Strategic Plan

Explore the College of Technology’s vision, mission and values with our 2020-2025 strategic plan.

Vision

The College of Technology will continue to be the “College of Choice” for both students and industry.

Mission

The College of Technology provides a quality undergraduate education to students of Northwest Indiana and beyond who are ready for the world of work or graduate education. The College offers graduate education in areas of strong student interest and industry needs. The College is committed and dedicated to transforming students’ lives and our metropolitan region through innovative education, applied research, and community engagement.

Statement of Values

College of Technology faculty, staff, students and alumni will:

• Advance excellent academic programs.
• Embrace change and innovation.
• Promote excellence in instruction.
• Ensure a career-focused learning environment through application-oriented learning.
• Support applied research by faculty.
• Uphold dedication to the role of economic development driven by business and community partnerships.

Theme 1: Enriched Student Experience

The College of Technology’s curricular offerings and support services are designed to be responsive to student interests and needs, providing them with an excellent college experience that prepares graduates to succeed in meeting their professional life and career goals.

Goals:

1. Increase relevance and responsiveness of curriculum to align with student interests and employer needs.
   • Strategy: This is accomplished through coordinated student support and enhanced and innovative academic programming that provides reflective, integrative, and experiential learning opportunities. Conduct regular market analyses for each existing academic program, and opportunity analyses to identify areas for new programs, micro and macro credentials.
   • Strategy: Call bi-annual meetings of Industrial Advisory Boards to advise and inform each department/discipline on current and anticipated business/industry needs.
   • Strategy: Integrate College of Technology faculty and staff into regional, national and international professional organizations and industry/business groups to actively participate, including faculty internships (promoting mentorship and student participation in industry), and learn from discussions about current trends.
2. Expand opportunities for experiential learning within all majors, increasing the quality and scale of internships, service learning, and student research activities.
   • Strategy: Leverage existing support structures and systems to enable formal faculty participation and oversight in the creation, process, and approval of curricular offerings and assessment of the College of Technology experiential learning courses, and internship opportunities.
   • Strategy: Create framework for “virtual internships,” project-based learning, and micro-internships that allows students to work online with national and international partners.
3. Improve cohesion and quality of the student experience and support services from enrollment through graduation.
   • Strategy: Implement a consistent college-wide advising strategy that leverages technological tools, employs professional advisors, career counseling, guest speakers and includes continuous assessment and oversight.
   • Strategy: Increase student engagement in campus life and co-curricular learning.

Theme 2: Strategic Enrollment Growth and Student Success

Through increased financial support, the development of new programs, and the use of predictive analytics, PNW will reach specific, targeted populations of students, and the College of Technology will collaborate to maximize the available tools and resources to help students succeed.

Goals:

1. Increase enrollment and student retention through increased levels of student scholarships, assistantships, and research funding.
   • Strategy: Develop an analysis of scholarships to effectively leverage financial aid and scholarship funding opportunities in partnership with stakeholders (industry, corporations, government, and community-based organizations).
2. Improve the level of retention and graduation rates.
   • Strategy: Establish retention and graduation rate targets aimed at reducing equity gaps through integrated faculty input and accountability in course design and implementation.
3. Optimize Enrollment.
   • Strategy: Increase undergraduate and graduate enrollment and student success through transfer and program articulation opportunities and accelerated programs.
   • Strategy: Build graduation pathway partnerships with middle schools and high schools.

Theme 3: Promote National and Regional Growth through Discovery and Innovation

The College of Technology is uniquely equipped to strengthen and enrich the surrounding communities in ways that are mutually beneficial for internal and external stakeholders alike.

Goals:

1. Increase metropolitan impact and community and industry engagement through research and strategic partnerships.
   • Strategy: Promote grant development and research initiatives that include regional economic and workforce development components.
2. Increase the quality and scope of collaborative, interdisciplinary research focused on real-world challenges in the surrounding community, incorporating this research into the student experience.
   • Strategy: Engage and support faculty in high-quality scholarly and creative work including interdisciplinary collaboration.

Theme 4: Identity

In an increasingly competitive higher education landscape, PNW’s College of Technology will continue to build its vibrant and cohesive identity as the public metropolitan university of choice for its diverse range of stakeholders.

Goals:

1. The College of Technology will be recognized as the leading technology program in the region, whose value is acknowledged by students, faculty, staff, and the community.
   • Strategy: Identify and manage sufficient resources to promote PNW College of Technology’s identity and distinctiveness (brand).
2. Create a college culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
   • Strategy: Support the efforts of the University’s Culture of Inclusion Team.
   • Strategy: Provide additional support and infrastructure for university-sanctioned student clubs/organizations that have multicultural identities.

Metrics

Theme 1: Goal 1

1. Institutional Research will prepare annual market analyses of program and credential needs; program faculty will review and use results to inform curriculum development for both existing and new programs; Target: 100% participation for existing programs; new programs as warranted
2. Number of active Industrial Advisory Boards; Target: 100% of programs with Industrial Advisory Boards
3. Number of faculty and staff members currently participating and their role in the organizations or internships; Target: Establish current baseline year 1 and examine the degree of growth.

Theme 1: Goal 2

1. Internal needs assessment of existing and desired experiential curricular offerings; Target: New Initiative.
2. Number of virtual internships; Target: New initiative

Theme 1: Goal 3

1. Develop and implement an advising strategic plan. (Reference NACADA 2018 recommendations.); Target: New initiative
2. Student engagement/participation in co-curricular events; Target: New initiative

Theme 2: Goal 1

1. Increased retention of students with unmet need; Target: TBD after scholarship analysis

Theme 2: Goal 2

1. Retention and graduation rates; progress on reducing equity gaps; Target: Overall College of Technology First Time in College one-year Baseline retention to increase by 2% by 2023 and 3% by 2025, Increase four-year graduation rate by 2% and increase overall completion graduation rate by 3%.

Theme 2: Goal 3

1. Number of students who are admitted, enrolled, and yield conversion; Target: Build upon and expand what currently exists
2. Number of university outreach activities and programs; Target: Build upon and expand current efforts.

Theme 3: Goal 1

1. Number of submitted initiatives, grants, and initiated partnerships; Target: Establish baseline and build upon what currently exists.

Theme 3: Goal 2

1. Number of student-faculty collaborations; Target: Establish baseline

Theme 4: Goal 1

1. Use of resources to affect engagement, as measured through media analytics; Target: Analysis of website traffic and engagement shows increases. Analysis of social media demonstrates increased perception of identity. Analysis of traditional earned media demonstrates increased brand perception.

Theme 4: Goal 2

1. College of Technology Faculty and Staff participation in University Diversity and Inclusion programming; Target: 100% participation
2. Number of clubs/organizations/student activities promoting multicultural awareness.; Target: 2 years to complete