Horizons 2019

HORIZONS 2019 THE STRATEGIC PLAN FOR AUGUSTANA

TABLE OF CONTENTS Message from President Rob Oliver Our Roots Our Future Mission and Values Horizon 2019 Goals and Objectives Serve More Students and Foster Their Success Provide Substantive and Innovative Educational Experiences Cultivate Strategic Partnerships Steward Human, Physical and Financial Resources Pursue Greater Brand Awareness and Recognition

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MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT It is with pleasure that I present to you “Horizons 2019,” the strategic plan designed to lead Augustana through 2019.

The goals and objectives outlined in this plan were carefully developed with the help of Augustana faculty, administrators and staff who purposefully devoted their time over the last year to analyzing emerging trends in higher education, evaluating geographic, economic and demographic shifts in demand, and eliciting feedback from alumni, students and the broader community.

It goes without saying that I am immensely grateful to all those who served our strategic planning process. I can say with all certainty that Augustana is indebted to you for helping to steward and shape its future.

In this document, we look back on Augustana’s 154-year history and, we look ahead to its future – to the horizons we’ll encounter over the next five years. Here, we outline our hopes and dreams for this remarkable institution and the extraordinary students we serve, while considering the great responsibility we have to explore and discover the solutions that will create a better tomorrow.

We also share our mission and values, the foundations that have served Augustana and our students well through the course of time. While this plan seeks to boldly serve as our vision for the future, it is intentional about maintaining the integrity of our past.

What that means is this: We know that our mission and core values are today what they should be. They will remain our guiding principles and they will continue to serve as Augustana’s bedrock for many, many years to come.

Finally, this document shares five major goals designed to help Augustana transform and grow in the vastly competitive and everchanging world of higher education. Our goals are to: • Serve more students and foster their success • Provide substantive and innovative educational experiences • Cultivate strategic partnerships • Steward human, physical and financial resources • Pursue greater brand awareness and recognition We believe these goals will help us inspire even more meaningful experiences in our students and create graduates who are even better equipped to lead exceptional lives rooted in service to others.

While these goals celebrate our traditions and promote our areas of institutional distinctiveness, they also challenge us to be innovative.

The onus is on us to find and create new and better ways to serve students in and outside the classroom, to manage our resources in the most effective ways possible, and to share the Augustana story in a way that inspires, engages and influences those near and far.

It’s important to note that in order to be successful, this plan must go far beyond just ink on paper. As a campus community we must all make the effort to embrace these goals as our own and infuse them into our offices, divisions and departments each and every day.

This journey promises great things for Augustana. I’m thankful in advance for your help in charting our course to Horizons 2019.

Yours, for Augustana,

Robert C. Oliver

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OUR ROOTS On June 5, 1860, Norwegian and Swedish church leaders met in Jefferson Prairie, Ill., to form the Scandinavian Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod. The controversial move paved the way for Professor Lars Paul Esbjorn and a group of followers to establish a completely new institution – the Augustana Seminary. Christened in the basement of the Norwegian Lutheran Church on Franklin Street in Chicago, the Seminary’s name was drawn from the Augsburg Confession in 1530, during the time of the Reformation. The document’s Latin designation was the “Confessio Augustana.” Augustana Seminary held its first class on Sept. 1, 1860 – a founding date shared with Augustana’s sister-college, Augustana, Rock Island, Ill. Through the remainder of the 19th century and into the early 20th, the school moved to Paxton, Illinois (1863) then to Marshall, Wisconsin (1869).

Following the westward migration, the school “followed the people” and settled in Beloit, Iowa in 1881. In 1884, Augustana moved to Canton, Dakota Territory, and by 1903, the College moved into a permanent home where it stayed until 1918.

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By 1918, Sioux Falls city and business leaders were lobbying hard for Augustana College in Canton to relocate to Sioux Falls to merge with the Lutheran Normal School when word spread that church leaders believed that a merger would be good stewardship of scarce resources.

