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Strategic Priorities

Strategic Plan

Each of the four pillars is linked to key strategic priorities for the next 10 years. Those priorities are further defined by objectives, or measurable steps, to guide our growth. Based on our progress, these priorities and objectives will be revisited, refined and adjusted over the 10-year period, making the plan a living document.

Unparalleled Opportunities

UNCW's most important asset is its people. We provide unparalleled opportunities for faculty, staff, and students to succeed. We are a community of learners who all believe in the power of education to make the world a better place.

We hire and retain accomplished, hard-working, and committed faculty and staff; and we recruit and enroll talented students with extraordinary potential that we help them achieve.

As a people-centered organization, investing in priorities that support faculty, staff, and students will be key to our future success.

  • Objective 1.1: Fully implement the Strategic Enrollment Plan.  
  • Objective 1.2: Invest strategically in financial aid to promote on-time graduation while keeping debt as low as possible.  
  • Objective 1.3: Increase graduate student enrollment and success.  
  • Objective 1.4: Increase participation in access initiatives to strengthen the enrollment pipeline from K-12 and community college to UNCW enrollment.
  • Objective 2.1: Cultivate a student-centered academic environment that proactively supports persistence, engagement, and timely graduation through holistic advising, inclusive learning experiences and data-informed interventions.   
  • Objective 2.2: Promote a campus-wide culture of holistic well-being by integrating mental health resources, well-being education, and supportive environments that empower students to thrive personally and academically.  
  • Objective 2.3: Strengthen and elevate student engagement through co-curricular programming, reflective learning for student employees, and meaningful connections that enhance belonging and campus vitality. 
  • Objective 3.1: Enhance students’ participation in High Impact Practices (HIPs).  
  • Objective 3.2: Unify and expand employer partnerships across UNCW to ensure post-graduation employment.
  • Objective 3.3: Evaluate how the undergraduate curriculum fosters the development of National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) Career Readiness Competencies through systematic data collection and analysis. 
  • Objective 4.1: Optimize and support fair, competitive and market-aligned compensation programs and practices.  
  • Objective 4.2: Enhance and increase utilization of employer-offered benefits, well-being programs and services.  
  • Objective 4.3: Obtain “Best Places to Work” or comparable designation.  
  • Objective 5.1: Ensure that all students achieve academic and engagement outcomes at levels that enhance their opportunities for post-completion success.  
  • Objective 5.2: Recruit, retain, and support faculty and staff who bring varied experiences, perspectives, and professional expertise to UNCW to align with the university’s mission and values.  
  • Objective 5.3: Conduct comprehensive reviews of student-facing and employee-facing policies by 2030 to evaluate their clarity, fairness and access.  
  • Objective 5.4: We will strengthen/enhance/ensure policies and practices that foster civil and respectful discourse and debate while protecting free expression and academic freedom.

Nationally Prominent Programs

UNCW is committed to cultivating an academic environment in which all members of our community can flourish. This environment is driven by the program activity related to

  • curriculum,
  • research,
  • creativity,
  • innovation,
  • outreach,
  • engagement,
  • and student support.

Our region and its place in the global economy are changing rapidly. UNCW will invest in regionally relevant and globally important programs that are responsive to our campus and community needs.

  • Objective 6.1: Enhance faculty development opportunities to strengthen interdisciplinary teaching.
  • Objective 6.2: Encourage development of interdisciplinary programs/curricula. 
  • Objective 6.3: Develop students’ interdisciplinary skills to enhance national recognition in interdisciplinary teaching.
  • Objective 6.4: Secure and sustain funding for interdisciplinary teaching and learning opportunities.
  • Objective 7.1: Design and launch innovative academic programs in emerging disciplines while also expanding existing programs to address evolving regional and statewide workforce demands.  
  • Objective 7.2: Develop and optimize curricular pathways and certification systems (badges, microcredentials) to enhance student mobility and demonstrate mastery.
  • Objective 7.3: Improve institutional and program rankings in nationally recognized systems. 
  • Objective 8.1: Strengthen UNCW’s research and innovation capacity to elevate its contributions to state, national and international research enterprise.  
  • Objective 8.2: Position UNCW as a global leader in coastal and marine research to drive solutions for resilient coastal communities and economies.  
  • Objective 8.3: Advance transformative health research that addresses urgent regional needs and delivers scalable solutions to improve well-being locally and globally.
  • Objective 8.4: Strengthen strategic research partnerships between UNCW and other organizations to amplify interdisciplinary collaboration, attract funding and accelerate real-world impact.
  • Objective 9.1: Expand health-related education at UNCW.  
  • Objective 9.2: Develop lasting partnerships with health-related employers to align education with regional workforce needs.
  • Objective 9.3: Embed Interprofessional education across all health-related programs.
  • Objective 9.4: Recruit, train and retain health-related professionals within southeastern North Carolina. 
  • Objective 10.1: Develop branding campaign that highlights coastal location.  
  • Objective 10.2: Develop and execute a branding campaign that highlights the university’s athletics programs.

