A Objective: Provide rigorous, high-quality, and relevant curricula and academic programs across the College

Actions

1. Enhance and support faculty-driven assessment processes

Conduct a comprehensive review of the College Assessment Plan, and create a structured and sustained assessment process to evaluate student learning using multiple, evidence-based measures.

2. Identify competencies that can be applied across the curricula and course levels of every program

Such competencies may include leadership, teamwork, ethics, communication, information literacy, technology/digitization, multicultural awareness, and critical thinking. These skills will ensure our students develop the adaptability they will need for postgraduate study, career advancement, and to confront future workplace changes.

3. Conduct a comprehensive review of each academic program

Ensure that all programs provide an appropriate balance of subject-area knowledge, skills, and experiential learning opportunities. Exposure to these three elements will prepare our students for rigorous postgraduate study and a broad range of potential careers and will help them develop a desire for lifelong learning.

4. Enhance the roles and activities of our industry advisory boards

Develop a consistent structure for the boards and a clear articulation of their expected roles in order to take the best advantage of the professional expertise of board members and thereby ensure that our curricula remain cutting-edge and relevant.

5. Promote a climate of critical inquiry and intellectual discourse

Supplement traditional classroom learning with a rich menu of conferences, symposia, lecture series, and workshops that allow students to engage, in classrooms and co-curricular activities, with diverse public figures, intellectuals, and industry thought leaders.

B Objective: Develop programs of national and international distinction

Actions

1. Expand and strengthen undergraduate and graduate degrees into
premier programs

Conduct a comprehensive review of our academic portfolio to identify existing programs of distinction and develop new programs that have the potential for national and international recognition.

2. Create relevant and innovative new graduate and undergraduate programs in a manner that allows them to be implemented quickly

Create new minors, certificates, licenses, tracks, and micro-credentials that can be introduced and modified quickly and have the potential to become premier programs. Such programs will allow us to enrich the options for students and the professional community.

3. Expand Maritime College’s unique educational programs to a wider audience of students

Deliver programs in a variety of formats (e.g., online, hybrid, etc.) and schedules (e.g., evening/weekend; intensives; summer terms, and the like) in order to attract new students.

C Objective: Elevate applied-learning experiences to new levels

Actions

1. Provide more varied and in-depth professional experiential
learning opportunities

Expand the number and quality of professional development options for students in both regimental and civilian programs by:

• Increasing the size of our Cadet Shipping Program

• Creating the position of internship coordinator to work with companies, faculty, and students to both grow the number of internship opportunities and make them more accessible for students

• Increase opportunities for students to participate in international student exchange and study abroad programs

• Conduct a thorough and fundamental review of the licensed programming, both on campus and on board the training ship to ensure the maximum effectiveness of these programs

2. Encourage and support meaningful student research opportunities

Increase student exposure to cutting-edge scholarship and research by creating incentives for faculty to engage students in faculty research projects and/or oversee independent student research. One such incentive would be the provision to faculty of greater research support for projects that involve students.

3. Increase the impact of community service and civic engagement by linking these experiences to classroom teaching and learning

Increase, document, and assess service-learning opportunities for students, encourage their involvement in communities outside the campus, and link these experiences to classroom and applied-learning experiences.

4. Evaluate all applied learning experiences against SUNY’s Applied
Learning Criteria

SUNY specifies five criteria by which applied-learning experiences should be measured.

• Be structured, intentional, and authentic

• Require preparation, orientation, and training

• Include monitoring and continuous improvement

• Require structured reflection and acknowledgment

• Be assessed and evaluated

A Objective: Develop a diverse and consistently high-quality faculty, deeply engaged in and across their disciplines

Actions

1. Recruit and hire high-quality faculty

Create a strategic faculty recruitment and hiring plan that defines clearly desired faculty characteristics and provides strategies for attracting talented faculty. Evaluate current search policies and practices for improvements and establish a robust training program for search committees.

2. Develop and retain talented faculty

Invest in support and mentorship for new faculty, including training to help develop potential mentors. Maintain consistent, pertinent, and predictable expectations for promotion and tenure and a structured process for documenting successes. Increase opportunities and incentives for ongoing faculty development (including non-tenured faculty).

