UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN River Falls

University Center Exterior 

Initiatives

Strategic Plan Initiatives: 2012-2013

  1. Global Scholar Certificate
    Enter onto the DAR of every UWRF student the requirements for the credential of a “Global Scholar Certificate.” Such requirements might include an education abroad course, language competency, course work in international issues and perspectives, and co-curricular activities.
  2. Long-Term Education Abroad
    While maintaining the number of students who engage in short-term education abroad, increase the proportion of students who engage in long-term (semester-length) education abroad.
  3. Rising to Distinction Fundraising Campaign
    Partner with the campus community, alumni, and friends to successfully launch the “Rising to Distinction” fundraising campaign. Expected to be publicly announced in 2012 and envisioned to be a five or six year campaign, the campaign, in the first year (2012-13), will primarily focus on raising funds for two campus priorities: the health and human performance building and Falcon Scholars.
  4. Digital Records Management
    Become a leader in digital records management by developing a full-fledged digital/electronic records program to ensure that those records will be accessible for future uses, including documents from University-supported undergraduate research—for example, the work done through Falcon Scholars program—and from faculty papers.
  5. UWRF International Traveling Classroom-Central/South America
    Develop a full-semester education abroad program in Central and South America called the UWRF International Traveling Classroom-Central American/South America (ITC-CA/SA).
  6. Undergraduate Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity (URSCA)
    Increase URSCA by creating a central URSCA office; promoting URSCA across UWRF; continuing and increasing support to students, both during the academic year and summer sessions. Enhance support for faculty and the infusion of URSCA in the curriculum.
  7. Nature Connected Education
    Support, expand, and develop dynamic, high-quality nature-connected education for all ages, multiple disciplines throughout the university and community.
  8. Sustainability Incubator
    In close partnership with the City of River Falls and the River Falls School District along with our local economic development organizations, offer UWRF undergraduate and graduate students even greater research opportunities in a broad range of sustainability efforts ranging from economic, social, and environmental. Fund student research grants for individual or team efforts on an annual basis that will focus their work around a broad base of sustainability issues with a regional focus.
  9. Ideas and Innovation Incubator
    Establish and support an Ideas and Innovation Incubator (I3) to provide small groups of UW-River Falls faculty and staff the time and resources, including during the summer, to develop ideas and proposals in key areas to support the university’s strategic plan.
  10. Active Learning Classrooms
    Implement current, best-practice, engaged learning with 21st-century, innovative active learning classrooms.
  11. Leadership Institute
    Develop and institute an ongoing leadership program to train and inform all UWRF personnel who are responsible for managing academic departments, units, and colleges of their responsibilities, duties, the responsibilities of those whom they supervise, and the personnel policies of UWRF and UWS.
  12. Building Enrollment through Distinctive Academic Programs
    • Develop a Sustainable Community Development Master Program
    • Add a Montessori Program focus to the MS in Education
    • Establish a fulltime, day-time MBA to meet the needs of students and the business community in the St. Croix Valley
    • Initiate a Master of Science in Computer Science to address and support the changing needs of computer science graduates and the business community
    • Develop a Companion Animal Track attached to the Undergraduate Animal Science/Pre-Vet Program
  13. Internationalizing the UWRF Campus
    • Build the capacity of our faculty and staff to teach content courses in a language other than English (e.g., Mandarin, Spanish) and attract and support students who are non-native English speakers.
    • Develop and deploy signage, web page content, and print or web publications in languages other than English (e.g. Mandarin, Spanish, Hmong, Korean, Japanese, and Arabic).
    • Develop a university wide “Year of . . .” focus on a nation to highlight course content related to the nation and to organize workshops and seminars, cultural events, and visiting lecturers.
    • Growing out of the Internationalization Laboratory develop expanded course content that is globally engaged and internationally focused.