The Ä¢¹½tv planning program seeks to prepare students from diverse backgrounds for professional planning practice and leadership in the private, public, or nonprofit sectors in a rapidly changing world.
Mission
The Ä¢¹½tv Regional Planning Program trains students to become citizen and professional planners through a process that emphasizes skill development, civic engagement, experiential learning, and practical knowledge.
Vision
The Ä¢¹½tv Regional Planning Program strives to be the best undergraduate program in the Mid-Atlantic.
Goals
Goal 1: Curriculum Development
Curriculum should be oriented to the development of professional skills, expanding community outreach, and student needs.
Objective: Streamline core curriculum of the Regional Planning program to improve course access and facilitate timely program completion.
- Tactic: Realign course offerings with the PAB standards.
- Tactic: Offer a one-credit professional development course.
Objective: Redefine and increase planning content within our two program concentrations.
- Tactic: Require nine credits within concentration areas to include specialization to incorporate competencies in knowledge, skills, ethics, and values.
Objective: Redesign course content to better focus on local municipal planning practice and functions.
- Tactic: Revise content in the following core courses: Urban Landscape, Introduction to Community Planning, Planning History and Theory, Policy Planning, Implementation and Administration.
Goal 2: Student Success
Strengthen students’ critical thinking, technical, writing, and communication skills.
Objective: Assess student learning in written, oral, and visual communication.
- Tactic: Participate in analytical and writing projects.
- Tactic: Enforce standards for academic achievement via minimum GPA and progress towards degree completion.
Objective: Expand the palette of technical tools within the program.
- Tactic: Restructure core and concentration courses to include technical tools (GeoDesign and Visualization, Graphic Design and Communications).
Goal 3: Student Life
Create an environment where interaction and exchange between students, faculty, planning professionals, and the community at large are encouraged, supported, and maintained.
Objective: Increase student and faculty participation in the PSO.
- Tactic: Require students to earn service hours in the department (x number of hours per semester).
- Tactic: Promote a speaker series to increase student and faculty participation.
Objective: Increase interaction and exchange between the PSO and “sister” organizations.
- Tactic: Utilize PSO to connect with Indiana County Office of Planning and Development Student Planner Program.
- Tactic: Connect PSO members with other student organizations on campus (e.g., Eco Club).
Objective: Involve PSO members in professional and community outreach activities.
- Tactic: Establish a formal linkage with Pennsylvania chapter of APA.
- Tactic: Support student participation in PA-APA annual conference.
Objective: Maintain cohort and inter-cohort identification among planning students.
- Tactic: Require inter-cohort students to participate in the one-credit Professional Development course.
Goal 4: Marketing and Enrollment
Increase recruitment to an average of 15 students per cohort while actively recruiting a more diverse student body.
Objective: Use existing media channels and other opportunities to increase program exposure while highlighting faculty and student accomplishments.
- Tactic: Make Ä¢¹½tv Media Relations office aware of significant Regional Planning program initiatives.
- Tactic: Create web stories in a timely fashion, describing community engagement and outreach activities of the program students and faculty.
Objective: Target and distribute program media to high schools and community colleges throughout the state and Southwest Pennsylvania.
- Tactic: Use social media to highlight the scope of our profession.
- Tactic: Schedule PowerPoint presentations in high schools and community colleges.
Objective: Develop systematic procedures and mechanisms to collect and report program data.
- Tactic: Conduct an alumni employment survey using Qualtrics.
- Tactic: Conduct a student exit survey of program graduates.
Goal 5: Community, Professional, and Alumni Relations
Expand, enhance, and maintain relationships between the planning program, local communities, planning professionals, and program alumni.
Objective: Establish formal agreements between the Regional Planning program and community partners.
- Tactic: Inventory existing community partners.
- Tactic: Identify new opportunities for student experiential learning (internships) and community engagement.
- Tactic: Host and support events that draw together faculty, alumni, and community partners.
- Tactic: Host two events a year involving the Regional Planning Advisory Board.
Goal 6: Research, Practice, and Teaching
Promote applied research funding and visibility to enhance student learning, faculty scholarship, professional development, and community engagement.
Recognize scholarship activities appropriate to a professional degree program, such as Regional Planning, and facilitate a scholarship of engagement.
Objective: Reward faculty for securing research grant funding for student support, equipment, and student professional development.
- Tactic: Use alternate workload assignments to reward faculty working with students on applied projects.
- Tactic: support and encourage faculty AICP certification.
Objective: Increase exposure of Regional Planning faculty research activities and student community service projects
- Tactic: Engage partners in cooperative projects that benefit communities, students, and faculty.