This plan grew from public discussions with students, faculty, staff, alumni, Chancellors, members of the Board of Governors, elected officials, business and civic leaders, and the citizens of North Carolina through town halls, surveys, planning meetings, and written contributions over the course of several months. We appreciate all of those who gave their time, energy, and careful thought to this plan, and we look forward to the results ahead.
North Carolina has long been known for its visionary approach to higher education. A sustained commitment to college access, cutting edge research, and public service has established the University of North Carolina System as one of the most productive public higher education systems in the country.
But the University must continue to adapt if it is to help North Carolina face today’s challenges and those on the horizon, from shifting economic demands to an increasingly diverse population. We must find new ways to keep college affordable, help more students succeed, and enhance the University’s contributions to communities across the state.
The strategic planning process established a set of System-level goals, identified the strategies that can help us achieve them, and provided the means to measure progress toward those goals. Our objective: strengthening our institutions, improving student outcomes, and expanding access to affordable high-quality degrees.
Access
Continue North Carolina’s proud heritage of providing students from diverse backgrounds access to higher education
Affordability and Efficiency
Ensure that a UNC System education remains among the most affordable in the nation
Student Success
Increase degree attainment and ensure that these degrees have long-term value and professional relevance
Economic Impact and Community Engagement
Expand and strengthen the partnerships that improve local communities and benefit the state’s economy
Excellent and Diverse Institutions
Help institutions achieve excellence as they fulfill their individual missions
System-Level Dashboards
Access
Access guarantees the opportunity to pursue a university education to all North Carolinians who are prepared for rigorous learning experiences. Providing North Carolinians access and encouragement to pursue higher education is not confined solely to helping students gain admittance to college. It also includes:
- Providing multiple access points into the University, including pathways for transfer students and students who benefit from online courses;
- Offering academic, financial, cultural, and other knowledge-based services to help all students — particularly those who are underserved for any reason — aspire to, enroll in, and graduate from institutions that match their interests and capabilities.
Increase Low-Income Enrollment
Increase Completions by Low-Income Students
Increase Rural Enrollment
Increase Completions by Rural Students
Improve Transition from K-12 to College
In collaboration with the NC Community College System and Department of Public Instruction, the UNC System Office has convened a statewide education commission known as myFutureNC. The Commission will set educational attainment goals for the state and recommend policies and strategies designed to improve readiness and the transition to postsecondary education.
Student Success
Student Success is a combination intellectual, personal, and social development facilitated by a high-quality university education. It includes:
- The development of competencies essential for meaningful engagement in 21st-century life, including critical and creative thinking, technological mastery, resilience, effective communication, flexibility, collaboration, and an appreciation for the value of life-long learning, among others;
- The timely acquisition of a degree.
Increase 5-Year Graduation Rate
To print, click the download icon below the chart and select PDF.
The UNC System’s five-year graduation rate uses the number of first-time, full-time, bachelor’s degree-seeking undergraduates who received a baccalaureate degree from any accredited institution of higher education within five years as its numerator. The denominator is the number in the cohort for the fall in which the cohort began study at a UNC System institution. Further information is available in the UNC System Strategic Plan’s technical appendix.
Increase Undergraduate Degree Efficiency
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The UNC System Strategic Plan measures undergraduate degree efficiency as an institution’s number of undergraduate credentials awarded per 100 full-time equivalent (FTE) undergraduates. Further information is available in the UNC System Strategic Plan’s technical appendix.
Close Achievement Gaps
To print, click the download icon below the chart and select PDF.
The UNC System Strategic Plan measures undergraduate degree efficiency as an institution’s number of undergraduate credentials awarded per 100 full-time equivalent (FTE) undergraduates. Further information regarding undergraduate degree efficiency and achievement gaps according to this measure is available in the UNC System Strategic Plan’s technical appendix.
Implement a Survey of Current Students and Alumni
The University will provide all students with outstanding academic and experiential learning opportunities to acquire “all useful learning” needed to be responsible citizens, productive members of the workforce, and life-long learners in a global environment. In November of 2018, the University implemented a survey of alumni that measured the degree of engagement during their academic careers and satisfaction in postgraduate life. Details regarding the alumni survey are available here.
Based in part on information gleaned from the earlier survey of alumni, the UNC System will survey current students regarding academic programs and satisfaction.
