Learning, Engagement and Inclusive Belonging

UCCS will foster a community of learning, engagement and inclusive belonging to nurture the growth and success of faculty, staff and students.

Valerie McClinton

"It was rewarding to think about the future and vitality of this institution"

The teams leads are deeply invested in creating community and belonging on the UCCS campus

“Working on this core strategy was a terrific opportunity to collectively develop important outcomes, initiatives, and measures with staff, faculty, and students across the campus. It was rewarding to think about the future and vitality of this institution and ways in which we provide quality learning experiences that are relevant and lead to students’ professional success."

According to Assistant Director of Academic Advising Valerie McClinton, "This particular strategy touches our hearts because we are highly engaged with students on a day-to-day basis helping them achieve their goals and career aspirations.”

Important Information

Outcomes

This core strategy will:

Advance a culture of innovative and inclusive pedagogy that is relevant to the academic and professional needs of today's students.
Cultivate a culture of inclusive excellence that responds to the diversity of our campus community.
Deepen curricular and co-curricular experiences to foster global perspective, experiential engagement and professional preparation.
Strengthen our culture of health, safety and wellbeing.

Measures of Success

How will we know we're successful? We will have:

Expanded the diversity of faculty and staff.
Improved on key measures in the National Survey of Student Engagement, ACHA-National College Health Assessment (NCHA) and ACHA-National Faculty and Staff Health Assessment (NFSHA).
Increased overall satisfaction and sense of belonging on campus as measured by periodic institutional assessments.
Expanded students' global awareness, co-curricular experiences and experiential learning opportunities.

Initiatives

How will we get there? We will:

Create a purposeful communication model that facilitates effective information sharing, celebrates achievements, and cultivates a strong sense of community across students, staff, and faculty.
Establish formal mentoring opportunities for students, staff, and faculty that support educational, personal, and professional development, an enhanced sense of belonging, and increased retention and persistence.
Cultivate a culture of inclusive excellence that is welcoming and responsive to the needs of a diverse campus community.
Create, promote, and centralize meaningful experiential learning opportunities for all students.
Incentivize faculty in seeking professional development through UCCS faculty development resources to strengthen curricular offerings and innovative teaching practices including Universal Design for Learning methodologies that prepares students for academic success and professional achievements.