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The Vision Project
The Vision
The Context
Massachusetts is engaged in a fierce competition with other states and nations for talent, investment and jobs. The state’s primary assets in this competition are the overall educational level of our people and our workforce and the inventiveness and competence of the creative individuals and organizational leaders who drive our innovation-dependent, knowledge-based economy. Nurturing these assets through education, research and creative activity is the most important contribution of the state’s colleges and universities to the overall well-being of Massachusetts. The Vision Project is the vehicle through which public higher education has come together to stay focused on this work and hold ourselves accountable for results.
The Key Outcomes
In order to achieve our educational vision, Massachusetts public higher education must
claim national leadership in:
- COLLEGE PARTICIPATION
College-going rates of high school graduates - COLLEGE COMPLETION
Graduation and success rates of the students we enroll - STUDENT LEARNING
Academic achievements by our students on campus-level and national assessments of learning - WORKFORCE ALIGNMENT
Alignment of our degree programs with key areas of workforce need in the state’s economy - ELIMINATION OF DISPARITIES
Achievement of comparable outcomes among different ethnic/racial, economic and gender groups
In order to achieve our research vision, the University of Massachusetts must claim national leadership in:
- RESEARCH ACTIVITY
Research activity related to economic development - ECONOMIC ACTIVITY
Economic activity derived from research
The Annual Report
To hold ourselves accountable for achieving national leadership on these key outcomes, we will issue an annual report to the people of the state, comparing our work to that of our peer institutions in other states.
Policy Areas
Achieving national leadership on the five key educational outcomes calls for attention to the policy areas depicted in this graphic. The goal of eliminating disparate outcomes is embedded in each of the other outcomes.
