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About Columbus State University - Columbus State University

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Academics

About Columbus State University

At Columbus State University, you are expected to provide the effort, enthusiasm, and determination to take the greatest advantage of what CSU has to offer. In return, you will find challenges and inspiration, support and encouragement from an institution, which considers itself, above all else, a teaching university.

Your experience at CSU will be the total of your formal education, your participation in extracurricular activities, your friends and acquaintances, and what you bring to it all. In other words, we provide the learning environment, the tools and technology, the opportunities, and the people who empower you to take yourself in new directions.

CSU has grown since its founding in 1958, from a two-year college serving Columbus, Georgia to a state university offering graduate and undergraduate programs, some of which have achieved a national reputation. As we've grown, adding buildings and facilities, we have in many ways erased the boundaries of our 132-acre campus.

Four off-campus centers, located along the Chattahoochee River in historic downtown Columbus, provide unusual learning environments for our students and for the region's school children and residents. The Oxbow Meadows Environmental Learning Center is a living laboratory where students of all ages can observe and study nature. CSU's Coca-Cola Space Science Center houses a Challenger Learning Center, a planetarium theater that is technologically one of the best in the nation, and the Mead Observatory. Our nationally renowned Schwob Department of Music is located in a state-of-the-art performing arts facility, the RiverCenter. Located across from the RiverCenter, the Rankin Arts Center offers continuing education programming in the arts for the community.

Students in all majors have opportunities to go beyond the campus boundaries and enhance their traditional learning through internships, clinical experiences, cooperative education and through field research alongside senior professors. CSU provides valuable regional service along with "real world" experience for its students by working on collaborative projects with a variety of business/industry, civic, arts, and governmental partners.

Campus and Facilities

CSU is a little more than 100 miles southwest of Atlanta, just off I-185. The campus is minutes away from a commuter airport and two major malls, and 15 minutes from uptown Columbus. The city offers museums; an outstanding symphony; minor league baseball, ice hockey, and indoor soccer; concerts and other special events in the Columbus Civic Center; and hiking and biking along the Chattahoochee River and in 48 city parks. Historic attractions, mountains, the Gulf and Atlantic seacoasts and more are all within convenient travel time from Columbus. The 132-acre campus includes 20 buildings, student housing in both dormitory and apartment style arrangements, and a wide variety of indoor and outdoor recreational facilities. Computer labs across campus provide student access to e-mail, word processing and on-line research, as well as instructional technology throughout the curriculum. Student housing also supports e-mail and internet access. The Simon Schwob Memorial Library, open 90+ hours a week, provides online access to more than 100 data bases and electronic full-text of more than 500 journals. Students also have access to the internet and CD-ROM informational products and both Apple and PC platforms.

Mission Statement

In addition to the University System of Georgia Mission Statement and the Core Mission Statement for State Universities, Columbus State University has the following select mission.

Columbus State University will serve the educational needs of a diverse region by providing a mixture of liberal arts and professional programs leading to associate, baccalaureate and graduate degrees. The university also will serve transfer and transient students as well as those seeking certification and licensure. The university will maintain a strong core of general education as the foundation of all its academic programs. The university, through University College, will provide a student-centered developmental program for those students who are unprepared for the rigors of college work. The university will serve the educational, cultural, and economic needs of its region by providing credit and non-credit outreach programs. In all these endeavors, the university will strive to meet the needs of previously underserved populations in its service area.

Vision Statement

Columbus State University is committed to:

  • educating students to think critically, work creatively, communicate effectively, and become technologically literate;
  • functioning as a visible, responsible and responsive student-centered institution dedicated to academic excellence;
  • fostering the cultural, ethnic, racial and gender diversities of students, faculty and staff by responding to the needs of a changing student population;
  • promoting areas with distinctive strengths for which reputations for excellence can be recognized;
  • providing a supportive environment that encourages faculty and staff to continue their intellectual and professional growth;
  • meeting educational, research, and service needs of the region through collaboration with academic and technical institutions, local school systems, businesses and government agencies, and cultural organizations.

Students

Recent high school graduates who have completed a college preparatory curriculum will continue to form the nucleus of a diverse student body. Columbus State University accommodates students having a variety of needs. These students include those pursuing two-year, four-year and graduate degrees as well as those taking courses through the Division of Continuing and Regional Education Services.

Program/Service Mix

To meet the diverse needs of its clientele, Columbus State University offers a mixture of liberal arts and professional programs at the associate, baccalaureate and graduate levels. An exemplary general education program is the foundation of all undergraduate degree programs. Columbus State University also provides a strong developmental studies program to serve those students under-prepared for the rigors of university work. The university responds to the needs of under-served populations by providing new academic programs, offering off-site instruction, and utilizing distance learning technologies.

