Opportunity and Excellence

Objective A1.1. Strengthen the academic experience through core competencies, high-impact learning practices² and mentoring.

• Action A1.1.1. Embed strategies for student attainment of the core competencies articulated as goals for UNC Charlotte graduates (critical thinking, communication, quantitative reasoning, data analysis and intercultural understanding) into the undergraduate general education curriculum, all majors and co-curricular activities; measure the impact of the realization of these competencies on educational attainment, engagement with complex issues and lifelong success.
• Action A1.1.2. Elevate the University’s robust portfolio of academic programs to exemplary status.
• Action A1.1.3. Ensure that engaged student learning through high-impact learning practices and mentoring is experienced frequently by all students in curricular and co-curricular experiences.
• Action A1.1.4. Increase opportunities in curricular and co-curricular offerings for students to engage in scholarship, creative discovery, innovation and entrepreneurship.
• Action A1.1.5. Optimize the quality and impact of intellectually rigorous academics and engaged learning by implementing a continuous improvement process that promotes on-time graduation for all students regardless of entry pathways into the University.

Objective A1.2. Expand the use of teaching practices that increase the success of all students regardless of their entry pathway into the University.

• Action A1.2.1. Extend the implementation of best practices and research-based teaching methods across the curriculum to accelerate the achievement of student learning outcomes.
• Action A1.2.2. Create and expand existing programs and tools that enable faculty and academic departments to maximize the use of innovative teaching practices and technologies (broadly defined) to enhance student learning.
• Action A1.2.3. Support and celebrate increased faculty use of new methods to strengthen student learning by creating safe pedagogy experimentation spaces, offering incentives and promoting teaching modifications that improve learning.
• Action A 1.2.4. Implement a continuous improvement process to optimize the quality and impact of teaching practices on graduation, employability, long-term career achievement and civic engagement.

Objective A1.3. Expand transformative co-curricular learning experiences³ that support personal development.

• Action A1.3.1. Expand the number, variety and integration of co-curricular learning experiences with general education and academic programs.
• Action A1.3.2. Increase online accessibility to co-curricular experiences.
• Action A1.3.3. Apply a continuous improvement process to optimize the quality of co-curricular learning experiences and increase their impact on graduation, employability, long- term career achievement and civic engagement.

Objective A1.4. Define and communicate the elements and impact of the “Charlotte Model” as a unique, comprehensive, intellectually rigorous educational experience for all students.

• Action A1.4.1. Document the impact of the “Charlotte Model” for timely graduation, employment, long-term career achievement and community engagement.⁴
• Action A1.4.2. Define and brand the “Charlotte Model” to differentiate the UNC Charlotte education from other undergraduate experiences, and articulate how it effectively delivers students to graduation, employment, long-term career achievement and civic engagement.
• Action A1.4.3. Elevate national and international rankings of the University’s programs through attention to ranking metrics, and disseminate information about programs to academic and institutional leaders.

Objective A2.1. Increase retention and on-time graduation for all students.

• Action A2.1.1. Identify and address barriers in programs and courses, and employ continuous improvement strategies to rectify performance gaps.
• Action A2.1.2. Design and administer programs and tools to support faculty and staff in addressing performance gaps and barriers to student persistence. 
• Action A2.1.3. Enact personalized, adaptive learning⁵ in all core prerequisite sequences that ensures accessibility for all students.
• Action A2.1.4. Implement principles from universal design for learning (UDL)⁶ into all courses, media, materials and policies to ensure students can access and succeed in all degree programs regardless of ability.
• Action A2.1.5. Support students’ retention, development and well-being with improved academic advising, success coaching, leadership training, and mental and physical health care.
• Action A2.1.6. Create personalized and accessible learning pathways and options, including expansion of the 49erNext program and pathways from community colleges, that enables all students to successfully complete their degrees.
• Action A2.1.7. Expand distance learning programming through the School of Professional Studies to increase opportunities for students to pursue their education in formats that fit their needs.

Objective A2.2. Identify and support student financial challenges of degree completion.

• Action A2.2.1. Address the unique challenges of students who experience financial hardship.
• Action A2.2.2. Increase the availability and effective allocation of institutional financial aid and scholarships to maximize degree completion for all students.
• Action A2.2.3. Increase the number of “learn and earn” opportunities (e.g., work study, paid internships, co-op experiences) for students at all degree levels and instructional circumstances.
• Action A2.2.4. Reduce student debt by controlling costs, providing alternatives for educational expenses such as textbooks, and shortening time to degree completion.
• Action A2.2.5. Expand participation in financial and debt management and financial wellness education for all students.

Objective A3.1. Provide students with a competitive advantage to launch and build careers.

• Action A3.1.1. Provide students with planning tools that connect college education to long-term career and personal growth.
• Action A3.1.2. Expand experiential learning and career development opportunities (internships, co-operative education, practica, student teaching, clinical placements and externships) that contribute to career readiness.
• Action A3.1.3. Increase the range, accessibility and flexibility of courses, certificates and co- curricular offerings that build career-related competencies, enhance the value of students’ learning and enable continuous lifelong learning.

Objective A3.2. Broaden opportunities for students to gain international exposure and experiences.

• Action A3.2.1. Boost scholarships and financial support for international learning, and increase the variety of study abroad experiences, including virtual alternatives.
• Action A3.2.2. Infuse internationalization across curricular and co-curricular learning experiences by increasing faculty exchanges, speakers and institutional partnerships for learning enrichment.

Objective A4.1. Develop students’ resilience, self-confidence, leadership and desire for lifelong learning.

