3.1 Mission
3.1.1 Institutional Mission
The mission statement is current and comprehensive, accurately guides the institution's operations, is periodically reviewed and updated, is approved by the governing board, and is communicated to the institution's constituencies.
Judgement of Compliance
Compliance
Narrative:
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) has a current and comprehensive mission statement that guides the institution’s operations. This mission statement is periodically reviewed and updated, was approved by the governing board, and is communicated widely to all the institution’s constituencies.
UTC’s Mission Statement reads as follows:
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga is an engaged, metropolitan university committed to excellence in teaching, research, and service, and dedicated to meeting the diverse needs of the region through strategic partnerships and community involvement.
UTC also has a Vision Statement that governs the implementation of the Mission statement:
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga will be recognized as a premiere metropolitan university, known for its outstanding undergraduate and graduate academic programs, scholarly and creative achievements, diversity and inclusiveness, and critical partnerships that take advantage of our setting to provide solutions to global concerns.
These statements occur jointly in publications (print and web), and they serve as the foundation of all University operations.
Current and Comprehensive
This mission statement was adopted by the campus in 2007 and replaced an earlier mission statement implemented in 2002. The Mission Statement is comprehensive in that it explicitly expresses a commitment to excellence in the fundamental functions of a university: teaching, research, and service. Defining ourselves as "an engaged, metropolitan university" is also far-reaching through our broad commitments to "strategic partnerships" and "community involvement."
Guides the Institution's Operations
Concurrent with adopting our present Mission Statement in 2007, UTC also developed a major strategic planning document, the UTC Strategic Plan 2008-2013. This extensive document identifies specific institutional core values, particular challenges we are facing, and opportunities that are presenting themselves to the University. The Strategic Plan consists of four Strategic Initiatives intended as guidelines for implementing the Mission Statement. This relationship can be seen through the intentional overlap in language between the Mission Statement and the Strategic Initiatives in such areas as teaching, research, partnerships, etc.
In order to implement the mission-related initiatives called for in the Strategic Plan, the UTC administration established a new administrative body, the University Planning and Resource Advisory Council (UPRAC). This panel, consisting of faculty, administration, and staff, holds final advisory authority for budget planning, campus master facilities planning, technology planning, research initiatives, and student enrollment management. Significant achievements of UPRAC for 2009 are reported in the document, Achieving Progress: Year One Report on the Implementation of the Strategic Plan. A second document, Linking Financial Resources and Allocations to Strategic Planning Initiatives, provides additional information on how the Mission Statement is guiding the allocation of 2010-2011 financial resources. In particular, it should be noted that the institutional priorities highlighted in this document grew directly from the University Mission.
Periodically Reviewed and Updated
Most recent activities relating to review and revision of the Mission Statement may be traced to 2003, when the Provost called for the development of an Academic Strategic Plan. The following year, a Mission Review Task Force was formed with the responsibility of revising the university mission statement. In early 2007, the Chancellor sensed the need for a thorough examination of our strengths, weaknesses, and aspirations; thus, he initiated the Strategic Planning process. This year-long initiative involved participation by all segments of the campus community and resulted in the development of our current Mission Statement and Strategic Plan. This process of planning and review revealed several areas of our mission where enhanced attention is being placed: student success, student access, outreach, economic development, and research. The initiatives identified within the Strategic Plan reflect these areas of emphasis. The current Mission is scheduled for review in 2012, prior to the beginning of the next strategic planning period.
Approved by Governing Board
The current mission statement was approved as part of the UTC Strategic Plan by the UT Board of Trustees at its meeting on June 17, 2009 (see Section XIV, Consent Items, Letter a). The full process for approval began at the institution level, when it was approved in 2007 by the University Planning Council and the Strategic Planning Steering Committee. Implementation began in 2008, and the Board of Trustees formally approved the Strategic Plan, and thus the Mission, in its June, 2009 meeting. In this meeting, the Board handled all Institution Strategic Plans in the UT System.
Communicated to Constituencies
The UTC Mission Statement is communicated extensively to both our on-campus and off-campus constituencies. The Mission Statement is published in the Undergraduate Catalog, the Graduate Catalog, and in numerous web pages accessible from the UTC home page. The Mission Statement also appears in many of the documents prepared for off-campus constituencies, such as the Chancellor’s Roundtable.
Documentation:
- UTC Mission Statement
http://www.utc.edu/About/Mission.php - Strategic Plan
http://www.utc.edu/Administration/StrategicPlan/documents/UTCStrategicPlan.pdf - University Planning and Resource Advisory Council (UPRAC)
http://www.utc.edu/Administration/StrategicPlan/UPRAC.php - Strategic Plan year 1 Report
http://www.utc.edu/Administration/StrategicPlan/Year1/ - Budget and Financial Planning Information
http://www.utc.edu/Administration/BusinessAndFinancialAffairs/2010-11UTCBudgetAndFinancialPlanningInfo.pdf - BOT minutes of approval of mission statement as part of Strategic Plan
http://bot.tennessee.edu/minutes/06172009_boardmeetin.pdf - 2010-2011 Undergraduate Catalog
http://www.utc.edu/Administration/Records/UndergraduateCatalog0910/index.php - 2009-2010 Graduate Catalog
http://www.utc.edu/catalogs/Graduate/GraduateCatalog-2009-10.pdf - UTC web pages
http://www.utc.edu/About/Mission.php
http://www.utc.edu/Administration/StrategicPlan/
http://www.utc.edu/About/
