Foster Excellent Academic and Student Programs

Universities earn reputations as destination campuses because, foremost, they are strong academically. Importantly, they also make student welfare a priority and provide a campus-community experience that is cherished for life. Sacramento State places a premium on precisely these elements of a university education. Destination 2010 reflects our ongoing commitment to provide the best in academic and student programs.

Through Destination 2010 we will foster excellence in academic and student programs by:

Recognizing diversity as vital to developing the “New California”

Sacramento State points with pride to the incredible mix of cultural heritages and experiences that enriches academic and campus community life. Ours is a university in which students of many backgrounds pursue life's opportunities. We will be responsive to their needs. We will continue to provide the best education to every student. We are committed to becoming a partner in building the "New California" in the most positive ways.

Goals:

• Strengthen multicultural programs and activities throughout the University.
• Improve strategies for recruitment, admission, advising, retention, and graduation outcomes for a student body reflecting the significant diversity of our region.
• Increase efforts to recruit and retain faculty and staff members from underrepresented populations.
• Increase curricular attention to the role of globalization and immigration in shaping definitions of diversity and developing the "New California."

PROGRESS

Recruiting the best faculty

Our faculty places quality teaching first and supports it with currency in research and creative activities. We have hired more than 400 new faculty members in the past eight years (more than 60 percent of our permanent faculty), all with the doctorate or other appropriate terminal degree. Excellence in teaching is the priority element in the evaluation of faculty performance, and our faculty members are active scholars.

Goals:

• Continue to attract and retain top teacher-scholars.
• Increase opportunities for faculty members to develop professionally.

We want our students to work closely with our faculty members. Our students are taught by faculty members, not their graduate students. We pursue a low student-faculty ratio through a reasonable balance of seminars and lectures. We offer a new honors program, freshman seminars and courses structured as "learning communities." We provide opportunities for enrollment in faculty-supervised internships, research and creative projects, and service-learning experiences.

Goal:

• Increase opportunities for student-faculty interaction.

PROGRESS

Continually assessing and strengthening academic and related co-curricular offerings

A strong liberal arts and sciences foundation is necessary for individual lifetime career flexibility and for addressing California's expanding domestic and global challenges. We stress writing skills, critical thinking, and exposure to the arts in our general education programs. Given our location in California's capital and the rapidly developing Sacramento Region, we also focus attention upon the state's and region's links to global trends, the implications of the "New California's diversity, and the process and outcomes of policy formation at local and state levels.

Goals:

• Continually evaluate general education and graduation requirements in terms of our students' capacity to respond to changing economic and career conditions throughout life.
• Integrate more systematically academic (curricular) and student (co-curricular) programming.
• Maintain Sacramento State's presence as a cultural arts "hub" for the Sacramento Region.
• Develop partnerships within the region to advance Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) initiatives.
• Increase curricular attention to local and state policy formation.

We take pride in our highly rated professional programs. Graduates of our nationally accredited professional colleges form the core of the Sacramento Region’s professional workforce: nurses, teachers, engineers, and business professionals. They are known for their strong work ethic and their practical approach to problem-solving. As well, upon graduation, many of our students matriculate to top graduate and professional doctoral programs.

Goals:

• Increase our roster of applied graduate programs and expand capacity in high-demand programs such as nursing.

PROGRESS

Utilizing the best in teaching and learning technology

At Sacramento State, our goal is to develop, implement and utilize technology to support and ultimately to transform teaching and learning.  We promote communication, collaboration, and explorative learning in addition to making content and formative assessment available anytime and anywhere.  We want our students to graduate with a fluency in information technology that provides an edge in career development.

Goals:

• Support faculty as they evaluate, select and implement technology in support of their teaching and learning values and goals.
• Continually improve classroom and information technology to keep pace with the changing expectations of the learning environment, culture and society.
• Utilize technology to augment students' learning opportunities.

PROGRESS

Providing comprehensive student services and programs

We want our students to experience a smooth transition into and continued success at Sacramento State. Our services are geared toward facilitating easy entry into the University as a freshman or a transfer student. We make every effort to evaluate applications and to notify applicants promptly of their status. We focus upon facilitating progress to graduation. Sacramento State provides advising with a personal touch, enhanced by easy-to-follow "mapping to graduation" and web-based queries and answers.

Goals:

• Facilitate entry into Sacramento State.
• Streamline and improve our financial aid process.
• Improve electronic and web-based communication and services for prospective, new and continuing students.
• Continually improve advising of students.
• Provide timely assistance to students experiencing academic difficulties.
• Facilitate progress to graduation.

We offer attention to the whole student. Our focus upon student welfare and success is not limited to academic life. Sacramento State offers more than 200 organizations and clubs, recreational and NCAA sports, professional and social fraternities and sororities, student government activities, and programs for leadership development. We also stress health and wellness. Our medical and counseling services are exceptional, as are our problem-awareness, education, and advocacy programs. We engage our students as potential leaders. We provide excellent career counseling and, through the College of Continuing Education, life-long opportunities to pursue educational and career interests. Finally, we stay in touch, for life, keeping our graduates abreast of the University's accomplishments and networking opportunities.

Goals:

• Initiate a multi-dimensional wellness program.
• Expand opportunities for student leadership and involvement in program development.
• Enhance efforts by Associated Students, Inc., Student Activities, the Career Center and other departments to augment students' traditional learning with more experiential education.
• Continually improve delivery of career counseling services.
• Provide career and skill enhancement opportunities for students after graduation.
• Enhance alumni networking opportunities.

PROGRESS