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College of Medicine and Life Sciences

UTCOMLS Strategic Plan 2020

College of Medicine and Life Sciences logoThe University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences is dedicated to improving health in the communities and region we serve. We do this by educating excellent clinicians and scientists, by providing patient centered and high-quality care and by producing nationally recognized research in focused areas. Read more about our mission. Header

 

 

Strategic Plan Sections:

Graduation Cap Icon Learner Success and Academic Excellence

Goal #1A: Improve undergraduate student success, retention, and degree completion through greater engagement of the College of Medicine and Life Sciences in the undergraduate educational mission at The University of Toledo.

OBJECTIVES:

  1. Increase the number and competitiveness of UToledo undergraduate students who apply and matriculate to COMLS graduate and MD programs.  
  2. Increase the number of COMLS-housed, credit-bearing undergraduate classes and course sequences. 
  3. Implement and sustain formal mentoring programs for underrepresented minorities throughout the COMLS to assist in the retention and success of a diverse student body.
  4. Enhance existing pipeline programs and create innovative pipeline programs to assist in the retention and success of a diverse student body. 
  5. Build new strategic partnerships and strengthen existing connections with undergraduate programs, associations focused on underrepresented populations, and communities of historically underrepresented groups to develop to attract diverse talent.
  6. Ensure the success of talented diverse and under-represented students in their respective educational programs and create a climate that is conducive to the success of underrepresented groups.

OUTCOMES:

  • Undergraduate enrollment in COMLS-housed undergraduate courses/academic minors
  • Comparison data for UToledo undergrads applying and matriculating to medical school as a function of successful completion of COMLS courses/minors
  • Entering metrics (GPA, science GPA, MCAT scores) for UToledo undergraduate students matriculating to the COMLS MD program as a function of successful completion of COMLS courses/minors 
  • Increased recruitment, retention and success rates of diverse and URM students
  • Increased student diversity within the medical school

Goal #1B: Improve resident and fellow success, retention, and improve the quality of graduate medical education programs through greater engagement of the College of Medicine and Life Sciences in the graduate educational mission at The University of Toledo.

OBJECTIVES:

  1. Maintain the highest level of ACGME accreditation for all residency and fellowship programs through continuous program improvement.
  2. Enhance the recruitment of competitive residents and fellows in UToledo graduate medical education programs. 
  3. Increase number of new or expanded residency or fellowship programs.

OUTCOMES:

  • ACGME annual accreditation status
  • Specialty Board first attempt pass rates
  • Annual ACGME resident and faculty surveys
  • Percentage of graduates of UToledo and US medical schools entering UToledo graduate medical education programs
  • Number of new or expanded residency or fellowship programs

Goal #2: Improve COMLS graduate and MD student success and timely degree completion through specialized academic concentrations, data-informed student progress tracking from matriculation through graduation, and enhanced academic support.

OBJECTIVES:

  1. Improve opportunities for students to engage with specialized academic tracks/concentrations based on areas of strength and uniqueness of COMLS programs. 
  2. Improve processes and procedures for student progress and remediation. 
  3. Optimize resources and improve overall quality of all COMLS programs. 
  4. Maintain the highest level of accreditation for all COMLS medical student and graduate programs through continuous quality improvement to provide effective monitoring of the programs’ compliance with accreditation standards.

OUTCOMES:

  • Interest in specialized concentrations from prospective MD and graduate program applicants
  • Percentage of students who delay key program transitions
  • Scores/grades of MD program and graduate students on comprehensive examinations and national board examinations
  • Student use of academic enrichment services and perceptions of utility of services
  • Pertinent accrediting body status
  • Implementation of continuous quality improvement plan for student programs
  • Effective Continuous Quality Improvement Policy for the MD Program. 

Goal #3A: Prepare UToledo undergraduate students for advanced academic studies in medical school and biomedical clinical and research graduate schools, particularly within COMLS graduate and MD programs. 

