Southern Utah University Strategic Plan

Published: November 20, 2015 | Author: Nikki Koontz | Read Time: 2 minutes

Southern Utah University, in its first draft of a new strategic plan, will revise its mission and vision statements, attendees at a Nov. 19 open meeting were told. SUU, in presenting the plan to students, faculty, staff and the community, sought public input on the proposed plan.

SUU’s new mission is to be a dynamic teaching and learning community that engages students in experiential education leading to personal growth, civic responsibility, and professional excellence. The intention is that SUU’s vision will receive national recognition for its innovations in learning, student success, and in providing the best educational experience in the intermountain West.

The strategic planning process began in December and involves a group of 29 members who reflect the diversity of the university and its programs. As its first order of business, the Strategic Planning Task Force conducted open forums to receive stakeholder input on modifying, or creating new, the guiding principles of the institution. This effort laid the groundwork for the development of a comprehensive SUU strategic plan. The process involved active participation from SUU faculty, staff, students and community stakeholders. Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threat analysis (SWOT) were conducted to determine the critical University issues that need to be proactively managed.

These discussions generated a tremendous amount of data regarding stakeholders' perceptions about the University and its future. After thorough review of the data, the top 10 strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats were identified.

New core themes were identified from the SWOT analyses. The core themes for the strategic plan are the three E’s: Explore—SUU explores diverse ideas, disciplines, skills, cultures, and places; Engage—SUU creates engaged, intentional, and transformative learning experiences that promote student success; Excel—SUU excels through a commitment to high quality outcomes and student achievement. 

The final phase in the planning process includes presenting the plan for approval to the SUU Board of Trustees in early 2016. In order to give the strategic plan visibility, the plan’s progress will be regularly noted. After the strategic plan has been launched, the Strategic Planning Task Force will meet annually to review the plan’s progress in order to make adjustments, if necessary.

The desired outcomes in the Strategic Plan 2015-22 will assist in the determination of SUU mission fulfillment. Baseline data will be collected during the 2015-16 academic year. Said baseline data will then be used as a starting point to measure success in the remaining years of the strategic plan. A report will be created each year addressing mission fulfillment progress. This report will be widely distributed to key stakeholders, such as faculty and staff, students, alumni, community constituents and board members.

Review a draft of the strategic plan at https://www.suu.edu/future/. For questions, comments or concerns, please email future@suu.edu.

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