Strategic Planning

The world is changing rapidly, in ways both exciting and challenging. Curricula must therefore be regularly examined and refreshed to ensure alignment with students’ goals and the complex needs of an evolving economy and labor market. The curriculum must also be nimble and adaptive to prepare students to succeed as demands change and expectations rise. Baruch will review and reimagine its curriculum to better prepare students to be local, national, and global leaders who are capable of solving difficult and multifaceted problems. This renewed curriculum will include both substantive areas— emerging domains in which students need to be well-versed to participate—and core competencies—skills Baruch students will need to be successful regardless of their field.

THE FOCUS OF BARUCH’S RENEWED CURRICULUM

• • 3.1. Review and renew curricula in all three schools to ensure that graduates of any of Baruch’s academic programs are well prepared for success, leadership, and rewarding careers.
  • 3.2. Develop creative curricular innovations and programs, and build faculty expertise to develop students’ capacity to address critical and emerging issues, such as:
    • 3.2.1. Diversity, and inclusion; social justice and equity.
    • 3.2.2. Global climate change and the need to adopt sustainable practices, beginning with individual behavior, policies and decision-making.
    • 3.2.3. Digital and technological information competencies, including the application of emerging tools to the changing nature of work.
  • 3.3. Integrate the development of certain core competencies, such as those listed below, throughout the curriculum as informed by academic best practices, research, and feedback from professional associations, employers, and alumni.
    • Critical thinking, analytical, and problem- solving skills
    • The application of learning to practical situations
    • Oral, digital, and written communication skills
    • Teamwork, social intelligence, and interpersonal relationship skills
    • Cultural and ethical competence
  • • 3.3.1. Further strengthen curricular innovation through resource allocation and philanthropic assistance for Baruch’s specialized support entities, including:
      • The Center for Teaching and Learning
      • The Schwartz Communication Institute
      • The Writing Center
      • Tools for Clear Speech
      • The Student Academic Consulting Center, and
      • Conversation Partners
  • 3.4. Increase experiential and inquiry based learning opportunities so students can apply and deepen their classroom learning through disciplinary and interdisciplinary research, as well as robust learning experiences outside the classroom.
    • 3.4.1. Expand students’ opportunities for service learning, civic engagement, professional development, and on-campus leadership opportunities.
    • 3.4.2. Enhance relationships with companies and organizations in the New York City area to expand the number of relevant and purposeful paid or credit-bearing internships for Baruch students.
  • 3.5. Further advance progress in fulfilling the College’s commitment to global perspectives, education, and experiences, through such efforts as:
    • 3.5.1. Faculty initiatives, such as participation in the Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) Faculty Fellows Program; faculty-led, short-term study abroad opportunities; and globally themed sections of the First-Year Seminar, speech communication, and the Feit Seminar.
    • 3.5.2. Curricular integration of global competencies through a variety of academic majors and minors.
    • 3.5.3. Greater coordination of “Global Encounters” on campus, including deliberate opportunities that bring domestic and international students together in meaningful ways, and deeper engagement with New York City-based international organizations, such as the United Nations and international nongovernmental organizations located in New York.
    • 3.5.4. Establishment of connections among Baruch students and alumni who are studying and living abroad.
  • 3.6. Increase opportunities for lifelong learners and career changers through expanded graduate, executive education, and non-degree programs.

SUPPORT FOR DEVELOPING THE RENEWED CURRICULUM

• 3.7. Create and sustain a culture of ongoing curricular innovation and collaboration across the College.
  • 3.7.1. Reexamine the role of the Joint Curriculum Committee to consider adding responsibility for curricular development, innovation, and cross-disciplinary fertilization.
  • 3.7.2. Identify and scale sustainable models for academic programs that promote interdisciplinary approaches to complex questions and problems.
  • 3.7.3. Incentivize curricular innovation and connect faculty across school and departmental and boundaries using the master teacher-scholar fellows initiative as referenced above.

Baruch will continue to support and promote the success of all its students. The College will strive to further increase graduation rates across the institution and close or narrow the persistent achievement gap between various groups of students. To accomplish this, Baruch will foster and sustain a culture in which student retention, momentum, and success are the responsibility of everyone at the College—students, faculty, staff, and administrators. An important manifestation of this culture will be a seamless experience of student support, grounded in good service and facilitated by up-to-date technology—the purpose of which will be to improve students’ experience from admission through graduation and engagement with the College as active alumni.

