OVERVIEW

A long-range planning process must begin with a broad assessment of the present-day role of universities in general and of Rutgers in particular.

Diversity and Community

Universities are diverse communities that comprise many disciplines, purposes, and aspirations. Diversity is also found in the richness of the individuals making up the university, representing many racial, ethnic, cultural, and religious groups. As microcosms of the larger society, universities reflect, respond to, and initiate changes in the world around them.
 
Only with the combined strength of all its component parts can the academic community plan for the future with conviction and confidence. As President Lawrence has noted, "The educational community in which we live inspires us to exchange varying opinions on the issues that are important to Rutgers, New Jersey, the nation, and the world. In our diversity, we share a common vision. Rutgers, as a community, should continue to forge ahead to find new ways to serve as a leader in research and instruction; in public and professional service; and in academics, athletics, and the arts. "In our diversity we share a common vision." 
   FRANCIS L. LAWRENCE
Universities are assuming even greater importance in society than in the past as the power of new ideas increasingly drives economic, social, and political developments. As the roles required of universities expand, the institutions will need to adapt to ever more complex situations. In order to do so, they must redefine and invigorate the academic community. Any definition of community must be representative of the richness and diversity of the university; it cannot be imposed from the top down.  We must find new ways to focus as a community to meet these challenges."1

Strategic Planning

The strategic planning process at Rutgers acknowledges and respects the richness and diversity of the university community. The planning process began in 1991 with appointment of universitywide administrative committees. It continued with the development of departmental, college, and school plans; center, bureau, and institute plans; individual campus plans; self-studies and planning studies in specific administrative areas; a management audit; and a statewide communications analysis. Individuals involved with these committees and studies were representative of the university and its many parts.
    The next phase in the strategic planning process is blending the many, sometimes divergent wishes and hopes expressed in the various committee reports and studies into a common vision to advance Rutgers. In fashioning the whole from the parts, not every worthy hope and wish could be included, particularly in light of the budget constraints under which the university operates. However, the strategic plan is not meant to be a static document. It will be successful to the degree that it addresses current aspirations and adapts and responds to changing conditions.

Core Values

The commitment to academic excellence is the value we, as a community, hold most central and dear. A successful strategic planning process will define the common purposes that bring and hold together the many elements of the university community. The commitment to academic excellence is the value we, as a community, hold most central and dear. Academic excellence drives the three parts of the university mission: instruction, research, and service. By stressing excellence in our academic standards and the instruction, research, and service it fosters; by supporting and celebrating the diversity of our community; by emphasizing the importance of teaching; and by encouraging a shared sense of responsibility, we will be able to realize our collective obligation to use our resources wisely and creatively in accomplishing our mission.

Increasing Demands/Decreasing Resources

National education goals set by legislators and academic experts stress the need for far higher levels of knowledge and skills to meet complex societal needs. Rapid technological changes and advances require an ever more adaptive and sophisticated work force. At the same time, economic downturns, including declines in state appropriations, and uncertainties in federal grants, endowment funds, and philanthropic and corporate contributions, coupled with the need to keep tuition affordable, have seriously diminished the financial resources of public higher education and imperiled its accessibility, affordability, and quality.
    In New Jersey, the number of high school graduates is on the increase, and there is a growing demand for higher education generally. Adult students will also depend increasingly on the university for continuing education and degree programs. Increased student demand will place stress on programs and classes. In addition, many of these students are underprepared and will require increased academic support and remediation. At the state and federal levels, there is pressure on institutions to provide access to their offerings, to provide support services which will enable students to persist, and to be more accountable to the public. Further, employers expect workers to possess increased technical expertise and enhanced abilities to learn new skills as technologies shift.
   It is anticipated that between 1990 and 2005 40% of all new jobs in New Jersey will be in professional and technical occupations.2 These estimated 28,000 new professional and technical positions per year will require, at a minimum, the baccalaureate degree. Employers are demanding graduates who are technically competent and who can communicate, identify and solve problems, and work as team members. Furthermore, with just 4.5% of state and local tax revenues devoted to higher education, New Jersey is in the bottom fifth of the states with respect to public support. Higher education is experiencing escalating expectations and demands at the same time as it is experiencing serious, economic shortfalls. Planning must take account of these challenges. How can we best respond to these competing demands? What is the appropriate role for the university to play in this context? Rapid technological changes and advances require an ever more adaptive and sophisticated work force.

