Strategic Plan 2022-27
Abilene Christian University stands at a crucial moment.
Just as the early pioneers of our university once looked beyond their small campus for room to grow, we now face a similar choice: remain where we are comfortable or heed the call to something greater.
Those pioneers chose a spot on a hill, a place where Abilene Christian could shine brightly as a light for our community and the world.
Today, our choice isn’t one of location, but of dedication. In our 117th year, we are more diverse, creative, inventive, global-minded and forward-looking than ever before. And we have arrived at this moment because of God’s providence and the hard work, vision and investment of men and women of faith who came before us. However, there is still work to be done. We are called to new heights.
ACU’s global vision is to deliver a world-class education in an intentionally Christcentered environment so that we may educate students for Christian service and leadership throughout the world.
In order to follow this calling, our focus over the next five years will center on the following six pillars:
1 2 3 4 5 6
Elevate ACU’s academic brand to that of a world-class, faith-based national university.
Provide a vibrant student experience that strengthens ACU’s commitment to spiritual formation and leverages ACU’s national leadership in student success.
Promote an internal culture that celebrates every individual as uniquely created in God’s image and gives voice and input to all constituents (Genesis 1:27).
Provide a nationally competitive, Christ-centered athletics program that extends the university’s brand and propels ACU’s mission.
Strengthen ACU’s financial foundation to aggressively pursue strategic opportunities.
Develop ACU’s campuses through enhancements that will support our strategic objectives, facilitate growth and provide long-term stewardship of physical assets.
Realizing these aspirations will require laser-focused commitment from the university’s Board of Trustees, faculty, staff and administration, as well as unprecedented support from generous donors and alumni around the globe. Specifically, the following five high-level goals will act as an engine to drive success across all six of the major pillars as articulated in this document.
• Develop high-demand, high-impact curricular programs built around centers of excellence, which will attract top faculty and top student scholars as well as robust research dollars.
• Build a next-level research enterprise, by attracting major research investments from government and business, to propel ACU to Research (R2) status while providing transformative faculty and student research opportunities.
• Compound recent enrollment gains to allow ACU to enroll an entering freshman class of 950 students each fall.
• Grow our ACU Online footprint to achieve $50 million in gross revenues and a 10% operating margin.
• Invest thoughtfully, but aggressively, in a nationally recognized Division I athletics program, which will catapult the ACU brand throughout the higher education landscape.
1Our vision is to be the best at preparing students to lead with a Christian perspective in the global marketplace while demonstrating their faith and answering God’s call in their lives. We will achieve this vision by elevating ACU’s national brand, expanding academic programs and achieving formal “R2” research status.
Elevate ACU’s academic brand to that of a world-class, faith-based national university.
World-class academics are the core of institutions of higher education. As we elevate our academic profile along with our status as a national university, we will have an even greater platform to recruit exemplary faculty and students. Meanwhile, to fulfill our mission, we must be exceptional at teaching, mentoring and preparing students to make an impact in their chosen profession while exemplifying Christ in the workplace.
Though we must continue to compete at the highest levels academically, we will remain distinctively different in our faith-based service to the world.
Elevate ACU’s national brand.
a. Secure formal status as a “national university” and achieve a U.S. News & World Report (USNWR) top 200 national ranking.
b. Maintain and improve our top 25 national status in USNWR student success rankings (currently ranked #7 in First-Year Experience, #9 in Learning Communities, and #9 in Service Learning).
c. Achieve recognition as a top producer of Fulbright scholarships and double the number of students receiving major scholarship awards (new target of five).
d. Expand ACU Online into new major geographic markets beyond Dallas.
Expand ACU’s academic programs.
a. Complete an exhaustive feasibility study for a new Health Sciences Center.
b. Invest in three to five market-facing centers of academic excellence to serve as academic anchors (e.g., health sciences, allied health, physics and engineering, entrepreneurship and business).
c. Expand graduate programs to account for 40% of total tuition revenue (currently 29%).
d. Realign colleges to better respond to emerging trends in higher education and the workforce.
e. Create a Center for Interprofessional Education that enables students in nursing, allied health (occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, athletic training, dietetics, etc.), social work and teacher education programs to use simulation experiences to develop clinical skills and clinical judgment in a safe, controlled and realistic learning environment.
f. Continue aggressive expansion of ACU Online program offerings, both at the graduate and undergraduate level.
