Strategic Planning 2025 (and beyond)

The Planning Context: Our Current Environment

The University of Scranton is currently developing its next University-wide strategic plan. This plan will outline our vision and goals for the future, shaping our direction through the end of this decade. The new plan will guide decision making and resource allocation across the University, including through divisional, college, and departmental planning, and will connect closely with other continuous improvement activities.

In today's dynamic higher education environment, The University of Scranton remains committed to its mission as a Catholic and Jesuit institution. This mission, further informed by the Society of Jesus' Universal Apostolic Preferences, the Association of Jesuit Colleges and University's Characteristics of Jesuit Education, and our ongoing commitments to magis, cura personalis and cura apostolica (Jesuit terms that describe our commitment to excellence, the individual care of each individual who is part of our community, and our institution and its resources), provides the foundation for our planning and decision making.

Following an Integrated Planning Model, our planning is attentive to external issues, including changing student and public expectations, demographics, modes of delivery, and rising demand for experiential and practical learning, to name just a few, while navigating increasing costs, ever more scarce resources, and calls for accountability.

While considering these and other external challenges and opportunities, our planning is responsive to emerging needs, opportunities, and areas of improvement identified by our students, faculty, staff and other stakeholders through outreach and conversation during the planning process and through institutional assessments, such as our recent Middle States accreditation self-study, AJCU Mission Priority Examen, and other surveys & evaluations. We have also intentionally reflected on the progress of our current strategic plan to identify priority areas of sustained importance that may transition to the next

The University of Scranton Mission: The University of Scranton is a Catholic and Jesuit university animated by the spiritual vision and the tradition of excellence characteristic of the Society of Jesus and those who share its way of proceeding. The University is a community dedicated to the freedom of inquiry and personal development fundamental to the growth in wisdom and integrity of all who share its life.

The Planning Process

The next strategic plan has its roots in analysis, reflection, and discussion about how we may best leverage our strengths to respond to external challenges and opportunities, coupled with detailed analysis of internal assessments and resulting recommendations and opportunities for improvement and growth. Our practice also incorporates findings and recommendations from similar conversations that occur across the the University community, as well as the direction and potential impact of new and emerging institutional initiatives.

Input from faculty, staff, students and other members of the University community has been and will continue to be sought at key points throughout the planning process, as we work together to develop the initial scope and structure of the plan, and through its continued revision and refinement.

The University's Strategic Planning 2025 Framework describes our approach and detailed timetable of work.

timeline

Leadership

The University Planning Committee (UPC), which includes representation from our Faculty Senate, Staff Senate, Student Government, and staff and leadership from a variety of administrative areas, serves as the steering committee for the development and implementation of the strategic plan. The UPC is chaired by the Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, and is supported by the Office of Planning and Institutional Effectiveness. The UPC is tasked with the development and recommendation of the final strategic plan document for approval by the University's President and Board of Trustees, supporting its implementation and monitoring its progress through both established metrics and other evaluation. The UPC may also seek assistance from existing committees or establish ad hoc working groups to engage in more detailed analysis of selected topics and support its implementation.

Strategic Plan Drafting and Review

The strategic planning timeline outlines the trajectory of work, including key milestones for plan development, review, and refinement:

During the spring and summer of 2024, the Planning Office engaged with a variety of campus constituencies to gain initial input to inform the planning process. In addition to reaffirmation and discussion of the fundamental linkages between our strategic planning and our Catholic, Jesuit mission by the University Planning Committee (UPC) in the spring, input milestones included discussions with the Faculty Senate, the Student Senate, and the Staff Senate; a survey of faculty and staff; additional faculty input during a Faculty Forum on Strategic Planning in late May; and a survey of the Board of Trustees in July. In addition to other input, each of these activities helped to identify issues that are important to these groups to address in our planning, including aspects of the current strategic plan that may remain of strategic importance to be reaffirmed, or reimagined, in the next plan.
In spring 2025, input gathered during the spring and summer of 2024 was reviewed by the UPC along with environmental scanning and institutional data and assessment resources, guiding foundational conversations about the scope and content of the new strategic plan. In spring 2025, the UPC and campus leadership reflected on the process so far, identifying additional input and adjusting the planning timetable to ensure the fullest possible engagement by members of our community. This includes the call to develop a new, forward-thinking vision statement to guide the new plan.
During the summer of 2025, the UPC collated its reflections on campus input and collaborative discussions to construct a proposed new strategic plan. Working groups were established to take deep dives into the four potential strategic plan pillars, each of which developed a working grid detailing the scope of the pillar, and potential strategies to achieve its aims. These groups also prepared analysis of timelines, resources needed, and outcomes and metrics. The UPC held multiple strategic planning retreats during the summer to review, provide feedback, and consider alignment between and across these four documents to construct a cohesive strategic plan document.
In fall 2025, the full draft plan was prepared, and shared with all campus constituents to gather feedback. The UPC will continue to meet to review and evaluate this input, continuing to refine the draft in preparation for its final version to be approved in December 2025. Members of the University may view the draft plan using their my.scranton login credentials.