WCU CSD 2009-2019 Strategic Plan
The Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Western Carolina University
has participated in strategic planning since 2008. Efforts have resulted in the identification
of four areas for program growth. During the 2008 year, these areas were generated
and assigned to faculty study groups that wrote 1, 3, 5, and 10 year goals and strategies.
What follows is a presentation of strategic areas for growth over the next decade.
The Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders has disseminated this plan
to the Deans of the College of Health and Human Sciences and the WCU Graduate School.
It has also been disseminated to the Department’s Program Advisory Committee and is
available to interested parties through the Departmental website.
Progress with and revisions specific to the plan will be reviewed by the faculty
each academic semester. Progress and revisions will be posted on the Departmental
website annually. Any program constituent wishing to comment on or contribute to
this plan should email Dr. Bill Ogletree at Ogletree@wcu.edu.
Area 1: Academic/Scholarship
Year 1
1. Receipt of external funding to support students and/or faculty research.
Strategies
a. Continuation of existing Department of Education funding in support of student
training in severe disabilities and autism.
b. Create mentoring relationship between junior faculty and Departmental endowed
chairs to
support proposal identification and generation.
2. Increase student theses.
Strategies
a. Make students aware of advantages associated with the thesis option.
b. Make Grad School information and resources related to theses more available.
c. Inform students of IRB policies as they enter the graduate program..
d. Utilize former students/guest speakers who have completed theses to discuss the
process and advantages.
e. Promote early identification of solid students and mentor into thesis consideration.
Year 3
1. Increase expressive scholarship from faculty and students. (This is a commitment
to scholarship in all areas.)
Strategies
a. Provide rotating internal .25 load releases for projects approved by the faculty
at large.
b. Encourage use of students on research efforts. Promote faculty-student mentoring
relationships around research.
c. Increase knowledge of university support for research. Make junior faculty aware
of all internal competitive awards supporting research.
d. Consider faculty/student research support group to increase research dialogue.
2. To receive additional external funding to support students and/or faculty research.
Strategies
a. Increase faculty knowledge of Grad School support for the generation of funding
proposals.
b. Provide internal .25 semester release for proposal generation if supported by
faculty at large. (This will be reserved for larger proposals – over $50,000.)
Year 5
1. Establish WCU doctoral cohort through UNCG.
Strategies
a. Promote dialogue with UNCG faculty on logistics of effort.
b. Produce “white paper” for general administration at UNCG and WCU.
2. Create international/multilingual link with UNC Central.
Strategies
a. Explore participation in existing UNC-Central programs.
b. Promote scholarship and exchange programs.
3. Increase collaborative efforts across disciplines at WCU
Strategy
a. Explore interdisciplinary activities with new building.
Year 10
1. Establish undergraduate and graduate presence in Asheville area.
Strategy
a. Conduct feasibility study for graduate/undergraduate instructional site in Asheville
b. Hire two new tenure-track faculty to teach curriculum by 2018.
c. Begin limited course offerings by 2019.
Area 2: Clinical
Year 1
1. Continue clinic family night activities intended to focus on the needs of families
with preschool and school-aged children served in the WCU Speech and Hearing Center.
Strategies
a. Determine interest in/need for clinic family night events for fall and spring.
b. Determine other possible venues for family education. Consider collaborative
opportunities with other agencies serving families.
2. Continue adult fluency support group.
Strategies
a. Determine interest in/need for fluency support activities in the fall and spring
semesters.
b. Explore broadening experiences to include more faculty and students.
3. Build new clinical connections within the Western North Carolina region. These
could build off-campus site options for students and to create collaborative relationships
with the program at large.
Strategy
a. Explore collaborative possibilities with sites not currently participating in
the WCU CSD program including schools, private practices, hospitals, long-term care
facilities.
Year 3
1. Build services and financial clinic support by increasing referral base through
efforts described under #3 above.
Strategies
a. Prioritize clinical faculty positions in College of Health and Human Sciences
staffing plans to accommodate growth.
b. Utilize fees for services to support clinical positions (faculty and staff).
c. Consider external funding to support special clinical training activities.
2. Increase clinical collaboration with other departments and colleges on campus.
Strategies
a. Initiate communication and planning with departments within the College of Health
and Human Sciences regarding joint clinical ventures.
b. Initiate communication and planning with departments in other colleges that provide
clinical services , e.g., Psychology.
c. Begin to consider procedures for inter- and transdisciplinary clinical ventures.
3. Increase diversity of clinical services to provide additional clinical and research
experiences for students and faculty as well as meet the needs of at risk populations.
Strategies
a. Examine and possibly adopt procedures used by other WCU departments and clinics
for creating diverse experiences.
b. Examine and possibly adopt procedures used by other universities and programs
engaging in diverse experiences.
c. Identify funding related to increasing diverse clinical experiences.
Year 5
1. Secure grant funding to support innovative clinical services and possibly meet
the needs of the community.
Strategies
a. Identify funding opportunities related to clinical needs and student/faculty
interests by year 3. (See year 3, goal 1. ) Identify lead faculty PIs.
b. Submit one or more proposals by year 4.
c. Receive funding by year 5.
