Meeting Notes

The University of Houston Mission Statement:

The mission of the University of Houston is to offer nationally competitive and internationally recognized opportunities for learning, discovery and engagement to a diverse population of students in a real-world setting. The University of Houston offers a full range of degree programs at the baccalaureate, master's, doctoral and professional levels and pursues a broad agenda of research and creative activities. As a knowledge resource to the public, the university builds partnerships with other educational institutions, community organizations, government agencies, and the private sector to serve the region and impact the world.

The UH at Sugar Land Defining statement:

The University of Houston at Sugar Land is UH, Tier One higher education in greater Fort Bend County. An institute of the University of Houston, UH at Sugar Land welcomes students who are core-complete and ready to pursue studies in our innovative programs, or major in one of the unique UH programs offered here. We are industry partners, student-centered and community inspired, serving Houston-area students with state-of-the-art facilities and flexible schedules close to home and work.

Some Suggestions for Vision Statement (what defines the outcome of our work):

UH at Sugar Land students, informed and engaged by supportive faculty, will become thoughtful, skilled and innovative global citizens, thriving in our vibrant region.

UH at Sugar Land aspires, through innovative and transformative instruction and real world community partnerships, to graduate thoughtful and skilled global citizens for a positive impact on society.

Is our primary purpose to education community at a distance? Who is our market? The region? We define ourselves as being focused on greater Fort Bend County. Do we have data for students staying in our area?

Is part of the goal to get to 10,000 students include dorms?

Defining statement: highly skilled/global citizenry (of two sample vision statements, take the first sentence of the 2nd statement and the second statement of the 1st statement).

Pulling students from the main campus isn’t sustainable

• look at strategy that leaves it broad. Place the dorm issue ‘out there’ and then prepare the argument
• FBISD won’t grow as fast as Lamar Consolidated. Do we have people who go to the junior college or who are embedded in community colleges? Major specific?

What is the longevity of a Defining Statement? Reviewed after 3 years. Say what you are right now.

• after 5,000 students we will need another building
• Success is in partnership with community colleges
• Student wants Tier One; doesn’t want to do fresh/soph classes at UH main campus; doesn’t want to go away for college
• Dual enroll at UH while in high school?

Re-engage Bauer dean for a graduate program (not executive MBA)

• How do we think about academic expansion?

Data Collecting

What is it that we need to know?

• Industry trends
• Enrollment trends
• Space utilization
• SWOT analysis/focus groups
  • Who are in those groups
  • When do we have these groups
• K-12 projections (Lamar CISD, FBISD)
• Community College projections
• Institutional research/Susan Moreno
• Maura Affree/Jenna (for info and reports)
• ISD reports
• Students in the area pursuing master’s degrees (educators with bachelors, industry with bachelors)
• College of Engineering’s study of the region
• EDC studies
• Community studies
• the economic impact of higher education
• Engaging with colleges on the strategy for program growth
• Dan will get copies of surveys and focus group conversations he and his team have done

Our focus groups are then presented data and SWOT information, which all become our FACTS. The steering committee considers these and creates IMPERATIVES. From these we create GOALS which are designed by the steering committee (initially). These are communicated to community for feedback (3 dots)

Maybe Bill Gilmer/Institute for Regional Forecasting may be approached to design/gather/analyze data study (maybe with grad students).

How do we write something that is supportive of academic expansion without having any authority to pay or move anyone/thing over here?

Updated Defining Statement Sent to Jay Neal:

The University of Houston Mission Statement:

The mission of the University of Houston is to offer nationally competitive and internationally recognized opportunities for learning, discovery and engagement to a diverse population of students in a real-world setting. The University of Houston offers a full range of degree programs at the baccalaureate, master's, doctoral and professional levels and pursues a broad agenda of research and creative activities. As a knowledge resource to the public, the university builds partnerships with other educational institutions, community organizations, government agencies, and the private sector to serve the region and impact the world.

The UH at Sugar Land Defining statement:

The University of Houston at Sugar Land is UH, Tier One higher education in greater Fort Bend County, welcoming core-complete students to pursue studies in our innovative programs. We are industry partnered, student-centered and community inspired, serving Houston-area students with state-of-the-art facilities and flexible schedules close to home and work. UH at Sugar Land aspires, through innovative and transformative instruction and real world community partnerships, to graduate thoughtful, skilled and innovative global citizens, thriving in our vibrant region.