College of the Arts and Media Strategic Plan

Mission statement

We are a community of artists, scholars, students, and educators who advance knowledge through innovative research, enrich lives by exploring the beauty and power of narrative and the arts, and strengthen our communities by engaging issues essential to global citizenship.

Vision statement

We are a dynamic community that celebrates diversity, fosters support, and pride ourselves on active engagement where everyone feels valued and empowered and are equipped with the skills to thrive personally and professionally.

CAM strategic plan

Priority 1: Invest in Educational Experiences that are Relevant to the Future Workforce

Objective 1: Emphasize experiential learning opportunities and hands on training for job readiness.

SMART goal 1: Adapt the curriculum and programming to reflect evolving industry trends to prepare students for the workforce of the future.
- By December 2024, have CAM Alumni identify industry needs.
- By May 2025, have each Department or School create a plan for implementing an unmet industry need.
- Beginning in May 2026, each Department or School will report annually on the implementation of the unmet industry need.
SMART goal 2:Expand opportunities through internships, co-curricular activities, and hands-on projects to ensure students gain practical, real-world experience.
- By December 2024, create a communication plan that provides information about immersive learning experiences to students, advisers, faculty, and staff across the college.
- By May 2025, identify a tracking mechanism for student involvement before graduation.
- By Fall 2025, implement the tracking mechanism.
- By May 2026, schools or departments will develop a plan to increase the number of undergraduate students involved in an immersive experience.
- Departments and schools will track undergraduate student participation in immersive experiences.
SMART goal 3: Engage and utilize alumni expertise and other external partners to enhance programming.
- By May 2025, document number of students engaged with alumni, community partners, or external partners.
- By May 2026, develop a plan with the CAM alumni board to increase these types of experiences.
- By May 2027, implement this plan.

Objective 2:By May 2025, a college-wide committee will propose a structure for co-teaching within the college to the Dean.

Objective 3: Create a college-wide technology, equipment, and facilities committee charged with developing a strategy to support new purchases, sustain needed maintenance, and communicate future requests to the College.

SMART goal 1: When making funding decisions, the college will prioritize updating technology, equipment, and facilities.
SMART goal 2: Create a system for submitting technology, equipment, and facilities requests

Priority 2: Invest in student recruitment and retention efforts.

Objective 1: Invest in student recruitment.

SMART goal 1: May 2025, committee will provide Dean with a compensation model for faculty involved with recruitment.
SMART goal 2: May 2026, each department/school open conversations about developing crossover courses or one new course to the CAM curriculum committee that aims to recruit non-CAM students.
SMART goal 3: May 2026, begin building relationship with DEI office, office of international student success, and office of student affairs to better understand events they are hosting and seek opportunities to pair with them on events.
SMART goal 4: May 2025, identify 2 on-campus and 2 off-campus recruitment events alumni should be involved in.
SMART goal 5: Invest effort in targeting students from outside Michigan.
- December 2024, identify current out-of-state recruitment practices.
- May 2025, develop plan for how CAM can work with current out-of-state recruitment practices.
- May 2025, develop plan to work with out-of-state alumni to identify recruitment opportunities from their out-of-state locations.
SMART goal 6: May 2026, each unit should have one annual event that brings high school students to campus.
SMART goal 7: Involve student advisors from high schools in recruitment opportunities.
- December 2024, designate a point person in each department/school for high school advisers to reach out to.
- May 2025, gather and review at least 5 years of data to identify feeder schools for CAM programs.
- May 2026, begin building a relationship with feeder schools (preferably with a specific person at the school) and solicit information about how we can serve those high schools, classes, or advisers.
- May 2027, create targeted material and/or programing to address the needs of the feeder schools or advisers.
- May 2025, develop a plan for offering scholarship money to current students to recruit from their high schools.
- May 2026, partner with Innovation and Online to identify dual enrollment opportunities.
- May 2026, create a new CAM competition (e.g., high school speech competition, animation festival, student choreography competition, CAMFest, etc.) or program for which the winner is offered a scholarship.
SMART Goal 8: Create transfer partnerships for CAM programs with local community colleges.
- May 2025, identify the community colleges that pair best with each CAM program.
- May 2025, begin building a relationship with feeder community colleges and solicit information about how we can foster stronger transfer relationships for CAM programs.
- May 2026, create transfer guides for CAM programs with local community colleges.

