Lincoln University is committing to connecting students with resources to succeed and collaboration across campus with its new strategic plan.
The Lincoln University Board of Curators approved the university's newest strategic plan Thursday, giving the go-ahead to center focus on six new campus-wide priorities.
The initiatives touch nearly all aspects of the university, from student enrollment and success to campus culture and academic offerings and outreach.
Lincoln plans to create a diversity, equity and inclusion plan and use data to make equity-driven decisions, both of which are efforts to give students equal opportunities to pursue degrees. The university will also be relying on collaboration between faculty, staff and students to ensure it is held accountable to strategic priorities.
University President John Moseley said the strategic plan is a necessary step for the university to fully realize what it is trying to accomplish and ensure the decisions it makes support those goals.
"I think they did a really good job of capturing what we want to do," Moseley said. "Now we have to take the next step and document how we plan to do it. I like to say we've got to put the meat on the bones here."
The university will be developing campus-wide action plans using various data, metrics, climate assessments and tactics, according to the strategic plan.
Moseley said he was excited by the range of voices that contributed to the plan's development.
The strategic plan was created by a select committee of faculty and staff, and reviewed by university administration, partners and consultants.
The initiatives were formed using student, staff and stakeholder survey results from the past two years and focus groups with more than 100 participants.
The first strategic priority they identified was to grow enrollment, which has been on a downward slide for the past decade.
Increasing partnerships with community colleges to boost the number of transfer students obtaining a degree at Lincoln is one step identified in the strategic plan, as is using alumni for coordinated recruitment efforts and improving standard recruitment processes.
But retention, like recruitment, is a major factor in enrollment. According to the new strategic plan, Lincoln plans to make academic support more accessible for students, improve the use of technology and communication throughout recruitment and retention processes, and revamp efforts to get students who leave the university to return.
The second strategic priority is to create a holistic approach to student success, which considers student social, emotional, academic and mental health needs.
The university would incorporate this holistic approach into new student orientations, faculty training and entry-level courses to better prepare students for college life. More involvement from alumni and community members, a more comprehensive approach to transfer credit and new programs to monitor student progress are additional steps identified in the strategic plan.
In terms of university culture, Lincoln is looking to create one that values customer service and builds engagement and trust among students, faculty and staff. Departmental collaboration and professional development opportunities are steps the university will take to expand workforce capacity, and it will improve strategies for recruiting a diverse faculty and staff.
Strategic priorities three and four are centered around academic instruction and enhancing university resources.
According to the strategic plan, Lincoln plans to launch new academic programs, adapt existing programs to meet future workforce demands and expand employee professional development. The plan also calls for the addition of "dynamic, high impact practices" throughout academic curriculum.
To bolster university resources, Lincoln plans to diversify revenue with grants and sponsored research, uplift partnerships with alumni, foundations and corporations, address deferred critical maintenance projects, increase financial support for student scholarships, and seek out partnerships with minority businesses and organizations that support racial equity.
The strategic plan also touches Lincoln's Cooperative Extension and Research efforts.
By fostering relationships with elected officials and expanding programs with other state institutions, agencies and businesses for internships, Lincoln would take steps to expand outreach and research to underserved communities, according to the strategic plan.