3. Periodically benchmark faculty salary levels

Compare Maritime College faculty salaries to appropriate peer institutions on a regular basis, taking into account the cost of living in the metropolitan area, to ensure the College’s ability to attract and retain the very best talent.

B Objective: Cultivate a faculty of scholar-teachers for whom research and teaching are mutually reinforcing

Actions

1. Identify the forms of scholarship most suited to Maritime College

Develop a College-wide ethos of scholarship by providing engagement for undergraduates and master’s- level students in academically rigorous forms of research and connecting student and faculty research to teaching and learning.

2. Facilitate faculty creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship

Draw on our faculty’s creative, intellectual spirit to encourage interdisciplinary approaches to teaching and research. Help faculty extend the impact of their research and scholarship by identifying external partners interested in working with faculty to accelerate the translation and commercialization of ideas.

3. Incentivize scholarship

Catalyze innovative scholarship by offering grant support; working with the SUNY Research Foundation; providing facilities and equipment, other resources, and releasing time for research and scholarship.

4. Facilitate, promote, and celebrate student involvement in faculty scholarly activity

Identify and support a variety of ways for faculty to introduce their scholarship to students and engage them as active participants both in and outside the classroom.

C Objective : Empower active, multifaceted faculty engagement with the maritime and other industries

Actions

1. Expand the available venues and formats for faculty-industry interaction

Create such forums as on-campus conferences and symposia, and faculty participation in industry association panels. Provide support for faculty to attend industry events.

2. Promote relevant Maritime College expertise and research in industry circles

We will identify faculty expertise and develop with industry representatives mechanisms for sharing this expertise with the industry in useful ways with the goal of identifying both current faculty work that bears on industry needs and problems in the industry that might steer future faculty research.

3. Encourage faculty engagement with industry

Support faculty participation on industry professional boards and committees. Create incentives and opportunities, including a well-articulated faculty sabbatical policy that increases participation in sabbaticals. Create an observer role for licensure faculty on ships that will help them keep current on immediate shipboard challenges facing the industry.

A Objective: Deepen and enrich the College’s relationship with industry and government partners

Actions

1. Leverage the College's unique mission and location

Proximity to the New York metropolitan area’s maritime, transportation, financial, technology, construction, and energy industries, among others, provides Maritime College an exceptional opportunity to explore new joint programs and experiential learning possibilities, engage visiting “expert” instructors, and sponsor conferences, symposia, and industry panels.

2. Become the maritime industry's go-to resource for research, analysis and new thinking

Convene groups of faculty and maritime industry representatives to explore challenges facing the industry and identify relevant faculty expertise. Create the appropriate structures (e.g. centers, institutes, etc.) to ensure ongoing collaboration between industry and our faculty on an ongoing basis.

2. Increase continuing professional education opportunities

Work with Maritime College alumni and representatives of various industries to identify key professional development needs and consider how the College might address these for its own alumni and other professionals in these industries.

B Objective: Strengthen alumni engagement

Actions

1. Establish a strong collaborative relationship with the Alumni Association, as well as alumni at large

Develop the support structure for appropriate engagement between the Alumni Association and College.

2. Expand the number and types of opportunities for alumni engagement

Develop a robust menu of ways in which alumni of various ages and stages of life can engage with the College (e.g. industry advisory boards, assistance with student recruitment, career mentoring, guest lecturing and similar activities).

3. Build students' lifelong affinity with the College

Increase opportunities for interaction between Maritime College alumni and students. Involve students throughout their college years in activities sponsored by the Office of University Relations and the Alumni Association.

C Objective: Build strong and mutually beneficial relationships with educational partners

Actions

1. Increase joint programs and collaborations with SUNY institutions, research facilities, and other colleges and universities

Such partnerships will allow the College to expand the academic, research, co-curricular, and career opportunities for Maritime College faculty, staff, and students beyond what we can provide as a single institution.

