Dynamic Academic Environment

Goal C: Dynamic Learning Environment

Cultivate a dynamic learning environment

A dynamic and excellent academic environment is the sum of student academic engagement and innovative and life-changing curricula, programs, and pedagogies. To create such an environment, we must think of how to keep students engaged by identifying growth areas in current programmatic offerings and developing programs that are relevant to students’ and societal needs.

To achieve these and other, more comprehensive goals, we must create an academic master plan that incorporates programmatic offerings and program development and that addresses the entirety of the academic enterprise. This enterprise includes classroom climate, pedagogy, and learning management and design; planned institutional growth; assistive technology and accessibility; instructional and academic support spaces; and strategic course scheduling and availability that foster student success and students’ ability to complete degrees in a timely fashion.

This also means that, as a Hispanic/Minority Serving Institution, we must consider how to better serve Hispanic and other minoritized students and not simply enroll them. This will require a consideration of how our students learn as well as devising intentional enhancements in how we teach and what we teach.

Much as our curricula does not remain static, given new research and discoveries arising from interdisciplinary and disciplinary inquiry, so must our programs also be reviewed, refreshed, and recreated. As an addendum to the academic master plan, an academic program plan would ensure that UHD and system policies, procedures, and processes that promote timely development of innovative programs and review of existing programs receive attention.