To implement selective investment and development in order to enhance Academic Excellence at GW, it is important to have a model that expresses our aspirations for GW. The purpose of the model will be to guide our efforts to enrich the University’s academic enterprise. It reflects the uniqueness and competitive advantages of GW as an institution that has always had significant graduate and professional educational offerings both on- and off-campus. The model is delineated along the main, three levels of education at GW, baccalaureate, masters, and doctoral, while remaining mindful that GW aspires to be a top-quality, research institution. At all educational levels, GW’s faculty will be charged with providing an academic challenge that is characteristic of a top-tier institution.

Most outstanding universities offer undergraduate programs that build on a solid foundation in the arts and sciences. GW will strive to provide an arts and sciences education in which excellent instruction integrates research opportunities to attract and retain high quality, academically minded students. Simultaneously, GW will be committed to providing a first-rate educational experience for those undergraduates who choose to study in the professional schools, through inclusion of a broad-based and challenging arts and sciences component. In order to assure that students who graduate from GW have as broad an education as practical, the University will continue to take advantage of its intellectual partnerships with public and private organizations in the Washington Metropolitan area. GW baccalaureate graduates will be well prepared for entry into the 21st century global society through an education that has its foundations in substantial writing linked to development of oral communication and advocacy, critical thinking, analytical problem solving, computational literacy, and depth of study in their chosen academic major.

In many ways, post-baccalaureate education has strengthened GW’s name recognition, through masters and doctoral education, and through Law and Medical degrees. GW will continue to offer and enhance the breadth of programs that serve the professional development needs of a diverse population of individuals and organizations. GW will maintain and further develop the quality of instruction and relevance to current market needs for which GW’s credit certificate and master’s degree programs have become known. GW will encourage collaborative partnerships among the schools and with the College of Professional Studies to further this objective. Simultaneously, GW will offer a select number of doctoral programs based on the available infrastructure, the financial support available to the participating students, the need and demand for graduates, and the integration of faculty research, scholarship, and teaching into the doctoral student learning experience. Doctoral programs will be offered in areas in which there are faculty members whose research and scholarly activities are recognized externally for excellence.

To assure realization of this model, care must be taken to fully provide an academic support structure and student services, given the size of the student population, for a nurturing and challenging academic environment at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Excellent academic support and student services will assure that GW’s students can focus on their academic endeavors. With such student focus, engagement between the faculty and students will continue to grow and lead to a stimulating and challenging academic experience for GW students.