Our strategic plan must address those factors that determine whether we will be successful in carrying out our mission. It must also be compatible with the vision, mission and strategic plan of the College of Engineering. The Dean has articulated the vision of the College moving into a position to qualify for top ten ranking nationally. Given the competition, this is going to take a relatively long period of time, considerable effort, and significant financial resources. It is, however, a vision that is worth pursuing. To begin the process, a short‑term goal has been established to position the College to move into the top 20 by 2012.
Ranking systems are based on both objective and subjective criteria, which are, as a practical matter, closely related. That is, departments which meet or exceed certain objective criteria are given credit for those achievements and the achievements are subjectively considered by their peers to make the departments worthy of high ranking. It follows that in planning strategically it is logical to establish objective, quantitative goals synonymous with high ranking. In this context, each department in the College of Engineering has been requested to indicate what it wants to achieve by 2012 with respect to the following:
We have converted the above into ten goals, the achievement of which constitutes our strategic plan:
