During the period of this Strategic Plan, the State University System will be guided by several strategic directions toward achievement of the goals of excellence and responsiveness. These strategic directions start with clarification of university missions to provide greater institutional focus. University mission classifications are based on factual data and classifications will be modified as appropriate levels are surpassed on criteria designated by the Board of Regents. Teaching is the means by which the accumulated knowledge of centuries is transmitted and preserved, and an enlightened, informed citizenry produced.
Research is the process whereby the frontiers of knowledge are extended.
There can be little advancement of the common good if the acquisition of new knowledge is not aggressively pursued. Public service is the application of the universities' unique and hard-won knowledge to the solution of problems faced by virtually every element of our society. Clearly, the acquisition, preservation, and transmission of knowledge are at the core of university activities. The mission of all universities encompasses the three traditional roles of teaching, research, and public service, with varying degrees of emphasis of each of these elements. Undergraduate education primarily culminates in the award of a baccalaureate degree, conferring upon the graduate the recognition of the faculty and society that the graduate has achieved a level of learning necessary for informed leadership in society, for entry to certain occupations and professions, or for continued scholarly endeavor.