History, Mission, Educational Goals and Assessment
History and Purpose
CONCORD UNIVERSITY was established on February 28, 1872, by an act of the West Virginia State Legislature, and was officially opened on May 10, 1875. The University currently enrolls 3,000 students, served by 140 faculty and professional staff members.
Concord University is a selective baccalaureate institution with a strong commitment to programs of excellence in teacher education, business, pre-professional programs in the arts and sciences, and public service. Promoting student learning is the University's primary function, complemented by scholarly activity and public service that contribute to the balanced and enduring economic development of southern West Virginia, to the enrichment of the region's general quality of life, and to the improvement of the public schools. Concord University is committed to its role as a liberal arts university with an emphasis on academic programs that proceed from or relate to that orientation. The University has a carefully defined and clearly understood vision of the liberally educated person, and judges quality and success on the basis of knowledge and performance measured in relation to those ideals.
Intensified recruiting, more generous scholarships, and increased selectivity will enable the University to serve students who are more culturally and geographically diverse, better prepared, and whose talents are most likely to be enhanced and refined by the particular challenges fashioned by the University. Service to the people of rural southern West Virginia - primarily Mercer, McDowell, Monroe, Raleigh, Wyoming, Summers, Greenbrier, and Fayette counties - is the principal animating commitment of the faculty and staff. An upper-division partner with community colleges proximate to its campus, Concord is West Virginia's only residential university south of Beckley.
Using the excess capacity of existing facilities in selected communities, Concord will continue to offer off-campus learning opportunities where resources permit quality instruction. Expanding educational services to students in the region through collaboration and cooperation with other colleges and universities will remain an important consideration.
Mission of Concord University
The mission of Concord University is to provide quality, liberal arts based education, to foster scholarly activities, and to serve the regional community.
Concord University provides rigorous programs, primarily at the baccalaureate level, which prepare students to pursue various graduate study and career options and to assume leadership and professional roles in a multicultural society. In keeping with its tradition of service to the region, the University will offer a limited number of carefully selected graduate degrees. While we incorporate a variety of educational methodologies/technologies, our size and the caring dedication of our faculty, staff and administration are the principal assurances of a quality educational opportunity at Concord University.
As a learning community, Concord University is committed to furthering knowledge through professional development activities and programs, through research, and through the application, publication, and appreciation of scholarly efforts.
The primary purpose of Concord's mission is academic; however, the service the University provides to its state and region goes beyond the classroom. Concord University contributes to the quality of cultural and economic life in southern West Virginia through collaboration with both public and private organizations and agencies and through extension of its support and assistance into the region it serves.
Ultimately, Concord University measures its success by the fulfillment alumni find in their careers and throughout their lives.
Educational Goals of Concord University
The educational programs of Concord University are designed to foster skills, knowledge, and attitudes applicable across a wide range of academic fields and professional careers in a culturally diverse, perpetually evolving global community.
Skills: Proficiency in interpreting data, integrating information, formulating ideas, thinking critically, and communicating with others, as demonstrated by the following competencies:
1. Effective inter-communication skills and literacies, adapted as needed for the demands of various kinds of discourse:
2. An ability to employ appropriate observational, logical, analytical, computational, creative, and critical thinking skills in problem solving.
3. An ability to employ appropriate methods and technologies for conducting empirical and scholarly research, to interpret research findings, and to use insights gained from such research as a basis for informed decision making.
4. An ability to analyze, synthesize, and integrate elements, information and ideas.
5. An ability to evaluate elements, information, and ideas on the basis of appropriate criteria.
6. An ability to apply and to transfer academic and experiential learning appropriately from one context to another.
7. An ability to learn and work effectively both independently and collaboratively.
Knowledge: Familiarity with principles underlying academic discourse in various fields, as demonstrated by the following capabilities:
1. An ability to discern the reciprocal influences of environments, cultural beliefs and attitudes, and societal institutions and practices
2. An awareness of the fundamental characteristics and properties of the physical universe.
3. An ability to interpret events and trends within historical contexts.
4. Acquaintance with principles underlying languages - for example, linguistic, mathematical, and computer-language systems.
5. A recognition of the complex interactions between organisms, including human beings, and their environments.
6. An awareness of the aesthetic principles, methods, materials, and media employed in artistic performance and the creation of works of art and literature.
7. Self-knowledge, including awareness of one's own competencies, deficiencies, and optimal individual learning-style(s).
Attitudes: Tendencies conducive to self-knowledge, personal growth and development, and responsible citizenship as demonstrated by the following:
1. Habitual reflection on ethical/moral implications of actions when weighing decisions and evaluating outcomes.
2. Exercise of responsible leadership--including leadership by example--and of responsible followership.
3. Respectful attentiveness to differing perspectives and willingness to engage in dialogue across differences in order to seek mutual understanding and equitable conflict resolution.
4. Cultivation of and support for attitudes and practices that foster physical, mental, emotional, and social well-being.
5. Appreciation for the creative process and for the rich diversity of artistic achievement.
6. Commitment to social responsibility, including community service and civic engagement.
7. Motivation to pursue lifelong learning and ongoing intellectual growth.
Assessment
Concord University has an ongoing assessment program that is closely tied to its mission and educational goals. Assessment at Concord has two important roles: institutional quality and accountability. To analyze and improve the quality of Concord's education programs, the University uses various measures to assess student attainment. These assessment measures are used in making curricular and instructional decisions to improve student learning. An integral part of the program is the assessment of student learning in the major and the general studies program. However, Concord strives to involve all educational support areas in the assessment process. These educational support areas make tremendous contributions to student learning on campus. Thus, all programs can assess how they contribute to the learning environment and what changes might be made to maximize the learning experience.
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