Northwest has adopted the Inclusive Excellence framework to support its community's collective efforts to shift towards an inclusive environment for the entire campus. This framework is a model for organizational change that has been a national movement in postsecondary education since 2005. It calls for higher education to address various inequities to achieve excellence. Every campus academic, administrative, and support function has accepted the framework.
Our Mission
Northwest is committed to fostering a welcoming, supportive, and receptive environment where all can thrive.
Vision
We aspire to become the foremost institution exemplifying inclusive excellence in the Northwest region and beyond.
Core Values
- Mutual Understanding: We acknowledge and respect each person’s beliefs, ideas, values, and perspectives.
- Access and Equity: We are committed to fairness in policies and systems, ensuring everyone has equal success opportunities.
- Culture of Belonging: We are invested in inclusive practices such as affirming engagements, social interactions, and educational opportunities to strengthen a culture of belonging.
- Inclusive Teaching: We are determined to continuously be engaged with new voices, perspectives, and cultures to enhance our appreciation of a broader spectrum of diversity.
- Accountability: We hold ourselves accountable for the full participation of our community, embracing Inclusive Excellence.
Overview of IE Plan
The Association of American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U) created the Inclusive Excellence Framework to achieve excellence in learning, academic and organizational equity, a supportive climate, and teach students how to contribute to local and global communities. The framework's five core areas, or dimensions, are designed to achieve social, academic, professional, and institutional excellence.
- Access and Success refer to the composition of the organization's constituent groups (staff, faculty, students, visitors, patients, alumni, customers, community partners, etc.) and their context-specific outcomes or benefits. Processes like recruitment, retention, development, and long-term consequences (graduation, tenure, career advancement, etc.) are the key focus of this dimension.
- Climate and Intergroup Relations refer to what it feels like for individuals to be here and the present behavioral experiences and norms. Effective and innovative cultures depend on individuals feeling comfortable to take interpersonal risks and to bring their whole selves to their work and learning.
- Education and Scholarship include intentionally designed curricula, pedagogies, and targeted professional development activities that promote intercultural awareness and competence. It also relates to how curriculum, teaching, research, scholarship, and employee and student development contribute to our passion for discovery, innovation, community engagement, service, and social justice.
- Infrastructure and Investment refers to the policies, resources, organizational and communication structures, and performance measures that inform and enable an intentionally inclusive, equitable, and innovative organization.
- Community and Partnership refers to local and global strategic collaborations to contribute to a worldwide society and engage with Maryville, surrounding counties, and Missouri.
