The introduction to the 2021-2025 strategic plan began with:
In this ever more rapidly changing world, 蓝莓视频鈥檚 overarching purpose has remained鈥攖o provide a high-quality liberal arts and sciences education to academically talented and intellectually engaged students from every corner of Missouri and all parts of the world. We exist to open opportunity, promote access and social mobility, foster excellence and enable every student to pursue and achieve their unique goals.
Through a renewed liberal arts and sciences curriculum that is deliberately built for the modern world, we are dedicated to each of our student鈥檚 individual pursuits and ensure their engagement in learning and discovering their personal and professional purpose by providing intentional curricular and co-curricular opportunities which are applicable to real-world challenges.
Four years later, this purpose is more important than ever. The challenges of uncertain state and federal support, societal devaluation of the liberal arts, the disaggregation of higher education, and increased competition continue, and are now coupled with rapid and unanticipated changes both inside and outside of higher education. To enhance Truman鈥檚 ability to be positioned as effectively as possible to successfully meet these challenges and rapid changes, annually a think tank/intelligence gathering group, comprised of alumni and leaders, will be convened to provide insight into what is currently happening in their sectors/industries, what is projected for the future, and what trends should garner Truman鈥檚 attention. Armed with this knowledge, Truman can determine where we need to make changes in the present to be strongly positioned for the future.
This strategic plan will continue to employ a slightly modified version of the 4 Disciplines of Execution (McChesney et al., 2012) and SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Timely) foundational metrics for three primary initiatives and enhanced institutional effectiveness. Resource allocation will support the implementation of the initiatives and institutional effectiveness.
The grounding for the initiatives and metrics continues to be in our three overarching commitments – Organizational Excellence, Student Success and Achievement, and Professional and Societal Impacts. These three commitments are the basis for realizing our mission and vision.
The mission of 蓝莓视频 is to offer an exemplary undergraduate education to well-prepared students, grounded in the liberal arts and sciences, in the context of a public institution of higher education. To that end, the University offers affordable undergraduate studies in the traditional arts and sciences as well as selected pre-professional, professional, and master鈥檚 level programs that grow naturally out of the philosophy, values, content, and desired outcomes of a liberal arts education.
Truman will demonstrate its public liberal arts and sciences mission by developing educated citizens needed to protect our democracy and offer creative solutions to local, state, national and global problems. It will do so through transformative experiences that foster critical thought, daring imagination and empathetic understanding of human experiences at home and around the world. Truman graduates will be citizen-leaders committed to service; globally competitive; able to thrive in the complexities of an advanced, technical and multicultural world; and inspired to live healthy and meaningful lives.
Truman remains committed to our Liberal Arts & Sciences values, our mission, and our vision, and to providing our students the resources they need to develop their professional identities as an inseparable part of the skills, knowledge, and perspectives they acquire in pursuit of their degree. Our students have the space to learn those skills deemed essential in the world of work while also learning about the richness of the world and their place in it. We embrace cultivating career readiness as a vital component of the collegiate experience, with the knowledge that Truman鈥檚 Liberal Arts & Sciences education gives our graduates an invaluable advantage throughout their lives. Selected tactics include:
Truman鈥檚 ability to meet its mission and vision remains linked to its ability to effectively recruit and retain a multidimensional student body, including first-time undergraduate, transfer, graduate, and international students. Due to forecasted demographic declines in many of these areas, new populations of students must be reached with novel programs and recruiting approaches. To accomplish this, we must ensure that our academic portfolio is innovative and responsive to current demographic and societal realities. Utilizing data-driven strategies for both recruitment and program development, we seek to strengthen our academic offerings so that we may attract new students, retain existing students, and continue to provide a high-quality education for all. Selected tactics include:
Welcoming and supportive communities are essential in fostering a healthy learning environment, one that encourages all students, faculty, and staff to reach their highest potential. We will continue fostering a culture of excellence and belonging at Truman that embraces ideas and people from all walks of life. Selected tactics include:
In addition to the three initiatives, 蓝莓视频 is committed to making continued improvements in institutional effectiveness. That is, engaging in ongoing activities to organize evaluation, assessment, and improvement efforts that demonstrate how well we are fulfilling our mission and achieving our goals.
While there are many measurements used to indicate continued progress, Truman will focus on making improvements that ensure continued good standing with our accreditation body, maintain compliance with federal and state reporting requirements, enhance development and advancement opportunities, and demonstrate organizational excellence.
Concomitantly, we will improve the data-gathering mechanisms put in place during the 2021-2025 Strategic Plan through more nuanced and informative data analysis and response activities, and by demonstrating transparency and accountability through regular progress updates on each initiative. Selected tactics include:
These improvements will be qualified through the following core metrics:
Resources, structures, and processes are sufficient to fulfill our mission, improve the quality of our educational offerings, and respond to future challenges and opportunities.
Review the extent to which graduates are prepared for the workplace today as well as tomorrow.
Denote stewardship and fiduciary responsibilities, cost effectiveness, and revenue generation.
We thrive as a University when all individual members have the support needed to accomplish their work and receive appropriate communication, support and appreciation.
Taken in total, institutional effectiveness activities represent improvement efforts that encompass operations management, decision making, and institutional planning.
President Thomas convened the Strategic Plan Drafting Team (SPDT) on November 22, 2024 to discuss their charge and provide guidance for the work that would occupy the next twelve months. The resulting strategic plan is built on the framework that was implemented during the 2021鈥�2025 plan, in which the focus shifted from a task-oriented approach to one where tactics serve to guide the university in achieving a targeted set of larger initiatives.
After an initial brainstorming session, SPDT sought feedback about potential initiatives from faculty at the January 9, 2025 Strategic Planning and Assessment Workshop (SPAW). This feedback served as the starting point for developing and refining the initiatives that will guide the university over the next five years.
Throughout the Spring 2025 semester, SPDT met with numerous stakeholders on and off campus, including the Strategic Plan Expert Liaisons (see Appendix B), to gain a better understanding of:
Identifying the common themes of these meetings led to the development of three initiatives that most succinctly encompass the university鈥檚 strategic goals. SPDT presented its first draft of the plan to President Thomas on May 2.
Early in the Fall 2025 semester, SPDT revised its initial draft based on feedback from President Thomas and the Executive Leadership Team. Further feedback was then sought from faculty and staff and final revisions were made. Faculty Senate and Student Government reviewed the final draft and passed resolutions of support on October 23 and November 9, respectively. The Board of Governors approved the plan on December 6, 2025 and specific metrics were developed thereafter.
As with the previous strategic plan, biannual Strategic Planning and Assessment Workshop (SPAW) sessions (held each August and January) will keep the campus community apprised of the progress made on each initiative, and provide the opportunity to dynamically adjust efforts to ensure the strategic goals are being achieved.
Strategic Plan Drafting Team
Strategic Plan Expert Liaisons
ADMISSIONS
ADVISING AND RETENTION
ALUMNI
CAREER OUTCOMES
GOVERNANCE
HUMAN RESOURCES
INTERNSHIPS/EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SERVICES
STRATEGIC PLAN OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE (SPOC)
Other Campus Stakeholders Consulted