The College of Education and Allied Professions is one of four colleges at Western Carolina University . Five academic departments and thirteen service centers, programs and offices comprise the college. The college offers programs of study at the baccalaureate, master's, intermediate, and doctoral levels. 

The primary role of the College of Education and Allied Professions is to prepare educators, counselors, psychologists, speech-language pathologists, recreation personnel and other human service specialists at both entry and advanced levels. These professionals will staff public elementary, secondary, post secondary schools, sport and recreation agencies, and other human service organizations in North Carolina and the region beyond. The College fulfills its mission by developing and maintaining a community of scholars that promotes and recognizes good teaching, service, and research. Of these three scholarly activities, providing optimal learning environments for students is most important, followed by service and research.

The College strives to provide leadership and technical assistance for the improvement of teacher preparation and elementary and secondary schooling in North Carolina , the nation, and developing countries. The College is strongly committed to partnering with the public schools in order to educate pre-service teachers to teach all children to high standards, to assist beginning professional educators to be successful and remain in the profession, and to provide quality staff development for career professional educators.

Additional fundamental roles of the College are to serve the liberal studies program of the University and to offer programs and special clinical services that relate closely to the mission of the College and that are needed by its constituencies.

The College fulfills its mission by creating and nourishing a community of learners guided by knowledge, values, and experiences.  The guiding principles of the community of learners include: (1) the belief that the best educational decisions are made after adequate reflection and with careful consideration of the interests, experiences and welfare of the persons affected by those decisions; (2) an appreciation of and respect for diversity; and (3) a commitment to fostering the responsible use of technology.

Vision Statement

By the year 2010, the College of Education and Allied Professions will be recognized nationally as a community of scholars who promote excellence in teaching, service, and research. The College will have created a niche as the university-of-choice for all programs offered.

These programs will have a culturally diverse faculty, staff and student body, and the curricula in these programs will be state-of-the-art, fully staffed, and sufficient in kind and number to meet the needs of its clientele.

The College's fully accredited programs will receive exemplary status on all pertinent performance reports. Assessment systems will ensure quality program development which, in turn, will have resulted in high levels of authentic student learning. The programs will have integrated technology including distance learning and web-based courses. Appropriate programs will be recognized for their expertise in rural matters.

The faculty members of the College will be noted for their teaching excellence, concern for individual students, and modeling of the qualities that they attempt to instill in their students.

The College will continue to be a leader in providing comprehensive opportunities for traditional and non-traditional students.

The College's graduates will be noted for their effectiveness in moving their profession forward, for their ethical behavior, their ability to think critically, and for the positive impact they have on the quality of life for those with whom they come into contact.

The College, through its faculty and staff, will be responsive to the needs and the concerns of the people and agencies located in its service area. To this end, the College will engage effectively in a variety of university and community partnerships that include, among others, the public schools, the College of Arts and Sciences, the North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching and the Western Region Education Service Alliance and the Education and Research Consortium of North Carolina.

The College will be noted for its research and its collaborative inquiry as well as its alignment of research and teaching. Evidenced-based validation of knowledge and methods will be highly valued. In order to support the goals in teaching, service and research, the College will have acquired external and internal resources to enhance its programs and meet its mission.

Summary of Trends That Affect the College

A. Political/Legal/Competitive Trends:

•  State financial support for the UNC system and WCU is a mixed bag. The passing of the higher education bonds will provide $98 million for repairs and new construction at WCU while the state budget has been unstable in recent years.

•  WCU has increased its academic image statewide. We are now perceived as a competitive regional comprehensive for attracting students throughout North Carolina .

•  Our geographical location has both positive and negative implications for making an attractive lifestyle for students, staff and faculty.

•  We face increasing competition from private and public colleges for strong students.

•  Redistribution of federal resources and/or a declining economy may decrease resources available for states or for national park and forestry facilities. Continuing atmospheric pollution may diminish the quality of the recreational experiences in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park . Fewer tourists and retirees will adversely affect the region's economy.

•  Universities are in direct competition, even across state and national boundaries, and increasingly from sources outside traditional higher educational institutions.

•  There is a strong trend at the state and national levels for accountability in higher education and for an explicit focus on the quality of undergraduate education. University business will increasingly be open to public scrutiny. At the state legislative level it has been increasingly difficult to identify who the major players are going to be.