They made the decision to merge the two under the name Augustana College and Normal School. By 1920, the Administration Building was built and a new president was influential in changing the direction from a largely vocational institution to a credible American Lutheran four-year liberal arts college.

The last 154 years have been a mix of challenging financial struggles and the excitement and optimism of a determined mix of faculty, students and administration. As Augustana looks to the future, its horizons are limitless to serve a broader demographic, a diverse student body, older adults and a dynamic Sioux Falls community.

OUR FUTURE History will remember today as a time when 140 characters can revolutionize nations, when seen and unseen borders and barriers are breaking, when innovation and entrepreneurship are curating unprecedented creativity, and when scientific exploration and discovery are mapping new and extraordinary frontiers.

This is today.

Imagine what the future holds. Just imagine the possibilities beyond the next horizon.

As Augustana looks ahead five years to 2019, we will strive to encourage students to imagine what’s possible in the classroom, in co-curricular pursuits and via experiential learning opportunities. We will do so by providing: ■ A Foundation in the Liberal Arts: 21st Century Skills. What we do here – the broad-based knowledge our talented professors provide; the support and guidance offered by our seasoned residential life teams; the exposure and perspective gained through international travel; and the ideas that swell from a culturally and ethnically diverse campus – define the liberal arts. After their time at Augustana, we believe our graduates are well-suited to contribute and thrive in virtually any field because they are equipped with key 21st century skills – the ability to think critically, analyze information and draw conclusions, communicate effectively, collaborate, engage with technology and act with global awareness.

experienced Augustana – more than 25,000 alumni around the world.

They will make memories through their involvement in intramurals or Viking athletics, campus clubs and organizations, the performing and visual arts, student government and campus ministry. And they will benefit from the energy and opportunities found in Sioux Falls, a city of more than 166,000 known for its robust economy, countless outdoor activities, a vibrant dining and entertainment scene, soughtafter internship and clinical opportunities, part-time jobs and a wealth of employment possibilities upon graduation. As a result, we call Sioux Falls “the ultimate college town.”

■ Experiential Learning Opportunities. Imagine what’s possible when the world is your classroom. Our students’ perspectives will change when they immerse themselves in another culture through a study abroad course. They will gain skills and insight by working alongside revered scientists on campus and around the globe through our undergraduate and graduate research programs. And, they will earn training, develop understanding and create connections through the many internship, student teaching, practica, service learning, leadership and clinical opportunities available to Augustana students through our many partnerships in Sioux Falls, around the U.S. and overseas.

By finding their vocation here, Augustana graduates will go on to become the answer-seekers, problem-solvers and change-makers of tomorrow.

■ A Caring and Engaging Community. Our students will learn from passionate and renowned scholars, award-winning authors, respected researchers, revered musicians and celebrated artists. They will build friendships with classmates from 29 states and nearly 40 countries around the globe. They will create connections with others who have

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MISSION AND VALUES We believe that the preparation of our students for a life of service involves more than ensuring that they find excellent jobs when they graduate; it includes helping our students determine what their gifts are and how they might use those gifts productively in a variety of settings across their whole lifetimes. Students are educated to be well-informed, engaged citizens and servant leaders in their communities, churches, and across the world.

MISSION STATEMENT Inspired by Lutheran scholarly tradition and the liberal arts, Augustana provides an education of enduring worth that challenges the intellect, fosters integrity and integrates faith with learning and service in a diverse world.

OUR SHARED CORE VALUES Christian Built on a Lutheran tradition of higher education, Augustana professes that God’s transforming grace in Jesus Christ invites and challenges us to be seekers of truth, lovers of wisdom, and bearers of compassion.

We are inspired in study and worship, reflection and action to engage faith, encounter God and explore creation. At Augustana, we believe we are called to live freely and in daring boldness so that we can love and serve our neighbor.

