Strategic Plan 2024-2029

We believe learning is a collaborative endeavor wherein students actively engage with one another and draw upon their individual and collective wisdom under the guidance of faculty and with support from staff. Indeed, effective learning must involve each of those stakeholders (students, staff, and faculty) on an active ongoing basis, with each person contributing and benefiting from those interactions. For our students, we believe learning should challenge them to effect positive, transformational change that advances equity. Teaching and learning at Rossier is relevant, practice-oriented, and evidence-based. We address student learning holistically, complementing classroom instruction with rich experiential engagement and mentorship. Advancing equity is foundational in our programs and we accomplish this by preparing our students to make an impact, particularly in historically marginalized communities.

GOAL: Provide high quality learning experiences within and across all programs.

To provide every student with high quality learning experiences we will:

• Utilize the Teaching Plan in all programs;
• Engage students in collaborative, reciprocal learning within the classroom and with faculty, staff, alumni and community partners;
• Expose students to ideas from a broad spectrum of perspectives and build a deeper understanding of the world;
• Empower students to interrogate assumptions, open new pathways to learning, and construct knowledge with guidance from faculty and support from staff;
• Combine the latest research, effective andragogy, and cutting-edge technologies to enhance learning, foster leadership development, and empower students as savvy consumers of education research;
• Challenge students to examine the historical contexts and deeper purposes of education and the future of learning;
• Utilize an asset-based approach to student development and engage students in ways relevant to their cultures, intersectional identities, and experiences;
• Align courses and course content that occur in multiple programs to create efficiencies and expose students to a wider range of Rossier experts and peers across programs; and
• Ensure alignment between our degree programs and student interests by adjusting curricula in current programs, enhancing flexibility, developing new offerings to meet emerging needs, and sunsetting under-enrolled programs.

We will track our progress through improvement in key measures of success:

• Student success in key programmatic assessments; and increasing student satisfaction;
• Time to degree; graduation rates; new jobs, promotions, and advancement for graduates; employer engagement; and
• Alumni engagement with students and participation in the life of the School.

We believe that our research must advance equity and improve learning through theory, policy, and practice. We foster this through a rich intellectual climate that values discovery and encourages broad engagement in the research enterprise by faculty, students, staff, alumni, and our partners. The culture of research within our School thrives on collaborative relationships within Rossier, across USC, and with community partners.

GOAL: Advance educational research that is responsive to critical issues facing the communities we serve.

To advance educational research our faculty and students will:

We will track our progress through improvement in key measures of success:

• Demonstrate the highest levels of intellectual rigor and ethical standards;
• Apply our equity-minded expertise broadly to transform systems that affect the outcomes of a wide range of historically marginalized communities;
• Align research with needs, assets, and experiences of community partners;
• Address pressing educational issues in order to solve problems throughout Southern California, the nation, and around the world;
• Provide effective support within the School–from ideation, to proposal, through implementation, and stewardship–to attract and sustain external funding for research; and
• Encourage collaboration within the school to promote knowledge mobilization.

• Increasing grant funding; number of peer-reviewed articles and impact of the journals in which they appear; conference presentations; professional recognitions and awards;
• Citation counts and media hits; and
• Knowledge utilization and mobilization by stakeholders and partners.

We believe the Rossier School must be a resource for innovation in advancing equity. We broaden our impact through authentic, reciprocal engagement throughout the broader Rossier community, including alumni and our partners in schools, districts, governments and NGOs. To accomplish our mission our staff, faculty, and students collaborate extensively across USC and with partner organizations in communities we serve in Southern California and beyond. We seek authentic, reciprocal relationship building that leads to transformational impact.

GOAL: Expand and deepen collaborative relationships with partners that advance equity and improve learning through intentional engagement.

To expand collaborative relationships we will:

• Take stock of our existing relationships with partnerships and identify untapped opportunities for richer collaboration with current partners;
• Understand the needs of our partners, how those needs align with our mission, and how we can build mutual value through collaboration;
• Ensure that our partners understand that we are committed to mutually advancing our shared goals in service to the communities we serve:
• Leverage our research findings, professional contributions, and the accomplishments of existing partnerships to advance educational equity;
• Create spaces and opportunities for current students, alumni and other community partners to access our expertise and provide their expertise;
• Include our students in these collaborations to engage them in community-based learning and extend their impact; and
• Share our research findings through channels designed to move solutions into policy and practice.

We will track our progress through improvement in key measures of success:

• Strength of our partnerships, and alignment of programmatic foci and research interests with goals of partners;
• Student participation in partnerships with direct impact on learning and research; and Partner satisfaction with their collaborations with us.

We share a vision wherein our practices and structures align with the future direction of the School while recognizing the constraints in which we operate within USC. We seek to maximize collaboration within Rossier through an organizational structure that is supportive, equitable, and transparent.

GOAL: Strengthen practices and structures that foster collaboration, mutual respect, and wellness.

To instill the organizational culture we envision we will:

• Foster a rich culture of inquiry, discussion, and continuous learning within the School that provides an engaging intellectual home for each member of the Rossier community;
• Act on our values of collaboration, inclusivity, and transparency as cultural practices throughout the School and in our decision-making practices;
• Prioritize the physical and mental wellbeing of each member of our community;
• Attract and retain excellent world-class faculty and staff, nurture their ongoing professional development, and reward their success;
• Facilitate professional growth for all members of our staff and faculty;
• Acknowledge and address entrenched power dynamics within our School to instill a productive, equitable culture within Rossier;
• Foster effective internal communication and feedback loops that enhance our ability to work together in fulfillment of our mission;
• Create incentives, rewards, and recognition structures that foster a healthy organizational culture;
• Develop and implement a survey to measure faculty and staff professional fulfillment and belonging within the School, work-life balance, and campus climate; and
• Lead the way within USC by enacting practices and accountability that promote equity.

We will track our progress through improvement in key measures of success:

• Staff and faculty engagement in professional development;
• Staff and faculty professional fulfillment, belonging, and capacity for success;
• Increasing faculty and staff participation in School-wide intellectual and social opportunities.

Securing the future of the Rossier School requires a sound financial outlook. To accomplish this, we must ensure alignment between our offerings and student interests, effectively utilize our resources, and identify new sources of revenue. Enhancing understanding of our business model throughout the School will also play an important role in this endeavor.

GOAL: Ensure the financial health of the School and effective stewardship of our resources.

To thrive we must:

We will track our progress through improvement in key measures of success:

• Include alumni in the life of the School in ways that enrich and sustain them intellectually while also enhancing student learning and furthering our research;
• Expand the Rossier community by networking with the broader USC community, with our partners, and with our alumni to involve more people in fulfillment of our mission;
• Engage our benefactors in a shared vision of the impact we can have together;
• Develop alternative streams of revenue to support the fulfillment of our mission;
• Deepen understanding of the School’s budget and finances amongst faculty and staff; and
• Enhance affordability and accessibility by providing robust, transparent access to financial support.

• Enrollment numbers and net revenue; indirects from grants; and philanthropic support;
• Development and growth of new sources of revenue;
• Engagement levels for alumni and donors.