"Leading the Way" - CAS Strategic Plan

​We are a large and diverse college united by our common goal of being exemplary teachers and mentors. We are committed to excellence in classroom teaching that is informed by faculty research and shaped by active-learning pedagogies.

​Improve student learning outcomes. Ensure that our pedagogical approaches are rigorous, engaging and effective. Be a campus-wide as well as a national leader in active and problem-based learning, and employ instructional technologies innovatively. Improve assessment practices throughout the college.

Improve student communication skills. Challenge students to develop excellent skills in written, oral and visual communication. Promote multi-modal communication skills while expanding writing-across-the curriculum efforts so that all academic units embrace this task and learn to identify opportunities to enhance our students' communication skills.

​Strengthen advisement and mentoring. Provide thoughtful mentoring that goes beyond curricular advising and fosters the intellectual development of students at all levels. Promote uniform excellence in advisement and mentoring by promoting best practices and developing college-wide initiatives that help our students make the most of what our college and University offer. Help graduate students seek grants, publish their work and secure professional positions.

Build interdisciplinary strengths. Support interdisciplinary programs that offer new opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students, and foster initiatives that promote interdisciplinary solutions to societal and global challenges.

​Expand undergraduate research opportunities. Provide undergraduate students with early opportunities to make meaningful inquiry an essential element of their education at the University of Delaware. Be the lead partner with the Office of Undergraduate Research and Experiential Learning, the Honors Program and faculty development centers, such as the Center for Teaching and Learning and the Institute for Transforming Undergraduate Education, to design faculty projects and initiatives that engage students in discovery learning and creative activities.

Enhance graduate student support. Improve time-to-degree completion and strengthen graduate education and global impact. Use increased stipend levels, 12-month funding, multi-year commitments and enhanced dissertation fellowships and summer and travel research support to recruit and retain the best students. Implement a regular review of Ph.D. programs and establish a Council of Graduate Directors to promote cross-program and interdisciplinary collaboration.