MA VISION Project

http://www.mass.edu/currentinit/visionproject.asp

The Context

Massachusetts is engaged in a fierce competition with other states and nations for talent, investment and jobs. The state’s primary assets in this competition are the overall educational level of our people and our workforce and the inventiveness and competence of the creative individuals and organizational leaders who drive our innovation-dependent, knowledge-based economy. Nurturing these assets through education, research and creative activity is the most important contribution of the state’s colleges and universities to the overall well-being of Massachusetts. The Vision Project is the vehicle through which public higher education has come together to stay focused on this work and hold ourselves accountable for results.

The Key Outcomes

In order to achieve our educational vision, Massachusetts public higher education must
claim national leadership in:

1. COLLEGE PARTICIPATION
   College-going rates of high school graduates
2. COLLEGE COMPLETION
   Graduation and success rates of the students we enroll
3. STUDENT LEARNING
   Academic achievements by our students on campus-level and national assessments of learning
4. WORKFORCE ALIGNMENT
   Alignment of our degree programs with key areas of workforce need in the state’s economy
5. ELIMINATION OF DISPARITIES
   Achievement of comparable outcomes among different ethnic/racial, economic and gender groups

In order to achieve our research vision, the University of Massachusetts must claim national leadership in:

6. RESEARCH ACTIVITYResearch activity related to economic development
7. ECONOMIC ACTIVITYEconomic activity derived from research

The Annual Report

To hold ourselves accountable for achieving national leadership on these key outcomes, we will issue an annual report to the people of the state, comparing our work to that of our peer institutions in other states.

Policy Areas

Achieving national leadership on the five key educational outcomes calls for attention to the policy areas depicted in this graphic. The goal of eliminating disparate outcomes is embedded in each of the other outcomes

MA Board of Higher Education
http://www.mass.edu/aboutus/whatsnew.asp#vpconf