•  A strong presence in the Asheville area is critical to WCU fulfilling its mission as a regional university.

•  Universities will be expected to embrace a student-learning-centered environment rather than a teaching-centered environment.

B. Economic/Technological Trends:

•  Economic growth and the changing structure of the regional economy will continue.

•  Our physical environment will continue to be a major area of concern and debate.

•  Continuing advances in technology will require the incorporation of innovations in student learning and faculty development.

•  The trend toward a truly global economy will require more globally oriented education practices.

•  Harrah's Casino will continue to have a major impact on Cherokee and western North Carolina .

C. Demographic/Social/Educational Trends:

•  Baby boomers will continue to age and will be coming to live near us.

•  The shift from teaching to student learning will continue.

•  There will be a need for greater collaboration of universities with P-12 educational institutions in the preparation of teachers. Universities will need to be prepared to work with a diverse range of charter schools.

•  To an increasing degree, universities will be preparing students for jobs that do not yet exist.

•  Interdisciplinary efforts will become increasingly necessary.

•  Many universities will shift from a residential model to cater to part-time students, commuters, non-traditional students, and distant learners.

•  The role of faculty members will change in terms of workload expectations, involvement with students, and use of technology.

External Constraints

The College of Education and Allied Professions recognizes constraints in several important areas including financial resources, personnel resources, physical facilities, external mandates, public relations, and rural location.

•  The demographics and geography of the region make recruitment in general and minority recruitment in particular, a difficult challenge.

•  External mandates by legislative bodies, oversight agencies, and accrediting agencies as well as the philosophical or political climate of the times create a drain on faculty/staff time, unpredictability in strategic planning, a philosophical tension between the mission of the university and the demands of such groups, a threat to curricular integrity, and a drain on already tight financial resources.

•  Lack of easy accessibility to diverse populations for clinical and field experiences impact our programs.

•  The College's professional education programs are highly regarded. Yet, t he recruitment of students into teacher education is becoming a challenge for all state universities.

•  Due to salaries and working conditions, there is an increasing reluctance on the part of college students to pursue careers as professional educators.

•  Fiscal problems at both state and national levels have created revenue shortages resulting in inadequate support for faculty programs and services.

•  There are high demands on faculty due to course offerings in Cullowhee and Asheville as well as the demands of program delivery at community college sites and via distance education. Although faculty positions have increased, there are too few faculty to adequately staff off-campus programs for which there is a demand. Infrastructure issues, as they relate to distance education, need to be addressed.

•  There are increased expectations for support of beginning professionals after graduation and faculty involvement in the schools. 

•  Inadequate teaching salaries in summer school coupled with other restrictions such as loss of FTE units reduce faculty incentives to teach summer school.

•  Having education programs funded at the system level at Level 2 (and not Level 3) prohibits program development.

•  Reduced or unpredictable opportunities for external grants and the resultant increase in competition for available funds make obtaining external funding a formidable challenge. 

•  Inadequate financial incentives for teachers to pursue a master's degree in their field impact our graduate programs.

External Opportunities

The College of Education and Allied Professions has identified external opportunities in areas related to its rural location, the availability of student populations, conditions in the job market, opportunities in public relations, and the availability of funds in certain program areas.

•  The University's rural location can make it attractive to students seeking the benefits of a rural mountain region.

•  There is a strong community college system in the state.

•  There is a strong demand for teachers and other educational personnel.

•  There is a strong demand for support for beginning teachers.

•  There is a strong demand for quality professional development activities for professional educators.

•  There is a strong opportunity for service delivery, research opportunities, and consultation through the College's clinical programs and outreach centers.

•  There are international needs for teacher education.

•  There is a strong, system wide Deans' Council for Teacher Education.

•  There are graduate programs in education and other fields offered in the region only by Western.

•  The anticipated retirement of numerous school administrators in western North Carolina in the next few years will create an opportunity to shape public school leadership for the next century.

•  The availability of Native American population within the region creates opportunities for student recruitment and service to diverse populations.

•  There is a continued influx of non-traditional students.

•  The College experiences strong support from the LEAs in our region.

•  The College has a strong partnership with the schools in the region.

