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 2000-2004 WASC Accreditation  

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Standard 1:  Defining Institutional Purposes and Ensuring Educational Objectives
 
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1.1:  The institution's formally approved statements of purpose and operational practices are appropriate for an institution of higher education and clearly define its essential values and character.

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UC Santa Cruz Summary of Evidence

In the broadest sense UC Santa Cruz shares with all US public institutions of higher education the basic goals articulated by NASULGC of: providing access to quality education; discovering and developing new technologies to keep the nation competitive and safe; producing a skilled workforce; contributing to the nation’s defense and security needs; and advancing the sciences, arts, and humanities vital to social and cultural progress.

Since its founding UC Santa Cruz has been committed to serving the mission of the University of California of excellence in teaching, research, and public service.

“The distinctive mission of the University is to serve society as a center of higher learning, providing long-term societal benefits through transmitting advanced knowledge, discovering new knowledge, and functioning as an active working repository of organized knowledge. That obligation, more specifically, includes undergraduate education, graduate and professional education, research, and other kinds of public service, which are shaped and bounded by the central pervasive mission of discovering and advancing knowledge."

— from the University of California Academic Plan, 1974-1978

UC Santa Cruz’ unwavering adherence to this mission has been clearly articulated throughout the campus’ history, from its first Academic Plan through, most recently, a major campus statement, UCSC at the Crossroads, the report of the 22-member Millennium Committee. The 1998 Millennium Committee report reaffirmed the campus’ commitment to its tripartite mission of teaching, research and service, and challenged the campus to use the then-impending wave of anticipated growth to become an outstanding research university while continuing its uncommon commitment to undergraduate and graduate education.

These goals were developed further in a two-year planning process initiated in 2000 by the Campus Provost in consultation with the academic senate, and articulated in a major position paper, Looking toward the UC Santa Cruz of 2010, which formulated criteria for evaluating campus plans based on their alignment with campus goals. The result of the ensuing planning process led ultimately to the document, Looking toward the UC Santa Cruz of 2010: The Path to implementation, which articulated four areas of critical importance to the evolution of the campus: (1) research leadership, (2) commitment to graduate education, (3) commitment to undergraduate education; and (4) infrastructure investment, and provided an academic vision and resource strategy to reach these goals. Campus Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor and summarized UC Santa Cruz’ Roadmap to 2010 and Beyond in an interview in Currents and available to the campus community on the web.

As the University explores ways to fulfill its core mission in the 21st Century, UC Santa Cruz is uniquely positioned to implement some of the most innovative strategies to maintain and enhance excellence in teaching, research, and service to the state, nation, and world. While the budget exigencies of the state present challenges, the campus’ capacity for growth provide opportunities for continued improvement and relevance. A number of these strategies are discussed in Reflective Essay 1.

Links to Evidence and Related Documents

 
         

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