| Introduction
Eastern Kentucky University is a regional, coeducational, public institution of higher education offering general and liberal arts programs, pre-professional and professional training in education and various other fields at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Located in Richmond, Madison County, Kentucky, Eastern has a distinguished record of more than nine decades of educational service to the Commonwealth.
Situated near the heart of the Bluegrass, Richmond is served by a network of major highways which makes Eastern easily accessible from all parts of Kentucky and surrounding states. Richmond is 26 miles southeast of Lexington, Kentucky. Interstate Highways 1-75 (north-south) and I-64 (east-west) make the metropolitan areas of Cincinnati, 112 miles to the north, and Louisville, 110 miles to the west, within convenient distance by automobile. Richmond is also served by U.S. Route 25 from southeastern Kentucky and Kentucky Route 52 from the east and west. The Kentucky Turnpike and the Mountain, Daniel Boone, and Cumberland Parkways provide even greater accessibility by automobile since the city is located near the convergence of these arterial highways into the interstate system.
Richmond, the county seat of Madison County, is an expanding community of approximately 24,000 population. Served by fine churches representing most Christian faiths, the community provides an excellent environment for the university student.
In and around Richmond are many areas of historic and scenic interest. Boonesborough State Park, birthplace of Kentucky, is located 12 miles to the north. Many other historical places are within easy driving distance. Scenic and recreational areas surround this section of the state.
History
The Kentucky General Assembly of 1906 enacted legislation establishing the Eastern Kentucky State Normal School. Governor J. C. Beckham signed the bill into law on March 21, 1906. On May 7 of that year, the Normal School Commission, meeting in Louisville, selected the campus of the old Central University, founded in 1874, in Richmond, Kentucky, as the site of the new school. On June 2, 1908, Ruric Nevel Roark was chosen President of the Normal School and the training of teachers was begun.
In 1922, Eastern became a four-year institution known as the Eastern Kentucky State Normal School and Teachers College. The first degrees were awarded by this institution in 1925. In 1928, the College was accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. In 1930, the General Assembly renamed the school the Eastern Kentucky State Teachers College.
In 1935, a graduate program was approved at Eastern, leading to the Master of Arts degree in Education. In 1948, the General Assembly removed the word “Teachers” from the name of the college and granted the college the right to award nonprofessional degrees.
The most significant day since its founding came for Eastern on February 26, 1966, when Governor Edward T. Breathitt signed into law a bill renaming the institution Eastern Kentucky University and sanctioning the awarding of graduate degrees in academic fields other than education.
During this period of time, Eastern Kentucky University has increased rapidly in size and stature. Beginning with a few students engaged in short review and certificate courses, the University today serves thousands of Kentuckians. The curriculum leads to associate degrees, baccalaureate degrees, and an expanding graduate program that currently offers degrees at the master’s level in many other fields as well as the already well-established Master of Arts degree in Education and the various fifth- and sixth-year leadership programs in education. Specialist degree programs have been implemented in education, psychology, and technology. In addition to these programs, Eastern offers joint doctoral programs with cooperating institutions.
Ever-mindful of the purpose of its founding, Eastern continues to recognize its historic function of preparing quality teachers for the elementary and secondary schools of the Commonwealth. However, a strong liberal arts curriculum leading to appropriate degrees, together with pre-professional courses in several areas and graduate programs, enable Eastern to serve the Commonwealth as a regional university.
Purpose
Within its statutory responsibilities, Eastern Kentucky University seeks to provide intellectual and cultural opportunities which will develop habits of scholarship and intellectual curiosity; provide a deep understanding of American democracy and the citizen’s role in maintaining its strength and vitality; impart an understanding of humans and their aspirations; enable effective and efficient communication; and prepare productive and responsible citizens. The University will remain responsive and flexible in order to serve in unique and needed ways.
Within these general responsibilities and purposes, the University has three specific functions—teaching, public service, and research—and places emphasis on the three in this order. Through its colleges and schools, the University seeks to offer quality instruction at a variety of degree levels in general education, the arts, the sciences, business, education, pre-professional and professional areas, and applied and technical disciplines. Through consultative services, continuing education, and the extended campus, the University seeks to provide service to the community and the region. Research seeks both to advance knowledge in the subject matter areas with which the University is concerned and to support the primary function of teaching.