•  The North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Western Regional Educational Service Alliance are strong partners with the College.

•  There are allied professionals in the region who are interested in supporting and collaborating with faculty members in programs within the College.

•  The College of Education and Allied Professions is highly regarded throughout the state.

Internal Strengths

The College of Education and Allied Professions recognizes several internal strengths that contribute to the overall mission and success of the College.

•  There is an excellent teaching faculty committed to superior teaching, training of teachers, school principals, superintendents, and preparation of other agency personnel. The faculty members are widely respected by area schoolteachers, administrators, and agency personnel.

•  The several service centers and programs of the College are dedicated to serving the university and region.

•  The departments are committed to the continuous growth and development of academic programs that meet the needs of all students.

•  There is a commitment to scholarship and research and to the integration of research with the departments' teaching missions.

•  There is a high degree of collegiality within the College.

•  The faculty's commitment to non-traditional students is demonstrated through the teaching of evening and weekend classes in Cullowhee and Asheville , distance education programs in elementary education and B-K.

•  The public's recognition of the wide variety and high quality offerings of the College is a strength.

•  The College's relationships with Arts and Sciences and other colleges and offices across the campus are strengths.

•  The development of a collegewide assessment plan is a strength.

•  There is a college-wide commitment to diversity. 

•  There is a commitment to the responsible use of technology.

•  There is availability of part-time staff and quality graduate assistants.

•  The College has fully accredited programs.

•  The establishment of excellent resource materials, computer lab facilities and other collections for students and faculty to use to aid learning are strengths.

•  There is a strong technology and instructional technology support team within the college.

•  The College is in the process of creating a Center (small c) for the Support of Beginning Teachers .

•  There is a strong Model Clinical Teaching Program that employs public school teachers as co-instructors in methods courses.

•  There are wired facilities with electronic classrooms, a technology lab and some wireless capability.

•  There are three endowed professorships and one additional professorship in the process of being endowed.

Internal Constraints

The College of Education and Allied Professions identifies a number of internal constraints, which hinder the success of the mission of the College.

•  There is a lack of cultural diversity among faculty, staff and, and to some degree, students.

•  There are limited staff members, office and operating space for part-time faculty and some of the service programs and centers.

•  There are too few faculty members to staff some instructional programs.

•  There is a lack of adequate laboratory and classroom facilities for optimal implementation of some programs.

•  There is a need for the renovation of some of the indoor and outdoor facilities serving the Department of Health and Human Performance.

•  There is a lack of sufficient funds to support program promotion and student recruitment.

•  There is a lack of growth in secondary education programs and a need for enhanced coordination of the program.

•  There is a lack of sufficient funds for adequate graduate student stipends.

•  There is a lack of sufficient funds to support clinical training programs off-campus, conduct a summer school clinic, and support professional development of center personnel, and training of graduate level clinical interns in the Speech and Hearing Center .

•  There are inadequate clinical training facilities in both Cullowhee and Asheville to provide necessary training for undergraduate and graduate programs with a clinical service component.

Strategic Actions

- Monitor annually full compliance of all programs with all NCATE, SDPI, and SACS accreditation standards regarding program review and assessment. Action Agents: Dean, Associate Dean, Department Heads, Faculty.

- Continue preparations for NCATE/DPI visit. Action Agents: Dean, Associate Dean, NCATE/DPI Committees, Faculty, Staff.

- Develop and submit IHE Performance Report and Title II Report to DPI. Develop and submit AACTE/NCATE Joint Report. Action Agents: Dean and Associate Dean.

- Maintain the standing Assessment Committee in the College. Action Agent: Dean.

- Develop and implement an assessment system that collects and analyzes data on professional education applicant qualifications, the candidate and graduate performance, and unit operations to evaluate and improve the College and its programs. Action Agents: Dean, Associate Dean, Assessment Committee.

- Review annually activities of SUTEP, Incentive Fund, AAM, MSEN , ORE , Teaching Fellows Program, SHC, Reading Center , and MCTP and submit reports to appropriate parties. Action Agents: Program/Center Directors.

- Strengthen annual program review and assessment procedures in all programs. Action Agents: Program Coordinators, Department Heads, Assessment Committee.

- Conduct scheduled graduate program reviews. Action Agents: Department Heads, Program Coordinators.