2. Expand partnerships with secondary schools

The growing number of maritime-focused schools across the nation provides Maritime College an opportunity to identify and attract well-prepared students with an affinity for the specific educational program the College offers. By working with selected Bronx secondary schools to increase recognition and knowledge about the college, we can also identify well-prepared students, increase student diversity, broaden interest in maritime and related careers, and ensure stable enrollments.

A Objective: Cultivate a visible culture of respect, civility, and inclusion among students, faculty and staff

Actions

1. Ensure our campus is inclusive of all

• Review all college policies and activities for implicit bias, cultural sensitivity, and inclusion of populations that have been overlooked in the past

• Ensure that the College conveys the value we place on diversity in its messages and actions across all facets of the college

• Determine how Maritime College can be more culturally sensitive in such activities as food menus and holiday celebrations, and how we can foster inclusiveness through actions such as the design of facilities

2. Institutionalize a culture of respect, civility, and safety

Create an inclusive, welcoming, supportive ethos through actions such as: enhancing Title IX diversity, bias, and anti-harassment education programs; increasing student, faculty and staff participation in ongoing diversity and inclusiveness training; and developing a campus campaign to encourage reporting of bias incidents and harassment, encourage bystander intervention, and increase visibility of allies.

3. Imbed diversity and inclusion into our curriculum

Help our students develop a sense of the history, significance, importance, and value of diversity and inclusiveness through such actions as: increasing the number of non-Western civilization and foreign language courses offered; including multi-cultural topics in appropriate courses; and adding sections on respect, civility, and inclusion to syllabi.

B Objective: Build a diverse faculty and staff

Actions

1. Actively recruit a diverse faculty and staff

Utilize tested approaches to increase the diversity of applicant pools for faculty and staff searches. Engage candidates with the Maritime College community in ways that will increase their likelihood of accepting our offers of employment.

2. Cultivate and retain diverse talent

Connect new hires, as well as current members of underrepresented groups, to faculty and staff of similar backgrounds. Increase the diversity of employees participating in campus-wide special projects and key committees. Develop mentorship programs that provide support for new faculty and staff.

C Objective: Attract and retain highly qualified students of diverse races, ethnicities, genders, and socioeconomic backgrounds

Actions

1. Promote programs that connect diverse underrepresented students to the Maritime College campus

Establish partnerships with local communities, middle schools, high schools, community-based organizations, and community colleges that bring prospective students to campus. Expand programs for middle and high school students and educators that encourage college preparedness.

2. Create a holistic admission review process for applicants from underrepresented groups

Evaluate applicants across a range of criteria that studies have demonstrated lead to student success in college.

3. Establish a support program to improve the retention of students from traditionally underrepresented and underserved groups

Such a program will provide an environment where students can feel a sense of support and belonging and will help them develop meaningful supportive relationships with mentors, advisors, peers, faculty and staff.

A Objective: Embrace a holistic approach to student development

Actions

1. Establish a student center and strengthen student-life programming

By constructing a true student center we will showcase the College’s diverse populations, activities, and interests while providing a welcoming space for students to engage with one another and make the College their own. We will also foster the growth and enhancement of student-life programming and student clubs, organizations, and activities that promote a diverse and inclusive campus community.

2. Implement an advising center for students and faculty

To support the diverse programs and services necessary for student success, Maritime College will establish an advising center for students. In collaboration with the Academic Success Center and Center for Teaching Excellence, the Advising Center will provide support to students and faculty in the areas of course selection, major exploration, academic coaching, registration assistance, mentorship programming, and career guidance.

3. Increase residential life programming

Housing and Residential Life will collaborate with Student Affairs, the Regiment, faculty, and other areas to help build additional student engagement into the residence halls, including such components as living-learning communities and social events focused on bringing students together.

4. Build a more student-centered campus environment

Identify the current service levels of all campus student administrative, educational, and student support services. Revise policies and processes to provide a higher level of customer service and satisfaction. Develop a set of desired outcomes and an assessment plan for academic, educational, and student support services.

