Strategic Plan

General Program Goals and Outcomes

Goal 1.0: Increase visibility of program on-campus and in the community

Outcome 1.1: Increase and improve program publicity

1.1.1 review and revise program brochures (October 2007)

1.1.2 revise program website (May 2008)

1.1.3 establish communication with Academic Advising and Career Services (May 2008)

Outcome 1.2: Establish community advisory board

1.2.1 solicit names of possible board members and inquire about interest in serving on board (September 2007)

1.2.2 create description of Community Advisor Board roles and responsibilities (October 2007)

1.2.3 organize meeting schedule for Board and hold first meeting (February 2008)

Outcome 1.3: Establish women's center taskforce

1.3.1 solicit names of possible taskforce members and inquire about interest in serving on taskforce (April 2008)

1.3.2 organize meetings of taskforce (Fall 2008)

1.3.3 collect information about roles and functions of women's centers locally and nationally (Fall 2009)

1.3.4 decide on feasibility of women's center (Spring 2010)

Outcome 1.4: Establish women's and gender studies executive committee

1.4.1 formalize subcommittees for the women's and gender studies program

1.4.1.1 determine optimal number and types of subcommittees (Fall 2007)

1.4.1.2 determine roles and responsibilities of subcommittees (Fall 2007)

1.4.2 create executive committee (Spring 2007)

Outcome 1.5: Coordinate panels and sessions at the National Women's Studies Association (NWSA) conferences

1.5.1 submit proposals for panels and or sessions at NWSA (yearly)

1.5.2 attend meetings (yearly)

1.5.3 encourage women's and gender studies faculty to attend NWSA (yearly)

Information Sources: program publicity, website, program information at Academic Advising and Career Services events and offices, creation of Community Advisory Board, creation of Women's Center Taskforce, creation of Executive Committee, yearly participation at NWSA.

Teaching Goals and Outcomes

 Goal 2.0: Develop, enhance, and coordinate interdisciplinary curriculum in Women's and Gender Studies

 Outcome 2.1: Undergraduate program

2.1.1 increase number of minors by 10% (May 2010)

2.1.2 coordinate work toward establishing a gender course for LAC (maybe addressing gender, race, ethnicity in science, math, and technology) (May 2009)

2.1.3 encourage teaching of honor's seminars and sections in WGS (continual)

2.1.3.1 seek suggestions from honor's program for course topics

2.1.3.2 seek faculty to teach honor's courses

2.1.4 review curricular requirements (every two years)

2.2.1 stabilize number of incoming students to 5-10/year (May 2010)

2.2.2 implement graduate certificate (May 2008)

2.2.3 identify and develop assessment criteria and strategies for WGS courses (every two years)

Information Sources: curriculum review and assessment, student outcomes assessment plan implementation, enrollment data, course creation, honor's seminars creation, availability of graduate certificate

 Goal 3.0: Foster interdisciplinary collaboration and quality teaching in Women's and Gender Studies

Outcome 3.1 Coordinate faculty development in the area of teaching women's and gender studies

3.1.1 organize workshop on incorporating women's and gender studies issues into the liberal arts core and graduate courses. (May 2009)

3.1.2 organize faculty reading groups (May 2008)

3.1.3 encourage wide attendance at women's and gender studies events in order to create more of a sense of community among faculty (ongoing)

Outcome 3.2 Improve library resources in area of women's and gender studies

3.2.1 establish subcommittee to review and make recommendations for library resources (May 2009)

Information Sources: year end reports, rotation of core classes, syllabi in women's and gender studies courses, recommendations to library

Goal 4.0: Students in this program will know and use feminist perspectives and theories (knowledge), understand and apply methods of Women's and Gender Studies across disciplines (skill), and demonstrate and articulate links between academic inquiry and civic engagement (habits of mind)

Outcome 4.1: Undergraduate

4.1.1 enable students to comprehend intersectional identity, global awareness, and social inequality

4.1.2 enable students to recognize and demonstrate links between academic inquiry and civic engagement

Information Sources: Senior Seminar project, minors' portfolios, course syllabi

Outcome 4.2: Graduate

4.2.1 enable students to comprehend, analyze, and evaluate intersectional identity, global awareness, and social inequality

4.2.2 enable students to comprehend, apply, and evaluate feminist theories and methods appropriate to the study of women and gender

4.2.3 enable students to possess the capability to produce orally and in written form according to the standards appropriate at the graduate level

4.2.4 enable students to demonstrate and articulate links between academic inquiry and civic engagement

 Information Sources: comprehensive exams, thesis, course syllabi, outcomes assessment process

 Research Goals and Outcomes

Goal 5.0: Support critical research in Women's and Gender Studies

Outcome 5.1: Support and strengthen collaboration among faculty in the Women's and Gender Studies Program as it pertains to their scholarship

5.1.1 support opportunities for faculty to present research on and off campus (on going)

5.1.2 increase opportunities for faculty to engage in cross- and inter-disciplinary reading and discussion groups (May 2008)

Outcome 5.2: Introduce faculty not involved in Women's and Gender Studies to the benefits of integrating women's and gender studies issues and feminist theory into their scholarship/creative activity

5.2.1 explore possibilities for on campus workshops/institutes for the incorporation of women's and gender issues into research and creative endeavors (May 2010)

5.2.2 encourage a broad array of faculty to attend women's and gender studies events, particularly those that relate to scholarship (ongoing)

Outcome 5.3: Provide support for those seeking external funding

5.3.1 make available women's and gender studies graduate assistants to those faculty who are seeking external funding (when possible)

5.3.2 review drafts of proposals for external funding which have as a component women's and gender issues or topics (ongoing)

Information Sources: year end report, publications, year end faculty survey, CROW calendar, external and internal research awards, grants, and fellowships for women's and gender studies faculty

Programming Goals and Outcomes

Goal 6.0: Offer co-curricular public programming that addresses women's and gender issues

 Outcome 6.1: Continue regularly scheduled programming

6.1.1 continue Current Research on Women Forum (ongoing)

6.1.2 continue Safe Date Tailgate (Fall semesters)

6.1.3 continue Women's History Month programming (Spring semesters)

Outcome 6.2: Explore a variety of new programming sensitive to women’s and gender studies issues and topics

6.2.1 review requests for support of programs from across campus (ongoing)

6.2.2 evaluate requests for value add to women's and gender studies program with a particular focus on program visibility (ongoing)

6.2.3 support requests from student organizations (like the Gender Equality Association) that plan and carry out events on campus that engage women's and gender studies issues that are of particular interest to students (ongoing)

Outcome 6.3: Increase collaborative programming with organizations in the community and across the state of Iowa

6.3.1 identify organizations in the community which may be willing to work with the women's and gender studies program in the area of co-curricular programming (ongoing)

6.3.2 collaborate with identified community agencies on co-curricular programming (twice per year)

Outcome 6.4: Seek creative ways to fund programming

6.4.1 create and maintain relationships with University Foundation and CSBS and CHFA development officers (ongoing)

6.4.2 apply for on- (several per year) and off-campus (at least one per year) grants to aid in co-curricular programming (ongoing)

Information Sources: annual report summary of programming for year