Liberal Arts Augustana offers a dynamic, comprehensive educational program that engages students in learning about a broad range of subjects through our shared liberal arts core along with specialized study in one or more disciplinary areas. All of our students learn to think critically and creatively, to communicate effectively through written, oral and visual means, to understand multiple perspectives, to apply ethical standards, and to care for one another and the world. Engaging with the

intellectual practices embodied in the liberal arts prepares our graduates to lead and serve effectively in the workplace, the community, the family, and the church. At Augustana, we affirm a commitment to teaching and learning as central and lifelong.

Excellence To pursue excellence is to be committed to high standards, striving for quality in all we do. At Augustana, we recognize that excellence may be demonstrated in many different ways in a wide variety of areas. Thus, we seek to provide a broad range of opportunities and experiences that promote risk-taking and learning from success and failure. We commit ourselves to use our gifts to the best of our abilities to achieve our dreams and to serve the world with vision and hope.

Community Living, learning, and serving in community, we acknowledge the importance of fellowship and care for one another and the world. As Augustana citizens we learn to be mutually accountable for how we each respond to the human needs of kindness, compassion, encouragement, support and respect for individual differences. We seek to empower and support one another in order to strengthen community. Living in community affirms a shared sense of purpose and mission.

Service We become whole when we accept the call of servanthood, reaching out to others, and giving freely of our time and talent. A wide variety of experiences prepare us to live a life of service to God and society.

We recognize that accepting a call to servanthood commits us to put others before self and to promote generosity and justice. At Augustana, we commit to integrating faith with learning in order to be appropriately prepared to serve in a diverse world.

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HORIZONS 2019 GOALS SERVE MORE STUDENTS AND FOSTER THEIR SUCCESS We will …

■ Increase enrollment of undergraduate, graduate, and continuing education students.

■ Enhance academic support, advising, mentoring, career counseling and placement programs.

■ Provide rich experiential learning opportunities such as internships, practica, student-faculty research, study abroad, service learning, and leadership.

■ Promote a vibrant campus life atmosphere that includes a distinctive first-year experience, leadership opportunities, worship and outreach, performing and visual arts, wellness, recreation and intercollegiate athletics.

■ Create attractive facilities that invite student engagement.

5. Develop an infrastructure to support graduate and non-traditional students.

6. Develop facilities that serve students’ co-curricular needs including a wellness and recreation center, new and enhanced residential housing, and enhancement of the student union/commons and performing arts facilities.

7. Create a plan to further engage students, faculty and staff in meaningful worship, faith development experiences and developing an appreciation for and understanding of traditions other than their own.

OBJECTIVES 1. Grow our enrollment to 2,500, comprised of 2,000 undergraduate and 500 graduate students.

2. Increase our diverse student population, domestic students of color and international, to 20 percent of our enrollment.

3. Expand existing and establish new connections between Augustana and schools, institutions of higher education, and employers, providing innovative higher education access programming, curriculum enhancement, articulations agreements, support of special projects, and more.

4. Create and launch a student resource center by January 2015 which will provide enhanced academic support, career planning and support of experiential learning endeavors.

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PROVIDE SUBSTANTIVE AND INNOVATIVE EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES We will …

■ Provide an academically rigorous, dynamic and relevant curriculum.

■ Assess existing and develop new academic programs that are responsive to student interests and societal needs.

■ Expand graduate and continuing education offerings to serve a growing market of adult learners.

■ Engage secondary educational systems by providing unique, high quality offerings that enhance and expand student learning opportunities.

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3. Provide a technology-rich learning environment for all students; identify and implement technology-enhanced learning strategies into the curriculum as appropriate.

4. Develop an appropriate organizational structure to support existing and new graduate and continuing education programs.

5. Strengthen existing and develop new models of engaging high school students in higher education learning opportunities and experiences including higher education access programming, dual-enrollment credit, and potentially providing credit for appropriate secondary school experiences.

