McDaniel College Board of Trustees endorses new strategic plan

McDaniel College’s Board of Trustees voted unanimously to endorse the college’s next five-year strategic plan, “Reaching New Heights: McDaniel College Strategic Plan 2022-2027.”

“Reaching New Heights: McDaniel College Strategic Plan 2022-2027” shapes McDaniel’s future by guiding the direction, priorities, and investments for the college. By concentrating on values of inclusivity, authenticity, a focus on the individual, lifelong learning, equity, and generosity, the plan further positions McDaniel as an innovative liberal arts college focused on student achievement and professional success.

The development of the plan, to be implemented from 2022-2027, was led by President Julia Jasken. Since Fall 2021, a Strategic Planning Steering Committee, comprised of 30 representatives of the administration, faculty, staff, alumni, and undergraduate and graduate students, has been involved in the plan’s creation with input from McDaniel’s wider community, including staff, faculty, students, alumni, family members, and community partners, through surveys, small group discussions, and larger open forums.

“It is an ambitious and aspirational plan that I believe will position us well to tackle the challenges that face us over the next several years from a position of strength, both showcasing and further developing the best McDaniel has to offer.” She added, “We can’t achieve the goals set out in this plan alone. This plan belongs to all of us; every member of the McDaniel community.” - President Julia Jasken

The plan includes four key initiatives:

• Student attraction, achievement, and outcomes focuses on providing a rich, engaging experience for students at all levels. This includes:  
  • Career and life-readiness
  • Retention, persistence, and graduation rates
  • Community and student satisfaction
  • Holistic wellness
• Employer of choice aims to attract and maintain top-quality talent through:
  • Employee diversity and retention
  • Engagement, satisfaction and connection
• Community partnerships expands alliances within the city of Westminster and the region, including:  
  • Integrated town/gown interaction
  • Safety and belonging in Westminster  
• Revenue generation, enhanced business operation, and governance through:
  • New program development
  • Resource alignment
  • Meaningful experiences and deeper connections

Examples of strategic goals included in the plan are building upon the McDaniel Commitment to ensure McDaniel students are career- and life-ready upon graduation; looking at compensation and work-life balance, as well as professional development opportunities, for the college’s faculty and staff; enhancing partnerships with the city of Westminster to further engage McDaniel students and employees; and introducing new programs in nursing, occupational therapy, and speech language pathology, as well as creating more graduate-level programs, such as a master’s degree in computer science.

In addition, an important element of each initiative is the integration of diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEIJ). The plan was evaluated through the lens of DEIJ, so it is part of the entire plan, as opposed to being a standalone initiative.

Key performance indicators (KPIs) focused on undergraduate academics, graduate academics, the residential experience, student success, resource management, constituent engagement, employee quality and satisfaction, community partnerships and DEIJ also play a major role in measuring progress towards attaining the plan’s anticipated goals.