Learning and Teaching
(This plan was approved in 2004. In spring 2008, a new strategic plan, based in part on the plan of 2004, was approved by the Faculty Senate. The strategic plan of 2008, now in force and replacing the 2004 plan, will soon be available online.)

We were created in 1849 to prepare Connecticut citizens as teachers in the state’s emerging public school system. Though CCSU today is a much different place from the old New Britain Normal School, our job and our promise continues to be excellence in teaching and learning.  For decades our students have come to us mainly from cities and towns in central Connecticut. They aspire to be educated near home and to stay near home to build productive and satisfying lives around good careers and community service. Ensuring the contemporary, global learning of our undergraduate and graduate students remains at the center of our culture and value system. Personalized attention to total student development  sets us apart from other institutions of higher education in the region.  

The education we provide is grounded in the traditions of the core liberal arts. We believe this core is vital in educating students to become responsible and ethical members of any community, citizens who use critical thinking skills to formulate grounded opinions and beliefs, and individuals who bring creativity and imagination to their work and their lives.  While worthy in itself, a liberal education prepares graduates for lifelong learning and success in many fields.  At the same time, we recognize our responsibilities to collaborate with other institutions to build a rich and varied employment future for our graduates, a future characterized by a rapidly changing workplace demanding foundational as well as job-specific skills.

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