- Continue evaluations of program requirements and course curricula. Action Agents: Department Heads and Faculty.

- Have all departments/programs review their assessment plans and revise as needed. Action Agents: Department Heads.

- Have all centers and other outreach units engage in unit-level strategic planning process. Action agent: Dean

- Continue to support teacher work sample concept and its application to teacher education programs. Action agents: Department heads, faculty, Director of Assessment.

- Continue to support the development of portfolios for all programs. Action Agents: Department Heads, Program Coordinators.

- Provide assessment information to the university relative to its action plan. Action Agent: Associate Dean.

Facilitate controlled enrollment expansion by means of cooperation among Academic Affairs, Student Affairs, Administration and Finance, Advancement and External Affairs, and University Planning to develop a comprehensive plan for undergraduate and graduate enrollment management (recruitment, retention, marketing, readmission, community college articulation, probation/dismissal, learning contracts, and expansion of distance learning enrollment).

- Participate in Open Houses, Graduate School events and Summer Orientation Information Fairs and other recruitment activities. Action Agents: Dean's Office, Departments.

- Continue to participate in and coordinate NC TEACH. Action Agents: Dean's Office, Department Heads, Faculty, NC TEACH Director.

- Use the results of undergraduate program review to grow majors as indicated. Action Agents: Department Heads.

- Send letters from Dean to all prospects and applicants to programs in the College. Action Agent: Dean.

- Expand the number of partnerships with high schools with Teacher Cadet Programs. Action Agents: Dean, Office for Rural Education, Director of Special Programs.

- Update and disseminate College View book. Action Agent: Dean.

- Support reprints of departmental/program brochures. Action Agent: Dean.

- Sponsor activities such as “Reach to Teach” and “Teachers of Tomorrow” days. Action Agents: Director of Office for Rural Education, SUTEP Director .

- Enhance Asheville course offerings. Action Agents: Dean, Department Heads.

- Increase enrollment in secondary education. Action Agents: Department Heads, Faculty , A & S Teacher Education Council, A & S Dean's Office, A & S Department Heads, A & S Faculty.

- Maintain existing Teacher Cadet programs and expand to include others. Action Agent: Office for Rural Education.

- Revise appropriate programs to include on-line and distance education coursework. Action Agents: Department Heads, Program Coordinators, Dean of Continuing Education and Summer School.

- Integrate Recruitment Subcommittee into School University Teacher Education Partnership (SUTEP). Action Agent: SUTEP Director.

- Continue to review, revise and market along with the College of Arts and Sciences, the secondary education program. Action Agents: Associate Dean of CEAP, Associate Dean of Arts & Sciences, Department of Educational Leadership and Foundations, Appropriate Departments in Arts and Sciences.

- Involve the Council for the Advancement of the College of Education and Allied Professions in recruitment initiatives. Action Agent: Dean.

- Work with the Asheville Office and Graduate School to visit teachers in their schools promoting graduate programs in the College. Action Agents: Dean, Asheville Program Staff, Graduate School Staff, Program Faculty.

- Explore the feasibility of working with various LEAs to develop a cohort model for graduate courses to be offered through on-site delivery, distance education and campus/Asheville settings. Action Agents: Appropriate Department Heads, Dean's Office.

Continue to support expanded regional outreach (community college articulation, delivery of 2+2 programs on community college campuses, use of distance learning technologies, increased cooperation with public schools, expanded contacts with regional businesses and health care providers, and implementation of workforce development initiatives).

- Explore the feasibility of and appropriately expand upon the current distance-education and 2 + 2 programs for the B.S. Ed. in Elementary Education, B-K, SPED. Action Agent: Department of Elementary and Middle Grades Education, Department of Human Services, Admissions Office , Office of Distance Education.

- Revise appropriate programs to include on-line and distance education coursework. Action Agents: Department Heads/Program Coordinators.

- Continue to implement the online MSA. Action agents: Department of Educational Leadership and Foundations, Office of Distance education, CEAP Dean's Office.

- Investigate possibilities of expanding NC TEACH sites. Action Agents: Dean's Office, Appropriate Programs.

- Implement annually goals of programs such as SUTEP, MCTP, IF, ORE , and MSEN that focus on increased involvement with and positive impact upon the public schools. Action Agents: Appropriate Directors.

