Adaptive University Update The presenters for the Adaptive University Initiative included Patrick Pease, Provost and EVP for Academic Affairs, Ginny Tomlinson, Vice Provost of Institutional Transformation and AVP of Information Services, Rodrigo Renteria-Valencia, Dean of Graduate Education, Research, and Strategic Initiatives, and Rob Ogburn, AVP of Federal Relations and Executive Director, Business Community Services. Provost Pease began by explaining that this initiative is really unique. This kind of intentional, institution-wide process is not common at universities. The concept is to position CWU to thrive into the future despite what higher education faces by: • Continuously evolving to meet the changing needs of students, faculty, staff, society, and the job market. • Embracing innovation and flexibility to provide relevant and dynamic education. The process includes a structured catalyst network to address adaptive challenges and guide innovation. It will focus on larger scopes, multi-departmental and cross-divisional projects and build a lasting culture of innovation through practice. Ms. Tomlinson explained that the Adaptive University initiative was introduced in the Fall 2024 at the Academic Affairs Forum. Following the forum, a series of process design workshops were held to gather input on how the work should proceed. Then it was officially launched in the winter quarter 2025. Members had to apply to be part of the AUC that was selected by the provost and were reminded that they represent the university, not their department. The council’s role is to build the framework for the Adaptive University work and support ongoing institutional capacity building. To launch the initiative and get ideas, the AUC did a university-wide call for innovation. The intent was to surface creative innovation from faculty and staff at the grass roots level. Forty-six ideas were submitted over the last few months, and several have been made into Cat Teams. As ideas come to the AUC, the group works through a set of criteria to evaluate the merits and feasibility. They move on to Cat-teams bas on: • The AUC’s guiding principles include student impact and strategic plan alignment. • How it supports institutional stewardship around enrollment and retention efforts and financial sustainability. • The overall scope – is the idea big enough to have institutional impact. The Cat-Teams are the real engine of the innovation process. The key concept here is that their scope (across the institution membership), consultation structure (shared governance/leadership), and specific charge (clear goals and outputs with a set timeline), will make it possible to transform an idea into an institutional possibility. The Cat-Team is expected to consult with any areas of the university that would be involved or impacted by the new idea. They are not responsible for implementation of the idea, only the research and recommendation necessary to move forward. To ensure that the work of the Cat- Teams is structured and consistent, the council has created templates for each team lead to use. Dr. Renteria-Valencia provided an example of one of the Cat-Teams: Academic Advising, which was prompted by an external consultant and the AASCU report that identified specific changes that needed to be made in our advising. Members on this Cat-Team are subject matter experts. This is where the magic happens. They were charged with creating recommendations to ensure outstanding, accessible, and equitable advising experiences for all undergraduate students. Critical components of the Cat-Team output include: • Create a governance structure that enables uniform advising practices, shared quality standards, and clear accountability. • Establish a level of centrality and authority to ensure cross training.
14 Board of Trustees Minutes July 24-25, 2025
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