Objective 2: Invest in student retention efforts.

May 2025, gather and review CAM retention data.
May 2025, identify failure to persist patterns as they relate to programs, pinch points, and roadblocks to graduation, and advising.
May 2025, develop summer messaging for incoming and returning students.

Priority 3: Foster a Diverse and Supportive Community

Objective 1: Commit to creating a more inclusive environment by addressing the specific needs of a diverse student, faculty, and staff, ensuring the institution remains welcoming and accessible to all.

SMART goal 1: By December 2024, have faculty and staff in the college read the DEIJB strategic plan and host a college-wide discussion.
SMART goal 2: By May 2025, have the CAM DEI committee track DEIJB initiatives and develop a communication plan for communicating our events.
- By May 2025, have the CAM DEI committee identify 3 ways for CAM to align with the DEIJB strategic plan
SMART goal 3: Annually, have faculty and staff attend a CAM sponsored DEIJB (chosen by the DEI committee) event/training (e.g., safe zone training, pronoun training).
SMART goal 4: Commit to hiring faculty, staff, and administration that enhance diversity.

Objective 2: Implement strategies that prioritize job satisfaction and employee well-being.

SMART goal 1: When making funding decisions, prioritize the hiring of additional staff and faculty.
SMART goal 2: Create a college-wide social committee to identify and plan opportunities for boosting morale and employee bonding.
SMART goal 3: By May 2025, host a work-life balance workshop which identifies CAM-wide flexible work practices Inform faculty and staff about service sex differences.
SMART goal 4: By May 2026, host a job-crafting workshop that aims to explore how individual strengths/passions can align with service opportunities.
SMART goal 5: By May 2026, review committee charges to promote efficiency and reduce redundancies.

Objective 3: Encourage multidisciplinary research, collaboration, and creative activities.

SMART goal 1: Annually, CAM will host a college-wide showcase for faculty to learn about each other’s research and creative activities.
SMART goal 2: Monthly, CAM will host college-wide brownbags on a variety of topics, which could include teaching, research, service, or DEIJB. Consider having these livestreamed so alumni and community members can attend.
SMART goal 3: By May 2024, create a communication plan that publicizes our collaborations to students, faculty, staff, advisers, and alumni.

Objective 4: Annually, have a college-wide award ceremony to recognize faculty and staff excellence and outstanding alumni.

Priority 4: Strengthen CAM’s Identity among Internal and External Stakeholders

Objective 1: Prioritize the Implementation of CAM’s strategic plan.

SMART goal 1: At the August College meeting, share the mission and vision for the college.
SMART goal 2: By December 2024, have all faculty and staff read the strategic plan and host a college-wide brownbag discussion.
SMART goal 3: Create a college-wide strategic plan implementation committee that moves the strategic plan forward and tracks progress.
- Action 1: Identify benchmarks and assessment plans for each objective and smart goal.
- Action 2: Identify who will oversee the execution of each SMART goal.

Objective 2: Tell our stories to internal and external audiences

SMART goal 1: Create a CAM PR firm that reports to the Dean and is overseen by a CAM alumni.
- Action 1: Create a CAM newsletter that is distributed each semester.
SMART goal 2: By May 2025, create a communication plan that allows CAM to communicate about current projects, events, and outreach to internal and external audiences.
- Action 1: Develop a plan for communicating with the campus community about CAM events.
- Action 2: Develop a form or communication plan that gives units the ability to share current events effectively.