Mission of the University


Summary Mission Statement

Frostburg State University is a student-centered teaching and learning institution featuring experiential opportunities. The University offers students a distinctive and distinguished baccalaureate education along with a select set of applied master’s and doctoral programs. Frostburg serves regional and statewide economic and workforce development; promotes cultural enrichment, civic responsibility, and sustainability; and prepares future leaders to meet the challenges of a complex and changing global society.

Frostburg State University Institutional Identity

Frostburg State University has provided paths to success for students for well over a century. Founded in 1898 to prepare teachers, the institution today is a public, comprehensive, largely residential university offering a wide array of distinctive programs at the undergraduate level and select applied graduate programs. The only four-year institution of the University System of Maryland (USM) west of the Baltimore-Washington corridor, Frostburg serves as the premier educational and cultural center for Western Maryland. The University was again recognized in July 2013 by the Colleges of Distinction organization for its continued commitment to and excellence in the areas of student engagement, quality of teaching, vibrancy of the college community and success of its graduates. As outlined in Maryland Ready, the State’s Plan for Postsecondary Education, Frostburg is committed to advancing the educational goals of all by promoting and supporting access, affordability, and completion. The University’s Carnegie classification is Master’s L.

The University draws its students from all counties in Maryland, and from other states and countries. Frostburg State University greatly values diversity among its students, faculty, and staff. The University includes in its Cultural Diversity Program strategies that focus on the effective recruitment, enrollment and retention of students from traditionally underrepresented groups. Frostburg works to create a welcoming and safe environment that promotes the understanding of diversity both domestically and internationally.

The academic experience of undergraduate students includes a rigorous and interdisciplinary general education program in the liberal arts and sciences, including the development of core skills. Major areas of undergraduate specialization include education; business; science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines; the creative and performing arts; and selected programs in the humanities and social sciences. Frostburg also offers bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral programs at the University System of Maryland at Hagerstown.

Graduate programs provide instruction for students involved in or preparing for professional careers. In addition to master’s degree programs in biology, business administration, computer science, counseling psychology, education, and recreation and parks management, Frostburg offers a Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership. As it has in the past, the University will continue to develop graduate programs in business, the health sciences and other areas aligned with the mission of the University and responsive to Maryland’s development needs.

The University is a student-centered teaching and learning institution that emphasizes experiential education. Frostburg provides a strong support network focused on student success and persistence. Students are encouraged to apply and augment classroom learning through a wide range of experiential opportunities, including internships, volunteerism, service-learning, and undergraduate research. Participation in clubs, campus organizations, and athletic programs fosters students’ communication skills and leadership development.

Frostburg also promotes global learning through international initiatives and programs that provide world-wide opportunities for students, faculty and staff. As a means to further internationalize its campus, the University continues to actively recruit international students and partners with a private organization that offers English language training on the Frostburg campus to international students who intend to enter college.

Frostburg also effectively uses technology to enhance instruction and provide greater accessibility to the University. The application of online learning through course redesign has enabled the University to improve students’ access to technology and assist them in completing their programs of study. In addition, Frostburg’s quality online courses and academic programs provide greater access to the University’s curricular offerings and allow nontraditional students to earn credentials they need for career advancement in such important workforce areas as nursing and teaching. GetEducated.com, a consumer organization that reviews online education, has awarded “Best Buy” status to Frostburg’s Master of Business Administration, Master of Science in Recreation and Parks Management, and Bachelor of Science in Nursing in recognition of these programs’ value.

The University is also strongly committed to preserving the environment through sustainability. The campus’s Climate Action Plan provides a detailed blueprint of specific and tangible methods by which Frostburg can achieve carbon neutrality by the year 2030. The University’s Sustainable Research Facility (SERF) provides a completely off-grid research facility that will serve as an academic center for residential-quality sustainable energy technologies and research. This facility will join Frostburg’s ongoing exploration of alternative forms of energy production, including the Wind-Solar Energy Program (WISE), to establish the University as an important regional center for energy issues and policy. The University’s commitment to sustainability also extends to the health and wellness of its students, faculty, and staff. Through its programs and policies, the University fosters the overall good health of its students by promoting good nutrition, exercise, and healthy choices.

