In Support of a Campus Academic Master Planning Process

Resolution Number: RS18-368
April, 2018
Whereas: 
RATIONALE: An Academic Master Planning process guides a campus through a thorough discussion about the alignment of its academic vision and mission with the vision, mission and values of the University. The process is not unlike that undertaken during the Foundations of Excellence self-study of the first year of college, and results in a plan that guides the University’s decision making and improvement processes around the academic mission of the University. The types of questions asked in preparing an Academic Master Plan could include “Where are we now, in terms of an academic mission & current practices, where will we be in 5 or 10 years with no changes and where do we want to be in 5 to 10 years?” and “How can we get to where we want to be?” The result of this year-long process is an Academic Master Plan that provides a blueprint for future decisions around program development, faculty hiring, fundraising priorities and enrollment management. This plan can and should provide the foundation for future strategic and physical master plans.
Whereas: 
an Academic Master Planning process will guide the campus through a thorough discussion about the alignment of its academic mission with the unique mission of San Francisco State University, which is used to drive the future of the University; and
Whereas: 
an Academic Master Plan delineates the strategies needed to accomplish the academic mission of the university and informs other university planning processes; and
Whereas: 
To be effective, the Academic Master Plan must drive improvement processes for the university; and
Whereas: 
an Academic Master Plan informs program development, faculty hiring, fundraising priorities and enrollment management; and
Whereas: 
an Academic Master Plan will link and specify the relationship between current and future academic programs (undergraduate and graduate) and the creation and utilization of space on the main campus and in other properties (downtown center, Romberg-Tiburon etc.); and
Whereas: 
identification and agreement on parameters for the development of new academic programs, at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, as well as support for current academic programs (at both the graduate and undergraduate levels) that will fulfill the University’s mission; and therefore, be it
Resolved: 
that the Academic Senate of SF State asks that the Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs and the Chair of the Academic Senate compose and charge an Academic Master Plan steering committee during the Spring 2018 semester; and be it further
Resolved: 
that the steering committee should develop a plan for an Academic Master planning process to take place during the 2018-19 academic year; and be it further
Resolved: 
the Academic Master Plan must be data-driven and developed and congruent with the strategic plan for the University, the student success plan and the Foundations of Excellence recommendations; and be it further
Resolved: 
that the development of an Academic Master Plan at SF State must include widespread campus engagement in the conversations leading to the plan and must include the role of student support services in the academic mission of SF State; and be it further
Resolved: 
that the campus undertake a guided and thorough discussion about the nature of pedagogy, including assessment of student learning, for current and future programs, and how pedagogy shapes the needs of faculty development and physical space construction and development; and be it further
Resolved: 
that the Academic Master Plan at SF State not be a program prioritization process nor a disguised process to eliminate academic programs; and be it further
Resolved: 
that the Academic Master Plan at SF State will provide the foundation for future strategic and physical master plans; and be it further
Resolved: 
that a draft of the Academic Master Plan for San Francisco State University be completed by June 2019 and that the final plan be reviewed every five years.