• 4.1. Increase graduation rates for all Baruch students by ensuring they maintain academic momentum.
  • 4.1.1. Increase the number of students taking and completing 30 credits per year.
  • 4.1.2. Continue and support the work of the Momentum and Completion team to identify key success indicators; monitor student progress; collect, analyze, and report data on persistence, retention, and attrition; and support student progress towards completion
  • 4.1.3. Increase graduation rates as follows:
    • 4.1.3.1. First-time, full-time freshmen: Four year graduation rate to 45 percent; six-year graduation rate to 75 percent.
    • 4.1.3.2. Full-time transfer: Six-year graduation rate to 75 percent
  • 4.1.4. Close the graduation-rate achievement gap by increasing the four- and six-year graduation rates for underrepresented students.
• 4.2. Ensure all Baruch students have access to the personal, academic, and professional support services they need to thrive and be successful.
  • 4.2.1. Promote a healthier Baruch by encouraging students to seek the mental health counseling and health and wellness services they need to learn and succeed in college.
  • 4.2.2. Create a seamless student support experience through the integrated use of in-person and technology-based support services, including the development of a virtual “One Stop” shop for student services such as advising, career services, and financial aid.
    • 4.2.2.1. Maintain a central database of students’ interactions with various services and offices to promote efficiency, continuity, and consistency in supporting their success.
    • 4.2.2.2. Promote more effective referrals by providing faculty and staff with comprehensive information and training about the services available to students.
    • 4.2.2.3. Ensure that resources—including staffing, funding, space, and technology—for student-support functions such as academic advisement, the Counseling Center, the Student Academic Consulting Center, and the SCDC, are sufficient to provide access to services for all students.
    • 4.2.2.4. Conduct benchmarking research at peer institutions to identify innovative student support models.
  • 4.2.3. Support students’ career development throughout their time at Baruch by infusing their experience with programs and services that engage them in self-assessment activities, help them explore and develop their talents and skills, and obtain employment in their desired field.
  • 4.2.4. Ensure that students enrolled in non-credit Continuing and Professional Studies and Executive Management courses and programs have access to resources that support their learning and assist them in achieving their academic and professional goals.
  • 4.2.5. Strengthen ties to the alumni network and grow student opportunities for mentoring, experiential learning, and employment by increasing coordination between the Office Alumni Relations and Volunteer Engagement, the Office of College Advancement, various career services entities, and academic departments in all three schools.
• 4.3. Enhance student and alumni engagement.
  • 4.3.1. Develop a broad range of opportunities and enhanced physical space to strengthen engagement of undergraduate and graduate students with the College and with each other.
  • 4.3.2. Expand the committed alumni community by engaging them with new ideas and opportunities. Increase alumni participation in student career events, recruiting, and volunteer opportunities such as mentoring.

Baruch College enjoys the benefit of tremendous diversity because of its location in the heart of one of the most diverse cities in the world and because of its long-standing commitment to providing an affordable education to the students of New York City. The College now commits to harness and build on the strengths of that diversity by engaging in intentional conversations about diversity, equity, and inclusion; striving to hire a broadly diverse faculty and staff; promoting an inclusive and supportive environment for all members of the College community; and developing the cultural competencies of its students, faculty, staff, and administration.

• 5.1. Create and coordinate campus wide programming, resources, and educational opportunities regarding issues of diversity, inclusion, and cultural competence.
  • 5.1.1. Designate functions that will be responsible and accountable for coordinating strategies and disseminating information about diversity and inclusion initiatives and events on campus.
  • 5.1.2. Create opportunities for collaboration on diversity and inclusion efforts and projects among the offices of student affairs, academic affairs, and enrollment management and strategic academic initiatives.
  • 5.1.3. Create workshops, lecture series, forums, and training opportunities on diversity, inclusion, equity, and equality to increase cultural competence, recognizing and showcasing the expertise and talent of faculty and staff.
• 5.2. Integrate diversity, inclusion, and cultural competency into the curriculum, infuse cultural competency in pedagogy, and support diversity- focused research.
  • 5.2.1. Establish program and learning goals that include diversity, inclusion, and equity.
  • 5.2.2. Create and fund fellowships and scholarly incentives for diversity and inclusion projects and initiatives.
  • 5.2.3. Encourage cross-disciplinary collaborations around diversity and inclusion-related topics
  • 5.2.4. Provide support to faculty and departments in meeting the learning needs of a diverse, multilingual, global student body.
• 5.3. Cultivate a College-wide value system that is respectful and mindful of the expansive diversity of the College community members.
  • 5.3.1. Establish operational and behavioral standards for conducting the work of the College with collegiality and respect.
  • 5.3.2. Create a College-wide diversity and inclusion statement, as well as a common language for respectful discussions of diversity on campus.
  • 5.3.3. Form a Presidential Advisory Council on Diversity and Inclusion, the members of which will be representative of the faculty, staff, students, and administration and appointed by the president. Charge this Council with supporting Baruch in assessing and enhancing a diverse and respectful campus community.
  • 5.3.4. Protect long-standing academic principles of freedom of thought and expression in all aspects of Baruch’s curriculum, pedagogy, and activities.
• 5.4. Increase efforts to recruit and retain a diverse faculty, staff, and student body.
  • 5.4.1. Develop specific goals for increasing diversity and support mechanisms designed to facilitate and promote the academic success and retention of underrepresented faculty, staff, and students at Baruch College.
  • 5.4.2. Develop pipelines for faculty, administrators, and students from underrepresented groups.
  • 5.4.3. Recognize as service to the College the activities of those who work to foster Collegewide diversity and inclusion through committee leadership, program development, and mentoring and advising of students from underrepresented groups.
  • 5.4.4. Develop mentorship opportunities for faculty and staff from underrepresented groups to improve their success in teaching, research, service, and advancement.
  • 5.4.5. Develop a peer-mentorship program for students from underrepresented groups to improve academic and career success, group cohesion, and affinity.
  • 5.4.6. Explore the creation of a Diversity and Inclusion Innovation Award for faculty and staff