UNCG Tomorrow: The Strategic Plan

UNC Tomorrow Summary

(visit http://www.nctomorrow.org/ for more detailed information)

North Carolina is undergoing several economic and demographic changes:

• Today, UNC system enrollment is 200,000 students;
• The UNC system projections for 2017 are for 280,000 students;
• By 2014, the state of North Carolina will need 400,000 new workers; and
• The UNC system generates 50,000 jobs, a $1.5 billion payroll, and nearly $1 billion in grants and contracts each year.

The UNC Tomorrow (UNCT) initiative is an effort to meet the needs of the North Carolina:

• This 20-year strategic plan for the UNC system was developed as follows:
  • Campus Visits in Spring 2007,
  • Community Listening Forums in early Fall 2007,
  • Faculty Listening Forums in late Fall 2007,
  • UNCT Scholars Council and UNC General Administration UNCT Report in late Fall 2007,
  • UNCT Commission unanimous vote of support in December 2007, and
  • UNC Board of Governors unanimous vote of support in January 2008.
• Each campus is charged to provide a UNCT Response Plan Phase I by May 1 and a Response Plan Phase II by December 1.
  • During Phase I each campus reviews existing programs, proposes new ones, and proposes changes to internal policies and processes to increase efficiency, collaboration, and accountability.
  • During Phase II each campus will review its mission, the academic planning process, the faculty rewards system, and faculty recruitment and retention and ensure that it is possible to align appropriate academic programs with strategic plans of its region or North Carolina as a whole.
  • Currently feedback on UNCG’s programmatic Phase I response is being solicited.

UNCT charges campuses to address the following needs of the state:

• 21st Century Skills-UNC should educate its students to be personally and professionally successful in the 21st century and, to do so, should enhance the global competitiveness of its institutions and their graduates. Today’s college graduates need to develop “soft skills”—the ability to think critically, reason analytically, solve problems, communicate clearly both orally and in writing, work in teams, and be comfortable within a diverse workforce.
• Access to Higher Education-UNC should increase access to higher education for all North Carolinians, particularly for underserved regions, underrepresented populations, and non-traditional students.
• Public Education-UNC should be more actively involved in solving North Carolina’s public education challenges.
• Communities and the Economic Transformation-UNC should be more actively engaged in enhancing the economic transformation and community development of North Carolina’s regions and the state as a whole.
• Health-UNC should lead in improving the health and wellness, including the mental health, of all people and communities in our state.
• Environment-UNC should assume a leadership role in addressing the state’s energy and environmental challenges
• Outreach and Engagement-UNC should become more directly engaged with and connected to the people of North Carolina, its regions, and our state as a whole