Achieve formal “R2” research status.
a. Generate $5 million annually in externally funded research expenditures (currently generating approximately $4.5 million).
b. Establish 25 endowed professorships (currently 18) and chairs (currently nine) to help attract and retain nationally renowned faculty.
c. Establish a $3 million endowed research fund to promote early-stage research activity (i.e., seed money) and encourage the pursuit of external research funding.
d. Achieve 70th percentile faculty compensation relative to the R3-M1 peer group and exceed the median of the R3 peer group (new target reflects a 10% increase).
e. Implement evidence-based research in online education, course-design and delivery to ensure the highest quality online programs; leverage course models to address the variance in academic preparation among incoming online students.
Our vision is to be a nationally recognized higher education leader for student success and to incorporate Christ-centered biblical principles across all academic disciplines, with spiritually formative activities blended throughout the four-year student experience.
Provide a vibrant student experience that strengthens ACU’s commitment to spiritual formation and leverages ACU’s national leadership in student success.
ACU is recognized as a leader in student success. For the third year in a row, we were named the top university in Texas by the U.S. News & World Report for student success, ranking in the top 10 nationally for first-year experience, learning communities and service-learning opportunities in the 2022 rankings. We must continue to invest and build on our success to cement our reputation as leaders in building collaborative and innovative learning environments. Likewise, spiritual formation is at the foundation of everything we do. We are formed by the totality of our experiences, so ACU’s educational experience must amplify spiritual formation opportunities and empower each student with the capacity to live an integrated life as a whole person grounded in the identity of Christ.
Our vision is to be a nationally recognized higher education leader for student success and to incorporate Christ-centered biblical principles across all academic disciplines, with spiritually formative activities blended throughout the four-year student experience. Specifically, we want ACU students to:
• Ground their identity in Christ.
• Courageously love God and love their neighbors, as salt and light to the world.
• Be leaders who share Christ with others through their words and actions.
• Develop lasting relationships, remaining connected to friends, professors and mentors from their time at ACU.
We will achieve this vision by increasing student participation in spiritual formation activities; monitoring and promoting student success across disciplines; and carefully shaping the characteristics of the ACU student body.
Increase student participation in spiritual formation activities.
a. Fully implement ACU’s Integrated Spiritual Formation Plan.
b. Increase opportunities for students to serve as Christian leaders throughout the ACU and Abilene communities, including service to student organizations, within the academic departments and/or local church congregations.
c. Ensure that 75% of graduating seniors have participated in an ACU-sponsored mission or Christian service-related experience (previous goal was 50%).
d. Ensure that a minimum of 70% of graduating seniors can clearly articulate the relationship between their chosen path after graduation and their faith (new metric to be measured).
e. Increase students’ commitment to local church attendance such that 70% of the student body report weekly off-campus church participation (current data is 56%).
f. Establish a university-wide, cohesive mentorship emphasis with a goal of providing mentoring to at least 50% of the student body (new metric to be measured).
Monitor and promote student success disciplines.
a. Maintain metric that 95% of ACU graduates are employed or are in graduate school within six months by increasing participation in the following high-impact practices:
• 40% student involvement in undergraduate research (currently 26%)
• 40% student involvement in Study Abroad or a cross-cultural experience (currently 30%)
• 75% student involvement in internships (currently 58%)
• 65% student involvement in leadership roles (new metric)
b. Increase participation in the following community-based experiences:
• 35% student involvement in Greek life (currently 27%)
• 75% student involvement in student organizations (currently estimated at 60%)
• 35% student involvement in intramurals (currently 25%)
• 75% student involvement in community volunteer activities (new metric to be tracked)
• Increase average student attendance at home football games to 1,000 (new metric).
• Increase average student attendance at home basketball games to 750 (new metric).
c. Sponsor at least four campus-wide student events annually that each host at least 1,500 current and prospective students (new metric to be tracked).
Carefully shape characteristics of the ACU student body.
a. Grow total enrollment by 62% to 8,800.
• Abilene campus goal: Grow enrollment by 11% to 3,800.
