Strategic Priority 2
Academic Excellence
Strategic Priority Two, Academic Excellence, focuses on pursuing Carnegie Classification of Research 1 status, developing a culture of sustained excellence through professional development, and our commitment to health, innovative research, and scholarship.
Measures of Success for Academic Excellence focus on degree production for research doctorates, bachelors, and graduate degrees in programs of strategic emphasis.
Goal 2.1
Pursue pathways that position FAMU on a trajectory to become a Carnegie R1 institution.
- Action 2.1.1.1 Identify SUS and aspirational benchmark institutions to compare workloads vs FAMU.
- Action 2.1.1.2 Revise and implement tracks (i.e., teaching, research, teaching-research) or areas of focus for faculty.
- Action 2.1.1.3 Prioritize majors/programs, etc. to create a prioritization where workloads need to be re-balanced.
- Action 2.1.1.4 Evaluate financial models that would enable reconfiguring workloads (i.e., graduate assistants and adjuncts).
- Action 2.1.1.5 Implement initiatives to incentivize faculty members to write collaborative grants where assignment of responsibilities (AOR) release time is prioritized in submitted grants.
- Action 2.1.2.1 Leverage program prioritization study to identify gaps/areas where new programs are needed.
- Action 2.1.2.2 Prioritize areas that have potential for funding (i.e., track record of proven success).
- Action 2.1.3.1 Identify competitive solutions (i.e., start-up packages) to attract and hire new faculty.
- Action 2.1.3.2 Develop a compensation approach to incentivize research activities.
- Action 2.1.3.3 Provide additional resources for work environment/space, equipment, resources for postdoctoral researchers.
- Action 2.1.3.4 Establish pre-award teams within each unit to support principal investigators.
Goal 2.2
Nurture the professional development of faculty and staff across the career span and across disciplines to create a culture of sustainable excellence.
- Action 2.2.1.1 Evaluate incentives for faculty and staff development.
- Action 2.2.1.2 Identify avenues for staff development (i.e., career tracks/paths) to progress within the profession.
- Action 2.2.1.3 Broaden leadership development and succession planning.
- Action 2.2.1.4 Develop an annual professional development learning plan for faculty, staff and administrators.
- Action 2.2.2.1 Assess the market to identify training content for pedagogical best practices.
- Action 2.2.2.2 Increase opportunities for providing high quality remote learning options for students.
- Action 2.2.3.1 Develop approaches to incentivize faculty excellence at all stages of career journey (i.e., rewards, staff/support, compensation, conferences, leadership development opportunities, succession plan, cultural environment).
- Action 2.2.3.2 Implement a sustained system of support for faculty research, scholarship, professional development and active engagement in professional organizations.
- Action 2.2.4.1 Develop a survey instrument for assessing student satisfaction with instruction midterm, end of semester, and at the mid- point and end of program completion.
- Action 2.2.4.2 Provide mechanisms to respond to student feedback including the overall satisfaction with their individual program.
- Action 2.2.4.3 Implement a communication plan and provide incentives for student participation in data collection activities.
- Action 2.2.4.4 Engage student leaders to support incentivizing students.
- Action 2.2.4.5 Strengthen mechanisms to provide feedback to faculty in spirit of continuous improvement.
Goal 2.3
Position FAMU to emerge as a world-class leader in healthcare education, research and service to address disparities, emergent needs and advance holistic well-being.
- Action 2.3.1.1 Identify priority needs and sources of funds, supplies, equipment and technology.
- Action 2.3.1.2 Develop an action plan to secure technology.
- Action 2.3.1.3 Identify training needs and implement a plan for faculty to adopt cutting edge technology.
- Action 2.3.2.1 Identify FAMU’s unique value proposition within healthcare for partnering.
- Action 2.3.2.2 Identify potential public and private entities and develop action plan to pursue partnerships.
- Action 2.3.3.1 Create task force to assess and establish a plan to address the unmet emergent social, emotional, physical and environmental health and wellness needs.
- Action 2.3.3.2 Identify academic programs to address emergent needs.
Goal 2.4
Amplify discovery and innovation to solve complex real-world problems.
- Action 2.4.1.1 Establish a Research Advisory Council (RAC) to enhance FAMU research coordination and productivity.
- Action 2.4.1.2 Create an interdisciplinary research award that allows one course release for principle and co-principle investigators.
- Action 2.4.1.3 Incentivize collaborative interdisciplinary research by establishing an award structure.
- Action 2.4.2.1 Establish a dedicated graduate life center designed to provide a holistic graduate educational experience to include convening, advising, professional development and activities.
