On May 20, the Central Strategy Team (CST) convened for its fifth session in the UCA 2035 strategic planning process. This meeting focused on refining the university’s four strategic imperatives by clarifying their long-term relevance, scope, and direction. The goal: to reach the right “altitude”—big-picture enough to guide the next decade, yet specific enough to inspire action and alignment.
Strategic Pillars in Focus
The meeting began with a review of UCA’s progress over the past decade, highlighting gains in enrollment, graduation rates, and infrastructure. Dr. Hargis emphasized moving from a “scrappy” growth mindset to one of sustained strategic scale.
Refining the Imperatives
Each group engaged in a structured visioning exercise, considering national trends in higher education, expectations of students and employees, and competitive positioning. Teams identified peer institutions doing strong work in similar areas and explored what differentiates UCA’s approach.
Themes Explored
- Highlighted the need for a holistic student success model and the importance of recognizing shifting student pipelines and parental influence.
- Emphasized UCA’s potential in driving regional economic development, aligning curriculum with workforce needs, and student-centered innovation.
- Centered on inclusive definitions of innovation, creative output, and UCA’s capacity to serve community needs.
- Focused on employee experience, supervisor relationships, the SCARF model, and retention as UCA’s differentiator.
Shared Observations
Across groups, themes like return on investment, relevance, and relationships emerged consistently. Our EAB strategic partner encouraged CST members to think boldly, refine framing, and anticipate what will truly differentiate UCA.
This session laid the foundation for the next phase of our work: translating strategic imperatives into SMART goals that align with our mission and prepare UCA for the future.