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I’ve recently completed another higher education strategic planning project. This kind of work really is fun for me. I’m a huge believer in the power of higher education in helping people improve their quality of life and invest in their potential.  I was a first-generation college student myself, and I’ve always been extremely grateful that I happened to luck into that experience (despite earning straight As in high school, no one told me I could get scholarships and actually afford that big, scary thing called tuition! I finally figured it out with the help of friends and my brother, and I got started when when I was 22).

Anyway, back to the topic at hand… Another cool project for Utah Valley University! Over the years, UVU had developed a range of useful plans focused on specific endeavors or concerns, including the following:

• Strategic Plan for Managing Growth
• Strategic Inclusion Plan
• Facilities Master Plan
• Completion Plan
• Academic Master Plan (the newest institutional plan, which I helped them complete this year)

UVU also developed other supporting documents, including a Student Success Declaration, President’s Council Statement on Ethical Conduct, UVU Code of Conduct, and the President’s Council Sustainability Resolution. Each of these provide direction to faculty, staff, and leadership on critically important areas, but they were seeking a way to tie them together (at least most of them) in a document that integrates the major strategies from each into one central, strategic guide.

So, after completing the Academic Master Plan, I was tasked with drafting the Utah Valley University Strategic Planning Integration document. The university board of trustees just approved the final version last week, and it is here for your viewing pleasure.

Higher education strategic planning and public policy analysis is an area of work I thoroughly enjoy. I hope to have some more opportunities soon to engage with college and university clients on work like this. If you have a project idea, even if you’re just curious about a potential project, email or call me, and I’ll be happy to brainstorm a little with you and discuss the possibilities (see my contact info in the footer below).

I am proud to announce the completion of Utah Valley University’s Academic Master Plan. It was a privilege to work with this great institution for the past seven months, gathering academic leaders together, focusing on the most important and powerful goals that will advance student success and academic excellence, brainstorming strategies together, and creating a process to ensure it has power to influence behavior — to not just be a document on the shelf.

During this process, I was thoroughly impressed by the earnest commitment of everyone I worked with to the unique mission of UVU. Not many universities serve such a broad mission, from its comprehensive community college role, providing certificates and associates degrees, to its regional university status, offering bachelor’s and master’s degrees. This Academic Master Plan focuses on six essential goals:

1. As an open admission comprehensive community college and university, UVU meets the region’s diverse educational needs.
2. Faculty, in collaboration with staff, take collective responsibility for student success.
3. General education empowers students with the foundational knowledge and skills for advanced study, the workplace, and life in the wider world.
4. Programs are designed and implemented to provide integrated support, opportunities and pathways for student success.
5. UVU engages with the community in addressing regional opportunities and challenges in a global context.
6. UVU seeks and maintains adequate resources and capacity to sustainably achieve academic goals.

One of the reasons I found this project so personally rewarding is that, as an open-admission university, UVU serves a lot of people who need an affordable path to a life-sustaining career and personal enrichment.  My brothers and I are first generation college graduates, and I can’t tell you how radically my college experience changed my life. Not only did it open doors for a meaningful, rewarding professional career, my years in higher education opened my mind to a whole world of intellectual curiosity and enrichment that I couldn’t even imagine before. I made lifelong friends (who are really interesting people!), developed a sense of mission that has guided my life, and filled my mind with useful knowledge that has helped me to see the world as it really is (not to mention having a lifetime of fun dinner conversation on meaningful topics!). UVU helps people like my family to have a higher quality of life. What more can you say than that?

Many thanks to UVU’s executive team for selecting me to help with this crucial project! It was an honor, and I’ll be watching over the coming years as the university continues to grow and fulfill its vital mission.