Academic Initiatives and Priorities

The Office of Academic Affairs is involved in a number of important projects and initiatives involving academic life at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. This page describes a number of our current UNL academic priorities and initiatives.

Accreditation

The University of Nebraska–Lincoln is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. The SVCAA is responsible for coordinating University efforts to prepare for the accrediting agency's periodic site visits and reviews.

Learn more about our accreditation efforts.

ADVANCE - Nebraska

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln received a National Science Foundation grant to help the university recruit, promote and retain female faculty in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. Two committees composed of faculty, RECRUIT-NE and PROMOTE-NE, will compile and disseminate "best practices" to increase the number of STEM women in our applicant pools and in faculty positions.

Learn more about the ADVANCE-Nebraska program on their web site.

Budget Planning

The Office of the Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs is actively involved in campus budget planning.

Learn more about our budget planning efforts.

China Initiatives

University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Office of China Initiatives, under the leadership of Dr. David Lou, has overseen the development and implementation of two partnership degree programs. The first program, begun in fall 2007, is with Xi'an Jiaotong University City College in Xi'an, China. The second, with Zheijiang University City College, is in Hongzhou, China, and was begun in fall 2008. These programs allow students at these two Chinese universities to complete the first two years of their studies in China while taking English classes from UNL lecturers, and then, if academically successful, to apply for admission to UNL where they complete their degrees.

Confucius Institute

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Confucius Institute is a non-profit public institute with a mission of promoting and teaching Chinese language and culture in Lincoln and the state of Nebraska. Dr. Barbara Couture, UNL Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, serves on the governing board. Located in Nebraska Hall, the Institute was dedicated in fall 2007.

General Education Review and Reform

As the Chancellor announced in his 2005 State of the University address, UNL embarked on a two-year process of reviewing and reforming its general education program: The time frame here is ambitious but we need to get this done. We must set as our goal to have a program that can be adopted in the Spring of 2007 with a staged implementation beginning with the class that enters the university in the Fall of 2007. We are counting on faculty to take a thoughtful and active interest in this process from the outset so that we can achieve this goal with adequate opportunity for reflection and approval.

Learn more about General Education at UNL. Learn more about Achievement Centered Education at ace.unl.edu.

General Purpose Classroom Committee

The General Purpose Classroom Advisory Committee assists the Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs (SVCAA) in identifying and resolving issues concerned with the use, design, and equipping of General Purpose classrooms. Specifically, the committee will make recommendations on planning and policy matters pertaining to the apportionment, design, enhancement and use of General Purpose instructional and instructional support service space.

Learn more about the Committee's Charge and its membership in pdf and in Word. To find classroom technology support, visit the IT classroom support page.

Initiative for Teaching and Learning Excellence (ITLE)

Learn more about ITLE.

Instructional Technology Advisory Committee (ITAC)

The Instructional Technology Advisory Committee assists the Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs (SVCAA) in identifying and resolving issues concerning the assessment, acquisition, use, configuration and support of campus-wide instructional technology resources.

Learn more about this committee. Read the version in Word. Committee members are in this document.

International Programs Advisory Committee (IPAC)

The International Programs Advisory Council (IPAC) is a representative group of university leaders, reporting to the Chancellor, to help UNL articulate a strategic vision for international programming. IPAC's main function is to define a forward-looking focus for the university's international work. To this end, the work of IPAC will be to support the ongoing international relationships and work of our faculty, and to promote visionary planning. Specifically, IPAC is charged:

• To think big, helping to catalyze and focus UNL efforts in international programming.
• To make recommendations to the Chancellor, SVCAA, VCIANR, and the Council of Deans for focusing
• To propose campus-wide measures and benchmarks for assessing UNL efforts in international programming.

Learn more about the Committee's Charge and committee members.

Preliminary Report from IPAC. A Vision for International Programming at UNL

Liberal Education and America's Promise (LEAP)

The University of Nebraska–Lincoln is a partner campus with the Association of American Colleges & Universities in its Liberal Education and America's Promise (LEAP) Campaign. This campaign champions the value of a liberal education–for individual students and for a nation dependent on economic creativity and democratic vitality. UNL's efforts are coordinated with our reform of general education.

Programs of Excellence

The Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs coordinates the UNL Programs of Excellence selection and funding process.

Learn more about POE.

Strategic Planning

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln has implemented an iterative strategic planning process. The planning process is coordinated by the Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and involves all University units. Academic strategic plans are submitted annually by all academic units reporting to the Chancellor, the Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, and the Vice Chancellor for the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

Learn more about UNL's strategic planning efforts. To submit a college or department strategic plan for 2008-09, visit the Templates page.