University Planning

Annual plans for units, programs, and services of the university are based on the statements of vision, mission, responsibilities, goals, and performance measures.  On matters of general planning and direction, the president will consult with the President’s Advisory Council, a broad-based group composed of key faculty committees, student government leaders, the staff council, and the head of every university department, office and service.

University Vision

Augusta State University will be recognized as an outstanding comprehensive university focused on student learning and the educational needs of its community and state.

Mission Statement

As a unit of the University System of Georgia, Augusta State University is committed to excellence in teaching, advancement of knowledge, and enrichment of the community in a climate that fosters humane values and a life-long love of learning.

This mission is based on the value of a liberal arts education for students who are diverse in ethnicity, background, age, and preparation.

The mission obligates the university to be open to the voices of all its members, to be responsive to the needs of its community, and to measure its success by the success of its students.

To accomplish its mission, the university offers a broad array of undergraduate programs in arts and sciences and professional fields of study and graduate programs below the doctoral level. It fosters the intellectual growth of its students through learning assistance in a university college, honors courses, and student research andcultivates faculty members who are excellent in teaching, active in scholarship, and generous in service.

Approved 2-1-05 by the Board of Regents.

Basic Responsibilities

• Operate responsibly under the governance of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia and comply with all requirements for accreditation by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.
• Establish reasonable standards of admission for all academic programs in accordance with the university mission and system policies for comprehensive universities.
• Offer access through University College to local students who meet system standards for admission to two-year institutions.
• Continually assess programs, services, and expected student learning outcomes.
• Seek external funding to increase resources and enhance quality.

Operational Goals

1. Assisting and encouraging students to become intellectually and ethically informed individuals with defined skills and knowledge, who are capable of leadership and creative endeavors and have an appreciation of the importance of lifelong learning.
2. Maintaining high-quality academic programs in which curricular offerings are continuously updated to meet the needs of a rapidly changing world and a dynamic career marketplace.
3. Improving recruitment, retention, and satisfaction of students through effective marketing, adequate course offerings, convenient course scheduling, and programs that meet the needs of traditional and nontraditional students who are diverse in ethnicity, gender, background, age, and academic preparation.
4. Hiring, retaining, and developing highly proficient faculty, staff, and administrators.
5. Providing and maintaining superior technology and facilities to support the university's educational purposes.
6. Making Augusta State University education as seamless as possible with K-12 and other accredited colleges and universities.
7. Providing educational, cultural, and professional services to the community through continuing education programs, performing arts programs, faculty and staff public service and consultation, and technological resources and programs.
8. Improving the community's economic development by producing graduates who meet employers' needs and expectations, by faculty and staff participation in economic development programs, and by marketing the university as an economic asset.
9. Following the most effective "best practices" for university business and services.

Strategic Goals for 2009-2012

• An increase (by fiscal year 2012) in funds received from grants and contracts for instruction, research, and public service to the average received by non-HBCU state universities in the University System of Georgia.
• An increase in the percentage of graduates who major in natural sciences and mathematics and science and mathematics education to at least 15 percent of all baccalaureate graduates.
• A gain in student credit hours averaging at least 2.5 percent each fiscal year.
• A gain in the percentage of undergraduate credit hours generated in upper-division courses from 28.3 percent (in 2008) to at least 33 percent (in 2012).

The Planning Process

Planning at Augusta State University is a continuous, strategic process of assessing efforts to improve and then using the results of assessment to adjust strategies for improvement.

In the four major administration divisions of the university (academic affairs, student services, business operations, and development and alumni relations) each vice president is responsible for the following:

• Defining planning units in the division.
  
• Ensuring that purpose, goals, strategies, and other improvement efforts in each unit are supportive of the university vision, mission, and goals.
  
• Establishing a cycle of assessment and adjustment that includes (a) the use of information from unit plans to develop budget requests between November and January, (b) adjustments to unit plans after budget allocations, and (c) submissions of assessment and improvement data at the end of the academic year.

In the planning cycle, the president of the university is responsible for the following:

• reviewing assessment and improvement data from planning units
• reviewing data on progress towards strategic goals
  
• making appropriate information- and research-based changes in statements of university mission, vision, goals, and in the planning process itself.

An annual review of progress towards university goals ordinarily begins at the end of the academic year and continues with presentations and discussions at summer meetings of the President’s Advisory Council. If such review indicates that changes should be made in university planning statements, the president will institute such changes during the following fall semester. Changes in the mission statement require approval both of the faculty and of the Board of Regents.