Affordability and Efficiency
Article IX, Section 9 of the North Carolina State Constitution requires that “The General Assembly shall provide that the benefits of The University of North Carolina and other public institutions of higher education, as far as practicable, be extended to the people of the State free of expense.”
That constitutional mandate encourages a working compact among the state’s elected officials, taxpayers, and the UNC System to deliver the University’s multifaceted mission at the highest levels of quality in a cost-effective manner without regard to a student’s ability to pay.
Commit to Affordable Tuition
Article IX, Section 9 of the North Carolina State Constitution requires that “The General Assembly shall provide that the benefits of The University of North Carolina and other public institutions of higher education, as far as practicable, be extended to the people of the State free of expense.”
That constitutional mandate encourages a working compact among the state’s elected officials, taxpayers, and the UNC System to deliver the University’s multifaceted mission at the highest levels of quality in a cost-effective manner without regard to a student’s ability to pay.
Increase Operational and Financial Flexibility
The University will pursue and utilize increased operational and financial flexibility for the benefit of the educational, research, and public service missions of the University. Updates will be posted to this site.
Economic Impact and Community Engagement
Our institutions have sustained impact on state and regional economies through the students they attract and teach, the research they perform, the innovation they encourage, the people they employ, the services they offer, and the partnerships they build with their communities and across the world. The University can enhance economic impact and community engagement by preparing graduates to be well-rounded citizens and lifelong learners; improving quality of life; investing in foundational research; speeding the discovery, application, and translation of research; and deepening sustained partnerships that strengthen local communities and the state’s economy.
Increase Critical Workforce Credentials
Increase Research Productivity
Increase Investment in Strengthening North Carolina Communities
Later in 2018, in consultation with the UNC System Office, the University’s constituent institutions will each create an implementation plan to assist a North Carolina community or region in need. Updates will be posted to this site.
Excellent and Diverse Institutions
The University’s constituent institutions are individually distinct and mission-focused. Collectively, they form an inclusive and vibrant university system, committed to excellence and the fullest development of a diversity of students, faculty, and staff.
Identify Academic “Areas of Distinction”
The University will strengthen its reputation and accomplishments by having each constituent institution identify mission-focused academic “areas of distinction” and achieve significant regional or national recognition within those areas by 2021-22. Each UNC System institution has identified areas of distinction (including baseline data, metrics, and targets).
Focus on Human Capital
The University will systematically focus on recruitment, retention, and development of the most talented and diverse workforce possible at all levels over the next five years. The UNC System office has begun systematically measuring—at all levels—engagement, retention, succession planning, and investment in professional development in order to promote System-wide improvements in these areas.
The UNC System Employee Engagement Survey is a five-year project to establish a baseline metric for employee engagement in concert with other human capital metrics (turnover, performance management, professional development, promotion). This will allow the leadership at each UNC System constituent institution to address those areas where employee engagement could be improved and to recognize those areas where the University is successfully fostering employee engagement. The survey results may also assist the UNC System in advocating for improvements to human resources policies at the statewide level that are generally beyond institutions’ control.
The survey questions cover key dimensions of employee engagement, including job satisfaction, institutional pride, communication, and fairness. Questions included: “My job makes good use of my skills and abilities,” “People in my department work well together,” and “I understand how my job contributes to this institution’s mission.”
The survey opened on January 29, after an announcement from President Spellings. In late March, preliminary data were provided to the Board of Governors and to UNC System Chancellors. Final data reports will be released midsummer of 2018.
Performance Agreements and Institution Dashboards
In 2017, all 17 Strategic Plan Performance Agreements were inked at each of our universities and signed by UNC System President Margaret Spellings and each institution chancellor.
These unique performance agreements are how and where the Strategic Plan comes to life. Through nine measurable metrics under the themes of access, student success, and economic impact, we’ve created plans that build on each institution’s distinctive strengths and priorities.
This was an iterative process, with campus leaders working with Andrew Kelly and Margaret Spellings’ team to rank the 9 measures and then using existing institution-level strategic plans, historical data, and future projections, to generate aggressive but realistic targets for each metric.
Our Strategic Plan is only as good as its implementation, and this is a significant step for the System towards transformative growth and a coordinated strategy that capitalizes on each institution’s diversity and unique mission and context.
A set of interactive dashboards monitor System and institution-level progress in pursuit of these goals.
This is an exciting step forward that will further accelerate our work. You can find the unique institutional agreements below.