Pillar One - Academic Excellence and Belonging

Our Strategies

1. Implement a yearlong First Year Experience (FYE) that guides students inside and outside the classroom through the transition to university learning and immerses them in the life of campus and the community. The experience will include refreshed orientation, welcome week, and opening-day programs; an academic course that meets a liberal education outcome; connections to peers, faculty and staff that provide new Blugolds with a deep sense of agency and belonging; and opportunities that challenge students to explore and plan for UWEC’s signature learning experiences and community engagement.
2. Revise university and academic program curricular requirements to guarantee that all students complete a community-engaged learning experience and one additional signature active-learning experience (internship, immersion, or student-faculty collaborative research) prior to graduation. This will involve creating enhanced ways to track and record student activities.
3. Enhance opportunities for students to learn and make academic progress by revising our approach to developmental learning and courses with historically lower completion rates, and making innovative revisions to student support, curriculum, and instructional strategies to more effectively partner with students to achieve learning.
4. Redefine student support through the development of a cross-divisional, data-informed and interconnected network of mentors, advisors, specialists, and instructors who empower students to build their own futures. Building this network will require enhanced communication, redefining all advisor roles, and timely submission of progress reports and mid-term grades.
5. Establish and support an Honors College to attract highly academically qualified students and provide them with unique academic experiences, including undergraduate research, immersive learning, and problem-based instruction across disciplines.
6. Build students’ sense of belonging, success, and identification through support of existing, and development of new, campus traditions, enhanced dining experiences, and transit resources.
7. Expand philanthropic efforts to support new programming, signature experiences, and funding for instructors.
8. Market the distinctive first-year experiences and benefits that define a Blugold education and prepare all students for success.
9. Support recruitment efforts to reach students eager to challenge themselves with the Blugold experience. This includes using data and cutting-edge technology as well as personalized outreach and holistic evaluation of student applications. Expand international recruitment efforts.  

Implementation Timeline

By Fall 2025

1. Honors College established
2. First Year Experience (FYE) pilots launched
3. Strategy for student progression issues developed
4. Strategy for support network identified

By Fall 2026

1. Expand FYE pilots with full launch in Fall 2027
2. Student progression strategies implemented
3. Recommended support network innovations implemented
4. Orientation updated to reflect new FYE