Frostburg State University is an important and significant contributor to the economic prosperity of Western Maryland. A February 2013 University study reported that the institution has an economic impact conservatively estimated to be $173 million across the state of Maryland, including $121 million in Allegany County. The number of University economic development initiatives continues to grow, and includes both the well-established Allegany Business Center at Frostburg State University (ABC@FSU) and participation with the Maryland Industrial Partnerships (MIPS), which are funding research and development projects between FSU faculty members and regional companies.


Frostburg State University Institutional Capabilities

Frostburg State University places primary emphasis on its role as a teaching and learning institution offering experiential opportunities for its students. Faculty and professional staff engage in a wide range of scholarly activities and professional involvement, with the ultimate goal of enhancing student learning. The University’s Center for Communications and Information Technology (CCIT), opening spring 2014, and the proposed Public Safety Facility and Education and Health Sciences Center are important and required facilities. Together they ready Frostburg for 21st century modalities of instruction and applied learning experiences while supporting quality teaching, learning, scholarship and co-curricular programming.

The University recognizes the importance of developing a highly educated and technologically competent workforce to meet the needs of a modern knowledge economy. Programs developed in response to the needs of businesses and industries in the region and state include Secure Computing and Information Assurance, Information Technology, and Engineering.

The University continues to strengthen its partnerships and collaborations with community colleges and other institutions throughout the state. The University has negotiated articulation agreements with community colleges to offer its B.S. in Engineering and promote interest in STEM-related disciplines at those sites. Reverse transfer agreements are being developed to assist with the state’s goal to increase the number of Maryland adults with either an associate’s or bachelor’s degree.

Responsive to evolving workforce demands, Frostburg also embraces its responsibility to strengthen public schools through the preparation of certified teacher-education graduates and preK-20 partnerships. Increased opportunities for the continuing education of teachers are achieved through the expansion of outreach and clinical partnerships with the Professional Development Schools in collaboration with the Maryland State Department of Education and the Maryland Higher Education Commission. The University, through its Center for International Education, also directly supports an Allegany County Public Schools initiative to offer a Chinese language and culture program for elementary students.

In the area of health science and allied health programs, FSU’s RN-BSN program has received accreditation through the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). Frostburg plans to expand its health science programs.

The University serves as a regional cultural center in Western Maryland. Frostburg’s diverse performing and visual arts programs feature exhibits and performances by students, faculty, national and international professional artists. The University’s arts program attracts community members to campus to experience theatre, music, dance, international film, poetry, literary readings, and the visual arts. Other cultural resources that enhance the University’s visibility in the community include the University’s Center for Creative Writing, which provides space for students and Frostburg residents to pursue creative endeavors. Mountain City Traditional Arts, an arts cooperative staffed by Frostburg students and a University professor/folklorist, works closely with the Allegany Arts Council to provide retail opportunities for local artists.

Each year the University attracts thousands of visitors to the institution and Western Maryland through special events such as Homecoming, Family Weekend, the Cultural Events Series, and its vigorous summer programming, all of which bring additional resources to the institution and to the region. Moreover, representatives of Frostburg State University are actively involved in FrostburgFirst, a community-driven program that fosters economic development and cultural growth in the City of Frostburg.


Frostburg State University Institutional Objectives and Outcomes

In fulfillment of its mission and in keeping with the goals of the Maryland Higher Education Commission’s 2013 State Plan for Postsecondary Education and the University System of Maryland’s Strategic Plan, Frostburg State University will address the following short- and long-range goals and objectives over the next several years:


1. Develop and support academic programs and student services that prepare a changing student population for an era of complexity and globalization.

2. Enhance facilities and the campus environment in order to support and reinforce student learning.

3. Increase student quality and institutional retention and graduation rates while encouraging baccalaureate students to graduate within a four-year time frame.

4. Recruit and retain diverse and talented faculty and staff committed to student learning and University goals.

5. Promote activities that demonstrate the University’s educational distinction.

6. Serve as a catalyst for economic development in Western Maryland and the region.

 

Approved by the Board of Regents of the University System of Maryland and the Maryland Higher Education Commission 2014.