Oct 26, 2016

UNI 2017-2022 STRATEGIC PLAN: STUDENT SUCCESS

Student Success is the unifying goal of UNI's 2017-2022 Strategic Plan. Three supporting goals include:

  • Diversity and Inclusion
  • Campus Vitality
  • Community Engagement

“My hope is that our new strategic plan will become a living document that is communally owned on our campus. We will use the new vision, mission and plan to guide our work within each of the four divisions of the university,” said UNI Interim President Jim Wohlpart.

The strategic planning process began in May with a UNI leadership retreat including 160 participants from across campus. Following the retreat, a 30-member Strategic Planning Committee was appointed with representatives from all areas of campus. The committee participated in multiple interactive planning sessions to craft new plan elements including the vision, mission, values, goals and initiatives.

As the plan was being crafted, the committee conducted an extensive and inclusive public input process. Eight public input sessions were conducted by committee members in Waterloo, Cedar Falls, Cedar Rapids, Des Moines and Marshalltown. Nearly 150 participants attended public input sessions and included representatives from economic development organizations, non-profits organizations, K-12 teachers and administrators, community leadership, alumni, elected local and state officials, members of the Board of Regents, Alumni Association Board Members and Foundation Trustees. In addition, an online questionnaire was sent out to these same groups and to UNI students and parents of current and previous students. More than 300 online responses were received and reviewed by the committee.

The committee took this public input and revised the plan components. A series of Town Hall feedback sessions were then held on campus to obtain further input. A final draft of the plan was then prepared for the Iowa Board of Regents review, which was approved by the board on Thursday, Oct. 20, 2016.

The next step is creating a Strategic Plan Implementation Team, which will be responsible for reaching out to the university community to create indicators for each of the metrics and goals of the plan.

Special thanks goes to the UNI Institute for Decision Making for facilitating the UNI Strategic Plan process.