4.2.a    Mission Review

The governing board ensures the regular review of the institution’s mission.

Judgment

x   Compliance           o  Non-Compliance           o Partial Compliance

Narrative  

The mission of UL Lafayette is expressed primarily in two documents:

The Louisiana Board of Regents (BOR) Role, Scope, and Mission. The “role, scope, and mission” of UL Lafayette is established and regularly reviewed by the BOR through its Master Plan for Public Postsecondary Education in Louisiana (Website), in which the Louisiana Constitution mandates it to “…formulate and make timely revision of a master plan for postsecondary education,” including statements of Role, Scope, and Mission for each institution. As part of the process of formulating the new Master Plan for postsecondary education in Louisiana published in 2012, the BOR commissioned the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems to develop a proposal for the specific role, scope, and mission of each of Louisiana’s institutions of higher education. The BOR then, in collaboration with the State’s higher education management boards, reviewed and revised each institution’s current role, scope, and mission.  The following documents illustrate the process of review of role, scope, and mission for UL Lafayette:

 

·         Commission on Higher Education call for RSM draft review

·         BOR request to review role, scope, and mission – correspondence

·         BOR Minutes with legislative call for Review

·         2012 Request from BOR for five special areas in RSM

·         Email discussing five special program focus areas proposal

·         BOR minutes: New Role, Scope, and Mission designations adopted

 

The BOR also reviewed and updated the mission of “statewide” institutions in its Response to Act 619 of the 2016 Regular session of the Louisiana Legislature. As the following documents illustrate, this was an iterative process that involved input and review of UL Lafayette’s mission at the level of the institution, the UL System, and the BOR.

 

·         2016 call for revisions to RSM

·         Proposal for Role, Scope, and Mission 2016

·         Role, Scope, and Mission edits

·         Letter to Commissioner Rallo from VPRs

·         Act 619 Response Email

·         Act 619 Final BOR Staff Draft

·         BOR Response to Act 619

 

University’s own Mission Statement. The University’s own Mission Statement has been reviewed every five years with the adoption of a new strategic plan. Its current Mission, Values, and Vision Statement was adopted, reviewed and approved by the BOS as part of the Strategic Plan 2015-2020, and was reviewed and

 

Supporting Documents

2012 Request from BOR for five special areas in RSM

2016 Call for Revisions to RSM

2016 RSM review receipt acknowledgment

Act 619 Final BOR Staff Draft

Act 619 Response Email

Act 619: Statewide Universities

BOR Master Plan for Public Postsecondary Education in Louisiana

BOR Master Plan: Role, Scope, and Mission

BOR Minutes February 27, 2019

BOR Minutes Legislative Call

BOR Minutes New Role, Scope, and Mission Designations Adopted

BOR Request to Review Role, Scope, and Mission – Correspondence

BOR Response to Act 619

BOR Website: Master Plan

BOS Minutes February 22, 2019

BOS Minutes June 27, 2019 and Mission Approval Letter

Commissioner of Higher Education: Call for RSM Draft Review

LA Constitution Article VIII: 5

Letter to Commissioner Rallo from VPRs

Proposal Email: Five Special Program Focus Areas

Proposal for Role, Scope, and Mission 2016

Role, Scope, and Mission edits

Strategic Plan 2015-2020

UL Lafayette: Mission, Values, and Vision