Every academic or co-curricular department or program should have a mission statement that aligns with the mission of Santa Clara University and, as applicable, the mission of its school or division. The mission statement should define the purpose of the program, the audience the program is intended to serve and the values of the academic program.
More about Mission Statements
A program (e.g., department, school, or program) mission statement includes a description of the broad purposes the program is aiming to achieve, the primary functions or activities of the program or unit, the community and stakeholders the program is designed to serve, and the values and principles that guide the program purposes and activities.
A program mission statement should distinguish the program from other units and should be consistent with the principles and values in both the university mission, and any other unit (e.g., school) in which the program is a part. Mission Statements help us see what the educational purpose of the program is and what its signature features are.
Mission statements are important for assessment because they serve as a foundation for program goals and learning outcomes.
Getting Started
Program Mission Statements will include these elements:
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“The mission of (name of your program or unit) is to (your primary purpose) by providing (your primary functions or activities) to (your stakeholders).” (Additional clarifying statements) (Note: The order of the pieces of the mission statement may vary from the above structure.) |
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Who Should Know About the Mission Statement?
All stakeholders should be aware of the program mission. At a minimum, this includes full- and part-time faculty, students, staff, fieldwork and internship supervisors, and student support personnel who work with the program. Other stakeholders could include parents, employers, and alumni/ae of the program. Programs can post their program mission on their SCU websites. Often programs are also asked to include their mission statement in academic program review reports.
Checklist for a Mission Statement
- Was it drafted in collaboration with your stakeholders?
- Is the statement clear and concise?
- Is it distinctive and memorable?
- Does it clearly state the purpose of the program?
- Does it indicate the primary function or activities of the program?
- Does it indicate who the stakeholders are?
- Does it support the mission of the department, college, and university?
- Does it reflect the program’s priorities and values?
- Is it publicly available?
Revisiting the Mission Statement
A program mission should be reviewed periodically to ensure that there is alignment between the mission and current program purposes and activities. If the mission statement, purpose, and activities of the program are misaligned, this is usually a signal to the program that either 1) the mission is no longer reflective of the program and needs to be modified or 2) the program purpose and activities have drifted and need to be modified to align with the intended mission. Either scenario is possible; reflection by the program is needed to determine which is the case.
Mission Versus Vision Statements
Mission statements are sometimes confused with vision statements. A vision statement is a short, aspirational and inspirational statement describing your program's image of the future you seek to create, whereas a mission statement describes what your program is going to do and why it's going to do it. Mission statements are more concrete and action-oriented than vision statements. One way of thinking about mission and vision statements is: "Your vision statement should inspire people to dream; your mission statement should inspire them to action" (Network of STEM Education Centers, 201).
Based on material from the University of Central Florida, “UCF Academic Program Assessment Handbook,” 2005, and Office of Assessment, University of Northern Colorado.