Strategic Plan: Imagine2022

“We are called to remain grounded in eternal truth. We recognize that continuing with merely familiar ways does not require great faith. Rather, it is that which lies before us that calls us to step forward with confidence in our living God.” – President Emeritus Dr. Sandra Gray, president 2007-2019

Initiative I:

Advance Asbury University as a rigorous Christian liberal arts university that embraces opportunities and addresses emerging challenges in an increasingly complex and globally interdependent world.

Promote Christian liberal arts throughout the University.

Evaluate and align current online model against target audience and its relation to Christian liberal arts mission.
Review and adjust towards coordinated, coherent progression of rigor/complexity within each academic program to present recognizable components of increasing levels of complexity, intellectual structure, and clear components of liberal arts skills.
Strengthen Foundations Program.

Engage society and global responsibility.

Cultivate a campus culture of civil discourse, productive conversation, and redemptive action.
Create a mechanism to plan, manage, promote events that focus on current challenges in society.

Develop “soft skills” as essential skills.

Develop critical thinking, creative visioning, strong communication skills, and collaborative and interdisciplinary learning.
Strengthen relationship between formal academic work and experiential learning.
Equip students with ability to articulate essential connection between liberal arts learning and life in the professions.

Initiative II:

Deepen identity as a vibrant community of Christian faith and whole-person transformation rooted in the Wesleyan-Holiness tradition.

Implement spiritual formation plan for the university community.

Optimize spiritual growth activities.
Resource revised spiritual formation plan for GPS students.

Advance understanding and appreciation of scripture and Wesleyan-Holiness theology.

Pursue thoughtful integration of Wesleyan-Holiness theology for 21st century across the University.
Create programming to increase Biblical knowledge for students with little or no Biblical literacy.
Grow students’ affection for Scripture as an integral source of spiritual formation.

Foster a community conducive to moral and spiritual growth.

Nurture relational campus culture in and beyond the classroom.
Emphasize biblical hospitality as a campus practice and spiritual discipline.

Initiative III:

Cultivate a culturally responsible Christian community that practices hospitality, mutuality, redemptive social action, and grace-filled reconciliation.

Provide thought- and action- leadership on advancing cultural competency.

Communicate importance of cultural and ethnic diversity in spiritual and moral growth.
Assess and develop culturally responsive programs and initiatives to support diversity as crucial aspect of embodied Christian community.

Create conditions for and model intercultural engagement.

Increase knowledge and importance of diversity to advance change that reflects cultural humility.
Increase faculty, staff, and student representation from under-represented groups.
Leverage resources for intercultural awareness and knowledge.

Develop and maintain conducive environment for experienced equity.

Practice culturally responsive pedagogy.
Assess and develop analytics for under-represented populations.

Initiative IV:

Recruit, retain, and develop outstanding teacher-scholars committed to academic achievement and student success.

Promote and enhance faculty and student engagement.

Continue to promote undergraduate research.
Expand mentorship opportunities/enhancements.

Implement a comprehensive faculty development plan.

Achieve sustainable support for faculty scholarship and pedagogical development.
Design and implement a calendar of deadlines for sabbatical proposals more conducive to advance faculty planning.

Develop and refine approaches for recruiting and retaining high-quality faculty.

Identify and address challenges to recruitment and retention.
Implement measures to cultivate and track AU alumni for careers in higher education.

Celebrate faculty achievement.

Develop incentives for academic achievement for tenured professors.

Initiative V:

Create a culture of business innovation to meet the strategic demands of mission readiness, institutional sustainability, and student affordability.

Generate downward pressure on cost of attendance.

Implement strategies to reduce average student debt load.
Achieve Ignited Campaign goal for Scholarship Endowment growth of $10 million by 2020.

Foster, fund, and award innovation.

Establish task force charged with incubating and funding innovation.
Increase responsiveness to changing higher education market.

Implement strategic budgeting, financing and net revenue generation.

Refine budget processes to promote institutional agility and growth.
Achieve desired results from Strategic Alignment Plan consistent with Mission and growth of the University.
Achieve desired student body size of 1500 TUG, 500 Graduate, and 750 APS.

Initiative VI:

Pursue excellence in the development, implementation, and management of systems, facilities, and infrastructure.

Maximize physical facilities for university functions and opportunities.

Realize Ignited Campaign goal for new construction, capital renovation and program plan implementation.
Update facilities master plan.
Optimize utilization of university facilities.

Improve online student experience.