Mission Review II

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Background on Mission Review II and the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)

SUNY's stated purposes and principles for the Mission Review process are outlined in this statement taken from the guidance document titled “Building an Expectation of Excellence”:

Purpose and Principles of Mission Review

Mission Review is intended to encourage campus responsibility for higher levels of distinctiveness, performance, efficiency, and system-wide collaboration. It is premised on the following principles:

The State University as a whole fulfills its comprehensive mission, meeting the needs of the state's post-secondary students. A commitment to access is fundamental to the University.
Building on current levels of success and achievement, all campuses will aspire to perform at even higher levels and to enhance the quality of all programs within their unique mission envelopes.
Consistent with a required degree of comprehensiveness, each campus will identify, develop, and hone a distinctive mission. In their totality, SUNY campuses should complement each other and cooperate in sharing the resources of the State University system.
Campuses will have in place robust budgeting and financial management policies and practices to ensure that they fulfill their missions efficiently and cost-effectively.
All campuses share three key objectives: to advance student learning by offering an academically rigorous program of instruction; to support an outstanding faculty in their instruction and scholarship; and to provide public service to the citizens of New York State.

We must look to the challenges of the future and shape our University accordingly. Mission Review continues to be a vehicle for forward-looking change. It provides a way to help identify where the System needs to develop new programs and services, and invest additional resources.

The Memorandum of Understanding

The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) (PDF, 1.73MB) represents an agreement between SUNY System Administration and Buffalo State College on direction and goals for the next five-year planning cycle. The proposal was developed based on the college's written response to targeted questions (PDF, 192KB) and subsequent conversations with SUNY about mission and institutional planning issues.

The Memorandum of Understanding (2005-2010) serves as a “touchstone for the planning and evaluation of campus academic programs and institutional effectiveness.” (SUNY MRII Guidance Document)