2024-2028 Strategic Plan

Initiative 1.1.1: Within twenty-four months (January, 2026), 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 Relations 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 transformational projects (“What’s next?”) and to divest from three projects (“What can we stop doing?”).

Initiative 2.1.3: Within twenty-four months (January, 2026), the Academics Unit will design and implement a new Academic Research Initiative for University faculty focused upon intellectual curiosity and productivity.

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

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 2.3.2: Within forty-eight months (January, 2028), through university-wide efforts, led by collaboration and innovation in Academic Operations and Student Success, the traditional undergraduate retention rate will be ≥80% and the six-year graduation rate will be ≥70%.

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 a 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 8,000 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 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. [Identical to 4.3.1]

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 forty-eight months (January, 2028), University Advancement will initiate a 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 endowments.

Initiative 3.3.3: Within fifteen months (March, 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 thirty months (July, 2026), 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 thirty-six months (January, 2027), the Office of Strategic Partnerships and Growth will create the structure and programming to generate $350,000 of non-tuition net revenue annually to underwrite institutional financial aid.

Initiative 3.4.2: Within forty-eight months (January, 2028), the Academics and Advancement Units 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 Team 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 twelve months (January, 2025), the existing Space Committee will manage a “Rapid Response Fund” annual fund for carrying out several low-cost, high-visibility campus improvement projects on both of the university’s campuses.

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. [Identical to 3.2.1]

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 Department of Information Technology and Campus Safety will enhance the University’s comprehensive campus security systems to address new requirements, expectations, and risks.