Overview:
The Committee for Community Outreach/Relations
has determined that the University of New Mexico’s internal and external
communities are two distinct partners that require improved relationships
for community building. To carry out the mission of the University
to its fullest potential, UNM must reach out to the citizenry it serves
in our state, the nation and the world. In order to improve the University’s
image and afford access to all these communities, the partnerships UNM
establishes are vital and integral to the UNM mission.
The Board of Regents plays a key role in deciding the future of the University and can help set the tone for UNM’s direction. How the University chooses to incorporate institutional knowledge and successes to create strategies to meet the challenges of the future and maintain a stable and strong learning and working environment is key to any future action taken by the University in its community outreach/relations.
The UNM Strategic Plan, The University of New Mexico’s Vision for the Year 2000, defines the University’s greater presence and responsibility in education, research and service to communities in a global environment. To keep with the commitment from the University, three objectives are recognized as essential elements for further action in the UNM Outreach/Relations plan.
Objectives:
1. To further reach out to communities
2. To foster access to UNM
3. To develop improved relations
The Committee has taken some important
broad themes to reflect ideas, recommendations and actions that will require
changes on the part of the University. The Committee also realizes
that University resources are limited, but can be redefined.
The Internal Community
The UNM Student
The UNM student is one of the main reasons
for UNM’s long and successful history as a post-secondary institution.
The student plays a dual role for the University. Students represent
the University in the work force and are the future leaders. They are also
future alumni. University students need to be well prepared academically
to include the concept of giving back to the community during their participation
at the University.
The UNM Employee
An organization is as good as its employees.
UNM is one of the largest employers in New Mexico. The University’s
role as a leader in education, research and service provides its employees
with a unique opportunity and a challenge to promote the University to
the citizenry. Employees are the face of the University to the community.
Effective communication among all employees is vital for effective relationships
within the University. This in turn provides the vehicle for improved
communication with the communities we serve. There are models in place
at UNM that can be further developed to foster positive outreach and results.
UNM must demonstrate its respect for its employees through tangible action.
UNM should provide its employees with incentives and opportunities that
encourage team concepts, reward systems and positive commentary.
The University should be willing to invest in a movement for all employees
to participate in outreach activities that directly relate to UNM’s mission
and, as a result, have employees recognized and rewarded with approved
time allowed to accomplish the activities. The President’s Committee
on Staff Issues and Environs may need to refocus and re-energize its study
and actions on employee incentives that directly impact community outreach
and relations.
Recognizing Faculty
The University must recognize and reward
its faculty for promotion and tenure based on community involvement that
is relevant to the UNM mission. UNM’s faculty will become more committed
to education, research and service when they are rewarded for their outreach
efforts.
Access
There are a wide array of services and
programs at UNM. The Committee believes the University can improve
its capacity for community accessibility. The Committee recommends
the University re-examine the entire system for improved access for everyone
by the various mediums available and/or those in the development stage.
Policies
Some UNM Business policies and their
interpretations may be creating barriers for positive community outreach
and relations. An example of this is UNM’s interpretation of the
Anti-Donation policy.
Commitment
UNM needs to further improve its commitment
to the communities it serves by improving its collaboration. One
way to do this is to conduct community needs assessments on a continual
basis to establish the appropriate partnerships and responses.
Resources
UNM should better leverage its strengths
and resources in education, research and service to more effectively benefit
the communities it serves.
The External Community
Branch Campuses
UNM’s branch campuses in Gallup, Los Alamos,
Valencia and the Taos Education Center represent UNM not only in their
immediate communities, but they may be the only access to higher education
for many of the small, rural towns scattered throughout New Mexico.
Where branch campuses have made the effort to bring on-site programs to
rural New Mexico, they need to represent the University by providing students
with programs of equal quality as those available at the branch campus
sites, but also to equal access to support services such as admissions
and registration, financial aid, advisement, textbook acquisition and other
resources such as library services. The University must also recognize
the contributions of the branch campuses and their importance to UNM in
New Mexico and at the same time afford them the autonomy necessary to operate
effectively in their communities.
Continuing Education
The life-long learner in this country
has become a fact of life. The flexibility and innovative market
driven conditions for Continuing Education result in listening to learners.
This model increases the awareness of technology initiatives and reaching
out to the community to meet the demands of industry, corporate structures,
small business and the learner seeking additional skills for the job market.
The greater University can be enriched with more partnership opportunities.
In essence, it is one of the doors for continued access to the community
and another network for academic outreach.
Extended University
Extended University was established to
provide the citizens of the state, nation and world with access to education
via new technologies. UNM should work to ensure it has the financial
commitment to successfully engage in this competitive environment.
Research and studies indicate that this financial commitment is expensive
in the start-up mode. The University should commit, to the greatest
extent possible, its current resources. Concurrently, UNM should
identify the critical statewide effort by other universities, the Legislature
and the community receiving these services. The Committee recommends
that UNM take the lead in a comprehensive collaborative effort with other
universities and colleges in New Mexico by utilizing each institutions’
strengths for distance delivery of services so as not to duplicate costly
efforts.
Recommendations: