STRATEGIC THEME 1
Accelerate CDU ’ s transformation into a comprehensive , midsize , residential , undergraduate-graduate , research intensive , health professions and science university .
Rationale
In spite of the progress made over the past several decades , the diversity of health professionals continues to present a major challenge in the US . According to a report by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants , in 2019 , the proportion of certified Physician Assistants who identified as Black or African American was 3.6 percent , while that of Hispanic was 6.6 percent , and American Native was 0.4 percent . According to an Association of American Medical Colleges report , Blacks or African Americans made up only 7.3 percent and Hispanics only 6.5 percent of all the medical students in the US in 2020 . The proportion of certified American Indian / Alaskan Native Physician Assistants in 2019 was 0.4 percent , and their share of medical students in 2020 was only 0.2 percent . Yet , it is an established fact that culturally relevant care is critical to patient recovery and positive health outcomes . Patients desire providers who are familiar with their background , culture , and ethnicity . Among health professions , diversity in nursing is perhaps the most encouraging . In California , 4.5 percent of Nurse Practitioners are Black , 8.4 percent are Hispanic , 8.3 percent are Filipino , and 10.9 percent are other Asians / Pacific Islanders . However , in all these professions , Black males continue to be disproportionately underrepresented , constituting only 2.9 percent of the 92,758 medical students in 2020 . South Los Angeles , where CDU is located , is a critically under-resourced area — one of the California ’ s Health Professional Shortage Areas ( HPSA ).
With the implementation of the 2016-2020 Strategic Plan , CDU ’ s undergraduate and graduate enrollments grew by 122.8 percent and 64.4 percent respectively . In accordance with that Strategic Plan , CDU established several undergraduate programs , including BS- Radiologic Science , BS-Biomedical Science , BS-Public Health , BS-Psychology and RN-BSN- Nursing . Graduate program expansion included the inaugural class of Physician Assistants in 2017 , and the restoration by the College of Medicine of Graduate Medical Education that was shut down in 2008 and the establishment of three functioning specialties : Family Medicine , Psychiatry , and Internal Medicine . The Mervyn M . Dymally School of Nursing expanded its largest Nurse Practitioner program to include a specialty in Psychiatry . Recently , CDU doubled its land space with the acquisition of an 11-acre site of a former Compton Unified School District elementary school adjacent to the campus . Construction on the site will include student housing . During the period under review , CDU continued to make progress with its research enterprise in terms of grants , discoveries , and publications . Additionally , to ensure that research ethos remained foundational to faculty work , CDU established research pillars . Lastly , the prior Strategic Plan did not , and could not , anticipate the unprecedented health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic that compelled institutions to embark on telework , telehealth , and online learning .
While CDU continues to cherish its historic legacy , responding to the changing dynamics of its environment requires a continuing strategic re-envisioning of its direction , profile and operations . For the next five years , CDU is determined not only to continue to grow but embark on transformational growth . As a comprehensive health institution , CDU will continue to introduce health academic programs from BS to PhD that are critically needed in under-resourced areas and necessary to diversify health professions across the nation . In responding to its mission , CDU will be known nationally as a leader in cultivating diverse health professional leaders .
STRATEGIC GOAL 1 : CDU will be known nationally as a leader in cultivating diverse health professional leaders .
Strategic Objective 1 : Expand student recruitment from South LA , California , and the nation toward the enrollment target of 2000 students .
Strategic Objective 2 : Continue development of critical health academic programs from baccalaureate to doctorate .
Strategic Objective 3 : Develop and complete the establishment of CDU ’ s independent medical education program .
Strategic Objective 4 : Introduce residential experience for students on the CDU campus .
Strategic Objective 5 : Strengthen the University research pillars and community bi-directional research works .
Strategic Objective 6 : Enhance and integrate cutting-edge technology to promote telework and hybrid education .
Strategic Objective 7 : Transform the University into an institution of Teaching and Learning Excellence .
CDU 2021-2026 STRATEGIC PLAN | PG . 11