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Urban public universities represent a diverse array of higher education institutions that share several common elements of mission and challenge.  One common challenge is finding ways to articulate the contribution of these institutions to their metropolitan regions, their states, and to the nation.  Although there are large differences between the six institutions participating in this project, the following mission-related dimensions capture some of the important commonalities among these institutions, as well as some of their notable differences.

Access and Support
The institutions participating in this project vary greatly in terms of ‘selectivity.’  However, they share a commitment to access in several important ways and, most notably, by providing access to high quality programs and expert resources and appropriate support programs to the citizens, businesses, and community service agencies in their metropolitan areas.

Student Learning in the Urban Setting
The urban environment provides an enriched environment for learning in a ‘real-world’ setting.  Urban universities capitalize on this setting through various programmatic and structural ways.  Through service learning, clinics, internships, co-op programs, and even standard class assignments, the urban setting enriches student learning in many ways.

Civic Engagement
Through collaborations and partnerships with various businesses and community agencies, faculty, students, and staff at urban universities contribute to the economic, social, and technological development of their urban regions.

Urban Relevance of Programs and Scholarship
Urban public universities offer programs that align closely with the workforce and economic development needs of their regions.  Many faculty at these institutions engage in multi-disciplinary research applied to the complex social and economic welfare issues of the region.

Urban Universities as Intellectual and Cultural Resources for the City
The urban public university provides human and physical resources that contribute directly to the intellectual and cultural wealth of the city.  Their libraries, concert halls, exhibitions, and lecture halls invite area residents to share these resources.

Other Resources:

Portrait of Universities with Metropolitan Alliances (PUMA) - This web site was created to support the ongoing development of a data exchange among a set of urban and metropolitan universities that seeks to expand the availability of information that articulates the contribution of these institutions to their metropolitan regions, their states, and to the nation. In addition, it uses UUPP's preliminary document on the common characteristics of urban public universities as a starting point for an effort to develop indicators of effectiveness for these universities.

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