The University of Wisconsin-Stout received approval for their newly-revised mission statement from the Board of Regents Friday, continuing the trend of UW System schools doing away with old mission statements.

In March 2007 the Board of Regents acted on a proposal from UW-Stout to designate the university as Wisconsin’s polytechnic university — a topic debated on the campus for many years, according to Doug Mell, UW-Stout director of communications.

Polytechnics are career-focused universities offering degree programs in arts, sciences, engineering and education and engage students in active learning and research.

One way UW-Stout stands out from other peer universities is the amount of career-focused majors they offer and the targeted approach they take to hands on learning, according to Mell.

“The way we teach at UW-Stout is a very hands-on, applied learning style; more lab-based learning rather than the usual lecture style,” Mell said.

The majors they offer include hospitality and tourism, engineering and a new major in video game design and development. Mell also mentioned the extensive transfer program agreements UW-Stout has with technical colleges.

Not only has UW-Stout spent time and energy planning for a new mission statement, but UW-Green Bay recently revised their mission and UW-La Crosse has also put a lot of effort into revising their 20-year-old mission statement, now ready for approval.

The importance of a mission statement is twofold, affecting both students and staff, according to Bob Hoar, faculty assistant to the provost at UW-La Crosse. For students and parents, it affords a broad idea of what the university has to offer when choosing and evaluating an institution. Staff is affected as well, since any grant they apply for or program they wish to develop must follow the university’s mission.

“When you write a mission, it provides people with a bit of direction,” Hoar said. “The heart of ours is that we are fully engaged in supporting students’ success.”

Both universities’ mission statements were at least 20 years old and very lengthy in words. Making them more concise and clearly-stated was the main goal for both institutions.

UW-Stout’s new mission statement now reads:

“University of Wisconsin-Stout is a career-focused, comprehensive polytechnic university where diverse students, faculty and staff integrate applied learning, scientific theory, humanistic understanding, creativity and research to solve real-world problems, grow the economy and serve a global society.”

UW’s mission statement has not been revised since 1988. However, the university announced a new strategic framework earlier this year that will guide its general future and direction as an institution.

Along with the revisal being approved at UW-Stout, the university also recently received a $2.1 million donation from an anonymous couple, both alumni of UW-Stout, to work toward the university’s goal of bringing more companies on campus to collaborate on research and real-world problems, according to Mell. $100,000 of the donation will go immediately to their newly opened discovery center.