We will build distinctiveness through our leadership in interdisciplinary study, collaboration, and diversity.
Our objectives are:
Take the national lead ininterdisciplinary study.
We will strengthen our interdisciplinary curriculum with new concentrations, seminars, internships, and cross-departmental study programs that enable students to study and think beyond the traditional limits of individual academic disciplines. In our classrooms and co-curricular programs, in residence life, and in the quality of life as a community, we will employ an entrepreneurial spirit, developing pioneering, innovative programs that lead the way within and across disciplines. We will provide quality development opportunities for our faculty to support interdisciplinary study. We will explore the universe of interactive teaching and learning to provide our faculty the best instructional technology tools and developmental experiences available. We will invest the financial resources necessary to bring these programs to fruition.
Endowment Investment.
We will increase our scholarship endowment to help offset the cost of college expenses for deserving students. In every discipline, we will seek to increase the number of endowed faculty chairs. Through endowment of faculty chairs we will seek to improve faculty compensation to bring salary and benefits into a range comparable to our peer institutions.
Capital Investment.
We will strive to implement our Campus Master Facilities Plan. In all disciplines, but particularly in the sciences, significant capital investment in our infrastructure is critical in order to attract and retain the best students. We will dedicate the resources necessary to provide our students with the most technologically advanced learning environment across the boundaries of academic disciplines. We will maximize facility utilization, renovating and building where appropriate. In this we will focus first on facilities used regularly by students and, in particular, on our technology and science facilities where our need today is greatest.
Increase opportunities for undergraduate research.
We will expand opportunities for independent research, student/faculty research, internships, and service learning to provide our students a variety of learning experiences that deepen their understanding and expand their competence. We will expand our research opportunities through collaborative projects with faculty, off-campus internships, and partnerships with other institutions. We will seek to develop opportunities to more closely tie the professional experience of our alumni to the teaching mission of the College. We will seek to expand external grant aid funding to assist in fostering our undergraduate research efforts. We will provide the resources necessary to provide the very best in technological support for our research efforts.
Incorporate consistent learning outcomes assessment into all educational programs.
We will measure outcomes in order to effectively evaluate what we do. We will employ the evaluative results in our management of the College.
We will communicate our effectiveness to prospective students and others.
Create graduate programs,
based on thorough market analysis, that are consistent with our mission and values and that open new markets of opportunity for Albright.
Recruit and retain good students and facultywhile increasing admission selectivity and diversity.
We will reinforce our strength as a teaching college by offering a rich mix of educational experiences, small class sizes, and highly personalized mentoring between individual faculty members and students. This, in turn, will help us attract and retain good students and quality faculty members. We will seek greater quality and diversity among both our faculty and students. We will develop linkages that will draw quality minority students, particularly from our home city of Reading, into the Albright College experience. We will expand the use of our alumni in the recruitment and retention of quality students and faculty.
Expand our programs to meet the needs of an increasingly diverse student population, as opportunity and resources permit.
We will seek new opportunities, buttressed by solid market research, to expand existing offerings and enter new fields both in degree-awarding programs and in our non-degree technical courses to keep pace with the changing demographics of the college student population. We will enhance and expand our Degree Completion and Degree Start programs to reflect the increasing numbers of college students outside the traditional 18-21 year-old range, and to reach out to make education available throughout the community. We will seek to involve our alumni in the development and marketing of these non-traditional programs.
