3.1 Mission Statement
Commission Standard: The institution has a clear and comprehensive mission statement that guides it; is approved by the governing board; is periodically reviewed by the board; and is communicated to the institution's constituencies .
Status: In Compliance
Rationale: Western has a comprehensive mission statement based on work done in the fall of 1997, when incoming President Ransdell charged the provost and chief financial officer with developing a new strategic plan. The provost appointed a representative committee of faculty and administrators for the purpose, and the group drafted not only a strategic plan but also a modified mission statement. The statement has been refined since then, each time with the approval of the board of regents, so that today it reads
Western Kentucky University prepares students to be productive citizens of a global society and provides service and lifelong learning opportunities for its constituents.
This statement is accompanied by a university vision and an expanded “statement of purpose,” also approved by the board, that further define Western's mission.
Vision Statement
Western Kentucky University aspires to be the best comprehensive public institution in Kentucky and among the best in the nation.
Statement of Purpose
Western Kentucky University provides students with rigorous academic programs in the liberal arts and sciences and traditional and emerging programs, with emphasis at the baccalaureate level, complemented by relevant associate and graduate-level programs.
The university places a premium on teaching and learning. Its faculty engage in creative activity and diverse scholarship, including basic and applied research, designed to expand knowledge, improve instruction, increase learning, and provide optimum service to the state and nation. The University directly supports its constituents in its designated service areas of Kentucky with professional and technical expertise, cultural enrichment, and educational assistance. The University encourages applied research and public service in support of economic development, quality of life, and improvement of education at all levels, especially elementary and secondary schools. In particular, WKU faculty will contribute to the identification and solution of key social, economic, and environmental problems throughout the University's primary service area.
Maintaining a campus of distinctive history and character, Western sustains a student population of increasing quality. It fulfills its responsibility for access through its community college, extended campus programs, and distance learning.
Western's commitment is to ensure value in a holistic learning experience through high standards for student achievement and conduct, a strong faculty, technological innovation, personalized attention, broad access, and public accountability for actions and outcomes.
Western Kentucky University recognizes that its mission continues to evolve in response to regional, national, and global changes, and the need for lifelong learning.
Western's statements of mission, vision, and purpose are the cornerstones of the university's strategic plan, which is revised every three years ( Planning Overview ). At those times or others the regents consider appropriate, the mission, vision, and purpose statements are also reviewed and may be revised as well.
Western's current strategic plan, Challenging the Spirit, 2003-06 , starts with the university's mission, vision, and purpose statements, and links these to our five strategic goals:
Increase student learning
Develop the student population
Assure high quality faculty and staff
Enhance responsiveness to constituents
Improve institutional effectiveness
As explained above in Core Requirement 2.5 , these goals, each heading an array of more specific objectives, underlie Western's planning and evaluation procedures, which in turn are used to inform policy, operating, and budget decisions. Planning and evaluation are the mechanisms through which our mission, vision, and purpose statements guide the institution.