Goal: New Mexico Tech will be noted for excellent and productive instruction and research.

a. Create accountability and incentives for faculty, staff, and students

• Establish, communicate, and employ specific expectations of faculty and staff at the department/unit level. Expectations will be discussed and agreed upon at the beginning of each evaluation period.
  
  • Faculty: Excellence in both instruction and research. Will include a periodic in-depth discussion of faculty member's course content and teaching methods.
    
  • Staff: Excellence in service. Discuss and agree with supervisor on expectations
    
  Oversight: Department Chairs and Unit Supervisors
  Metric: See five-year unit program plans (Resource Allocation)
  

• Fully embrace merit pay based on expectations of excellence
  Oversight: Appropriate Vice Presidents
  Metric: Phase in beginning Fall 1999
  

• Work towards compensation packages competitive with peer institutions. Continue to compare benchmark compensation packages on an annual basis.
  Oversight: President and Cabinet
  

b. Integrate teaching and research. Promote the concept that teaching is more than just classroom instruction.

• Create a non-need-based Tech Research Scholar scholarship to provide research jobs for undergraduates and provide recruiting and retention incentives for students. The funds to pay students would be attached to the student rather than to the department in which the research was being done.
  Oversight: Director of Financial Aid and Vice President for Academic Affairs
  Metric: Pilot program in place for Fall 2000
  

• Encourage and reward research divisions for including students in research
  Metric: Review annually
  

• Request resources in research proposals for undergraduate involvement in research activities
  Metric: Review annually
  

• Develop a forum (such as brown bag lunch seminars) to communicate departmental successes to other departments
  Oversight: Faculty Council's Teaching Resource Committee
  Metric: Begin in Fall 1999
  

c. Promote interdisciplinary teaching and research

• Encourage interdisciplinary equipment requests
  Oversight: President and Vice President for Research and Economic Development
  

• Consolidate similar courses to enhance interdisciplinary teaching and research
  Oversight: Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dean of Graduate Students, and Department Chairs
  

• Support faculty and staff hirings and joint appointments that strengthen critical connections among departments and research units
  Oversight: Vice President for Research and Economic Development and Vice President for Academic Affairs
  Metric: Increase number of departments and research units involved; review annually.
  

• Encourage collaborative research among academic departments, and between academic and research units.
  Oversight: Vice President for Research and Economic Development and Vice President for Academic Affairs
  Metric: Monitor number of grants with joint PIs
  

d. Improve the educational experience at New Mexico Tech

• Create Resource Center, which will include resources on teaching, assessment, advising, and grant writing and management
  Oversight: Director of Student Services, Faculty Council's Teaching Resource Committee, Vice President for Research and Economical Development.
  Metric: In place by Fall 1999
  

• Focus excellence in instruction on first and second years
  Oversight: Department Chairs
  

• Adopt distance education policy, which should address but is not limited to:
  
  • Special areas for instruction, such as the Master of Science Teaching program and continuing education in specific fields in which Tech has expertise
    
  • Teacher preparation for effective teaching and high quality of distance education services
    
  Oversight: Distance Education Coordinator and Committee
  Metric: Develop policy and present draft to Faculty Council by Spring 2000