About PSU

About PSU

Mission

Through our philosophy of Ut Prosim (that I may serve) and our Integrated Cluster Model, Plymouth State enables students to connect their academic and extra-curricular interests with real-world projects, global challenges, and diverse cultures while fostering personal growth from their first days on campus until long after graduation as engaged alumni.

Vision

Plymouth State University’s Integrated Cluster Model provides our diverse community of students, staff, and faculty an integrated environment in which we take educational risks as we explore new ideas, improve upon the ideas of others, and engage in meaningful work that connects and positively impacts all of New Hampshire, the nation, and the world.

Values

Our values shape the environment in which our campus community members learn, teach, and serve. Our values guide our decision-making, provide clarity in determining priorities, and influence our relationships and behaviors. We value:

• our alumni, heritage, and future as a transformative and highly engaged University with innovative and creative approaches to learning and problem solving;
• service to others, exemplifying our motto, Ut prosim (That I may serve), and working across disciplines where deeper levels of learning and outcomes occur;
• entrepreneurial partnerships that enrich our learning and benefit our region focused on sustainable, environmentally connected work that enhances our sense of place and purpose;
• the rights and dignity of all people;
• diversity, equity, and inclusiveness across our community; 
• free speech, diversity of opinion, and the opportunity to learn from one another;
• collective responsibility for the health, safety, and wellbeing of our community;
• accountability for decisions, actions, performance, and conduct.
• continuous improvement in our programs, policies, and practices;
• responsible stewardship of our finite environmental, financial, and human resources.

Definition of Student Success and Institutional Learning Outcomes

Definition of Student Success
At Plymouth State University, we strive through our integrated cluster learning model to
prepare students to accomplish their academic, personal, and professional goals and to be
career and life ready. Through their studies and experiences at Plymouth State, students
develop and apply habits of mind that are critical to their success—purposeful
communication, problem-solving skills, an integrated perspective, and self-regulated learning.
Not only do students achieve competence in their field of study, they build the skills to
collaborate across disciplines to tackle challenging problems and have a positive impact on the
wider community.

Institutional Learning Outcomes
During their time at PSU (and beyond), students demonstrate:

1. Purposeful Communication
   Purposeful and effective communication increases knowledge, fosters understanding,
   and/or promotes change in others’ attitudes, values, beliefs, or behaviors. It engages the
   perspectives of others and fosters dialogue among individuals and the community.
2. Integrated Perspective
   An integrated perspective recognizes that individual decisions impact the self, the
   community, and the environment. Students acknowledge the limitations of singular points
   of view and recognize the benefits of engaging with and learning from others in order to
   integrate multiple perspectives for effective communication, problem-solving, and
   collaboration.
3. Problem-Solving Skills
   Engaging in problem solving requires the ability to think creatively, adapt and extend one’s
   thinking, acknowledge different contexts and incorporate different perspectives, embrace
   flexibility, consider potential implications, determine courses of action, persist and adapt
   despite failure, and reflect on the results.
4. Self-Regulated Learning
   Self-regulated learning encompasses the desire to learn, the ability to set personal goals
   for learning, and the capacity to engage in a self-monitored learning process. Selfregulated learners demonstrate metacognitive awareness (an understanding of the factors
   that influence their own learning) and cultivate the skills and confidence they need in
   order to be effective learners.
5. Competence in their Field of Study
   Students develop, strengthen, and apply the knowledge and skills needed to be effective
   in their chosen field of study. They are successful in meeting the Student Learning
   Outcomes identified in their academic program.
6. A Positive Impact on the Wider Community
   Student actively participate and collaborate in projects and activities in service to the
   university, the community, and/or the wider world, in keeping with the PSU motto of Ut
   Prosim.