College of Engineering & Technology Alignment Plan Overview

The College of Engineering and Technology consists of four academic departments (Computer Science, Construction Management, Engineering, and Technology Systems), the Student Success Center, and the Center for Sustainable Energy and Environmental Engineering. Enrolling nearly 3,000 students, the college offers nine baccalaureate and nine master’s degree programs in high-demand STEM disciplines, plus a PhD program in Technology Management via a multi-university consortium. The college’s BS in Industrial Technology (BSIT) is ECU’s largest online program and enrolls the UNC System’s largest contingent of military-affiliated students. The college has been designated by the NSA as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense for over twenty years. In addition to teaching and curriculum development, the college’s 90 faculty and 35 staff engage in fundamental and applied research, professional and community service, and support of local and regional industry through senior capstone projects, training programs, and consulting.

Mission

To provide high-quality instruction, research, outreach, and engagement programs that enable our students to achieve their career goals and promote a strong sustainable future for our region. We provide access to experiential, technology-intensive education that meets the needs of our region, state, and nation. Our programs are enhanced through student, faculty, and staff engagement with business, industry, and the community.

Vision

We aspire to be a student-centered college that delivers a relationship-rich education to every student in every degree program that we offer.

Summary of Unit Strategies

M1.1.1: Early Alert Coaching Program: Develop and operate an early alert system to identify at-risk students and connect them to appropriate resources, including tutoring and coaching.

M1.2.1: Student Career Development Program: Create and implement career development initiatives to help students define, develop, and achieve their career aspirations and become leaders in the regional workforce.

M2.1.1: Invest in Marketing Outreach Recruiting and Engagement (MORE): Develop and operate a comprehensive MORE campaign via student-centered Pathway Programs focused on career development to communicate our value to students and to grow enrollment in all CET degree programs.

M3.1.1: Pre-Matriculation Student Engagement (“Fast Path”) Program: Develop academic bridge programs to engage and prepare prospective and admitted students for academic success, career awareness, and integration into the college’s STEM community.

M3.2.1: Develop and Implement Engagement and Sustainment Campaigns: Develop and implement engagement and sustainment campaigns as college-department collaborations designed to increase engagement of external partners and secure financial support required to sustain key strategic initiatives.

M3.3.1: Research Collaborative Program: Seed-funding program to incentivize faculty engagement in interdisciplinary collaboration, student involvement, and outreach to industry and community partners needing problem-solving and applied research.

V1.2.1: Timely Graduation Through Online Courses: Facilitate access and timely graduation through online courses and programs by increasing offerings of online courses while not diminishing the value of in-person instruction and hands-on learning opportunities on campus.

V2.1.1: CET Community Well-Being Program: Increase employee awareness and utilization of personal development and well-being resources by improving communication channels and promoting “in-house” activities including formal programming and informal community-building initiatives.

V2.3.1: CET Career and Professional Development Program: Increase employee awareness and engagement in career and professional development programs through improved communication channels and thoughtful employee annual planning.

Brief Targeted Narrative

The college’s proposed strategies have a unified goal: to create, deliver, and communicate educational value to our students, their families, communities, and “payers” (students, families, taxpayers, employers, donors) who shoulder the costs of each student’s education. We create and deliver value in two ways. First, our faculty develop programs of study, academic courses, and innovative methods to effectively teach our students, thus creating and delivering to them the core value they expect from us: knowledge, skills, and expertise as certified by the degrees they earn upon program completion. Strategies M1.1.1, M3.1.1, and V1.2.1 contribute to the goal of increasing academic program quality and students’ academic success.

However, effective teaching alone does not guarantee student learning or successful outcomes. The second way we create and deliver value is by developing and offering co-curricular programs and initiatives designed to engage and support students beyond the classroom. Co-curricular programs and initiatives have a variety of objectives but a unity of purpose: to facilitate students’ ability to achieve desired outcomes while overcoming barriers and obstacles to their success, both academic and personal. Strategies M1.1.1, M1.2.1, and M3.1.1 will feature mentoring and coaching programs that shape student attitudes towards their own education and motivate them to actively engage in co-curricular programs including career exploration, tutoring, internships, research (M3.3.1), and student organizations and competitions. Engaging in beyond-the-classroom activities helps students gain invaluable experience, accelerates their career development, develops interpersonal and leadership skills, and builds their self-confidence for pursuing career goals. Our programs are designed to build and strengthen an interconnected web of relationships for each student, fostering a sense of belonging in their program and the wider ECU community.

Our strategies may effectively create and deliver value but will have limited impact unless we can effectively communicate our value proposition to an expanded range of audiences. Strategy M2.1.1 (MORE) is essentially a communication strategy focused on effective messaging and media (marketing), connecting with key audiences (outreach to students, influencers, and payers), helping students identify the best “fit” between their aspirations and our programs (recruiting), and engaging them in programming (M2.1.1) that positions them for future academic success. Likewise, strategy M3.2.1 seeks to effectively communicate our value proposition to external partners (industry, alumni, foundations, and friends) and engage them in dialogue on shared values, priorities, and needs for philanthropic support.

The overall goal of our strategic plan is to create, deliver, and communicate our educational value. One central principle guides our action plans: Relationships → Engagement → Success. “Decades of research demonstrate that peer-to-peer, student-faculty, and student-staff relationships are the foundation of learning, belonging, and achieving in college” (R. Felton and L.M. Lambert, Relationship-Rich Education). By successfully implementing the strategies listed above, we will help every student discover and navigate their unique educational pathway leading to career success and a fulfilling life. In pursuing this aim (supported via strategies V2.1.1 and V2.3.1), our faculty and staff will find meaning and purpose in our work and relationships as we discover and navigate our own pathways to career success and fulfilling lives.

We believe that successful implementation of our strategies will result in achieving our vision: alignment of ECU and college priorities, objectives, strategies, action plans, and resources to create a student-centered college that delivers a relationship-rich education to every student in every degree program.

Contact Dr. Jason Yao with questions or opportunities to collaborate.