1. Review the current undergraduate curriculum, including the shared core and majors and minors to ensure that our current programs are responsive to Augustana’s mission, student interests and societal needs and that our resources are allocated responsibly. Provide recommendations for addressing programmatic issues that emerge from this review.

2. Research and implement new undergraduate and graduate programs that build on Augustana’s strengths and broaden our capacity to serve students effectively. Develop a strategic implementation plan for new programming.

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CULTIVATE STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS We will …

■ Leverage the abundant resources of Sioux Falls to provide new opportunities for our students and graduates to learn from and serve the community.

■ Seek creative ideas and resources from partners who will invest in and become co-creators of educational opportunities.

■ Pursue relationships with agencies and organizations to foster continued growth in international programs.

OBJECTIVES 1. Ensure that relationships with partners are nurtured and that existing partner relationships across and within organizational units are effectively leveraged.

2. Expand existing, and establish new employment and post-graduate opportunities for graduates through strategic relationships with employers and graduate programs.

3. Partner with constituent groups to advance Augustana’s mission by providing mentoring, internships, and other experiential learning opportunities; serving on advisory groups; and providing financial resources where appropriate.

4. Establish and maintain key relationships with regional, national and international institutions and organizations to further enhance educational opportunities.

5. Nurture relationships in the Augustana neighborhood by reaching out as generous hosts and enthusiastic partners to promote safety and citizenship for our community.

6. Create an integrated program of communication and events that acknowledge family members of students as key influencers and partners.

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STEWARD HUMAN, PHYSICAL, & FINANCIAL RESOURCES We will …

■ Invest in professional development for faculty and staff.

■ Encourage an atmosphere of inclusivity, innovation, and entrepreneurship.

■ Increase endowment and annual giving for scholarship support, program expansion and facility enhancement.

■ Diversify revenue sources to stabilize financial performance amid enrollment fluctuation.

■ Enhance and expand facilities to provide an exceptional and safe living and learning environment.

OBJECTIVES 1. Strengthen professional development opportunities for faculty and staff.

2. Conduct a staffing analysis and resource allocation review to ensure optimization of our resources to serve students with excellence.

3. Improve employee compensation to become more competitive with appropriate comparison institutions.

4. Strengthen efforts to increase the diversity of our faculty and staff.

5. Define infrastructure and resources to best support the strategic plan and incorporate into an implementation plan.

6. Update the Facilities Master Plan to guide the development of new and existing spaces, provide for maintenance and facility upgrades, equipment, landscaping, and other campus needs. Develop a plan of action including timeline for fund development and execution.

7. Grow the endowment to $100 million.

8. Achieve and maintain $3 million per year in annual gifts by increasing alumni participation in giving to 21% in 2014, 22% in 2015, and 27% by December 2019.

9. Identify, pursue, and leverage external grant funding to support key institutional initiatives. Double active awards managed by Augustana to $8M. Understand the risks of depending on external grant funding and develop mitigation strategies.

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PURSUE GREATER BRAND AWARENESS & RECOGNITION We will …

■ Develop and execute an overarching marketing strategy that creates greater awareness and informed advocacy across the range of Augustana’s constituencies.

■ Ensure that marketing and communications activities for all undergraduate, graduate and administrative units are coordinated in support of strategic plan priorities.

OBJECTIVES 1. Provide enhanced marketing support for all undergraduate, graduate and continuing education programming in support of the Augustana’s strategic initiatives; enhance the system for the collection of data and information sharing across campus to develop more effective communications.

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2. Re-design Augustana’s brand identity and messaging to promote areas of institutional distinctiveness to our key audiences: students, alumni, parents, donors, friends, and the broader community.

3. Create memorable brand experiences through effective planning and execution of Augustana-sponsored events on campus and in the community that engage our key audiences.

4. Develop event-specific marketing tactics and the metrics to measure progress.

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