2019 - 2024
Goals & Objectives
Edinboro University will focus on six strategic objectives that will enhance student success and institutional health.
The University will enhance the academic achievement of every student, from all populations and backgrounds, through the entire academic life cycle - from student orientation through the beginning years of a graduate's career - while ensuring access to fulfilling, healthy, and marketable curricular and extracurricular experiences and resources.
Edinboro will enhance the achievement of students from all populations and backgrounds through the entire "academic life cycle" - from student orientation through the beginning years of a graduate's career.
Edinboro will provide an inclusive and welcoming campus environment that facilitates a fulfilling and healthy educational and extracurricular experience.
Edinboro will enhance student access to a range of experiential learning and extracurricular activities.
The University will ensure that it remains financially viable while promoting a supportive, growth-minded, and empowering climate for the entire campus community.
Edinboro University will ensure that it remains financially viable
Edinboro will ensure that its auxiliary institutions are financially stable and positioned to contribute to student and university success.
Edinboro will provide a supportive, growth-minded, and empowering climate for the entire campus community.
Strategic Initiatives
To accomplish the strategic plan's goals and objectives, Edinboro will undertake and/or continue a series of strategic initiatives, each impacting multiple objectives.
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| Academic Achievements | Student Well-being | Student Engagement |
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| Institutional Financial Health | Auxiliary Health | Campus Climate |
Objectives:
Description: The ultimate goal of every employee at Edinboro is to serve students. Edinboro will enhance current programming that 1) trains faculty and staff to effectively identify potential student wellness issues (beyond one's specific professional focus) and provide referrals to appropriate offices and resources; and 2) ensures that all faculty and staff have a "student-centered mindset" and adopt best practices for advising and mentoring students, whether that be for picking a major, building a schedule, mastering study and time-management skills, or developing career and extracurricular interests. Edinboro will also enhance student awareness of campus resources, especially for first-year students.
Objectives:
Description: All campuses have rules and processes that must be respected and followed to ensure fairness and achieve university goals. Sometimes, however, rules and processes can be applied so rigidly that the needs of individuals within the campus community are not fully met. Instead of a culture of strict compliance, the culture on campus should be one of empowerment, one in which university rules and processes are primarily seen as existing to enhance equity, student well-being, and student safety, with university employees seen as resources to that end.
Objectives:
Description: Another facet of creating a culture of empowerment is to ensure that students, staff, and faculty are able to achieve goals through campus processes that are clear and accessible. To ensure that campus processes are relatively simple and clear, Edinboro will do the following:
Objectives:
Description: Effective communication among staff, faculty, and students positively impacts academic achievement and student well-being. Edinboro will 1) ensure that all campus constituencies (for example, commuter students) are being effectively reached via academic programming, services, on-campus programming, and student activities. Edinboro will also 2) ensure that data important for academic success and student well-being are effectively generated and shared among groups that work with students (faculty, Academic Success, Center for Career Development and Experiential Learning, coaches, ROTC, Financial Aid, Student Affairs, Residence Life, etc.).
Objectives:
Description: Edinboro will examine and shift when and how campus spaces and services (e.g., food options, academic buildings, student success resources, the library, and the student union) are available to students, to match the preferences and needs of various student populations.
Objectives:
Description: Edinboro will ensure that all employees, from the onboarding process as new employees
through their last day before retirement, are encouraged to engage in continuous professional
development and supported in that effort. Strengthening the culture of growth-mindedness
on campus will boost employee morale, assist employees in fulfilling their professional
obligations, and benefit students.
Objectives:
Description: We currently have many initiatives to ensure that first-year students feel welcome and have a positive academic and extracurricular experience. The University will undertake a renewed and focused examination and, if necessary, reorganization and expansion of its programming for first-year students. Students must also have a good second-year experience as they make a first-time or deeper commitment to a given course of study and continue to engage in extracurricular activities. It is critical to ensure that a great first-year and second-year experience is available to students from all demographic categories.
Objectives:
Description: Edinboro will proactively prepare students for experiential learning (internships, externships, field experiences, on- and off-campus employment) and create a culture in which experiential learning is a normal part of the Edinboro experience, not an "add-on" for the most prepared and talented students. All students will have a realistic expectation of having an affordable and high-quality experience.
