Welcome

Welcome to the University of Washington Tacoma Foundations of Excellence Self-Study Website! UW Tacoma is one of a number of institutions participating in the Foundations of Excellence project. The Foundations of Excellence process is the signature work of the Policy Center on the First Year of College, founded in 1999.

Foundations of Excellence is an externally guided self-study of the first year experience of our students. The study focuses on nine aspirational dimensions: philosophy, organization, faculty, learning, transitions, roles and purposes, all students, diversity, and improvement. Nine different committees composed of UW Tacoma faculty, staff, and students explore focused questions related to a specific dimension in order to determine what works and what can be improved for first year students. Each committee produces a report with findings on their assigned dimension. These reports will be combined to produce a final comprehensive report with specific recommendations for further development and improvement of the first year experience at UW Tacoma.

In short, this project allows the campus community an opportunity to assess all programs and services we provide to first year students, and the information gathered and recorded in the dimension reports and final Foundations of Excellence Report will help us enhance our efforts at recruiting and retaining students and help us develop an action plan to enhance the experience of first-year students at UW Tacoma and help our students succeed!