OBJECTIVES:

  1. Increase matriculation to MD and graduate school applications from a wider diversity of UToledo academic majors and disciplines, including social sciences, humanities, and other professional majors (e.g., education, pharmacy, business).
  2. Improve opportunities for undergraduate students who are interested in early decision, accelerated course sequence, and other pathways to COMLS graduate programs and biomedical research careers. 

OUTCOMES:

  • Undergraduate matriculation to COMLS graduate (clinical and research) and MD programs
  • Number of undergraduate students engaged in research in COMLS
  • Entering metrics (GPA, science GPA, MCAT/GRE scores) for UToledo undergraduate students matriculating to COMLS graduate (clinical and research) and MD programs 

Goal #3B: Prepare COMLS biomedical clinical and research graduate and MD students career success through professional development programming, enhanced residency match preparation, and similar career development.

OBJECTIVES:

  1. Improve student career, professional development, and post-graduate training preparation.
  2. Increase opportunities for formal faculty-led advising for graduate and MD students.

OUTCOMES:

  • MD student satisfaction with career advising on the annual AAMC Graduation Questionnaire
  • Graduate student survey responses regarding satisfaction with career advising and professional development

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Research Icon Research, scholarship and creative activities

Goal #1: Enhance national recognition for research by developing and implementing a plan to support and promote team science (program projects and multiple PI grants, etc.) in areas of research excellence and/or opportunity in the basic science and clinical departments.  

OBJECTIVES:

  1. Increase NIH-funding.
  2. Increase development of team science proposals.
  3. Identify and recruit an Associate Dean for Research. 
  4. Increase collaboration and communication between department chairs and COMLS Dean and Associate Deans to develop and share strategies that best promote mentoring support and faculty research, scholarship and creative activities.
  5. Promote collaboration between the clinical and laboratory research faculty to facilitate translational and clinical investigation and rapid movement of discovery from bench to bedside.

OUTCOMES:

  • Put into action a plan for areas of excellence in biomedical research:
    • Cardiovascular Disorders/Hypertension/Kidney Disease
    • Cancer
    • Neurosciences/Neurological & Behavioral /Psychiatric Disorders
    • Infection and Immunity
    • Water Quality and Human Health
    • Endocrine
    • Additional areas of excellence to be identified through successful collaboration of basic science, translational and clinical research opportunities
    • COMLS national ranking in annual NIH-funded dollars and average NIH-funded dollars/faculty FTE
    • Annual increase in team science proposals

Goal #2: Increase recognition of faculty research, scholarship, productivity, and faculty professional development.

OBJECTIVES:

  1. Increase recognition of faculty by increasing academic productivity. 
  2. Increase faculty promotions, participation as PIs or Co-PIs on extramural grants. 
  3. Promote faculty development and visibility.  

OUTCOMES:  

  • UToledo’s national ranking in research expenditures
  • UToledo’s ranking in public, research universities expenditures among Ohio’s public universities
  • Number of faculty publications in high-impact and high-profile journals identified by departments relating to their disciplines
  • Number of faculty who are fellows of selected, national societies
  • Number of faculty, staff and students participating in local research and community engagement activities
  • Implementation of a master research agreement with ProMedica that aligns with the academic affiliation

Goal #3: Reinvest and redirect funds back into research infrastructure to expand current capabilities of core facilities to accommodate expansions in goals 1 and 2.  

OBJECTIVES:

  1. In conjunction with the academic affiliation, increase the number of new hired faculty and improve our research infrastructure and policy to incentivize productive faculty. 
  2. Improve and increase our research incentive policy to maximize faculty efforts for external research funding.

OUTCOMES: 

  • Annual investment in research support infrastructure
  • Number of faculty publications in high-impact and high-profile journals

Goal #4: Increase research collaboration opportunities between diverse basic science and clinical departments within the College of Medicine, other colleges and ProMedica to create multi-PI grants and program projects.  

