Opportunity and Excellence

Objective A1.1 – Strengthen the academic experience through core competencies, high-impact learning practices 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 leads to equitable on-time graduation 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 experiences 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, longterm career achievement and civic engagement.

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

• Action A1.4.1 – Document the impact of the “Charlotte Model” for timely graduation, employment, long-term career achievement and community engagement.
• 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 student retention and equitable on-time graduation.

• Action A2.1.1 – Identify and address equity gaps and 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 equity gaps and barriers to persistence in their courses, programs, policies and procedures, including affordable textbooks and open educational resources.
• Action A2.1.3 – Enact personalized, adaptive learning in all core prerequisite sequences that ensures accessible and equitable opportunities for students.
• Action A2.1.4 – Implement principles from universal design for learning (UDL)7 into all courses, media, materials and policies to ensure that 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 allow students to complete degrees successfully regardless of factors such as race, family income, gender, entry status and field of study.
• 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 equity in degree completion.
• 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 cocurricular 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 problemsolving 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 equity gaps, 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.