2. Create international practicum experiences for summer sessions.
a. Examine procedures used by other departments and colleges to establish international
study and clinical experiences. Identify lead faculty participants.
b. Establish international colleague liaisons and possibly target exchange experiences.
c. Research and explore funding possibilities by year 4.
d. Create first exchange experience by year 5.
3. Expand services for Hispanic population.
a. Examine procedures used by other departments and colleges currently engaging
in services to the local Hispanic population.
b. Offer opportunities for faculty and students to expand Spanish proficiency.
c. Build multilingual student population through broad-based advertisement and recruitment.
4. Generate specialty clinical programs consistent with faculty interest and community
need.
a. Identify faculty interests and community needs.
b. Consider space and scheduling needs for programs.
c. Consider external funding for programs.
d. Determine collaborative interest among faculty and potential collaborative partners.
Year 10
1. Establish and be known for steeples of excellence related to clinical offerings.
Strategies
a. Achievement of the aforementioned goals.
b. Receipt of additional grant/contract funding to support areas of excellence.
Area 3: Outreach
Year 1
1. Consistently produce a newsletter for alumni, students, and constituents. Include
opportunities for alumni giving to support specific departmental projects.
Strategies
a. Identify faculty and students with interest in producing the newsletter.
b. Identify production timelines.
c. Produce and distribute at least one issue annually.
2. Create a WCU CSD Facebook site for student and alumni use.
Strategies
a. Identify faculty and students with interest in establishing and maintaining the
site.
b. Notify students and alumni of the site once it is ready.
3. Market program to alumni, students, constituents through website.
Strategies
a. Review current site for updates regarding faculty interests and clinical services.
b. Review current site for updates specific to student recruitment. Work with other
departments to determine effective recruitment aspects of sites.
4. Increase undergraduate admissions.
Strategies
a. Work with WCU advising to promote earlier identification of CSD as a potential
major at WCU.
b. Offer general courses open to all students on hot topics (e.g., autism) to attract
undergraduate interest.
c. Promote job options/flexibility on website and in early undergraduate classes.
d. Partner graduate students with interested undergraduates as mentors.
e. Have CSD major featured in College of Health and Human Sciences published materials
for undergraduates to promote awareness of the major.
f. Participate in freshman move in days and recruitment fairs on campus.
g. Promote undergraduate NSSLHA involvement.
5. Increase applications for graduate school in CSD.
Strategies
a. Refresh website according to aforementioned strategies.
b. Increase contacts with “undergraduate only” programs.
c. Recruit at national, regional, and state conferences.
Year 3
1. Have achieved a 20% increase in undergraduate admissions.
Strategies
a. See aforementioned strategies.
2. Have achieved a 20% increased in graduate applications.
Strategies
a. See aforementioned strategies.
3. Increased outreach efforts to Hispanic community.
Strategies
a. Meet with local Hispanic council and service provider groups.
b. Recruit bilingual students/faculty.
c. Promote Spanish as an elective for undergraduate students.
Year 5
1. Market the program for its steeples of excellence. These might include emphases
upon unique clinical/academic offerings, grant funding, international opportunities.
Strategies
a. Identify steeples and associated faculty.
b. Include information about steeples in newsletters, on the website, and in other
recruitment materials.
2. Increase quality and diversity of student base.
Strategies
a. Utilize internal university mechanisms to identify potential students from diverse
groups.
b. Continue graduate recruitment efforts with traditionally African American institutions
with undergraduate CSD programs.
c. Obtain increased student support both internally and externally for stipends
and graduate assistantships.
Year 10
1. Extend outreach efforts to Asheville through satellite efforts.
Strategies
a. See Academic/Scholarship Area.
Area 5: QEP “Connections”
Year 1
1. Develop an information form for each undergraduate class detailing how the class
relates to the QEP (Connections to the community, service learning, connections to
other courses in our major, connections to life-long learning).
Strategies
a. Have faculty working group circulate template for use during Fall, 2009 courses.
b. Have finished form available for class in the Spring of 2010.
2. Develop a QEP statement for use in all undergraduate course syllabi.
Strategies
a. Have faculty working group circulate a draft statement by October, 2009.
b. Have statement approved by the faculty for use in syllabi for Spring, 2010 term.
Year 3
1. All undergraduate students will participate in at least one service learning project
per term if they follow a traditional track to graduation.
Strategy
a. Generate opportunities for service leaning in a sufficient number of undergraduate
classes each semester to accommodate goal 1.
2. Build an undergraduate advising component that will assist students with assessing
their progress with QEP activities.
Strategy
a. Develop a flow-sheet/questionnaire that allows students and faculty advisors
to monitor QEP connection activities.
Year 5
1. Develop a QEP advising site connected to the Departmental website.
Strategy
a. Create website links that have FAQs, flow-sheets, and online advisor evaluations
for the QEP process.
Year 10
1. Participate in ongoing review of the QEP process.
Strategies
a. Conduct annual reviews of QEP activities and their effectiveness.
b. Modify QEP as needed to assure relevance.
Resources Needed for Plan
1. Financial support both external and internal.
2. New faculty lines associated with growth to campus in the Asheville area.
3. Online recourses for faculty related to acquiring Spanish (tutorial).
4. Space for new clinical and academic activities (offices, lab space, instructional
space).
5. Time for grant writing, creative instructional and clinical activities.