Foundations of Excellence

Foundations of Excellence Final Report

The Final Report (link above) is password protected (use your UNM NetID and password) because it contains the intellectual property of the John N. Gardner Institute for Excellence in Undergraduate Education. The report is not for public release, but is freely available to anyone in the UNM community.

The University of New Mexico was one of eleven four-year institutions participating in the Foundations of Excellence® in the First College Year Self Study, an important campus-wide project which took place on the UNM Main Campus during the 2012-13 academic year. This process was conducted in collaboration with the John N. Gardner Institute for Excellence in Undergraduate Education, which has worked with over 300 two- and four-year colleges and universities across the country in order to develop the standards that constitute a model first year.

The primary outcome of this project was an evidence-based action plan for institutional change and improvement that will be implemented in order to increase the quality of the first-year educational experience. We expect this to produce improved retention rates for our freshman class, place students on a solid trajectory toward graduation, and demonstrate national leadership in the area of student academic success.