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Strategic Learning Partnerships

Goal B Banner: Group of institutional partners.

Goal B: Strategic Learning Partnerships

Cultivate a diverse portfolio of institutional partnerships to promote experiential learning

We recognize the social significance of community and civic engagement, and we have an intense interest in enhancing quality of life and economic development in Houston. It deserves repeating a sentiment from the Institutional Compass that “to fully realize the potential of UHD to make an impact, it must immerse itself in the work and partnerships that create wealth, equity, and stability … No longer should the university only be a stage for civic engagement and community service, but it should position itself as a key player in these arenas” (UHD Institutional Compass webpage). Achieving this objective involves four things:

FIRST, we will increase our service impact and grow as an anchor institution. We will amplify our current initiatives and presence and undertake new ways to partner with the public and private sectors and importantly to support Hispanic and other minoritized businesses and organizations in improving workforce development, collaborating on knowledge creation, and joining forces to address and meet the needs of greater Houston area residents.

SECOND, our students not only have the classrooms and labs at UHD as their space of learning, but the entire city also serves as a classroom and a lab for them. We must find ways for them to move seamlessly between these two spaces as experiential and service learners, as interns, and as worker learners.

THIRD, our newly instituted Office of Continuing Education will be leveraged to expand our educational reach so that we can continue to offer existing educational services and programs and remain responsive to local needs by offering new learning opportunities to the community.

FOURTH, we will continue and expand our alumni engagement efforts by encouraging them to share their personal and professional stories of success, serve as models and mentors to our students, and articulate their economic impact in Houston and the region.

  • B1
    Establish a central database for scholarly/creative activities and experiential learning (managed by dedicated staff) and student, faculty, staff, and community partners' knowledge creation to foster collaborations, inside and outside the university, and to make tools and opportunities available.
  • B2
    Develop cross-sector partnerships to address workforce needs by aligning academic programs to increase value to partners and maintain high quality reciprocal relationships.
  • B3
    Implement institutional messaging, training, and practices that promote collaboration and sharing of partnership resources.
  • B4
    Establish a standard set of practices to outreach to and engage with community partners to maintain high quality, reciprocal relationships.