Tools for Transformation exists in order to:
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To encourage departments and programs to make programmatic transitions in
response to new challenges.
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To remove impediments to change in order to achieve institutional goals.
Tools for Transformation is inspired by the following guiding principles:
- To revitalize the University by strengthening its units.
- To promote the highest possible collaboration throughout all levels of
the University in order to achieve University-wide goals. Resources will be
optimally utilized when departmental, college, and central goals are aligned.
The major assumptions underlying Tools for Transformation are:
- That enabling change requires an appreciation of the diversity of mission,
structure, and ambition across units.
- That supporting change in one department or program may require steps that
are markedly different from those required to support change in another.
- That realizing the potential of tools for transformation requires the recognition
that no toolkit will ever be complete; continuous reassessment and renewal
are expected.
The UW is facing a new challenge:
A new challenge now faces deans, department chairs and program directors: how
to think about alternative financing for core missions, including educational
programs at the undergraduate, graduate, and professional levels. When the Tools
for Transformation initiative was launched in 1998, this challenge was not as
apparent as it is now. As President McCormick and Provost Huntsman have stated,
it is now imperative for the University to find new revenue streams in order
to continue as an ambitious, vision-driven, transforming institution.
To enable units to think strategically about their operating plans, and to
propose programs of financial transformation, we propose an added thematic emphasis
for Tools for Transformation:
- To encourages units to put forth proposals that lead to financial transformation
consistent with their strategic plans.
A successful Tools for Transformation proposal will include:
- a well-developed idea,
- evidence for the probability of success,
- a cogent explanation of the means by which the desired transformation will
come about,
- funding tailored to specific needs,
- a time table for expected outcomes, and
- transparent processes,
- a commitment of the Chairs and Deans of departments and colleges involved.
There are many examples of successful
Tools for Transformation proposals exemplifying the core purposes
of Tools.
To illustrate the new emphasis, the following are examples of possible proposals:
- A unit that wanted to transform its professional masters program from a
state-funded to a self-sustaining program.
- A unit that wanted to created a field research experience for its majors,
which would require endowment funding.
- A unit that wanted to offer a portion of its core educational program in
a technologically intensive format that would also free significant faculty
time.
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Tools for Transformation
