Provost Office Annual Goals
Goals for 2022-23
The mission of the Office of the Provost is to advance excellence in teaching and learning at Gustavus. Our vision is one of successfully:
- Partnering with faculty and staff to help them achieve excellence in teaching, research/scholarship/creativity, and service.
- Supporting students through a curricular and co-curricular experience that prepares them for lives of leadership and service.
- Promoting educational practices that are innovative, inclusive, interdisciplinary, global and true to our College mission and values.
The 2022-23 goals of the academic affairs division are to:
- Support all students toward academic success at the College, from recruitment through graduation.
- Foster excellence and innovation in the Gustavus curriculum.
- Support faculty and staff in the Academic Affairs division in their work, development, growth and wellbeing.
- Support and take action on divisional and college-wide initiatives that positively impact the community.
I. Student support toward academic success
a. Foster faculty development opportunities in DEIB (diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging), particularly inclusive teaching and advising practices, to support the academic progress of all students. Gustavus Acts Goal 1A1*
b. Initiate a thorough review of academic policies and processes with an eye toward equity, student support, and retention and recommend change to the appropriate committees. Gustavus Acts Goal 1A1
c. Implement data-driven process changes to make student research opportunities at Gustavus more equitable and inclusive. Gustavus Acts Goal 1A1, 2A2
d. Pilot a Faculty Admission Liaison program to champion the breadth and excellence in the academic program with prospective students and enhance student recruitment efforts. 2022-23 Institutional Goal
e. Work with the new Faculty Director of Student Academic Success and Student Success Committee on proactive strategies to support student retention and academic progress. Gustavus Acts Goal 1A1
f. Collaborate with faculty to enhance the advising experience for students, from admission to graduation. Gustavus Acts Goal 1A1, RNL (Ruffalo Noel Levitz) student survey
g. Collaborate with the Library, Gustavus Technology Services, Academic Support Center, the Accessibility Committee on accessibility, accommodation, and compliance. Gustavus Acts Goal 1A1
h. Work with campus partners, including the Registrar's Office and Gustavus Technology Services, on improvements to and education about the MyGustavus system. RNL student survey
i. Strengthen the partnership between Career Development and Academic Affairs through collaborative work on academic internship policies, entrepreneurship programming, and fostering connections between Career staff and faculty/academic departments/programs. Gustavus Acts Goal 2B, 2A6
j. Respond to individual student needs and questions, including 9th semester students, in a courteous, timely, and accurate manner. RNL (Ruffalo Noel Levitz) student survey. Gustavus Acts Goal 1A1
II. Excellence and Innovation in the Curriculum
a. Foster greater inclusion in courses and department/program curricula through individual faculty and department/program development opportunities in DEIB (diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging) in partnership with the Vice President for Equity and Inclusion, Kendall Center Faculty Associate for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Howard Hughes Medical Institute initiative, and campus leaders. Gustavus Acts Goal 1A1
b. Support the equitable and inclusive search for and hiring of faculty that contribute to the excellence of our academic program. Gustavus Acts Goal 1A1
c. Support the Challenge Curriculum and Three Crowns Curriculum (in its transition) through ensuring seat availability, supporting new Challenge Seminar offerings, assessing distributive general education offerings and availability, and collecting data for the upcoming Challenge Curriculum review. Gustavus Acts Goal 2A
d. Facilitate collaboration among general education program directors in order to encourage further curricular alignment and address persistent challenges in student learning. Gustavus Acts Goal 2A
e. Support and encourage innovation in the humanities through re-envisioning the Three Crowns Curriculum and by developing new humanities partnerships, research models, programming, and curricular offerings. Gustavus Acts Goal 2A
f. Support the strategic development of interdisciplinary programs and the Center for Entrepreneurial Innovation. Gustavus Acts Goal 2A
g. Foster a culture of continuous improvement by regularly providing faculty and departments with data needed to make thoughtful decisions about their program
h. Support departments and programs conducting reviews in development of actionable next steps in areas such as advising, teaching curricula, scholarship, and service. Gustavus Acts Goal 2A