- Implement annually goals of grants and appropriations such as TSP, AAM, Mountain Connections II and the Communication Disorders Program in Severe Disabilities (CDPSD).  . Action Agents: Grant Coordinators.

- Join and participate in, as appropriate, distance learning consortia. Action Agents: Departments, Dean's Office.

- Investigate ways to expand as well as create alternatives to the Teaching Fellows Programs. Action Agent: Dean, Director of Special Programs and Teaching Fellows.

- Work with departments in continuing to develop user-friendly course delivery formats. Action Agent: Dean's Office, Department Heads.

- Implement a network of support for beginning teachers in the region. Action Agents: SUTEP, Director of Beginning Teacher Support Program.

Continue to support faculty and department head professional development initiatives related to teaching, scholarship, and leadership (technical and instructional support related to the student computer requirement, faculty international study and research, improvement of faculty evaluation procedures, support of Coulter Faculty Center initiatives, increased attention to leadership and management training for department heads, and continued implementation of phased retirement and post-tenure review).

- Continue to promote and reward faculty /staff involvement in activities of Faculty Center for Excellence in Teaching/Learning. Action Agents: Dean, Department Heads.

- Support FCTE by encouraging faculty to serve as Center fellows. Action Agents: Dean, Department Heads.

- Continue to coach department heads on linking faculty to faculty development opportunities. Action Agent: Dean.

- Continue to provide resources from Dean's Office to support faculty development initiatives. Action Agent: Dean.

- Continue to assist faculty in finding additional funding to support faculty development needs. Action Agents: Dean, Department Heads.

- Promote and publicize university-wide sources of support for faculty development. Action Agents: Dean, Department Heads.

- Continue to send new department heads to a national conference for department heads. Action Agent: Dean.

- Continue to sponsor brown bag luncheons on diversity. Action Agent: Dean.

- Continue Department Head workdays at the beginning of each semester.

Tactical Actions

Enhance freshman retention by studying the reasons for poor student retention rates, consolidating and enhancing the Enrollment Management division, and by expanding programming to increase retention (class scheduling, orientation, interest halls, learning communities, learning contracts, courses in common, and revision of the Academic and Career Planning course).

- Continue to review schedule of course offerings and maintain offerings across the week and throughout the day. Provide evening course offerings and provide other consumer friendly formats such as weekends. Action Agents: Dean, Department Heads.

- Provide multiple year checklists of course offerings available in every program. Action Agents: Department Heads, Program Coordinators.

- Continue to offer USI 130 and freshman seminar offerings. Action Agents: Department Heads.

- Continue to support Liberal Studies program. Action Agents: Department Heads.

- Continue efforts to assist with the improvement of the graduation audit.

Continue to give increased attention to University academic programs in Asheville (examine alternatives for increased and enhanced space for academic programs, assess community needs, examine graduate and undergraduate program offerings, examine innovative scheduling and other delivery issues, enhance the attractiveness of teaching to faculty members, enhance advertising, and increase the use of distance learning technologies).

- Continue to offer all core courses in MAED and MAT in Comprehensive Education each year in Asheville . Action Agents: Department Heads.

- Provide all program courses in Asheville in a consumer friendly format. Action Agents: Department Heads.

- Provide three-year course offering checklist in Asheville . Action Agents: Department Heads, Program Coordinators.

- Continue to expand CEAP presence in Asheville . Action Agents: Dean, Department Heads.

- Increase two-way television and other distance education formats in course delivery to Asheville and other sites. Continue efforts to improve the technical facilities at the community college sites. Action Agents: Department Heads, Program Coordinators, Dean's Office.

- Provide EDCI 231 to community colleges through distance education. Action Agent: Department of Educational Leadership and Foundations.

- Continue efforts to expand special education offerings in Asheville . Action Agent: SPED Faculty.

Accelerate the internationalization of the curriculum and the campus, with special emphasis on faculty and student participation (student and faculty exchanges, curricular enhancements, study abroad, faculty development, increased enrollment of international students, and use of the international students as community and campus resources).

- Continue to implement undergraduate and graduate programs in Jamaica . Action Agents: Dean's Office, Departments, Office of Continuing Education and Summer School.

