The USM in 2010: 

Responding to the Challenges that Lie Ahead

Towson University

Mission: Towson University is an institution focused on teaching committed to providing comprehensive opportunities for undergraduate and graduate education. It offers strong programs in the traditional liberal and fine arts, the sciences, and interdisciplinary areas that reflect new directions in scholarship, and in issue-oriented fields such as environmental science, gerontology, and health management. The university also imbeds liberal and fine arts and sciences in strong professional programs in business, education, the health professions, communications and computer and information systems.

The undergraduate curriculum also gives students the intellectual skills essential to effective communication in speaking and writing, the gathering and evaluation of information, critical analysis, competence in the use of technology, and an appreciation of diverse points of view. The university offers post-baccalaureate education from certificate programs for advanced education and workforce training, to master's degrees in traditional disciplines and applied fields, and doctoral programs in areas of greatest strength and societal needs. The university is committed to enhancing its programs for the education of teachers and will expand its Professional Development Schools, undergraduate and graduate degrees.

Through its faculty known for excellent teaching, basic and applied scholarship, and creative activities, the university responds to the issues and needs of Baltimore and the broader regional, political, and economic community.

Goal I

USM academic programs will evolve to meet the changing educational needs of a growing and increasingly diverse undergraduate and graduate student population and will enhance the quality of life for all Maryland citizens.

Minority Achievement

• Recruit and retain a diverse faculty, student body, administration and staff.
• Foster high achievement for all members for the university community, regardless of race, gender, age, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or other protected status.
• Further improve the university's high retention and graduation rate for minorities.

Baby Boom Echo

• Maintain managed campus enrollment growth consistent with existing or new space.
• Extend certificate and degree programs to new off-campus populations.

Undergraduate Education

• Maintain role as one of the nation's premiere regional universities offering a full range of programs.
• Assure a strong commitment to liberal and fine arts and sciences, professional programs, and general education at the undergraduate level.
• Develop programs appropriate to the institution's metropolitan location.
• Provide a seamless transition for students from community colleges.
• Strengthen and expand the Honors Program.
• Provide every freshman with the opportunity to participate in a learning community.
• Feature programs incorporating undergraduate research, clinical placements, practicums, assistantships, internships, and capstone integration of learning.
• Expand the range of international experiences available to students and increase the international student population on campus.
• Increase resident population and programming.
• Construct and Renovate facilities to improve learning environment and maintain state-of-the-art learning technologies.

Online Learning

• Expand online offerings to K-12 , community college, and USM institutional partners as well as to select governmental, business or corporate clients.
• Provide courses and degree units through the Web to both on- and off-campus students.
• Offer a select number of full academic degree programs online.

Lifelong Learning

• Expand the number of graduate certificate, masters, and doctoral programs in interdisciplinary, applied, and market sensitive fields.
• Respond quickly to market needs for post-baccalaureate certificates or training.
• Offer courses, programs, certificates, and training at flexible hours through a variety of means and in a variety of locations

Faculty Development

• Improve faculty salaries to attract and retain faculty of the highest achievement.
• Rationalize the faculty teaching load to reflect practices at peer institutions.
• Achieve a 68% tenure-tenure track/ 12% full-time untenured/ 20% part-time FTE faculty appointment ratio.
• Better integrate contractual and non-tenure faculty into the life of departments and colleges.
• Sustain effective faculty leadership and professional development programs.
• Assure strong shared governance that fully involves faculty as active stakeholders.

Competition & Program Development

• Heighten the efforts of departments ,academic programs, institutes, and centers to remedy workforce deficits, especially in fields such as teaching, information technology, and health care professions.
• Increase the number of partnerships with public and private institutions which join in providing programs that address workforce needs or deficits.

Technologically Competent Workforce/IT Shortage

• Achieve the Regents' Information Technology (IT) minimum standards.
• Achieve specific Towson University technology plans and fluency standards.
• Systematically enhance the technology infrastructure to further support the curriculum, the delivery of instruction, and interactions between students and faculty.
• Expand master's programming, certificates, and training services in technology areas.

Teacher Shortage

• Remain Maryland's premiere institution for the initial certification and professional development of educators.
• Enhance the university's Pre-K through Baccalaureate Council, fully engaging arts and sciences faculty in teacher preparation and teacher education reform.
• Expand master's level and post-baccalaureate programs for educators.
• Implement doctoral programming for educators.
• Achieve eminence for integrating arts and sciences into teacher preparation programs.
• Increase the capacity for training teachers to meet the needs of the region and state through new and non-traditional pathways.

Goal II

USM research and scholarship will position Maryland as a national leader in science, technology and other key areas, providing the knowledge and infrastructure to ensure the State's continued economic growth, sustainable development and international competitiveness.

Competition for Faculty

• Promote faculty excellence through significant incentives and rewards.
• Bring salaries at all ranks in line with the 85 percentile on the AAUP scale.
• Enhance research and development support to attract and retain excellent faculty.

Libraries

• Renovate and enhance the library as an Information Resources Center fully supporting undergraduate and graduate programs.
• Assure consortial and other information partnerships which bring Towson students access to the widest range of information and resources.

Research & Economic Development

• Enhance the College of Graduate Education and Research and its infrastructure.
• Enhance support for research through the Office of Faculty Development.
• Expand the number of research institutes and centers.
• Increase the number of graduate assistantships and fellowships.
• Expand corporate and other partnerships which fund or promote student, staff, and faculty creativity and research.
• Sustain effective self-support research center and institutes such as the Center for Geographic Information Systems (GIS), the Regional Economic Studies Institute, and the Institute for teaching and research on Women..

Goal III

The USM will achieve its legislative mandate of national eminence and its fundamental mission to serve the public good while carefully managing growth and developing System resources.

Community Service

• Enhance service and research partnerships between student life or academic divisions and community agencies, services, and centers.
• Incorporate service learning into university programs whenever appropriate.
• Provide training and resource development programs for targeted community agencies and groups.

Staff Development

• Expand staff development programs.
• Increase support for staff to participate in professional activities.

Reallocation of Resources

• Update and implement plans to reallocate human and material resources.
• Establish an annual facilities audit program and create a facilities reinvestment plan.
• Establish a resource development plan and a planning process that assures institutional flexibility and appropriate funding in support of priorities.
• Fully implement the facilities Master Plan.

Philanthropy and Entrepreneurial Partnerships

• Achieve the goals of the Capital Campaign.
• Increase funding through gifts and endowments, especially to support scholarships, technology, and academic programming.
• Sustain a comprehensive marketing and public relations plan that enhances Towson's image, markets its programs regionally and nationally, and attracts outside funding and political support.
• Emphasize ties with alumni and their engagement with and loyalty to Towson University.