OBJECTIVES:
Associate Dean for Research or COMLS RAC will provide an update to Dean and faculty:

  1. Increase the number of publications, and the number of proposals, submitted by collaborators within COMLS and other colleges or ProMedica to Dean and faculty.
  2. Research and training opportunities for medical students, graduate students and postdoctoral fellows and community engagement opportunities. 

OUTCOMES:  

  • Number of publications and/or grants by diverse groups
  • Number of faculty, staff and students participating in local research and community engagement activities

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People Icon Faculty, Staff and Alumni

Goal #1: Foster a culture of excellence by supporting retention, career progression and high job satisfaction for non-faculty staff.

OBJECTIVES:

  1. Distribute a staff culture survey to assess job satisfaction and staff retention.
  2. Create staff award and recognition categories.
  3. Create staff on-boarding process.
  4. Develop staff engagement/communication plan.
  5. Create opportunities for staff development and ‘up-boarding’ process.

OUTCOMES:  

  • Create Office of Staff Affairs and Development
  • Create and implement a plan to increase employee retention
  • Overall staff job satisfaction average
  • Increased staff productivity as a result of mentorship program and career progression strategy
  • Reduction of staff absenteeism and turnover

Goal #2: Foster a culture of excellence by supporting retention, promotion and high job satisfaction for faculty

OBJECTIVES:

  1. Complete review and revision of COMLS bylaws.
  2. Form Task Force to review current promotion and tenure guidelines and revise as appropriate.
  3. Develop mentoring and advising program for faculty.
  4. Develop faculty ‘upboarding’ program.
  5. Improve faculty integration with the Academic Affiliation to support academic programs.

OUTCOMES:

  • Increased percentage of full professors in the pool of full-time faculty
  • Decreased faculty attrition at all ranks (assistant/associate/full)
  • Overall faculty job satisfaction average
  • Efficient and effective process for pre-promotion (3rd Year), post-tenure and annual reviews
  • Increased number and rank of physicians with UToledo faculty appointments

Goal #3: Increase Diversity among all employees.

OBJECTIVES:

  1. Develop and implement COMLS Strategic Plan for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
  2. Increase diversity of faculty and staff applicant pools.
  3. Ensure diversity tracking of faculty applicant pools.
  4. Ensure implicit bias training for all faculty, staff and participants on search committees.
  5. Conduct annual diversity climate survey to monitor environment.
  6. Create faculty and staff development/mentoring program for URM/women.

OUTCOMES:

  • Number of female and URM faculty and staff across the COMLS
  • Number of female and URM faculty and staff serving in leadership positions
  • Number of female and URM faculty and staff serving on COMLS committee
  • Percentage of employees participating in implicit bias training
  • Implement effective process for tracking faculty applications and hiring in Cornerstone.

Goal #4: Create a culture of wellness in the COMLS 

OBJECTIVES:

  1. Promote rocket wellness initiatives. 
  2. Develop interventions after review of data and implementation of plans.
  3. Repeat AAMC Standpoint survey of faculty in 3 years to assess changes.
  4. Expand focus of the Wellness Committee related to physician burnout.

OUTCOMES:

  • Improved work-life balance
  • Overall job satisfaction average
  • Decreased self-described burnout

Goal #5: Engage alumni, friends and stakeholders meaningfully in the life of the COMLS

OBJECTIVES (ALUMNI ENGAGEMENT):

  1. Increase alumni outreach.
  2. Secure contact information of graduating medical students and residents and continually update our database. 
  3. Implement regular outreach, engagement and communication with young alumni through the class of 1972.
  4. Work with COMLS faculty affairs to promote COMLS and local employment opportunities to our alumni.
  5. Provide quality and engaging programming to meet the needs and expectations of our alumni.
  6. Host annual homecoming event for the COMLS.

OBJECTIVES (DEVELOPMENT):

  1. Plan and implement comprehensive campaign to: Increase scholarship support, enhance student experience, create a precision medicine institute, transform facilities and increase research funding. 
  2. Increase number of development officers in the COMLS.
  3. Create a robust annual giving, leadership annual giving, major giving and planned giving programs.  
  4. Provide donors with experiential philanthropic opportunities and inspiring projects to support. 

