Student Experience and Success

The University’s world-class faculty mentors our students in and beyond the classroom, advances our economy and culture, and improves the lives of people in our surrounding communities and beyond. To ensure student access to that excellence we will promote a culture that values and rewards high-quality, innovative teaching and advances critical thinking; recognition of injustices; collaboration; and entrepreneurial mindsets among students and faculty. We will facilitate open lines of communication among students, faculty, staff, and the administration. We will enhance and coordinate resources dedicated to teaching and mentoring.

Diversity is a hallmark of the UIC experience. Life on campus will continue to reflect and celebrate human differences and affirm that diversity can make us all smarter and stronger. We will continue to cultivate an inclusive culture of diversity and a welcoming campus climate, to enhance enrollment of historically underrepresented students, and to enlist the knowledge and creativity of all students.

The University’s success is defined by the success of all our students. We will continue to support students’ identities and strengths and address their individual needs. We will support and guide students during key turning points in their educational careers, and we will provide advice and guidance that is consistent and meaningful by promoting greater collaboration between academic and support services. We will promote the efficient and equitable use of technologies and facilities, from labs to common areas.

Identifying goals, and pathways to achieve those goals, is critical to student success on campus and beyond. We will help students identify their academic and career goals and provide them with the support they need to succeed. We will align curriculum and course scheduling to facilitate timely graduation for all students, and we will provide hands-on learning and wide-ranging career-development opportunities, including a variety of internships. We will raise private funds to continue providing financial aid to those in need.

Attention to the strengths and needs of a new generation of learners is critical to the experience and success of our students. We will enhance and further develop teaching practices and adopt the most successful advances in face-to-face and online pedagogy. We will encourage and reward faculty efforts to innovate teaching. We will modernize our physical and technological infrastructure to support these efforts.

Student experience is also strengthened by a safe and vibrant campus environment to provide opportunities for personal and professional growth. We will maintain a safe, healthy and nurturing environment for our students to learn, live and play. We will create programs and support independent student organizations to advance opportunities for student leadership and community and civic engagement. We will upgrade and modernize our existing residence halls and build new residential capacity as needed. We will strive for excellence in our intercollegiate athletics.