PDF Version - Catalog - University of West Florida

4 About UWF
College Mission Statements
College of Arts and Sciences
The College of Arts and Sciences challenges students to
meet high standards of academic excellence, develop their
creativity, and increase their civic engagement as they acquire
a broad knowledge base. Faculty actively involve students with
discipline-specific concepts, theories, frameworks, and methods
as students engage in a full range of scholarly activities and
professional service. From a curriculum that emphasizes values
and ethics, students develop assessable skills in critical thinking,
communication, and project management that provide essential
tools for dealing effectively with life in a world of accelerating
change and growing diversity.
College of Business
The mission of the College of Business is to provide a
high quality, student-orientated, educational experience to
baccalaureate and master’s degree business students primarily
from the Northwest Florida region. With a focused priority on
teaching excellence, supported by scholarship and service, the
College of Business prepares students for successful careers in
business and society and, in doing so, advances the educational
and economic development of Northwest Florida.
College of Professional Studies
To educate and prepare competent professionals and educators
to resolve 21st century problems using the most advanced
theoretical, managerial, and technological knowledge, skills, and
abilities available.
University Vision, Mission,
and Values
UWF’s Mission
The University of West Florida (UWF) is a public university
based in Northwest Florida with multiple instructional sites
and a strong virtual presence. UWF’s mission is to provide
students with access to high-quality, relevant, and affordable
undergraduate and graduate learning experiences; to transmit,
apply, and discover knowledge through teaching, scholarship,
research, and public service; and to engage in community
partnerships that respond to mutual concerns and opportunities
and that advance the economy and quality of life in the region.
UWF is committed to planning and investing strategically to
enhance student access and educational attainment; to build
on existing strengths and develop distinctive academic and
research programs and services that respond to identified
regional and state needs; and to support highly qualified faculty
and staff who engage students in rigorous, high-impact,[1]
student-oriented learning experiences that enhance personal
and professional development and empower alumni to contribute
responsibly and creatively to a complex 21st Century global
society.
UWF’s Vision
The University of West Florida aspires to be widely recognized
as a model of excellence and relevance, sought out as a
distinctive intellectual and cultural center, valued as an engaged
partner, and acclaimed for being “different by design.”
UWF’s Values
UWF’s institutional values, shared by students, faculty, and staff,
make the University a great place to learn and to work. UWF is
committed to maintaining policies and practices and pursuing
initiatives congruent with these articulated values.
Caring: Maintaining a safe and dynamic learning and working
environment that fosters the development of individual potential.
Collaboration: Promoting a culture of supportive and
cooperative interactions and communication to advance and
achieve shared expectations and goals.
Distinctiveness: Choosing to be different by design.
Inclusiveness: Welcoming, respecting, and celebrating the
ways in which people and ideas are different and the ways in
which they are similar.
Innovation: Exploring, expanding, and enhancing learning and
knowledge through transforming experiences.
Integrity: Doing the right thing for the right reason.
Quality: Committing to uncompromising excellence.
Relevance: Adding value to enrich the personal and community
lives of stakeholders.
Stewardship: Managing responsibly the resources entrusted to
the University.
Strategic Directions and UWF Priorities
Strategic Direction 1: Enhanced Student
Access, Progression, and Learning and
Development
UWF Priority 1.1. Foster student learning and development to
include the knowledge, skills, and dispositions that optimize
students’ prospects for personal and professional success.
UWF Priority 1.2. Facilitate students’ access to and choice of the
University of West Florida to meet their higher education needs.
UWF Priority 1.3. Improve student persistence and timely
progression to degree attainment.
Strategic Direction 2: Distinctive Teaching,
Scholarship, Research, and Professional
Contributions
UWF Priority 2.1. Respond to the changing needs of the region,
state, and nation by investing strategically to support innovative
instruction and high-quality, relevant, and distinctive academic
and research programs.
UWF Priority 2.2. Recruit, support, retain, and recognize
dedicated, high-quality faculty who advance the mission, vision,
and values of the University.
UWF Priority 2.3. Build a vibrant culture of scholarship and
research that aligns with UWF’s strengths and capacities and
supports UWF’s mission, vision, and values.