2024-2028 Strategic Plan

Initiative 1.1.1: Within twelve months (January, 2025), the university will hire a Vice President for Mission and Church Relations, who, in turn, will develop and implement a plan to instill the university’s Lutheran mission and identity throughout faculty/staff hiring and professional development processes.

Initiative 1.1.2: Within twenty-four months (January, 2026), the Academics Unit will ensure that each academic program requires its students to articulate the relationship between that program and the Lutheran doctrine of vocation.

INITIATIVE 1.2.1: Within eighteen months (July, 2025), the university will hire a new CUW Campus Pastor, who, in turn, will develop and implement a Campus Ministry Plan that documents at least 50% of the student body on each campus has participated in at least one campus ministry offering.

Initiative 1.3.1: Within thirty-six months, (January, 2027) the Enrollment and Academics Units will collaborate to ensure that the university—across its campuses—serves the largest number of LCMS church work students in the CUS.

Initiative 1.3.2: Within forty-eight months (January, 2028), the Enrollment and Mission and Church Relation Units will collaborate to grow the number of Christian traditional undergraduate students across its campuses to 90%.

Initiative 1.4.1: Within thirty-six months (January, 2027), the Vice President for Mission and Church Relations will develop the Missio Dei Institute, a university organization designed to create a problem-solving context in which the intellectual resources of the university intersect with the church’s teachings and tradition and the world’s social and cultural challenges.

Initiative 2.1.1: Within twelve months (January, 2025), the Academics Unit will implement a data informed rolling plan for creating new, market-informed academic programs, revising current programs, sunsetting existing programs, and curating a portfolio of approximately one hundred programs, as part of the university’s Program Review protocol.

Initiative 2.1.2: Within twelve months (January, 2025), the Executive Team will equip the Innovation Committee to pursue a rolling plan and process to invest continually in three large transformative projects ("What’s next?") and to divest from three projects ("What can we stop doing?").

Initiative 2.2.1: Within thirty-six months (January, 2027), the Academics Unit will revise the Global Learning Outcomes and all curricula to ensure intentional and distinctive intersections among every academic program and the university’s mission, vision, and values.

Initiative 2.2.2: Within twenty-four months (January, 2026), the Academics Unit will implement a comprehensive Faculty Writing Support initiative.

Initiative 2.3.1: Within twelve months (January, 2025), the Executive Team will establish a university promise statement for both traditional undergraduate and post traditional student populations.

Initiative 2.4.1: Within twenty-four months (January, 2026), the Student Success Unit will collaborate with Finance, Information Technology, Student Success, Student Advising, Faculty, and Academic Leadership to implement EAB Navigate fully across the university.

Initiative 2.4.2: Within thirty-six months (January, 2027), the Student Success Unit will carry out university-wide Quality Initiative (for HLC reaffirmation of accreditation) that addresses advising holistically across the university.

Initiative 3.1.1: Within forty-eight months (January, 2028), the Enrollment and Student Success Units will achieve an overall enrollment of 8,500 students (half undergraduate students and half graduate students) across the campuses.

Initiative 3.1.2: Within twenty-four months (January, 2026), the university will hire a Vice President to maximize adult accelerated undergraduate and graduate enrollment and coordinate academic and student success efforts for these students. [Related to Initiative 4.1.2]

Initiative 3.2.1: Within twelve months (January, 2025), the Finance Unit will facilitate a four-year rolling strategic budget process that prioritizes creating operating surplus for each campus.

Initiative 3.2.2: Within forty-eight months (January, 2028), the Executive Team will enact a financial model that eliminates the university’s structural deficit.

Initiative 3.3.1: Within twelve months (January, 2025), the university will hire a new Vice President for Advancement, develop a new comprehensive advancement strategy, and implement that advancement strategy with the appropriate resources.

Initiative 3.3.2: Within 24 months (January 2026), university Advancement will initiate the quiet phase of a comprehensive campaign that will focus on significantly increasing gifts to the Concordia Fund (annual fund) and gathering substantial resources to fund much-needed capital projects and endowment.

Initiative 3.3.3: Within twelve months (January, 2025), university leadership will strengthen the partnership among the university’s leadership, the Board of Regents, and the Foundation to maximize a culture of philanthropy that ensures 100% of university leaders contribute gifts to the Concordia Cornerstone Society annually.

Initiative 3.3.4: Within eighteen months (July, 2025), university Advancement will develop and implement a new program and communication plan to further increase alumni engagement with the purposeful intent of that engagement raising the alumni participation rate across all methods of giving in order to maximize a culture of philanthropy.

Initiative 3.4.1: Within twenty-four months (January, 2026), the Office of Economic Development will create the structure and programming to generate ~$1 M of change in net assets to meet university financial aid needs annually (with a 10% increase each year).

Initiative 3.4.2: Within forty-eight months (January, 2028), the Academics Unit will establish necessary infrastructure and external consultative partnerships to secure extramural funding for targeted academic and student support programs.

Initiative 4.1.1: Within twelve months (January, 2025), the Marketing Unit will ensure that the university website serves as the best possible front door for the university and its programs.

Initiative 4.1.2: Within eighteen months (July, 2025), the Marketing Unit will carry out a feasibility study for implementing a virtual campus for post traditional / online academic programs. [Related to Initiative 3.1.2]

Initiative 4.1.3: Within twenty-four months (January 2026), the Marketing Unit will propose any necessary revisions to the university’s branding.

Initiative 4.1.4: Within twelve months (January 2025), the Marketing Unit will propose any necessary revisions to the university’s marketing strategies and practices (including visuals and program-specific efforts).

Initiative 4.2.1: Within twelve months (January, 2025), the Executive Team will invest in a comprehensive Campus Master Plan that aims to maximize the aesthetics, longevity, and functionality of the campuses, and is informed by a prioritized list of market- and mission-focused academic programs and co-curricular activities.

Initiative 4.2.2: Within forty-eight months (January, 2028), the Executive Team will pursue a prioritized list of capital projects, including a Performing Arts Center project for the Mequon campus.

Initiative 4.2.3: Within six months (July, 2024), the Executive Team will develop a committee, annual plan, and "Rapid Response Fund" for carrying out several low-cost, high-visibility campus improvement projects annually.

Initiative 4.3.1: Within twelve months (January, 2025), the Finance Unit will facilitate a four-year rolling strategic budget process that prioritizes creating operating surpluses for each campus.

Initiative 4.4.1: Within eighteen months (July, 2025), the Executive Team will ensure that the Academics, Student Success, Enrollment, Advancement, Finance, and Campus Ministry Units report to the Mequon campus and maintain unified policies and practices.

Initiative 4.4.2: Within twenty-four months (January, 2026), the Departments of Information Technology and Campus Safety will enhance the university’s comprehensive campus security systems to address new requirements, expectations, and risks.