Mission Statement
The Kentucky Council on Higher Education has approved the following Mission Statement for Eastern Kentucky University:
“Eastern Kentucky University shall serve the citizens of the Commonwealth of Kentucky as a comprehensive, regional university, providing instruction, public service and research.”
Geographic Region. In the development and offering of its programs and services, the University shall place priority on meeting the needs of the citizens of central, eastern, and southeastern Kentucky.
Institutional Admission Standards. Eastern Kentucky University shall admit students to the institution under selective admission standards which exceed the minimum guidelines established by the Council on Higher Education, with only limited exceptions. Institutional standards shall be consistent with the system wide policy for admitting under prepared students, including the removal of academic deficiencies within a specified timeframe. Through this approach, the University seeks to provide both broad access and high-quality programs.
Degree Levels. The University shall offer selected undergraduate programs, pre-professional curricula, and selected master’s and education specialist programs determined to meet demonstrated student interest and/or societal needs. Special attention shall be paid to the educational needs of the University’s service region. Certificate programs shall not be offered unless they are integral to associate or baccalaureate programs.
Strategic Directions/Program Priorities. Eastern Kentucky University shall: continue its tradition as an educator of classroom teachers and school administrators; support the needs of Kentucky’s business community; respond to appropriate societal needs and public policy objectives; and respond to the region’s technical education needs. These strategic directions translate into a core of liberal arts baccalaureate programs, in addition to degree programs at the certificate (C), associate (A), baccalaureate (B), master’s (M), and specialist (S) levels that may include the following: — (relevant categories from the Classification of Instruction Programs by level are included in brackets) — agricultural business (A, B - 01); conservation and renewable natural resources (B - 03); marketing (B - 08); communications (B - 09); computer and information science (B - 11); education (A, B, M, S - 13); engineering technologies (A, B, M - 15); home economics (B, M - 19); vocational home economics (A - 20); legal studies (A, B - 22); English and literature (M - 23); liberal arts (B - 24); biological sciences (B, M - 26); mathematics (B, M - 27); parks, recreation, and leisure (B, M - 31); physical sciences (M - 40); psychology (M, S - 42); protective sciences (C, A, B, M - 43); public administration and services (B, M - 44); social sciences (M - 45); precision and production trades (A - 48); transportation (B - 49); fine arts (B, M - 50); health professions (C, A, B, M - 51); and business management (A, B, M - 52).
Enhancement of Instruction. The primary mission of the University shall be to provide its students instruction of the highest possible quality. The University shall utilize information obtained through its assessment program to enhance the quality of its instructional programs.
Public Service and Research Functions. The public service efforts of Eastern Kentucky University shall be designed to meet the needs of its service region and be related to its academic programs and capabilities. The continuing education requirements of the region’s public school personnel and assistance in economic development should receive special emphasis. Research shall support the primary function of instruction, supplement the University’s public service efforts, and advance knowledge in the subject matter areas with which the University is concerned. The University shall develop cooperative applied research and teaching programs using
such resources as Maywoods, Lilley Cornett Woods, and Pilot Knob Sanctuary.
Collaborative Ventures. As a member of the Commonwealth’s higher education system, it is incumbent on the University to cooperate with the other institutions, the Council on Higher Education, and other state and federal agencies in fulfilling the strategic for higher education in Kentucky. This shall include the appropriate and efficient use of telecommunications technology. Further, to the extent possible, the University should foster articulation between its programs and those of other institutions, both public and private, which emphasize the transfer of credits from other institutions toward degree completion.
Efficiency and Effectiveness. Eastern Kentucky University shall insure that its resources are expended in a manner consistent with its mission. This shall include the promotion of cost effectiveness in academic programming and institutional management. Strategic planning shall include both the identification of programs which are no longer responsive to societal needs or are unnecessarily duplicative of those of another institution and the development of carefully selected new programs compatible with this mission. Measures of quality and performance shall be integral to the University’s assessment and accountability systems which promote continuous improvement of programs and services.
