UAF Strategic Plan for Inclusive Excellence (SP-IE)

 

In support of UAF's Strategic Plan 2027 and as part of meeting the plan's goal #5, UAF's Office of Rights, Compliance and Accountability leads the Strategic Plan for Inclusive Excellence.

At UAF, we value a culture of  respect, diversity, inclusion, caring, accessibility, and accountability. We work every day to operationalize the equity and inclusion that we seek to advance in Alaska and beyond. Genuine equity requires continual transformation: a thorough and deep examination and shift when needed in organizational practices, norms, culture, and composition.


What is "inclusive excellence"?

"Inclusive Excellence re-envisions both quality and diversity. It reflects a striving for excellence in higher education that has been made more inclusive by decades of work to infuse diversity into recruiting, admissions, and hiring; into the curriculum and co-curriculum; and into administrative structures and practices. It also embraces newer forms of excellence, and expanded ways to measure excellence, that take into account research on learning and brain functioning, the assessment movement, and more nuanced accountability structures. In the same way, diversity and inclusion efforts move beyond numbers of students or numbers of programs as end goals. Instead, they are multilayered processes through which we achieve excellence in learning; research and teaching; student development; institutional functioning; local and global community engagement; workforce development; and more."

—"Towards a Model of Inclusive Excellence & Change in Post-Secondary Institutions," Damon Williams, University of Connecticut, and Joseph Berger and Shederick McClendon, University of Massachusetts

Inequality: Unequal access to opportunities.

The concept of inequality is illustrated with a fruit tree that is bent to the left. There is more fruit on the left than on the right. Fruit is falling toward a person on the left and not the person on the right. Graphic text says, Inequality: Unequal access to opportunities.

Equity: Custom tools that identify and address inequality.

The concept of equity is illustrated with a fruit tree that is bent to the left. There is more fruit on the left than on the right. A person on the left is reaching fruit while standing on 3 boxes and a person on the right is reaching fruit while standing on 6 boxes. Graphic text says, Equity: Custom tools that identify and address inequality.

Equality? Evenly distributed tools and assistance.

The concept of questioning equality is illustrated with a fruit tree that is bent to the left. There is more fruit on the left than on the right. A person on the left is standing on 3 boxes and reaching fruit while a person on the right is standing on 3 boxes and not reaching the fruit. Graphic text says, Equality? Evenly distributed tools and assistance.

Justice: Fixing the system to offer equal access to both tools and opportunities.

The concept of justice is illustrated with a fruit tree that is straightened and supported with boards and rope. Fruit is evenly distributed on the tree. A person on the left is standing on 3 boxes and reaching fruit as is a person on the right. Graphic text says, Justice: Fixing the system to offer equal access to both tools and opportunities.

Recreated from Tony Ruth's (@lunchbreath) Shel Silverstein-inspired work for John Maeda's 2019 Design In Tech Report


Core values

These are the core values that guide our activities.

  • Anti-racism

  • Justice

  • Action

  • Inclusion

  • Equity

  • Wellness

Shared language

Developing and utilizing a shared language around Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) is essential for enhancing communication by developing an understanding of purpose and meaning, and strengthening collaboration whether it is simply between a few individuals or across the larger UAF community.


Strategic plan in-depth

UAF Strategic Plan Goal 5 trailer

UAF Strategic Plan for Inclusive Excellence (SP-IE) - Year 1 Accomplishments

UAF Strategic Plan 2027 Goal 5 in-depth presentation


Strategic planning process

The Strategic Plan for Inclusive Excellence (SP-IE) was initiated with the following guiding principles and end goals in mind:

  • Action-oriented to chart a clear path forward, transferring ideas into action;
  • Clear strategies, goals and objectives;
  • Resource/fiscal plan to support each strategy;
  • Accountability through individual responsibility, reporting to leadership and university community; and
  • Continuous evaluation and modification of the plan.

Six phases of Vision Navigation strategic planning

graphic phases meter with current phase indicated as phase six of six.
Phase 1

Strategic planning discovery, orientation and detailed project scheduling

(Project lead)
March-April 2020 (delays due to COVID-19)
  • General information gathered and planning team created
  • Planning process established and scheduled
  • Pertinent documents gathered, such as current product/service offerings, existing purpose statement, values, vision, documentation, and related projects or initiatives.

Phase 2

Develop the vision

(Core team)
May-June 2020 (delays due to COVID-19)
  • Key foundational elements identified: Purpose, Vision, Values, and Lessons learned
  • Public feedback session conducted with students, employees and community members
  • Foundational elements presented to UAF Core Cabinet Team

Phase 3

Complete assessment

(Core team)
June-August 2020
  • Strategic assessment conducted with internal and external environmental scan
  • Potential growth opportunities identified
  • Potential internal improvement opportunities identified
  • Strategic initiatives identified

Phase 4

Affirm the vision and determine the strategic agenda

(Core team)
August 2020
  • Foundational elements finalized
  • Strategic agenda finalized

Phase 5

Project planning

(Core team members with new strategic initiative team members)
September-October 2020
  • Detailed project plans to be developed for key strategic initiatives and internal improvement projects
  • Inclusive Excellence Strategic Plan website goes live
  • Vision Navigation® chart created with quarterly outcomes and accountability for each project
  • Begin use of Vision Navigation® project management tool.

Phase 6

Implementation

(Project team leads with expanded project team members)
Started October 2020 and is ongoing
  • Monthly meetings begin with plan lead and initiative leads for updates and team collaborations on similar projects.
  • Continuously monitor, evaluate and update plan
  • Quarterly progress reports to leadership and university community

The UAF Process Improvement and Training (PIT) Crew, in partnership with Professional Growth Systems, facilitated the original planning process. The UAF PIT Crew will provide ongoing facilitation support as needed. 

Plan lead:
  • Kaydee Van Flein, Interim Director, Office of Rights, Compliance and Accountability

Parallel to the strategic planning process for inclusive excellence, UAF conducted it's institutional strategic plan 2027, strategic enrollment planning and prepared the 2019 accreditation plan. Additional information can be found on all of these initiatives at the following links.