- Seek additional funding to maintain Global Partnership with Japanese schools. Action Agents: Dean's Office, Department of Educational Leadership and Foundations, Office of International Programs.

- Work with Office of Continuing Education to continue providing on-line accreditation preparation program for schools in Central and Latin America . Action Agents: Dean's Office, Office of Continuing Education and Summer School.

- Continue to host institutes for professional educators from South America, Latin America and the Caribbean . Action Agents: Department Heads, Office of Continuing Education and Summer School.

- Continue to work with the Director of International Programs to explore increased international opportunities for students and faculty. Action Agents: Dean, Department Heads, Office of International Programs.

- Continue master's program in C & I at Cali , Colombia .

Explore the possibility of creating career-focused educational programs that look beyond the acquisition of a first job (enhanced internship and cooperative education programs, creation of innovative degrees that link different disciplines, interdisciplinary degrees, and linkages between selected majors and minors).

- Continue to develop career-oriented programs at the undergraduate and graduate program like, for example, the athletic training program. Action Agents: Dean, Department Heads.

- Review all programs in terms of their career focus. Action Agents: Department Heads, Program Coordinators.

- Review length of all practica and internships in terms of their adequacy and length. Action Agents: Program Coordinators.

Continue to work with Student Affairs to evaluate and revise the new student orientation program (with special emphases on methods of evaluating student readiness for collegiate work, retention programs, and special scheduling of courses for new freshmen).

- Encourage faculty and staff to promote retention. Action Agents: Dean, Department Heads.

- Continue to participate in new student orientation program including working with learning communities and teaching sessions in the introduction to college teaching. Action Agents: Dean's Office, Department Heads.

- Work with Academic Affairs to schedule courses for new freshman as well as develop leadership courses for undergraduates. Action Agents: Dean, Department Heads, HR Program Director.

Support the ongoing review of faculty and university governance procedures, policies, and structures.

- Encourage members of the College to be actively involved in the faculty senate and staff forum. Action Agents: Dean, Department Heads.

- Encourage members of the college to participate as delegates to the system-wide Faculty Assembly. Action Agents: Dean, Department Heads.

- Encourage members of the College to participate in Leadership WCU and other professional development opportunities. Action Agent: Dean.

Continue to support the development of the Honors College (living/learning initiatives, policies and procedures, undergraduate research, student exchanges, and curricular development).

- Encourage departments to offer honors courses. Action Agents: Dean, Department Heads.

- Continue collaboration efforts between the Teaching Fellows Program and the Honors College . Action Agent: Director of the Teaching Fellows Program.

Support efforts to develop and implement the Liberal Studies curriculum.

- Encourage faculty to participate in teaching Liberal Studies courses. Action Agents: Dean, Department Heads.

- Encourage faculty to develop freshman seminar courses. Action Agents: Dean, Department Heads.

- Encourage undergraduate faculty to participate in advising workshops for Liberal Studies. Action Agents: Dean, Department Heads.

Continue to work with the faculty to examine the efficacy of faculty evaluation policies, standards, and procedures.

- Encourage departments to thoroughly review their AFE/TPR documents annually. Action Agent: Dean.

- Continue to tie teaching awards in the college to evidence-based teaching effectiveness. Action Agents: Dean, Department Heads.

Give increased attention to, and support for, issues of diversity (including women's studies).

- Maintain the College's Diversity Committee as a standing committee of the college. Action Agent: Dean.

- Implement the College's Diversity Plan. Action Agents: Dean, Diversity Committee.

- Continue programs such as “Reach to Teach” day hosting minority middle grade and high school students and encouraging them to enter teaching as a profession. Action Agents: Dean, Diversity Committee, SUTEP.

- Implement recommendations of Diversity Committee related to recruitment, field experiences and curricular offerings. Action Agents: Dean, Department Heads.

- Continue to sponsor brown bag luncheons and guest speakers on diversity. Action Agent: Dean.

- Support faculty/staff involvement in the Women's Center. Action Agents: Dean, Department Heads.

- Continue the integration of issues in diversity into the curriculum and faculty/staff development activities. Action Agents: Dean, Department Heads, Diversity Committee.

Continue to study the feasibility of enhancing or creating undergraduate and graduate programs in which WCU has strategic advantages (including, but not limited to, the environment, technology, visual and performing arts, education, health care, and specialized business programs).