Institutional Goals
- To be an effective comprehensive, public, residential university of the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
- To provide academic programs of the highest possible quality and to enhance access to these programs. To these ends, the University strives:
- To employ and retain faculty with outstanding academic preparation and with a commitment to excellence in teaching and learning.
- To attract students of high academic promise to the University and to provide them with a challenging academic experience.
- To provide access to higher education for citizens of the Commonwealth through reasonably open admission policies to associate degree programs and selective admissions to baccalaureate degree programs, at a relatively low student cost with access to a program of financial assistance.
- To serve as a school of opportunity by providing, as a condition of admission and retention, a mandatory developmental program to allow under prepared students to rapidly attain the skills necessary for rigorous college-level courses.
- To incorporate the use of results from program assessment to continuously improve the instructional, research and service programs of the University.
- To provide an environment for learning and individual development of the highest possible quality.
- To maintain an adequate enrollment of out-of-state residents and foreign nationals to enrich the educational experience for all students while emphasizing the enrollment of Kentucky students.
- To support the nondiscrimination policy of the Board of Regents and to meet or exceed the goals of the Commonwealth’s plan for desegregation of higher education.
- To provide intellectual and cultural opportunities which will develop habits of scholarship and intellectual curiosity, provide a deep understanding of American democracy and the citizen’s role in maintaining its strength and vitality, impart an understanding of humans and their aspirations, enable effective and efficient communication, and prepare productive and responsible citizens. To these ends the University strives:
- To offer associate degree programs which are based on student interests and/or societal needs, which are integrated when appropriate with baccalaureate degree programs for individuals preparing themselves in a university setting, and which contain a general education component.
- To offer baccalaureate and pre-professional programs based on student interests and/or societal needs with a strong general educational program as a component of each degree program.
- To offer graduate programs based on student interests and/or societal needs which provide advanced study through instruction and research, strengthen the disciplines, and contribute to the total research and/or service efforts of the institution.
- To provide for individuals and agencies those educational outreach, public service, and continuing education opportunities which are compatible with the University’s mission and resources.
- To support and encourage research as an important scholarly activity, recognizing its contribution to effective teaching and learning, its value to the knowledge of the disciplines, and its value to public service.
- To manage and protect for posterity and to make available for instruction, research, and public use, selected natural areas that are unique or valuable for their biological, physical, and historical significance.
- To provide for the University community and general public a center which promotes artistic and cultural awareness, scholarly pursuits, the free exchange of ideas, and critical thinking.
- To provide support services which promote the development and well being of the members of the university community.
- To be solvent and financially accountable to appropriate agencies.
Strategic Directions
1999/2003 Planning Cycle
- Improve the quality of teaching and learning and remain committed to providing educational opportunities of high quality and diversity among students, faculty and staff.
- Improve compensation and professional development opportunities to retain and attract high quality faculty and staff.
Provide efficient and effective use of institutional resources, both material and personal, through policies designed to ensure timely and reasonable progress for all students toward completion of their degrees/programs.
- Improve academic services, including the library, equipment and support programs to enhance the quality of instruction.
- Improve the quality of advising for all students.
- Expand instructional and service outreach programs to support educational and economic development.
- Enhance institutional advancement and marketing to increase public awareness and support, while strengthening the institution’s leadership role in fund raising activities and maintaining visibility with business and community leaders and public officials.
- Improve the quality of campus life to enhance student development.
- Enhance services and facilities to provide a supportive educational environment for the university community.
- Increase extramural funding to support academic excellence, public service activities, and research.
- Continue the refinement of the assessment and evaluation processes to measure institutional effectiveness, while incorporating the results into the planning process.
- Cooperate in any appropriate way toward fulfilling the objectives of Kentucky’s postsecondary education reform effort.
- Utilize technology to improve teaching, learning, research, service and administrative processes.
- Enhance institutional effectiveness through sound leadership and management practices.
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