The plan that we came up targets three areas. First, in the area of
teaching, given that teaching is the primary responsibility at GVSU, the
Department of Modern Languages and Literatures intentionally focused on
areas that will not only maintain good teaching, but rather take us to
the next level of providing transformational learning opportunities for
our students. To that end, there is a great deal of focus on this area
in the next five years. In order to enhance our teaching and
connections with students, we plan to do the following: 1. Increase the
number of credit hours that are taught by regular tenure track faculty.
Weve made some progress in this area, but still more than a
majority of our credits are taught by non-tenure track faculty. We
believe strongly that increasing the number of credits taught by regular
faculty will have a positive impact on retention of students and the
number of majors and minors. Our courses offer practical skills that
students gain. These include critical and creating thinking skills as
well as information literacy and research competency skills. But our
goal is to provide further training for all faculty so these skills are
articulated explicitly and so our students recognize that they are
learning such skills. We hope that the ultimate goal is for our
students to be proficient in speaking to these skills in their future
career search. 2. Work with students on undergraduate research
opportunities. 3. Provide advising that helps students advance through
their degree, but also have an understanding of career options after
graduation. 4. Explore online/hybrid models for language classes. 5.
Develop, lead, and promote high impact experiences. 6. Provide
professional development in second language teaching to our faculty and
teachers in the West Michigan area. 7. Train faculty and staff in areas
of inclusion. Second, in the area of Scholarship, the Department of
Modern Languages and Literatures values active scholarship and creative
activity. The department expects its tenure track faculty to be active
scholars and to disseminate their work at conferences and through
publications. To that end, the department will continue to provide
opportunities for professional development to advance this objective.
This includes, for example, continued financial support for faculty to
present their work at national and international conference. It also
includes providing opportunities for discussion and developing a
community of scholars through our regular colloquia. And third, we tried
to bring all of these areas above together in our focus on institutional
reputation. The department will be deliberate about advancing the
universitys image and reputation. This will be done through
highlighting our programs, but also faculty, students, and alumni
success on our website. Our goal is do so consistently on an annual
basis.
Mission
MLL is a student-centered learning community that fosters greater
understanding of diverse cultural, literary, and linguistic
perspectives.
Vision
We prepare our students to be informed global citizens, lifelong
learners, and productive professionals who are able to think critically,
communicate effectively, and engage successfully in diverse
environments.
Value Statement
As a department we value:
intercultural competency through the study of literature,
linguistics, and culture at all levels of our curriculum.
a proficiency-based learning environment.
the study of language through culture and culture through
language.
critical reflection on ones own cultures through
interaction with diverse cultural perspectives.
connections with local and global communities.
high-impact learning experiences such as study abroad and
undergraduate scholarly and creative endeavors.
intellectual inquiry and creative expression in a diverse
community of scholars.
varied service contributions to unit, college, university, and
community.
Strategic Priorities, outcomes, and key objectives
Strategic Priority Area 1: Actively engage learners at all levels.
Outcome A: Grand Valley's learning environment is personal, challenging, and transformational, supporting excellent academic programs and co-curricular opportunities.
Outcome C: Grand Valley has mutually beneficial relationships, partnerships, collaborations, and connections with local, state, national, and world communities.
Outcome D: Grand Valley supports innovative teaching, learning, integrative scholarly and creative activity, and the use of new technologies.
Strategic Priority Area 2: Further develop exceptional personnel.
Outcome B: Grand Valley is diverse and inclusive.
Outcome C: Grand Valley has mutually beneficial relationships, partnerships, collaborations, and connections with local, state, national, and world communities.
Outcome D: Grand Valley supports innovative teaching, learning, integrative scholarly and creative activity, and the use of new technologies.
Strategic Priority Area 3: Ensure the alignment of institutional structures and functions.
Strategic Priority Area 4: Enhance the institution's image and reputation.
Outcome A: Grand Valley's learning environment is personal, challenging, and transformational, supporting excellent academic programs and co-curricular opportunities.
Outcome D: Grand Valley supports innovative teaching, learning, integrative scholarly and creative activity, and the use of new technologies.