Defining Western

What do we talk about when we talk about Western? A meeting Wednesday, 28 September attempted

to answer that question.

 

Recently a fellow HC writer asked me what Western was known for, and I answered “not being known.” The Strategic Plan addresses this “search for our niche,” as it was put many times by the planning committee.

 

The cornerstone of this plan was unveiled several weeks before at President John Dunn’s address to the Western Student Association Sept 14. The plan breaks into three ideas: learner-centered, discovery-driven, and globally engaged. This plan also marks the first time a broad vision has been articulated for the university and will serve as an umbrella for all existing departmental goals and plans over the three-year period where it will be in effect.

 

To live up to these cornerstones, the current draft of the plan proposes five goals to accomplish over

the next three years. These goals focus on areas from seeking innovation in the learning experience

to advocating for diversity and sustainability. The plan makes bold gestures toward perfecting the

university’s balance between research and academics, which serves as an overarching theme of the

proposal.

 

The forum Sept. 28 was part of the planning committee’s public comment period, where about 30

students gathered to ask questions and provide input concerning the plan, an option the committee is

providing to students online as well.

 

The idea of “fostering … shared governance” between students, staff and faculty was of particular interest to the assembled students. Though it would require an amendment to the state’s constitution, some of the students in attendance were interested in the practicality of having a student serve as a voting member of the Board of Trustees, as the ultimate sign of sharing governance.

 

Another point of interest was the idea of requiring students to take a course for the purpose of

interdisciplinary studies. When asked for their motivations, the committee explained that with the world becoming one of interacting disciplines, research and innovation, the need to be more than just a single-issue specialist has skyrocketed, and the committee feels that interdisciplinary education is essential to the goal of producing students equipped to, as the plan puts it, “meet the world head-on and triumph.”

 

Another important part of the plan, though not one widely discussed in the forum, was the idea of

evaluating and evolving the programs, both academic- and research-based, to be more adaptable in the future. Coupled with this is the plan to consistently revise and improve the effectiveness of assessments (though it is unclear if this will be using the current ICES evaluation tool or a new alternative). 
 

University pride also forms an important part of the plan. President Dunn remarked on the issue of pride to WSA Sept. 14, saying, “We need to up the pride factor.” He added: “If you see someone with a blue shirt with an upside-down W either flip it around or dye it.”

 

While the issue of pride might not seem important, President Dunn explained that the college ranking

provided by U.S. News and World Report is based heavily on universities’ opinions of one another, so

pride and reputation are important, and though Western retained Tier I status it has room to improve, especially in terms of pride. This is echoed in the plan with initiatives to inspire pride and use alumni as advocates for Western.

 

As for the global perspective, it was said that a goal of the university is to double the number of students who study abroad while continuing to increase the number of international students on Western’s campus.

 

According to Dunn, the current plan was developed based on the accreditation report of the Higher

Learning Commission last year. “We’ve done pretty well,” remarked Dunn, “but we can always do

better.”