COASTAL CAROLINA UNIVERSITY

MISSION STATEMENT

     Coastal Carolina University is a public mid-sized (4,000-6,500 students), comprehensive liberal arts institution offering baccalaureate degrees in the traditional liberal arts and sciences, interdisciplinary studies, and professional schools, along with Master's degrees in several specialized areas. Located in one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the nation, the campus primarily serves its immediate five-county area, while honoring its commitment to the citizens of Horry County who founded the University and continue to provide funding to it. Recognizing its responsibility to ensure a student population that is diverse both culturally and geographically, the institution also aggressively recruits statewide, out-of-state, and internationally.

     Coastal Carolina is a community of students and teacher-scholars dedicated to the pursuit of wisdom and goodness in an environment where intellectual understanding is encouraged, individual dignity respected, and creativity stimulated. The University seeks to provide a rational view of the world and human experience through student-centered participatory learning to help students make intelligent and informed decisions as free and active citizens in modern society. To this end, the institution affords opportunities for personal development and provides a common grounding in the Western intellectual tradition. Anticipated acquired skills and knowledge include the ability to express oneself effectively both orally and in writing, to locate and process information, to reason analytically and abstractly, to interpret and evaluate scientific evidence, to demonstrate competency in the use of modern technology, and to appreciate accomplishments in the arts. Attitudes ideally to be developed embrace a sense of ethics, honesty, truth, and justice, a willingness to accept responsibility for one's own actions and choices, an appreciation for work and self-discipline, an appreciation of and desire for lifelong learning, and a respect and tolerance for the ideas, values, and opinions of others.

     As a major intellectual and cultural center for the Waccamaw region, the University enriches the quality of life through the performing and fine arts, community service, external programs, distance learning, continuing education programs, and the encouragement of faculty development and research, especially in problem areas that are indigenous. Recognizing regional needs, the campus provides Master's degrees in several areas for professional advancement. In its public service role, the institution is a major resource in the economic and intellectual development of the region, urging faculty participation on local boards and councils, and providing research and consulting services to local businesses, non-profit agencies, and governmental bodies. The University facilitates student participation in the community through internships, community service, and cooperative learning, as part of a comprehensive educational experience that renders students competitive for entry-level jobs or graduate and professional training leading to practical and productive careers in business, the public service, the professions, and education.

     Toward this accomplishment of its mission, Coastal Carolina covenants its cooperation with its sister public institutions, with the public schools, with the business community, and with elected and appointed officials who are responsible to the voting public for the oversight and governance of post-secondary education. The University understands that such cooperation necessarily includes coordination of programs and activities, along with a duty to use public funding efficiently and effectively to make its offerings both affordable and accessible. The institution also recognizes the fact that any public funds appropriated to it must be considered as an investment in the betterment of society, with the anticipated returns being an enlightened populace and economic growth.

(Approved by the Board of Trustees at the April 18, 1997 Meeting)

 

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