• Action A4.1.1. Assist students with building mindsets for adaptation, interdisciplinary problem-solving and lifelong learning through curricular and co-curricular learning.
• Action A4.1.2. Expand professional and leadership development opportunities for students on and off campus that offer progressive responsibility and civic engagement.
• Action A4.1.3. Widen opportunities for students to network and interact informally with visiting scholars, authors and leaders (including alumni) to broaden their engagement with real-world challenges and problem solvers.

Objective A4.2. Connect the educational experience with the University’s urban mission to increase student involvement in experiential learning and community engagement.

• Action A4.2.1. Develop curricular, co-curricular and experiential learning opportunities in urban settings that foster problem-solving and social responsibility.
• Action A4.2.2. Develop policies and procedures that support faculty who engage students in the University’s urban research mission through teaching, research or service.

Objective A5.1. Expand research-based teaching and mentoring practices across graduate programs.

• Action A5.1.1. Conduct systematic program reviews to improve graduate education outcomes.
• Action A5.1.2. Provide faculty with training and mentoring support to provide exemplary graduate-level learning and research experiences.

Objective A5.2. Support the success and well-being of graduate students and postdoctoral trainees through appropriate resources, policies and practices.

• Action A5.2.1. Support graduate students by addressing barriers, streamlining policies and procedures, improving support for on-time degree completion and enhancing graduate education operations.
• Action A5.2.2. Scale up support mechanisms for graduate student living accommodations; financial and debt management and financial wellness; physical and mental health; and productivity in research, scholarship, entrepreneurship and creative discovery.
• Action A5.2.3. Heighten access to mentoring and career advising to prepare UNC Charlotte graduate students and postdoctoral trainees to become leaders in their fields and professional communities.

¹ The “Charlotte Model” is the term used in this strategic plan for the operationalization and communication of the University’s transformative, comprehensive and integrated educational experience. The “Charlotte Model” will include elements described in goals within the focus area “Transform students’ lives through educational opportunity and excellence.” The model also will incorporate themes from other goals in the strategic plan, including “Advance the research mission by recruiting, nurturing and retaining, world-class, diverse faculty, staff and students”; “Fulfill our role as North Carolina’s urban research university to benefit our city, region and beyond by producing transformative solutions to societal issues and challenges”; “Improve educational and socioeconomic outcomes for the Charlotte region by mobilizing University resources and community collaborations”; and “Elevate and broaden student, alumni, faculty and staff engagement, investment and lifelong pride in the University.”

² High-impact learning practices (HIPs) support deep learning by promoting student engagement. Research shows that HIPs significantly increase retention and success to graduation across all disciplines. Practices include problem-based learning, cohort models, first-year seminars and experiences, common intellectual experiences, writing-intensive courses, collaborative assignments and projects, internships, service-learning, and capstone courses and projects. Key elements include performance expectations set at appropriately high levels; interactions with faculty and peers about substantive matters; frequent, timely and constructive feedback; periodic structured opportunities to reflect and integrate learning; and public demonstration of competence. Kuh, G.D. (2008). Excerpt from high-impact educational practices: What they are, who has access to them, and why they matter. Association of American Colleges and Universities, 14(3), 28-29. https://secure.aacu.org/imis/ItemDetail?iProductCode=E-HIGHIMP&Category=

³ Cocurricular refers to activities, programs, internships and learning experiences that promote personal development and complement, in some way, what students are learning in school — i.e., experiences that are connected to or mirror the academic curriculum. Cocurricular activities are typically, but not always, defined by their separation from academic courses. Great Schools Partnership. (2013, October 22). Co-curricular. https://www.edglossary.org/co-curricular/ 

⁴ Community engagement occurs when academics and community partners work collaboratively with and through groups of people affiliated by geographic proximity, special interest or similar situations to address issues affecting the well-being of partners. At an urban university, it includes experiential learning in a community environment as well as programs of research and scholarship (community-engaged research) that are distinguished by relying on the priorities and authority of both the researchers and community stakeholders to shape the design and execution of the research. The translation and application of outcomes are evident in community impact as well as traditional modes of dissemination for academic research, scholarship and creative activity. 

Adapted from a definition originally offered in Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (1997), Principles of community engagement. (1st ed.). Atlanta, GA: CDC/ATSDR Committee on Community Engagement. With insight offered in Campus Compact. (2007). New times demand new scholarship. Los Angeles, California: Research Universities and Civic Engagement Network, and from Emily M. Janke. (2013). Increased community presence is not a proxy for reciprocity. eJournal of Public Affairs, (2)2. Springfield, Missouri: Missouri State University.

⁵ Adaptive learning is a technique for providing personalized learning that aims to provide efficient, effective and customized learning paths to engage each student. Adaptive learning systems use a data-driven — and in some cases — non-linear approach to instruction and remediation. They dynamically adjust to student interactions and performance levels, delivering content in an appropriate sequence that individual learners need at specific points to make progress.

Moskal, P., Carter, D., Johnson, D., (2017, January 4). 7 Things you should know about adaptive learning. EDUCAUSE. https://library.educause.edu/resources/2017/1/7-things-you-should-know-about-adaptive-learning 6 Universal design for learning is a framework to improve and optimize teaching and learning for all people based on scientific insights into how humans learn. UDL guidelines offer a set of concrete suggestions that can be applied to any discipline or domain to ensure that all learners can access and participate in meaningful, challenging learning opportunities. Guidelines include providing multiple means of engagement (affective networks, the “WHY” of learning), providing multiple means of representation (recognition networks, the “WHAT” of learning, and providing multiple means of action and expression (strategic networks, the “HOW” of learning). Cast. (n.d.). About universal design for learning. https://www.cast.org/impact/universal-design-for-learning-udl