B Objective: Enable the highest levels of student success at Maritime College and beyond

Actions

1. Improve and promote educational and student support services

Develop comprehensive student educational support services, including critical academic-progress milestones, desired course, and program outcomes, a system for early identification of at-risk students, and appropriate intervention strategies. Work with faculty and students to ensure their understanding of the role of these services and how to access and use them.

2. Develop a comprehensive leadership program available to all students

Expand leadership development opportunities, and promote their benefits to all students, regardless of their programs or career plans. Develop, implement, and assess formal programming on leadership and ethical decision-making available to all students. Conduct a fundamental review of regimental structure and organization in order to maximize opportunities for leadership and teamwork.

3. Increase and diversify career preparation for jobs of the future

Enhance the College’s career services to provide a broad array of resources and programming in the practical elements of career exploration (e.g., job search, letter and resume writing, interview preparation, and the like). At the same time, promote the “soft skills” such as written and oral communication that are needed for professional success. Work with faculty and staff across the College to incorporate them into students’ academic and co-curricular experiences.

A Objective: Enhance our learning platforms

Actions

1. Continue advocacy efforts to replace the Training Ship Empire State VI and acquire a second small vessel for research and training

While efforts to obtain a replacement for the Empire State are out of the College’s hands—as a matter of congressional allocation and funding—Maritime College will continue its strenuous efforts to advocate for a replacement ship. In addition, the College will seek to obtain a second, smaller vessel to provide applied learning and research opportunities for students in the Marine Environmental Science program and additional small-boat-handling opportunities for deck license students.

2. Develop a technology enhancement plan

Such a plan will: identify Maritime College’s most pressing technology infrastructure needs and establish an appropriate level of investment; delineate opportunities to enhance the integration of technology into instruction through increased faculty development; and improve the long-term sustainability and efficiency of our information technology facilities and networks.

3. Develop a College environmental sustainability plan

Incorporate sustainable living practices that reduce Maritime College’s carbon footprint and build a College-wide culture of environmental care. The sustainability plan will create strategies addressing greater efficiency of operations and buildings, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, sustainable sourcing of food and dining operations, recycling programs, stormwater management, and utility consumption reduction.

4. Better connect the College to the New York metropolitan area

Explore improvements and expansion of transportation options, including such possibilities as obtaining a new ferry stop at Maritime College on New York City’s East River ferry system (or the creation of a new student-operated ferry system); a shuttle service from campus to area bus, train, subway, and airport connections; and additional parking opportunities on and off campus.

B Objective: Build and promote an identity that increases the College’s visibility, recognition, and reputation

Actions

1. Develop a comprehensive and coordinated marketing and communications plan

The goals of such a plan will be to promote and enhance Maritime College’s reputation and distinctive educational program; convey the College’s achievements to alumni and increase their connection with the College; and increase public understanding of Maritime College’s role in preparing students for careers that strengthen the nation’s infrastructure and economy.

2. Conduct an extensive rebranding effort

Maritime College is an institution that must communicate its unique mission and place in higher education. As the College positions itself for the future, it should tell its story in a strategic, succinct and unified way, with a clear brand identity and cohesive messaging and visuals.

C Objective: Strengthen the College’s financial foundation

Actions

1. Leverage external partnerships for financial sponsorship

Expand the College’s relationships with philanthropic organizations, government agencies, and industry funders. Identify and successfully pursue grant opportunities.

2. Increase development activity

Expand the number and frequency of development activities and their results. This will include greater involvement of students, faculty, alumni, and staff in efforts to engage alumni and other philanthropically inclined organizations and individuals.

3. Establish a SUNY Maritime College Foundation

The Foundation will, among other things, undertake a capital fundraising campaign to be completed at College’s 150th Anniversary in 2024.

4. Increase grant activity, support, and linkage to the SUNY Research Foundation

The College will enhance grants support services to assist faculty and administrators identify external funding sources (i.e. foundations, corporations, and government agencies); prepare and submit grant requests; and manage grant execution and oversight.

5. Prepare a sustainable long-range financial plan

Such a plan should align with this Strategic Plan and identify specific strategies to increase and diversify the College’s operating income, create new revenue-generating programs, project anticipated tuition increases, improve operational efficiency, and streamline administrative processes and procedures.