Expand recruitment strategies to include prospective students who are in the Birmingham area, graduate and adult learners, and learners who have not yet completed a four-year degree. 

1. Host micro-departmental CAS recruiting events on campus. 
2. Develop and launch CAS virtual recruitment events for prospective undergraduate students and virtual departmental events for prospective graduate students. 
3. Promote more partnerships and events with high schools and community colleges in the greater Birmingham area and beyond.
4. Leverage central resources to expand student recruitment. 

Grow and connect to resources ensuring student retention and graduation. 

1. Develop an assessment plan for CAS advising. 
2. Connect students to campus wellness resources and strategies through CAS “Local Beginnings” courses. 
3. Encourage freshmen and transfer students to identify and eventually participate in extracurricular activities that are meaningful to them.
4. Expand scholarship availability.

Foster a culture that will attract and retain a diverse faculty and staff committed to student development and community building.

1. Promote faculty development and use of pedagogically sound, high impact practices such as the delivery of Quality Matters-certified online courses. 
2. Encourage CAS faculty and academic advisers to participate in more teaching and mentoring-oriented professional development such as those offered by the Center for Teaching and Learning.
3. Continue support for new faculty through strategic efforts such as the CAS New Faculty Orientation series and departmental mentors. 
4. Encourage faculty and staff to participate in CAS community events such as CAS Night at Regions Field and the CAS Staff Appreciation Event.

Provide relevant, experiential, and accessible learning opportunities that leverage the College’s diversity and align with the ‘Blazer Core’ curriculum.

1. Encourage faculty to engage in experiential learning activities including:
   • faculty-mentored student research, scholarship, and creative activities
   • service learning,
   • education abroad, and
   • course-based internships.
2. Foster faculty exploration of innovative Blazer Core components such as Trailhead and Community Engagement.
3. Steer faculty towards exploring more high-impact practices in their teaching vis-à-vis the Blazer Core flags.

Increase meaningful teacher-learner engagement opportunities that strengthen learners’ connection, belonging, and well-being. 

1. Create new courses or educational and extracurricular opportunities that strengthen a sense of connection, belonging, and well-being for students.
2. Increase faculty training opportunities by campus partners and units that will support faculty in fostering a sense of well-being, belonging, and support for students.
3. Encourage and reward faculty participation as faculty advisors for departmental clubs and student-focused groups.

1. Increase the number of QM certified online courses by 5% by 2028.
2. Increase the number of CAS members who participate in CTL workshops by 5% by 2028.
3. Increase experiential learning activities by 5% by 2028.
4. Increase first-year retention rate by 3% by 2028.
5. Improve the six-year retention rate to 70% by 2028.

Grow faculty engagement in the community, including the delivery of service-learning opportunities, participation in community-based research, and delivery of continuing education.

1. Communicate and elevate existing resources for community-based work such as the CAS Student Engagement Grants.
2. Spotlight faculty success in community-based research, scholarship, and creative activities.
3. Invest resources in the development of continuing education programming.
4. Ensure department handbooks are inclusive of community-based research, scholarship, and creative activities as examples of professional work considered for annual reviews as well as promotion and/or tenure criteria.

Increase service-learning participation among students.

1. Expand service-learning course delivery across all departments.
2. Ensure each department offers at least one service-learning course per academic year.

Expand student participation in community-based internships and diverse learning opportunities that create professional networks they can leverage upon graduation.

1. Expand and celebrate connections with community partners (e.g., annual luncheon, media stories).
2. Create more opportunities for enhancing students’ access to community and professional networks.

Grow opportunities that utilize strengths in ways that provide developmental opportunities and outreach to the community.

1. Grow community learning and continuing education opportunities.
2. Expand and support public lectures in community venues by researchers/scholars/artists in the College.

1. Increase faculty participation in community engagement by 5% by 2028.
2. Increase student participation in community engagement by 5% by 2028.
3. Increase number of CAS outreach programs to 6-12 graders by 10% by 2028.