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UT System's action plan almost fully implemented

In just two years, almost all of the recommendations in The University of Texas System’s ground-breaking strategic action plan have been put into action, Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa, M.D.,  announced at the UT System Board of Regents meeting Thursday morning.

The Chancellor’s Framework for Advancing Excellence presents nine overarching goals to advance the UT System’s 15 health and academic institutions to higher levels of excellence and to increase student access and success.

The Framework was unanimously adopted by the Board of Regents in August 2011, and today, about 95 percent of the initiatives in the following areas are in full implementation:

  • Student access and success
  • Recruit and retain outstanding faculty and staff
  • Research
  • Productivity and efficiency
  • Information technology infrastructure investments
  • Philanthropy
  • Ph.D. programs
  • Health and medical education
  • Expand educational opportunities in South Texas

On Thursday morning, Cigarroa discussed examples of accomplishments that are a direct result of the Framework and talked about how the institutions have customized the Framework to achieve the goals.

“We want to make each UT institution the best it can be among its national peers,” Cigarroa said. “If we want to be the leader in education, research and health care, we have to track and quantify exactly what it is going to take to be the best, and that’s the purpose of the Framework. The Framework isn’t just data and metrics; it is a comprehensive analysis that keeps us continuously informed and allows us to make effective and substantive decisions.”

Representatives from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston and The University of Texas at El Paso also made presentations Thursday morning about the impact of the Framework on their respective campuses.

UTMB translated the Framework goals into a scorecard with specific goals and actions at the institution level, while UT El Paso developed a student tracking tool to help identify specific areas for improvement.

“Student success has been the highest priority at UTEP for more than a decade, and we’ve developed metrics and data systems to inform our planning and decision-making,” UT El Paso President Diana Natalicio said. “The Chancellor’s Framework affirmed this work and enabled us to develop additional tools and strategies to align, deepen and broaden our institutional efforts.”

Board of Regents Chairman Gene Powell praised the Chancellor and the institution presidents for the tremendous progress on the implementation of the Framework.

“The work of the Chancellor and presidents and their staffs is literally transforming our institutions,” Powell said. “The UT System and our 15 institutions are setting the standard for excellence in higher education across America and beyond. The Board could not be more proud of the great progress our 15 campuses have made in just two years. We congratulate everyone involved and encourage their continued pursuit of excellence!”

About The University of Texas System

Educating students, providing care for patients, conducting groundbreaking research and serving the needs of Texans and the nation for more than 130 years, The University of Texas System is one of the largest public university systems in the United States, with nine academic universities, six health institutions and a fall 2012 enrollment of roughly 216,000. The UT System confers more than one-third of the state’s undergraduate degrees, educates two-thirds of the state’s health care professionals annually and accounts for almost 70 percent of all research funds awarded to public universities in Texas. The UT System has an annual operating budget of $13.9 billion (FY 2013) including $3.1 billion in sponsored programs funded by federal, state, local and private sources. With more than 87,000 employees, the UT System is one of the largest employers in the state.