University of Hartford Strategic
Planning
Goals 1 to 5
Open Forums
Septem b er, 2 0 1 4
University of Hartford Strategic Framework, 2014-2019
“Celebrating Our Tradition, Engaging Our Future”
Goal I. Challenge and support students in a vibrant educational environment that integrates
disciplinary focus, broad knowledge of the wider world, and exposure to experiences that
prepare students for career success and personal development.
Goal II. Position the University as a valued partner with business, industry, government, and
non-profit organizations in order to use these partnerships to maximize the career,
entrepreneurial, and intellectual preparedness of students.
Goal III. Promote a culture of innovation, creativity, and agility that facilitates responsiveness to
evolving demands from internal and external constituents.
Goal IV. Broaden our reputation as a first-choice university leading to enhanced enrollment,
alumni engagement, and philanthropic support.
Goal V. Develop a sustainable economic model in order to achieve and then maintain a budget
that is in equilibrium.
Strategic Planning Process
• Built on prior planning activities
• Overseen by Steering Committee and Board
• Developed through broad community engagement
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Solution teams – drafting the goals
Listening sessions, surveys, focus groups
Public comment and review period
Implementation teams and subgroups– setting the implementation
steps
– Ongoing opportunities for comment
• splan@hartford.edu
Strategic Planning – Broad Themes
• Three core ideas
– Redesign the undergraduate curricular foundation
– Integrate career-readiness with the undergraduate
academic core
– Increase innovation and agility; develop a “virtual”
University
Strategic Planning – Broad Themes
• Three supporting goals
– Fully implement the University brand
– Develop financial support through fundraising
– Develop a University-wide emphasis on
enrollment management
• Continued emphasis on administrative
efficiencies
Goal 1 – Goal Statement
Challenge and support students in a vibrant
educational environment that integrates
disciplinary focus, broad knowledge of the
wider world, and exposure to experiences
that prepare students for career success and
personal development.
Goal 1 – Contextual Framing
• 12-month strategy outlines an educational experience based
on nationally recognized, data-driven teaching and learning
practices that reflect our brand and add value to our core
“product.”
• 24-month strategy develops and rolls out college-specific
plans for the new curricular framework and identifies high
demand programs for investment to increase our
competitiveness.
Goal 1 - Priority 12-24 Month Actions
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Develop and launch a robust First Year Experience.
Build the University of Hartford Essential Learning Outcomes
and High Impact Practices frameworks and begin
college/school implementation.
Create the infrastructure for implementation and build
culture of support for change.
Provide professional development for faculty and student
affairs staff to support implementation and drive success.
Conduct a market assessment to identify new program
opportunities.
Goal 1 – Impact Measures and Metrics
• Realize a distinctly University of Hartford educational
experience that fully realizes our brand and enhances student
learning, satisfaction and career preparedness.
• Improve student engagement leading to increased
recruitment and retention of students making a positive
impact on the bottom line.
• Increase internal and external perceptions of our value
proposition leading to enhanced reputation.
• Respond to demonstrated regional market demands for new
programs to expand reputation and generate added revenues.
Goal 2 – Goal Statement
Position the University as a valued partner with
business, industry, government and non-profit
organizations in order to maximize the career
and entrepreneurial readiness of students as
well as the benefit to our partners and the
institution as a whole.
Goal 2 – Contextual Framing
• Integrating high quality partnerships into the fabric, identity,
and brand of the institution.
• In combination with Goal One, a set of processes and
outcomes that every undergraduate will experience.
• Value added to the degree – career ready in its broadest
sense for all disciplines at all stages of their careers.
• Significant benefit to graduate and returning adult students.
What is Career Readiness?
An Older View
Knowledge
Skills
Career
Ready
Immediate
Employment
What is Career Readiness?
Knowledge
Attitudes/
Values
Career
Ready
Career
Transitions
Skills
Immediate
Employability
Employer Identified*
Breadth
AUC
Imp Tm 1
Essential Learning Outcomes
Critical Thinking
The Humanities
Written Communication
Science and Technology
Oral Communication
The Arts
Quantitative Literacy
Human Social Interaction
Creative Problem Solving
Information Literacy
Problem Solving
Civic Engagement
Career
Ready
Employer
Identified*
National
Survey of
Student
Engagement
High Impact Practices
First Year Seminars
Learning Communities
Writing-Intensive
Undergraduate Research
Imp Tm 1
Ethical Reasoning
Global Learning
Service-Learning
Internships
Capstone
Depth
(Major)
AAC&U*
Imp Tm 1
Goal 2 – Priority 12-24 Month Actions
12 Month
• Reps from academic and nonacademic units develop
processes for partnership
building.
• Inventory current and
potential activities in strategic
partnership sectors.
• Invest in two to three
partnership initiatives in each
strategic sector.
24 Month
• Sub-group of IT2 and others.
• Investigate centralized and
de-centralized models and
best practices.
• Select 2-3 models for
consideration.
Goal 2 – Impact Measures and Metrics
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Increased external funding.
Improved retention.
Partnership satisfaction and continuing participation.
Increased alumni engagement and giving from partner
employees.
• University positioning in region enhanced.
