Vision

Florida Gulf Coast University is dedicated to providing a learning-centered environment that offers the highest quality educational opportunities for the development of the knowledge, insights, competencies, and skills necessary for success in life and work. To maintain this learning-centered environment, the university as a whole and its units and individuals will actively practice continuous planning and assessment leading to improvement and renewal.

Institutional Purpose

Florida Gulf Coast University is a comprehensive* public university created to address the educational needs of the rapidly growing Southwest Florida population and the increasing number of students who are seeking admittance into the State University System. The university's primary service area consists of Charlotte, Collier, Glades, Hendry, and Lee counties, with specialized programs drawing students from the state and beyond.

The university offers a broad range of undergraduate and graduate areas of study including arts and sciences, business, technology, education, environmental science, nursing/allied health, and public and social services. Professional development and continuing education programs are offered based on need and availability of resources. On-campus offerings along with distance education and partnerships with public and private organizations, agencies, and educational institutions enable the university to extend a rich diversity of higher education opportunities to Southwest Florida and beyond.

The university seeks to employ innovative ideas and technologies in the development and delivery of programs and services. The university also pursues regional and community-based public service activities and projects. To support the roles of teaching and public service, faculty and students are encouraged to engage in a wide array of creative inquiry and scholarship, including applied scholarship that focuses on the unique Southwest Florida environment and other issues of importance to the region and state. The library, which utilizes information technology in the delivery of instruction and information resources, actively promotes student learning and supports the information needs of the university.

Institutional Commitment

Florida Gulf Coast University promotes an institutional culture that:

• Fosters the pursuit of truth and knowledge;
• Affirms academic freedom as the foundation for the transmission and advancement of knowledge;
• Seeks excellence in both educational offerings and services;
• Asserts that learner needs, rather than institutional preferences, should guide decisions concerning academic planning, policies and programs;
• Provides academic, student, and administrative support services designed to meet the needs of the university community;
• Recognizes, encourages and rewards quality teaching;
• Enhances the growth of faculty by supporting teaching, scholarship, service and professional development;
• Encourages collaboration in learning, governance, operations, and planning;
• Establishes mentor/advisor programs, particularly programs for undergraduates that include senior capstone projects or papers;
• Recognizes that informed and engaged citizens are essential to the creation of a civil and sustainable society; and
• Affirms that diversity is a source of renewal and vitality.

*Carnegie Foundation classification