Community Commitment

UNCW understands that collaborative partnerships – both internal and external to campus – are critical for achieving our university mission. Simply put, we work better when we work together.

We see the future of higher education as one

  • where community relationships spur innovation, creativity, and problem-solving;
  • where authentic engagement with the community leads to new learning opportunities;
  • and where partners in our mission help achieve our goals in mutually beneficial ways.
  • Objective 11.1: Drive regional engagement by building meaningful partnerships that elevate local pride in UNCW, expand access to university experiences and reinforce the university’s presence throughout the region.  
  • Objective 11.2: Develop campus facilities that enhance/improve community participation.  
  • Objective 11.3: Enhance campus safety and infrastructure to improve the community’s accessibility.  
  • Objective 12.1: Incentivize, support and recognize community engagement of UNCW faculty and staff.
  • Objective 12.2: Strengthen partnerships with local and regional organizations to address community needs while providing experiential learning opportunities for students.  
  • Objective 12.3: Embed and track community-engaged learning opportunities across disciplines and programs to better capture UNCW’s engagement and impact on the community.  
  • Objective 12.4: Create a centralized unit dedicated to data collection and analysis to strengthen community engagement by enabling evidence-based decision-making, measuring impact, and fostering alignment across departments and initiatives.
  • Objective 13.1: Increase inbound international faculty, staff and student mobility that strategically grows academic programs with regional needs.  
  • Objective 13.2: Increase outbound international faculty, staff and student mobility while developing and implementing a global partner roadmap that expands and enhances offerings and opportunities.
  • Objective 14.1: Expand cultural arts offerings through a renovated and modernized Kenan Auditorium as well as coordinated offerings across campus.
  • Objective 14.2: Advance UNCW Athletics as a unifying force that fosters pride, engagement, student success and alumni and philanthropic support.  

World-Class Operations and Infrastructure

Living and working on the coast is at the heart of almost everything UNCW does. Therefore, “place” — construed broadly — is critically important consideration for our future.

We think of place not only as our coastal location, but also as the physical infrastructure and institutional operations that support our mission as well as our attitudes and approaches to environmental stewardship and sustainability.

We will invest in upgrading and modernizing the operational systems and physical structures that align our campus “place” with our long-term goals as a university.

  • Objective 15.1: Develop practices that enhance institutional continuous improvement through enhanced data gathering, feedback, progress updates and informed decision-making.  
  • Objective 15.2: Update campus policies and clarify procedures to ensure institutional compliance.  
  • Objective 15.3: Identify key areas on campus where operations and sustainability practices can be improved or expanded and explore the creation of a Project Management Office (PMO) to help coordinate and manage these improvements.  
  • Objective 16.1: Establish a comprehensive data modernization framework that consolidates data across the university, reduces silos and enhances customer service delivery through a robust data warehouse. 
  • Objective 16.2: Enhance university practices to ensure the efficiency, security, confidentiality and integrity of data/technology systems.
  • Objective 16.3: Strengthen data integrity by improving governance processes.
  • Objective 16.4: Implement an AI-enhanced data analytics initiative that delivers intuitive, user-centric dashboards, enabling campus leadership, faculty and staff to access real-time, actionable insights.  
  • Objective 16.5: Support institutional strategic priorities that require new and critical data management, tracking, and/or activities to improve the institution’s data capabilities in strategic initiatives. 
  • Objective 17.1: Identify from the strategic plan critical facility upgrades and/or additions that will advance the institution.  
  • Objective 17.2: Develop cross-divisional functional teams that focus on improved facility and space planning with short, intermediate and long-term plans.
  • Objective 18.1: Increase philanthropic base from individuals, corporations and foundations.
  • Objective 18.2: Increase UNCW alumni engagement.  
  • Objective 18.3: Strategically manage enrollment, tuition and fees to preserve affordability for students while enhancing the university’s financial capacity.  
  • Objective 18.4: Enhance advocacy for federal, state and local funding by building relationships with policymakers, monitoring legislation and promoting organizational interests.