Goal Three Team
• Team Members
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Randi Ashton-Pritting – Library
Paige Bray - ENHP
Shane Ciccarelli – Admissions
Michael Crosbie – CETA
Dee Hansen – Hartt
Patricia Jaeger – Barney (Co-Chair)
Deb Kidder - Barney
R.J. McGivney – University Programs (Co-Chair)
Jessica Nicklin – A & S
David Pines - CETA
Mary Ellen Smith – ITS
Goal 3 – Goal Statement
Promote a culture of innovation, creativity, and
agility that facilitates responsiveness to evolving
demands from internal and external
constituents.
Goal 3 – Contextual Framing
• 12-month strategy is focused on launching new online
graduate programs, program development for hybrid and lowresidency graduate programs and development of appropriate
support structures.
• 24-month strategy is focused on developing a culture of
innovation and creativity that will sustain new academic
programs, at all levels, in a variety of pedagogical modalities.
Goal 3 – Priority 12-24 Month Actions
• Identify two existing graduate programs and launch University of
Hartford Online initiative (12 months).
• Develop and launch general purpose University of Hartford Online
website initiative (12 months).
• Identify and develop graduate programs using alternative formats
(12-24 months).
• Streamline academic approval processes (12-24 months).
• Create culture of innovation and creativity including Academic
Investment Fund and appointment of faculty member to FCLD (1224 months).
• Align rewards, expectations and recognitions for faculty and staff
with institutional goals (12-24 months)
Goal 3 – Impact Measures and Metrics
• University of Hartford Online initiative.
– 2 new graduate programs per year, 22-24 new students
per program.
• Hybrid and low-residency graduate programs.
– 1 new graduate program per year, 18-20 new students per
program.
• Internal support.
– 12-month internal academic approval process.
– Academic Investment Fund.
– Faculty member championing best practices, flexibility and
agility for innovative programs.
Questions?
Contact:
Patricia Jaeger
jaeger@hartford.edu
R.J. McGivney
rmcgivney@hartford.edu
Goal 4 – Goal Statement
Broaden our reputation as a first-choice
university leading to enhanced enrollment,
alumni engagement, and philanthropic
support.
Goal 4 – Contextual Framing
• 12 month strategy is to utilize technology and branding
philosophy to improve broader recognition of the University
of Hartford, increase alumni engagement, grow philanthropy
and support student performance, retention and success.
• 24 month strategy is to implement a change in institutional
culture by creating a campus environment that defines and
supports stronger connections to the University of Hartford
for students, alumni, employers and the broader world.
Goal 4 – Priority 12-24 Month Actions
• Create a culture of success and pride by using brand philosophies to
celebrate the accomplishments of students, faculty, staff and alumni so as
to broaden the University's reputation as a first-choice institution.
• Identify the characteristics of students who leave versus those who stay,
and enhance programs that attract and retain students to create a vibrant
student body.
• Focus on engagement and connection, beginning with prospective
students, continuing with current students, and living on in perpetuity
with alumni, faculty and staff so as to instill the value of a mutually
beneficial lifelong relationship with the University.
• Fundraise for institutional priorities, which enhance academic success and
career readiness, two key elements of a distinctive University of Hartford
experience. Build a tradition of annual giving, which leads to the
University becoming a top philanthropic priority, increasing the
percentage of revenue supplied by charitable gifts and decreasing the
University's reliance on tuition.
Goal 4 – Impact Measures and Metrics
• Charitable Giving
• Dollars Raised for Student Scholarships
• Total Number of Donors
• Endowment per Student FTE
• Engagement
• Alumni Participation in Events
• Student Participation in Events
• Alumni Hub Users
• University Recognition
• Student Success
GOAL STATEMENT
Goal 5
Develop a sustainable economic model in order to
achieve and then maintain a budget that is in
equilibrium.
CONTEXTUAL FRAMING
Goal 5
• 12 month strategy is to develop the data requirements to
reinvent our existing assets, infrastructure, processes,
operating structure, workflows and service delivery models in
order to deliver them in a manner that maximizes efficiency in
response to the strategic vision and the financial reality of the
university.
• 24-month strategy is to leverage and implement the
infrastructure changes necessary that will focus our operating
model to strategically position the institution competitively for
financial sustainability and agility in response to market
changes in alignment with the university’s goals and objectives.
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PRIORITY 12- to 24- MONTH
ACTIVITY
Conduct an enterprise wide assessment of existing under or un-utilized
technology and system functionality and develop a timeline and plan for
implementation.
Research lean management best practices and outcomes and utilize
outside expertise to conduct a lean management analysis and timeline for
implementation.
Raise the level of commitment and increase accountability to the service
responsibility of faculty and staff by revamping the student evaluation tool
and Staff Dialogue for Direction.
Complete data mining and analysis process for space, student housing
demands, potential academic uses and one-stop student services.
Expand our non-tuition revenues by evaluating the return on investment
of current conference programs and determine needs for growth and
market available space to external groups and partners.
Goal 5 – Impact Measures and Metrics
• Increase productivity and efficiency.
• Savings and cost avoidance in off-campus rentals. Contribute to
new academic program opportunities, internal growth and
external partnerships and revenue generation.
• Contribute to University retention and graduation rates.
• Enriched student experience and increased student satisfaction.
• Increase residence hall utilization and occupancy which will
significantly result in new revenue generation.
• Increase non-tuition revenues.