The State University of New Jersey

Rutgers, as the only public comprehensive research university in the state, has unique responsibilities and capabilities to respond to the increased demands on higher education. Rutgers is simultaneously a center of intellectual life, a locus of research activity expanding the boundaries of knowledge, a resource for professional development, a haven for the creative arts, a resource for communities throughout the state, and a key player in the growing global network of scholarship and the practical application of that scholarship. The social and economic progress of New Jersey, including the education of its citizens and future leaders, is one of our key priorities.
    Rutgers instruction, research, and service support New Jersey's growth and development. The money the state invests in Rutgers ($380.6 million in FY 1993) is leveraged with other income sources resulting in $2.06 billion being spent in the New Jersey economy in 1993, over five times the initial state investment. The university's programs and activities generate nearly 8,000 jobs in New Jersey.3 Moreover, Rutgers alumni play key roles in supporting the state's economic development. The university and its members also contribute to the welfare of the state by providing a broad range of public service ranging from legal services for the elderly to social services and alcohol and drug treatment. As a land-grant institution, the university, through the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, disseminates the results of research to solve problems in agriculture, the environment, food science, nutrition, marine and coastal resources, and other areas. The value and importance of higher education and research for the future development of our state have never been more self-evident.

The Global Context

We are increasingly aware of the importance of our position in a worldwide context.  The university exists in a global arena. Our perspectives and academic programs must reflect this context. According to a 1994 Carnegie Foundation report, professors from all around the world support the idea of increased involvement in the larger world. "Overwhelmingly, they feel a professional obligation to apply their knowledge to problems of society, building a bridge between theory and practice."4 The majority of the faculty from the 14 nations surveyed in the Carnegie report believes the curriculum should be more international in focus and notes the evolution of an international scholarly community: "This international network of knowledge and exchange is increasing connections within and across disciplines and creating new forums that will improve higher education worldwide, strengthening the quality of society."
    Over the last few decades Rutgers has transformed itself to become a major influence on the regional and national levels. We are ready to take the next step. The importance of global issues is reflected in many of the unit strategic plans and is clearly affirmed in all three campus plans. An awareness of the importance of global perspectives already profoundly affects curricular decision making. In areas as diverse as management, foreign languages, political science, economics, law, environmental studies, agriculture and applied sciences, and engineering, we are increasingly aware of the importance of our position in a worldwide context. As we review existing curricula and plan for new programs, we are preparing our students for an increasingly global environment.

Interdisciplinary and Intercampus Collaboration

The strategic planning process is committed to the concept of one university, a community which encompasses and represents its many components. This commitment requires us to consider how we are organized. The scarcity of resources in recent years makes this all the more critical. We need to rethink some of our assumptions about how academic disciplines are organized and how faculty are deployed. There is also a need to increase cooperation and collaboration among units at Rutgers on each campus and across campuses. We need to be alert to interdisciplinary developments and prepared to foster new endeavors that cut across traditional academic boundaries. Joint faculty hirings, especially at the senior professional level, have been and continue to be an effective method for such cooperation. Hiring junior faculty with interdisciplinary expertise and a commitment to cooperative approaches and arrangements will further invigorate our programs as we replace faculty we have lost over the last decade. To ensure that our students have sufficient, viable academic options, we will continue to monitor and rationalize our expenditure of resources and will replace unduly duplicative programs in order to provide the best possible academic offerings. Improved integration of academic departments with centers, bureaus, and institutes will bring research strengths and instruction together to maximize productivity. As we have already learned in joint programs with other higher education institutions, we can significantly enhance our own resources through selected cooperative arrangements. This kind of interinstitutional collaboration has proved to be a very efficient and effective way of increasing and enhancing educational offerings, as well as providing additional services to the citizens of the state.

