Mission, Vision, Values & Strategic Plan

Introduction

The Recreation and Park Administration program’s Strategic Plan provides a shared vision for the future and a series of goals and actions. The plan draws upon past history, input from the program’s stakeholders and represents an extension of Illinois State University’s Educate Connect Elevate Strategic Plan as well as the College of Applied Science and Technology and School of Kinesiology & Recreation’s Strategic Plans. Guided by this meaningful engagement, the Recreation and Park Administration program’s Strategic Plan lays out actions to enhance student and faculty excellence, engage in scholarship and innovative practices, develop the program’s signature areas, maintain a constructive culture of collaboration, broaden and deepen the diversity of our community, and contribute to the profession through outreach and service activities.

We Value:

Community & camaraderie
Innovation & growth
Diversity, inclusion & social justice
Student engagement in out-of-class, real-world learning experiences
Individualized attention
Lifelong learning & scholarship
Respect & integrity
Leadership
Critical thinking & problem solving
Balanced approach to teaching and research
Evidence-based informed teaching
Collaboration
Outreach & civic engagement
Curriculum based on industry requirements, needs, and best practices

Mission Statement

The Recreation and Park Administration program is a diverse community of scholars and learners that prepares students to work in a variety of public, private and nonprofit organizations through student-centered instruction, high-impact research, and meaningful community engagement.

Vision

Our students and faculty are leaders in the leisure service industry working to enhance the field through innovation and inclusion.

Goals

Five goals were developed to support the Recreation and Park Administration program’s values, mission, and vision. To provide a more precise direction, strategic priorities were developed for each goal.

Goal 1: Foster a positive culture within RPA that promotes collegiality, professional growth, and internal & external relationships.

1.10: Engage in professional development to support teaching, research, and service.

1.20: Provide opportunities and support to capitalize on faculty areas of specialization.

1.30: Participate in collaborative efforts with on-campus and off-campus entities.

1.40: Continue to build a welcoming and approachable culture within the RPA program.

Goal 2: Prioritize commitment to diversity, inclusion, and social justice.

2.10: Actively recruit for diversity among students and faculty.

2.20: Develop and implement strategies to retain underrepresented students and faculty.

2.30: Provide opportunities for students and faculty to advance their awareness and understanding of diversity, inclusion, and social justice.

2.40: Create opportunities to address mental health for students and faculty.

2.50: Commit to data transparency regarding diversity, inclusion, and social justice initiatives and successes.

Goal 3: Ensure the success of a new generation of students with diverse interests and academic needs.

3.10: Recruit and retain high caliber undergraduate and graduate students.

3.20: Establish and implement forward thinking initiatives to maintain enrollment numbers over time.

3.30: Establish and implement support structures to ensure the success of our underrepresented students.

3.40: Develop mechanisms to alleviate student costs.

Goal 4: Cultivate innovative curriculum, excellent teaching, and high-impact research across all academic programs.

4.10: Foster individualized attention through the customization of student learning experiences.

4.20: Expand course offerings online while maintaining high impact learning of the traditional classroom space.

4.30: Design educational opportunities that support the needs of the diverse student population and changing enrollment

4.40: Ensure students are getting a variety of out-of-classroom touch points (e.g., outreach projects, conferences, service learning, professional mentored projects, etc.) each semester.

4.50: Increase visibility, funding, and impact of research and other scholarly activities.

4.60: Increase student engagement in scholarly activities.

Goal 5: Create opportunities to enhance external relationships.

5.10: Enhance RPA’s visibility and celebrate the achievements.

5.20: Develop opportunities for students to interact with alumni and build professional networks.

5.30: Engage with professionals to support knowledge creation and possible funding opportunities.

5.40: Support opportunities for input from alumni/advisory councils/groups.