Columbus State University judiciously uses its financial resources in developing and implementing new credit and non-credit programs. In addition to meeting the general educational needs of its students, the university continues to identify and support programs and services for which a reputation for excellence has been and/or will be developed.

These select mission areas include:

  • the fine and performing arts;
  • science, mathematics, and technology education;
  • regional economic and community development;
  • international education and exchange;
  • educator preparation.

Columbus State University offers a variety of services to stimulate the intellectual, cultural, physical and social development of its students. Services are student-oriented and are directed toward successful recruitment, advisement, retention and placement. Research, consultation and other outreach efforts enhance the region as well as the institution; these efforts are supported and encouraged.

The management of all Columbus State University programs and services reflects a competent, confident and caring commitment to the development of the students, the institution and the region.

Comparative Advantage

Columbus State University offers an outstanding array of significant advantages which, when combined, are unequaled in the region. The university is accessible and affordable to a large segment of the region's population and offers a broad variety of excellent programs.

With the help of a supportive community and a strong University Foundation, the University excels in providing:

  • a qualified, credentialed teaching faculty offering exemplary instruction and individualized attention to students;
  • life-long learning opportunities serving the educational needs of the region;
  • excellent library resources, full media services, and distance learning technologies;
  • collaborative ventures with University System and area technical institutions;
  • effective partnerships with regional and international organizations;
  • quality services and activities which promote the development of a diverse student population.

The key to promoting Columbus State University lies in maintaining a positive internal and external image, developing and supporting exemplary programs and services, and aggressively marketing the distinctive strengths and comparative advantages of the institution.

Strategic Planning Goals, 2000-2005

The Statement of Purpose serves to guide the planning, implementation, and evaluation of all university activities. Integrally related to the Statement of Purpose are the strategic planning goals, which evolved from the broad-based strategic planning endeavors under the guidance of the Strategic Planning Commission. Listed below are the strategic planning goals and their rationale.

Goal 1. To organize all activities, including program design and delivery, evaluation and reward systems upon the principle of genuine concern for the education of students, their social and intellectual growth, and a demonstrated willingness of all personnel to become involved in that growth.

Rationale: Such a student-centered environment will promote recruitment and retention, improve graduation rates, and create a genuine community of learners.

Goal 2. To implement plans aggressively that will ensure a comprehensive enrollment model appropriate to our mission.

Rationale: Such a plan will include emphasis on admission standards, recruitment and marketing, retention, and student services to ensure continuous growth.

Goal 3. To support select mission areas that will strengthen Columbus State University as a distinguished academic institution.

Rationale: The select mission areas are:

  • Fine and Performing Arts
  • Science, Mathematics and Technology Education
  • Regional Economic and Community Development
  • International Education and Exchange
  • Educator Preparation

The university will focus financial and intellectual resources on initiatives that will have a major influence on the development and growth of the region, especially those that emphasize collaboration and partnerships. These will enhance the unique image of the university, provide creative opportunities for students and serve as powerful recruitment tools for students and faculty.

Goal 4. To increase the visibility of the university in the community, region, state, nation and other countries.

Rationale: The university's activities, collaborative ventures and accomplishments need to be more visible in order to strengthen the university's competitive position in the recruitment of students and faculty. Such visibility enhancement will also increase awareness of the university's many contributions to the quality of life in the region.

Goal 5. To adopt new strategies to increase and strengthen the diversity of the university community - faculty, staff, and students.

Rationale: Exposure to various ethnic, racial and international cultures and belief systems enhances the collegiate experience and the understanding of the social and professional world. The university must be aggressive in its efforts to recruit and retain minorities and international faculty, staff and students. The university will accommodate those with special needs and those whose academic potential has not been fully realized.

Goal 6. To develop and implement a comprehensive master plan for the acquisition, use, and maintenance of technology in instruction and university operations.

Rationale: A comprehensive technology plan is needed to provide direction in: resource allocations; expanding faculty and staff training in the use of technology; improving instruction; reaching new students; and making administrative processes more efficient and service-oriented

Goal 7. To maintain and enhance a well-designed, functional, and attractive campus to support the educational and administrative needs of the university.

Rationale: To be competitive and gain recognition, Columbus State University must provide a quality environment for a quality education by addressing: the classroom environment; work environment; adequate library incorporating technology; improvement and expansion of residence life; and an attractive, well designed and well maintained campus.

Goal 8. To increase funding sources in order to maintain and expand programs and services of the university, as well as to ensure professional development of all personnel.

Rationale: The goals and aspirations of the university cannot be fulfilled through tuition income and state appropriated funding alone; therefore, additional funding sources must be identified. The university must strengthen its ability to attract higher levels of public and private financial support.

Goal 9. To make an institutional commitment to action and accountability.

Rationale: The Strategic Planning Commission offers insights concerning Columbus State University's needs and responsibilities to its service area. The goals proposed should be developed into accomplishments to ensure continued academic growth.

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