Mission Review Process Response Table

1.      What commitments, emphases, directions, or actual statements contained in the current mission statement are critical to our university mission?

2.   Please prioritize your list from most important to least important.

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3.      What commitments, emphases, and directions should be contained in our mission statement that are not currently there?

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4.      What sets SWT apart from other universities, whether it is our students we serve, our programs, or some other aspect of the university?

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5.      Please list any other comment(s) concerning the mission statement review that the department/unit would like to include.

• Language used throughout the mission statement and related documents should project a consistent and up-to-date image of the university. (Graduate College)
• The mission statement is too long, much repetition, needs to be shortened and written in “one voice.” (Liberal Arts)
• While there are many excellent phrases contained within the mission statement and its associated statements, they do not read as written in “one voice”. When the statements are combined into one document, the reader can become mired in the verbiage. (VPSA)
• I like the comment that “the mission statement needs to be succinct and easy to articulate…” (Liberal Arts)
• Mission needs to be more concise, more inspiring. (University College)
• Make the statement short and more concise. (Health Professions)
• Needs to be more concise, memorable and inspirational. (VPFSS)
• Make it shorter and a little more focused. (Science)
• Keep the mission statement brief and to the point [what is our business and whom do we serve?] (Education)
• The mission statement also needs to be more memorable so faculty and students can recognize it and it will have more meaning. The current statement(s) have too much description. (University College)
• The mission statement also needs to be more memorable so faculty and students can recognize it and it will have more meaning. The current mission statement(s) have too much description. (VPSA)
• The overall feeling when discussing the mission statement with the CBA Council, and I agree, is that the statement needs to be concise, in paragraph form, memorable and focus on the direction we are going. The mission, vision and values should be clearly separated. (Business Administration)
• More focus on current and future directions (University College)
• The first two sentences of the opening paragraph should be deleted. (Liberal Arts)
• Delete the historical recap. (Health Professions)
• Leave the historical and demographic components out. (VPSA)
• Drop regional reference. (VPSA)
• Avoid as much of the descriptive language as possible, but if these descriptions are important, include them in places other than the mission statement. (Education)
• Whether or not we get the exact words in a brief paragraph it is imperative that we come to grips with who we CAN BE in the eyes of Texas or UT. We should not aspire to be “like” Tech, Houston, A&M, or UT. Rather, we should see our mission in Texas as the provider of the BEST undergraduate programs, the BEST masters programs, and emphasize doctoral programs ONLY if they have the opportunity to be among the top ten nationally [that was what we originally said we do insofar as doctoral programs were concerned.] (Fine Arts & Communication)
• Emphasize quality and excellence. (Health Professions)
• We should be known as a university where the best researchers are also among the best teachers and vice versa. (Fine Arts & Communication)
• We should be known as a university where the new technologies allow the extension of the traditional classroom, rather than its replacement. (Fine Arts & Communication)
• We should be known as a university that values APPLIED research. (Fine Arts & Communication)
• We should be known as a university that welcomes non-traditional students [reflected in class schedules, availability of services during extended hours, weekend college, etc.] (Fine Arts & Communication)
• We should be a well-respected “green-grass campus” university here in San Marcos that welcomes the opportunity to serve as a metropolitan university through our teaching centers in Round Rock and [in the future] North San Antonio. (Fine Arts & Communication)
• The potential for student enrollment and addressing “closing the gaps” remains high for SWT (University College)
• Academic strengths should be stressed more than campus beauty. (University College)
• The values stated are good values but what connection to implementation is there? It’s one thing to have good values but another to live them and foster them in students. (University College)
• Need to “flatten” the hierarchy and allow more input from the front-line. (University College)
• There was also great concern that “small school atmosphere”, “warm and friendly”, and “supportive learning environment” are good traits that were once descriptive of SWT but now have been outgrown. Unfortunately SWT currently does not have the infrastructure to support those ideals. (Business Administration)
• There is a fairly concise university mission statement in the Southwest Texas Student Handbook (p. 6, ’01-’02) that is somewhat different than the one found in the catalogue. Many people like that version better. (Business Administration)
• Promotion of the quality of faculty and staff. (VPSA)
• Statements should not be included in the mission unless: a) reasonable proof exists that support the statement or, b) the institution is willing to dedicate the necessary resources to fulfill the statement. [Questions were raised on how effectively we “nurture individuals” when limited resources are directed toward mentoring and similar activities] (Special Assistant to the President)
• Is the University willing and able to commit the resources necessary to accommodate the growth demographics and state initiatives indicate we will have and still be able to fulfill the statements included in the mission core values? (Special Assistant to the President)