responding to the changing circumstances of the world in which we operate. Our founding purpose was, and will continue to be, a commitment to education as the main pillar of equality of opportunity in American society. Our commitment to students and their success has been central to everything this campus has done from its beginning. At the same time, we recognize that the communities and the larger society around us have not remained static. Sweeping changes, both locally and globally, have altered the higher education landscape and require a nimble response. These changes include new technology, increasing diversity in student characteristics, new forms of global interaction, challenges in energy and the environment, discoveries on how students learn, and a growing awareness of service learning, civic engagement, and extracurricular involvement that enhances learning.
Our continuing commitment to student success and to embracing the changing educational environment, enrollment growth and the lower-division students presents many challenges. Our commitments require careful planning and will not be addressed without difficulty. But these realities also bring significant and lasting rewards. UW Tacoma will emerge from this process a more complete institution and a model for interdisciplinary scholarship within the University of Washington. We will set forth a plan to better serve students by strengthening our learning community and the impact it has on the region and the world.
VALUES
Our fundamental purpose is to educate students for life as global citizens. UW Tacoma is a distinctive expression of the University of Washington that provides access to an exceptional education for citizens who choose to live and learn in the South Puget Sound region.
We recognize that an excellent education connects knowledge across disciplines. At UW Tacoma, excellence is founded on integrity, dedication and collaboration. We believe that learning is a vehicle that advances students toward fulfilling lives and meaningful careers.
Our community of learners is strengthened by a diversity of voices. Listening to the UW Tacoma community, we have identified four core values that guide us: Excellence, Community, Diversity and Innovation. We share these values and strive to live them.
Excellence
UW Tacoma…
• commits to excellence in teaching, scholarship, research and service;
• offers a curriculum that balances core knowledge and skills with responsiveness to student and community need;
• embraces an interdisciplinary approach to knowledge that instills problem-solving and critical thinking skills for meaningful lives;
• engages minds by connecting knowledge with experience, fostering wisdom;
• infuses global and local awareness into its thinking and actions;
• encourages student-faculty-staff interaction and a reciprocal exchange of knowledge;
• nurtures a community of learners and develops the whole person by offering opportunities to learn and grow both inside and outside the classroom;
• provides an environment where students can succeed.
Community
UW Tacoma…
• celebrates the success of its people;
• fosters an atmosphere in which individuals work together to make their best contributions;
• preserves a culture of connection and collaboration as it grows;
• partners with communities to improve the human condition;
• cultivates mutually supportive relations with educational partners;
• contributes knowledge that serves diverse communities;
• honors the cultural and civic heritage of its community;
• serves as a catalyst for economic, technological and community development.
Diversity
UW Tacoma …
• promotes an environment where diverse perspectives and experiences are expected;
• seeks out and supports individuals who may experience barriers in gaining access to college;
• stimulates a vibrant learning community by presenting lectures, events and performances that inspire new views;
• encourages and rewards intercultural competence;
• aligns its values with its actions in support of justice and fairness;
• attracts and retains a community of people and ideas representing diverse cultures and experiences.
Innovation
UW Tacoma…
• generates new knowledge and embraces varied ways of knowing;
• perpetuates the pioneering spirit of UW Tacoma’s beginnings;
• seeks new ways to create opportunity;
• inspires creative ways of seeing and solving problems;
• expands resources and makes thoughtful use of existing ones;
• lives in harmony with the environment and is a wise steward of natural resources;
• grows stronger through the collective wisdom of its community.
VISION
Within the next ten years, UW Tacoma will become a more comprehensive institution that will respond with distinction to the needs of the region, state, nation and the world. UW Tacoma will achieve distinctiveness as an urban campus of the University of Washington through its commitment to three principles:
• Access to an exceptional university education;
• An interdisciplinary approach to knowledge and discovery in the 21st century;
• A strong and mutually supportive relationship between the campus and its surrounding communities.
As the campus grows, UW Tacoma will strengthen its learning culture, research, institutional structures, and academic and co-curricular programs necessary to embody these three commitments and to uphold the standards of excellence, shared governance and academic freedom that are hallmarks of the University of Washington. It will also develop and implement assessment plans that serve as measurable benchmarks for institutional progress.
The core values of the institution—Excellence, Community, Diversity and Innovation—will shape the specific goals and methods UW Tacoma chooses to address these commitments and build its distinction as a campus.
GOALS
All University planning for the next decade should incorporate UW Tacoma’s four goals and objectives as appropriate for each unit.
I. Grow in an intentional manner consistent with University mission, values and vision.
This will be accomplished through:
1. institution-wide planning to accommodate sustained enrollment growth through and potentially beyond Spring of 2013;
2. regular strategic and operational planning within each academic and administrative unit that includes current and new programming, preparation for growth, and measurable assessment;
3. facilities master planning that provides the capacity to accommodate the physical space needs of a growing campus;
4. acquiring the physical, financial, student support and academic resources necessary to implement and sustain planned growth in relation to surrounding communities.
II. Provide access to educational and professional opportunities for students, faculty, staff and community members.
This will be accomplished through:
1. providing foundational support for holistic student growth, including the undergraduate experience;
2. innovative collaboration with surrounding communities that recognizes that we are a campus in the heart of an urban center;
3. support and funding for intellectual, scholarly and creative growth, research, discovery and excellence;
4. creating globally-centered opportunities for students, faculty, staff and the region;
5. leveraging University of Washington expertise and resources.
III. Prepare students to participate in a diverse and increasingly complex world.
This will be accomplished through:
1. creating and strengthening of existing academic and co-curricular programming incorporating integrated knowledge and skills necessary for student success after graduation;
2. innovative use of technology within the curriculum and in the delivery of programming where appropriate;
3. embodying diversity and equity in all areas of the University and in relation to the surrounding communities;
4. preparing students for responsible civic engagement at many levels—locally, regionally, nationally and globally.
IV. Cultivate a University-wide culture of transparency, collaboration, and cooperation appropriate for a growing and multifaceted campus.
This will be accomplished through:
1. policies and decision-making procedures that enhance collaboration, cooperation and communication across campus units and that support the reality of shared governance;
2. support for enhancing interdisciplinary learning and interaction throughout the University;
3. a common understanding and embodiment of “student-centeredness” that is reflective of the University’s fundamental purpose.
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