- Continue to develop athletic training as a stand alone major. Action Agent: Department of Health and Human Performance.

- Encourage departments to develop proposals for program creation and enhancement. Action Agents: Dean, Department Heads.

- Encourage faculty to submit grant proposals related to program enhancement and creation. Action Agents: Dean, Department Heads.

- Explore feasibility of more content courses for MAT being taught in Asheville by A & S. Action agents: Deans of CEAP and A&S, appropriate ELF faculty, ELF Department Head, A & S faculty.

Operational Actions

Support ongoing efforts of the Coulter Faculty Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, Enrollment Management, and the Computer Center to integrate technology across the curriculum, provide training, and give technical support to the faculty and students.

- Encourage departments, programs and centers to support these units. Action Agents: Dean, Department Heads.

- Encourage faculty to become actively involved as fellows, consultants and board members of these units. Action Agents: Dean, Department Heads.

- Continue to make our college known for its expertise in technology and in teaching. Action Agents: Dean, Department Heads, Technology Team.

- Continue to reward faculty for their involvement with FCTE. Action Agents: Dean, Department Heads.

- Continue to have Robinson Distinguished Professor in Educational Technologies consult with the university community.

Continue to evaluate whether or not course scheduling is meeting student needs (course offerings, time of day, day of the week, compressed and innovative scheduling for adult learners).

- Continue to ensure that CEAP courses are offered throughout the week and across the day using consumer-friendly scheduling and delivery modalities including weekend formats, compressed scheduling and distance learning such as interactive television and web-based components or courses in their entirety. Action Agents: Dean, Department Heads.

- Employ outcomes assessment measures such as surveys and focus groups to monitor the effect of the strategies. Action Agents: Dean, Associate Dean, Department Heads. 

- Continue to expand course offerings in Asheville . Action Agents: Dean, Department Heads, Program Coordinators.

Support academic advisory committees and Administration and Finance in developing the building programs for the Visual and Performing Arts Facility and the Workforce Development Center.

- Continue to support the above-mentioned units in their efforts. Action Agent: Dean.

Continue to enhance the orientation process for new faculty members.

- Continue to engage in new faculty orientation at the college level. Action Agent: Dean.

- Encourage departments to provide departmental level new faculty/staff orientation. Action Agent: Dean.

- Encourage all new faculty members to participate in the faculty mentoring program sponsored by FCTE. Action Agents: Dean, Department Heads.

Give increased attention to part-time faculty by means of creation of a handbook for part-time faculty, encouraging mentoring by tenure-track faculty, enhancement of the orientation process, and having the Coulter Faculty Center provide assistance on issues of teaching and learning.

- Maintain an office for part-time faculty providing telephone and computer. Provide office assistant support. Action Agents: Dean, Department Heads. 

- Ensure that departments adequately orient all part-time faculty members. Action Agents: Department Heads.

- Encourage faculty members' participation in the Model Clinical Teaching Program. Action Agents: Dean, Director of the Model Clinical Teaching Program.

Refine the implementation of new University of North Carolina policies and procedures (post-tenure review, phased retirement, and faculty workload analysis).

- Develop a five-year plan by which all faculty members in each department know when they are to go up for post tenure review. Action Agents: Dean, Department Heads.

- Monitor CEAP documents so they are regularly updated with regard to any changes in phased retirement policies, post-tenure review policies, and any other policies that are implemented. Action Agent: Dean.

Work more closely with the Department of Athletics to ensure enhanced academic advising and coordination of other academic support services.

- Encourage faculty members to work closely with representatives from athletics to ensure academic success of students athletes. Action Agents: Dean, Department Heads.

Continue to work with Student Affairs on increasing student opportunities for service learning.

- Encourage service learning for all students in the College. Action Agents: Dean, Department Heads, Faculty. 

- Ask programs that have service learning requirements to make presentation on their service learning activities. Action Agent: Dean.

Begin to implement the initial stages of Student Information and Help Center (a “one-stop center”).

- Provide input as requested on the development of the Student Information and Help Center . A action Agent: Dean.

Continue to work with the Division of Student Affairs in developing undergraduate leadership courses in the HR program.

Organizational Chart