OUTCOMES:

  • Number of Alumni attending events 
  • Number of Alumni engaged in college activities
  • Number of Development Officers for COMLS
  • Dollars raised 
  • Number of graduated students from UToledo and non-UToledo residencies who establish practice in NW Ohio
  • Membership on the Medical Research Society

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Money Icon Fiscal position and infrastructure

Goal #1: Build a strong financial foundation.

OBJECTIVES:

  1. Develop and implement a budget/resource allocation model that supports the missions and strategic priorities of the College of Medicine and Life Science and University of Toledo. 
  2. Allocate resources to maintain and improve instructional facilities, information resources, student support services, and student study and relaxation space.

OUTCOMES:

  • Implementation of metric/mission-based budget
  • Percentage of students satisfied with study space in AAMC Graduation Questionnaire
  • Percentage of students satisfied with relaxation space in AAMC Graduation Questionnaire

Goal #2: Ensure adaptability, sustainability and fiscal health for academic programs.

OBJECTIVES:

  1. Fulfill the Academic Affiliation Transition Plan for students, residents and faculty, and achieve the educational, research, and clinical guiding principles of the Academic Affiliation.
  2. Reduce the rate of growth of M.D. graduate indebtedness to be less than the 70th %tile for all medical schools by 2021-2022, by promoting existing scholarship opportunities, developing additional scholarships, and limiting tuition increases.

OUTCOMES:

  • Total resident FTEs at ProMedica
  • Achievement of the original resident transition plan
  • MD average graduate indebtedness
  • Total grants/scholarships without a service commitment
  • Average grants/scholarships without a service commitment

Goal #3: Increase revenue and operating efficiencies.

OBJECTIVES:

  1. Strategically increase enrollment in existing educational programs (except the M.D. program) and assess opportunities for development of new educational programs.
  2. Increase the amount and percentage of total faculty salaries funded by extramural sponsored projects and allocate resources to expand the infrastructure to support identification and acquisition of grant opportunities.

OUTCOMES:

  • Enrollment in COMLS programs (non-MD)
  • Percentage of non-administrative faculty salaries grant funded
  • Total faculty salaries funded by extramural awards

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Rocket Icon Reputation and engagement

Goal #1: Improve and strengthen our national and international reputation, and improve ties at the local and regional levels.

OBJECTIVES:

  1. Improve reputation of the College of Medicine and Life Sciences.
  2. Develop ProMedica Toledo Hospital and Russell J. Ebeid Children’s Hospital into a premier academic medical center.

OUTCOMES:

  • U.S. News and World Report overall ranking in Primary Care and Research
  • Rankings of individual programs in the U.S. News and World report

Goal #2: Design a unified branding and marketing process for national and international visibility and reputation building

OBJECTIVES:

  1. Develop brand for College of Medicine and Life Sciences that aligns with the academic affiliation.

OUTCOMES:

  • Complete branding process
  • Develop consistent messaging
  • Increased favorable mentions in highly-valued national media outlets

Goal #3: Increase philanthropy in support of the University’s strategic goals.

OBJECTIVES:

  1. Implement a comprehensive capital campaign.

OUTCOMES:

  • Number of development officers at COMLS
  • Implement pilot program to add theme-based development officers
  • Create a COMLS graduate database
  • Alumni engagement (particularly pre name change)
  • Develop a philanthropy plan with ProMedica that aligns with the academic affiliation

Goal #4: Increase promotion of the “Rocket” brand institutionally, locally, regionally and nationally via marketing and promotion efforts.

OBJECTIVES:

  1. Promote COMLS engagement in UToledo/Rocket events.
  2. Enhance the UToledo brand and build employee self-identification/pride.

OUTCOMES:

  • Number of COMLS faculty, staff, residents and students attending UToledo/Rocket events
  • Number of individuals wearing UToledo/Rocket gear

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Implementation Timeline

See full timeline

Last Updated: 11/13/23