Strategic Plan for Professional Education Unit/College 2005-2007

Unit Mission. The Professional Education Unit/College of Education is committed to preparing Education professionals who are able to provide research-based instruction, service, and leadership to a diverse and global community.

Unit Vision. The Professional Education Unit/College of Education at Frostburg State University will build upon its rich heritage and excellent reputation as a professional preparation institution in teacher education to position itself as the institution nationally recognized for developing outstanding professionals.

Unit Goals. The Unit will assure that all graduates:

Are capable of providing leadership in their professions.
Are dedicated professionals committed to the success of all their clients.
Are fully prepared for their professional responsibilities and are committed to continually assess their own professional development.
Can reflect on their own professional interactions with the community they serve and can make changes based on that reflection.
Are committed to advocating for their profession, all their clients, and their communities.
Possess habits of collaboration.
Are prepared to meet the challenges of a changing, global community.

To achieve these goals, the unit will:

Provide programs of exceptional quality based on national standards and research that meet the needs of the state and the region.
Build and enhance collaboration with its professional community, including the faculty in liberal arts and sciences.
Implement technology plans that lead to technological fluency for students in all programs.
Commit itself to serve the cause of social justice.
Provide the necessary administrative support to enable candidates, college, and unit faculty to accomplish outcomes and to enhance learning/scholarly opportunities for candidates, graduate assistants, faculty, and staff.

Strategic Plan.

Over the past several years, the Unit has been following the strategic planning routine of the University that was actually a set of “goals” with a commensurate set of activities. The list of activities to achieve the "goals" is presented below.

The Unit is currently redesigning its strategic planning approach to be more representative of the broader directions and selected priorities of the programs which make up the Unit. To begin this redesign, a Strategic Planning committee has been formed to develop the mechanism by which grassroots planning can begin. The Committee has been charged to have a system for strategic planning in place by the beginning of the fall 2007 semester.

Until the new plan is developed, the updated list of strategic goals along with the contributions of the various advisory groups, will continue to guide the general activities of the Unit.

To achieve the Unit goals candidates will:

Provide leadership in their professions
1.1  Communicate high expectations for students and clients
1.2  Create effective learning environments
1.3  Accommodate for a range of differences in culture, developmental levels, and learning styles
1.4  Treat students and all members/stakeholders equitably and respectfully
1.5  Model innovation and creativity in their work
1.6  Use technology to promote learning and development
1.7  Exhibit skills in long-range and short-range planning
Demonstrate that they are dedicated professions committed to the success of all their clients
2.1  Demonstrate a strong base of content and professional knowledge
2.2  Continue to build upon that base as a life-long learner
2.3  Communicate effectively in spoken, written, visual, and technology-assisted forms of expression
Be fully prepared for their professional responsibilities and be committed to continually assessing their own professional development and that of their clients/students
3.1  Effectively monitor and report student/client progress
3.2  Use assessment data to contribute to that progress
3.3  Use unit, state, and national curriculum standards, research, and best practices to inform that assessment
3.4  Employ various assessment strategies to accommodate diverse learners
3.5  Create multiple assessment measures that are authentic to real world situations
3.6  Utilize both formal and informal assessment strategies
3.7  Use technology to facilitate the collection and interpretation of data
3.8  Engage in formal and informal action research
Advocate for their profession, all their students/clients, and their communities
4.1  Firmly believe that all students/clients have the right and the ability to learn and develop
4.2  Participate actively in organizations that promote their professions
4.3  Support programs that work to ensure safe school and work environments
4.4  Support initiatives to make schools and work sites technologically rich environments
4.5  Value the increasingly diverse nature of current and emerging populations
4.6  Be prepared to meet the challenges of a changing, diverse, and global community and work toward social justice for all community members.
Demonstrate strong skills and dispositions for collaboration
5.1  Link subject matter within and across disciplines
5.2  Build effective school/work/home/community partnerships
5.3  Create powerful learning and work communities within and beyond the classroom, schools, and/or work site.
5.4  Treat students/clients and all members of the educational community equitably and respectfully
Reflect on their own professional interactions with the community they serve and make changes based on these reflections
6.1  View professional interactions as a continuous set of decision-making opportunities
6.2  Exhibit ability to identify and analyze problems
6.3  Monitor effectiveness of one's own practices/decisions
6.4  Strive for continuous self-improvement as measured by student/client success data
6.5  Encourage students/clients to engage in thoughtful, productive self-criticism
Are prepared to meet the challenges of a changing, global community
7.1 Seek opportunities to understand other cultures
7.2 Participate in opportunities to interact with people different from their own group