Grow Theme Initiative Updates

This fall, significant work has taken place with our Strategic Plan and preparations for the spring 2022 semester. Dr. Cureton was able to provide an overall update on the plan to the Board of Trustees this week. I'd like to highlight the objectives and deliverables for each of the projects that are a part of the Grow Theme initiatives. 

Academic Programs

• Create a compelling program portfolio that reflects institutional mission and achieves strategic enrollment growth.
• Strategically developing a compelling program portfolio is critical for institutional growth that is:
• • Mission centric/based•Relevant and market driven/informed(clear metrics)
  • Viable and sustainable (favorable margin)
  • Distinctive (competitive advantage)
• Because of the challenge of creating a strategic program portfolio, we must have a process to assess program opportunities that
  • Is supported by the university•Is outcomes based
  • Includes offices from across the institution
  • Provides recommendations on current or future programs to launch, grow, maintain, and sunset
  • Is efficient and effective
    • Conducts a holistic analysis to understand true impact on mission and financial viability, current and future
    • Combines growth and elimination processes around programs to be effective

Global Online

• Strategic analysis of academic, marketing, and enrollment needs completed 
• Analysis of student needs and program models  
• Three-year strategy with goals, objectives, and measurables 
• Program rollout plan with phases;  
• Program launch strategy 
• Plan for ongoing partnership development and growth 
• Assessment of program roll-out and program launch plans and implementation processes 
• Identification ofy new marketing strategies for implementation by May 2022 
• Implementation of new enrollment recruiting and communication strategies 

Unifying Modalities

• A model for appropriate cross-venue flexible student registrationfor existing courses and modalities.
• A model for courses and modalities that are available to students in multiple venues/programs by design.
• A model for appropriate use of emerging modalities, including the following:
  • Hyflex/Multimodal: one course section with multiple modalities (face-to-face, virtual synchronous, and virtual asynchronous) available.Students can choose their preferred modality each week.
  • Multivenue: a course offering that is intentionally designed to be offered to students across multiple venues/student populations (e.g., Trad, AU, and DE).
  • Multivenue Dual Degree: a “multivenue” (see above) course offering that also includes a cross-listed graduate level option.
  • Trad Online: a “Trad” venue course offering that is 100% virtual.
• A model for universal non-degree student engagement with Northwestern.

More information about these initiatives, including work done this fall and next steps for the spring, is available on the Strategic Plan Confluence space. 

Evaluating COVID Protocols

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Preparing for the End of theSemester

Final Exams

As we approach the end of the semester, you may have questions about preparing for and administering final exams. Please review the communication sent earlier this week in regards to support available for you in delivering and for students in completing final exams. 

Commencement Attendance

Attendees to commencement on Friday, December 17 (i.e., full-time faculty, academic administrators, and others who have volunteered to attend) can participate either in person or virtually. You are encouraged to attend this important academic event in person if you are comfortable doing so; face coverings are encouraged, and there will be enough reserved seating so attendees may choose to space themselves every other seat. For those who prefer to attend virtually, we are pleased to be able to offer this option for you. The virtual livestream will be available through this link.

If you choose to participate in person, please accept the invitation sent by Academic Affairs by 4 p.m., Tuesday, December 7, to allow enough time for our teams to finalize preparations for the event. Additional details can be found on the Fall Commencement Planning web page. We look forward to celebrating the success of our students together!

Submitting Final Grades

As you are preparing for the upcoming break, please be aware of the deadline for submitting final grades. As the communication from the Registrar's Office stated, Monday, December 27th, at 10:30 PM is the deadline for submitting Quad 2 and Full Semester grades. Thank you for ensuring grades are submitting prior to this deadline.

Share Your Thoughts

Moving through the end of the semester can be a time of joy, anticipation, stress, and more. For this week's feedback, I'd love to hear how you're feeling as we approach the end of the semester. Please use this anonymous form (feel free to include your name if you'd like) to share your thoughts. Grateful to be on this journey together with you Colleagues!