i. Support innovation through innovation grants and awards, by creating opportunities for faculty to discuss curricular ideas and data, and in working with faculty to identify opportunities, create financial models, and advance development of new or re-envisioned academic initiatives (undergraduate or graduate). Gustavus Acts Goal 2A, 2A5
j. Complete the final step toward accreditation of the proposed Master’s in Athletic Training program, proactively market the program, and create policies/procedures necessary for program and student success. Gustavus Acts Goal 2A5
k. Encourage faculty and departments to incorporate the annual Nobel Conference theme into their courses in a meaningful and impactful way. Gustavus Acts Goal 2A
l. Collaborate with and assist Marketing and Communication and Gustavus Technology Services on the continued development of the academic components of the college website and other marketing materials. Market Perception Survey response
III. Support faculty and staff in their work, development, growth and wellbeing
a. Foster greater excellence and inclusion by encouraging education and action on DEIB (diversity, equity, and belonging) within committees, academic departments, and offices as well as by individual faculty and staff in partnership with the Vice President for Equity and Inclusion, Kendall Center Faculty Associate for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Howard Hughes Medical Institute initiative, and campus leaders. Gustavus Acts Goal 1A1, 3A
b. Incorporate into the FY23 budget progress toward the 50th percentile AAUP goal for faculty compensation to support current faculty, faculty retention and faculty hiring at all levels. Gustavus Acts Goal 3A
c. Provide faculty with regular data summaries (e.g., faculty retention, advising loads, and general education course offerings) to promote and support discussions and transparency. Gustavus Acts Goal 2A, 3A
d. Support the Faculty Senate and faculty in considering changes to faculty status and rank definitions, person-specific hire policies, the Faculty Manual, and All-College policies that enhance the work and well-being of all faculty and staff. Gustavus Acts Goal 1A1, 3A
e. Support faculty action toward redesigning committee structures and clarifying faculty service expectations. Gustavus Acts Goal 3A
f. Complete gathering and compiling information about faculty responsibilities and workload distribution (e.g., advising loads, general education course offerings, faculty retention, course enrollments) to present to the Department Chairs and Program Directors (DCPDC) and Faculty Senate toward a 2-year goal of possible re-envisioning of faculty workload and responsibilities. Gustavus Acts Goal 3A
g. Provide new opportunities for department chair/program director professional development as leaders, managers, and builders of inclusive and equitable departmental cultures, including clear guidance on department/program budgeting policies and procedures to ensure effective planning and management. Gustavus Acts Goal 3A, 3G
h. Make transparent the options and opportunities related to sabbatical leave, parental leave, and low-enrollment course cancellations. Gustavus Acts Goal 3A
i. Explore and clarify support for hiring of international faculty and scholars. Gustavus Acts Goal 1A, 3A
j. Develop a strategic plan for RSC (research, scholarship, and creativity) that includes consideration of faculty time, recognition of achievements, and a central hub for RSC at Gustavus. Gustavus Acts Goal 3A
k. Enhance compliance and support for ethics and safety in RSC through continued support of the review boards for human and animal research (Institutional Review Board, Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee), and work with the new Chemical Hygiene and Lab Safety Officer to develop protocols and procedures. Gustavus Acts Goal 2A2
IV. Divisional and College-Wide Initiatives
a. Collaborate with GTS and the ATC (Academic Technology Committee) to develop a strategic plan for technology hardware and software acquisition, support, use, training, replacement, and allocation that is financially sustainable and responsible (for implementation in 2023-24). Gustavus Acts Goal 3F
b. Prepare for and have a successful outcome to the 10-year reaccreditation visit by the Higher Learning Commission (visit occurring in Feb 2023). Gustavus Acts Goal 3
c. Provide data and analytic tools that activate responsible data-informed decision making, along with professional development toward data-related skill and competency building. Gustavus Acts Goal 3
d. Engage in collaboration to standardize data across the College (e.g., student demographic data collection). Gustavus Acts Goal 3
* For each Provost Office goal, we reference the college-wide/institutional evidence that supports this goal.