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2016-22 Strategic Plan

Strategic Plan

Excellence, integrity, diversity and innovation have long shaped the student-centered learning experience at UNCW. These values, along with our dedication to community engagement, served as the foundation for the strategic plan, developed by the campus community to guide our growth through 2022.

This strategic plan focused on the distinctive qualities that make UNCW one of the best institutions of higher education in the nation.

Strategic Priority 1: Attract ✦ Retain

Attract and retain high-quality, diverse students, faculty and staff; ensure an inclusive campus culture and a global mindset; and increase retention and graduation rates

Goals

  • Attract and retain high-quality, diverse students, faculty and staff
  • Ensure a UNCW education is accessible and affordable to the sons and daughters of North Carolina
  • Promote a diverse and inclusive culture and a global mindset throughout the university
  • Increase retention and graduation rates, ensuring student success

Strategic Priority 2: Educate ✦ Advance/Research

Enhance learning experiences and educational programs, and advance research and scholarly activities

Goals

  • Advance university academic programming
  • Enhance applied learning
  • Advance research and scholarly activities
  • Foster global learning and research
  • Pursue excellence in everything we do – teaching, research and service

Strategic Priority 3: Enable ✦ Place

Enable and nurture a sense of a student-centered community by enhancing academic advising and student support programs for career placement and graduate school

Goals

  • Foster collaborative campus partnerships to enhance advising and student support
  • Prepare students for post-graduation success
  • Increase post-graduation career placement and graduate school admission rates

Strategic Priority 4: Organize ✦ Engage

Organize for success, engage with community and the world, and communicate efforts broadly and effectively

Goals

  • Ensure effective introduction, implementation, monitoring and long-term success of the Strategic Plan
  • Conduct university image study and, in line with the Strategic Plan, develop and implement branding of the university
  • Organize and capitalize on key partnerships, campus strengths and employee interests to increase community, regional and global impact and enrich the student experience
  • Incentivize, support, recognize and reward community/scholarly engagement activities by students, faculty and staff
  • Annually capture UNCW’s economic impact and share it to advocate for the university, to inform the general public and the government on policy, and to engage the community

Strategic Priority 5: Fund ✦ Build

Fund strategic initiatives by building on strong relationships with all stakeholders

Goals

  • Ensure the state continues to support the institution for its educational outcomes and economic impact
  • Strategically grow enrollment without sacrificing quality and access
  • Ensure auxiliary services provide value to students and the university
  • Ensure Athletics is academically and financially sound and in full compliance
  • Maximize opportunities for fiscal sustainability and institutional efficiencies and reinvest strategically
  • Increase extramural research funding
  • Fundraise for a great university: comprehensive campaign, best practices and alignment of donor support with strategic priorities
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