Objectives:
Description: All students will be encouraged to engage in collaborative research with faculty, student-led group research, field research, and/or independent study projects, leading to presentations, publications, and exhibitions. Edinboro will ensure that these opportunities are available to all student populations.
Objectives:
Description: All students will be encouraged to participate in student clubs, organizations, and programs, cross-cultural experiences (e.g., international study and travel), and community events and volunteer opportunities. Edinboro will ensure that these opportunities are available to all student populations.
Objectives:
Description: At an institution serving many working-class students and families, financing a university
education presents a major challenge and can also be a significant source of stress
for students while in school and for years after graduation. The University can improve
the success and well-being of students by ensuring that students have excellent "financial
literacy" programming and mentorship, from the day they decide to attend Edinboro
to the day they graduate.
Objectives:
Description: Edinboro will continue to promote focused growth of enrollment through targeted recruitment and retention. Important populations beyond traditional age students include 1) graduate students in high net-revenue programs that have a large potential recruitment area (e.g., nationally known, fully online programs); 2) adult students; and 3) transfer students and returning students (looking to complete their degrees). Edinboro will also further refine its strategic use of scholarships and financial aid to attract students and enhance retention and academic achievement.
Objectives:
Description: The University will evaluate and optimally design academic programs, general education requirements, course schedules, and course and program modalities in support of efficiency, student success, and new student recruitment across all student demographic categories (for example, commuter students, transfer students, and traditional-age students).
Objectives:
Description: Edinboro will further invest in academic programming with relatively high net revenue and/or the potential to attract a wider range of students. Programming of this type to be explored further include 1) graduate programming; 2) programming that is more convenient and accessible to both traditional and non- traditional students (e.g., alternative modalities) while still pedagogically effective; and 3) programming that leverages existing programmatic and faculty strengths and takes advantage of existing resource commitments.
Objectives:
Description: Edinboro will further explore opportunities for generating non-tuition- based revenue. Areas to be explored include improving the organization and delivery of 1) graduate-level continuing education (e.g., coursework to maintain professional licensure); and 2) non-graduate-level continuing education (e.g., workforce development, continuing education credits, and certificates), as well as 3) maximizing opportunities for faculty and staff to secure grants.
Objectives:
Description: Edinboro will explore and establish the best balance of net revenue generation and affordability regarding tuition, housing options, and dining options.
Objectives:
Description: Edinboro will engage in careful and strategic management of the voluntary attrition of faculty members, as well as strategic investment in faculty positions, through a holistic approach. Factors to be considered include: 1) projected enrollment and associated net revenue (overall, and in specific programs); 2) net costs and/or revenue of programs; 3) a holistic evaluation of the productivity of programs (e.g., demonstrated contribution to workforce needs, university mission, reputation, and/or recruitment; and measures of student academic achievement and career success); and 4) the University's ability to manage and afford a given combination of academic programming while reducing labor costs and continuing to invest in promising new programming.
Objectives:
Description: Edinboro will strategically coordinate the development and maintenance of partnerships with external entities, to 1) promote and enhance academic and experiential learning opportunities for Edinboro students; and 2) contribute to the economic and cultural development of the Northwest Pennsylvania region.
Related university efforts
Edinboro's strategic plan does not summarize everything that the University has done, is doing, or will do over the next five years. It is a set of priorities that will shape decision-making across the institution.
Additional strategic planning will flow from the strategic plan.
The University has already, in the past few years, launched several projects to enhance its performance.
These promising and successful projects will continue in alignment with the strategic plan.
There are some problems, issues, or plain annoyances that fall outside the scope of the strategic plan. They just need to be fixed! While developing the strategic plan, the University, based on Edinboro community input, is creating a "just fix it list" of items that the University can address.
TIMELINE
The timeline for the implementation of the strategic plan and related University efforts can be broken down into two major parts.
The first year of the strategic plan will consist of the following components/activities:
Years two through five of the strategic plan will consist of the following components/activities:
