By Kimberly Wethal

Feb. 3, 2016

The changing demographics of the campus – a shift in the number of underrepresented students and non-traditional students – and the reduction in state funding from 60 percent in the late 90s to only 10 percent in fall 2015 calls for a “blank slate” for a new strategic plan, interim provost John Stone said.

UW-Whitewater held two “town hall” forums about the Strategic Planning Committee in the past week for faculty and staff.

The university is looking to have a rough draft of a new five-year strategic plan by May. The strategic plan looks to identify the university’s mission, set goals, improve the budgeting process and assess the campus’ progress.

The forum sessions were held on Jan. 28 and Feb. 1 in the University Center.

Stone led the forum in place of Chancellor Beverly Kopper, who was out of town for the Feb. 1 forum, and Howard Cohen from the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) Pension Center.

“We’re in a very different place than in 1996, when the institution developed their first strategic plan, or in 2006, when it developed its second strategic plan,” Stone said. “Things have changed.”

Attendees of the forum, seated around circular tables of eight with poster-size pieces of paper and markers in the middle, were given the task of looking at UW-W’s strengths and ways the university’s quality can be enhanced.

Kopper announced the start of a new strategic plan back in August 2015 during her State of the University address.

“We need a remain a university that is laser-focused on student success,” Kopper said during the address. “That means we need to have a shared vision of excellence that really transcends all boundaries.”

The Higher Learning Commission noted concerns about UW-W’s ability to budget their funding last fall, as the university was up for reaccreditation, Stone said. UW-W is not alone in the criticism.

“It’s where most universities get dinged,” Stone said.

Most importantly, the strategic planning forums are about being in a better place than in the past so UW-W can stay competitive and draw in students.

“We’re very interested in the question ‘what makes us distinctive, and how can we take advantage of that?’” Stone said.