Educational Mission

Historically, liberal arts and sciences have been central to Rutgers' educational mission. They continue to provide the foundation for our academic enterprise.  Ongoing discussions of critical curricular issues demonstrate this long-standing commitment. Universitywide learning goals for undergraduates were developed over the last two years as an outgrowth of the 1992 report, "Rutgers Dialogues: A Curriculum for Critical Awareness."5
Liberal arts and sciences continue to provide the foundation for our academic enterprise.  These liberal arts goals, developed through a comprehensive, inclusive process involving representatives of all colleges and schools that provide undergraduate programs, are now being implemented on all three campuses. The university is committed to providing all students with the skills and knowledge needed to be responsible citizens and productive contributors to intellectual, cultural, and social endeavors. These include intellectual and communication skills; understanding of human behavior, society, and the natural environment; and appreciation of the responsibilities of the individual in society.
Specifically, the new general education guidelines at Rutgers call for development of written and oral communication skills; critical thinking; mathematical, computer, information, scientific, historical, cultural, artistic, literary, and civic literacy; and ethical thinking. Each campus, college, and school has the flexibility to develop unique curricular and cocurricular approaches that are consistent with their particular missions.

The Information Revolution

The strategic planning process has been concerned with balancing and defining the relationship between community and diversity. The information revolution has complicated that concern by transforming the nature of the academic community, as well as how knowledge is generated and transmitted. A university is no longer limited by geography; its boundaries are global. The information revolution has transformed our understanding of how knowledge is generated and communicated. Ramifications for the university are significant as we develop mechanisms to access information and share it, and as we explore the possibilities inherent in new communications systems to enhance our research, instructional, and service missions. The concept of community is expanded from a static gathering to a dynamic electronic network, which integrates voice, video, and electronic data. Engagement is increasingly enhanced through exchange of information made possible by computerized communication links.

Summary

The concept of community informs the entire strategic planning effort. This concept encompasses the diversity of the university community, with the many constituencies and individuals it contains. The process of planning seeks to define more fully the common strains that unite us as a university and make us more than the sum of our parts. In addition, it seeks to place the univer-sity in relationship to larger communities: the state, the nation, and, increasingly, the world.
   The University Strategic Plan reaffirms Rutgers as a community of intellectual and social dimensions. The intellectual life of the university is nurtured by open debate and the free exchange of ideas. The many perspectives provided by the individuals who make up the community invigorate the debate. Rutgers will continue to support and develop programs that bring faculty and students together outside as well as within the classroom. We will not waver in our commitment to academic excellence and to providing meaningful access to that excellence. The concept of community informs the entire strategic planning effort.
    The strategic plan reaffirms the tripartite mission of the university and seeks to define how it will be carried out in the future for the benefit of the state and its citizens. It also underscores the healthy relationship between pure research and practical application.
    Campus and unit plans strongly support enhancements in technological services, administrative efficiencies, service orientation, and an environment that fosters diversity in enrollment and hiring. These goals will continue to be emphasized as we implement our university strategic plan. In addition, the newly established Program for Quality and Communication Improvement, a coordinated universitywide program for developing, applying, and evaluating principles and practices designed to improve quality and communications in higher education, is providing technical assistance to support improvements in service to our students and faculty.

1. Francis L. Lawrence, "Meeting the Challenge: Introducing QCI (Quality and Communication Improvement)," Rutgers Focus, February 15, 1994

2. New Jersey Department of Labor, "Projections 2005: New Jersey Employment and Population in the 21st Century," Division of Labor Market and Demographic Research, November 1992.

3. Office of Institutional Research and Planning, Rutgers University, "Return on the Investment: The Economic Benefits of Rutgers University to the Citizens of New Jersey," 1994.

4. Ernest L. Boyer, The Academic Profession: An International Perspective, Princeton: The Carnegie Foundation, 1994.

5. "Rutgers Dialogues: A Curriculum for Critical Awareness," Report of the Rutgers University Undergraduate Curriculum Steering Committee, 1992.