• ACU Online goal: Grow enrollment by 150% to 5,000.
b. Ensure that 60% of incoming freshmen graduate in the top quarter of their high school class (currently 58%).
c. Achieve 85% freshman-to-sophomore retention rate (five-year trend is 79%).
d. Achieve a 70% five-year graduation rate (currently 66%).
e. Reduce average student indebtedness at graduation by 10% from 2021 levels.
f. Increase out-of-state student enrollment to 15% of total first-time students (currently 8%).
Our vision is for ACU to embody a culture that appreciates and celebrates our differences, creates access and advancement opportunities for all, and invites all voices into substantive conversations while always treating one another with kindness, compassion, grace and mercy so that together we might discover God’s call for our lives.
Promote an internal culture that celebrates every individual as uniquely created in God’s image and gives voice and input to all constituents (Genesis 1:27).
Building community promotes innovation, creativity and an appreciation for the differences expressed in each of us by God’s intentional design. It also broadens the scope of our reach and extends our influence in the Kingdom. We believe building such a community within ACU is consistent with God’s teaching and the biblical example of the Christian community to which Scripture calls us.
This work will not be easy, but we are called to honor, celebrate and learn from the cultures and customs reflected among students, faculty and staff to demonstrate an ever-strengthening campus climate in which all our members feel valued and appreciated.
• Achieve formal recognition by the Department of Education as a Hispanic Serving Institution.
• Improve diverse student retention by 5%, increasing Black student retention from 65% to 70%, and increasing Latin student retention from 72% to 77%
• Improve diverse student graduation rates by 5%, increasing Black student graduation from 50% to 55% and increasing Latin student graduation from 49% to 54%.
In contrast to many social movements, ACU’s approach to building community is rooted in scripture:
• Matthew 22:37-39: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”
• Ephesians 2:14-15: For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace…
• James 3:17-18: But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peaceloving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.
Provide a nationally competitive, Christ-centered athletics program that extends the university’s brand and propels ACU’s mission.
Abilene Christian’s athletics programs provide a unique opportunity for the university. Athletics create an entry point for students to receive a faith-based higher education, but they also create a point of pride in the institution for alumni and build our national brand through positive external visibility.
Our vision is to attract top-tier student-athletes, coaches and staff who desire to glorify God through success on the field of play, in the classroom and in the community.
Over the past decade, ACU’s transition to a Division I program and the recent move to the Western Athletic Conference in 2021 set the stage for even more exposure and success in the future. At the center of every success, our mission and our Christ-centered student-athletes, led by our coaches and staff, represent us and show the world what it means to be a Wildcat. Through continued investment across our programs, we must make sure that our student-athletes grow academically, athletically and spiritually.
• Annually achieve top-three standing in the Western Athletic Conference Commissioner’s Cup.
• Annually achieve at least two individual or team appearances in an NCAA postseason tournament.
• Annually qualify for the NCAA academic performance financial distribution.
• Continue to annually maintain a cumulative student-athlete GPA of 3.2 or higher.
• Annually produce 100 national and/or regional digital media broadcasts, while leveraging ACU-TV and athletics as an experiential learning lab for ACU students (currently at 95).
• Develop a Christian leadership and professional development program for coaches.
• Build championship programs in men’s and women’s sports that propel the university into a national spotlight.
Our vision is to utilize the strength of our financial position to make bold investments in people, programs and facilities that attract and retain talented students and faculty; enhance the educational experience; generate a sense of institutional pride; and produce deeper relationships.
Strengthen ACU’s financial foundation to allow the aggressive pursuit of strategic opportunities.
To realize its vision, ACU must achieve and maintain fiscal and operational strength. Our success will depend on the institution’s financial health.
The changing landscape of higher education, characterized by declining student enrollments, decreases in high school graduates and ongoing financial pressure, will prove more challenging in the next five years. To meet these challenges and empower the university to achieve its goals, it is imperative that ACU create financial flexibility while investing in new strategic initiatives.
• Increase the total value of the endowment of the university to $1 billion and ensure spending distributions are sufficient to fund 25% of the annual operating budget (as of FY 2021 endowment is $654.5 million).
• Increase net tuition revenue from graduate students to comprise 40% of total net tuition revenue (currently 29.37%).
• Grow ACU Online gross revenues to $50 million (currently $20.2 million), while achieving a 10% net margin (currently 5.5%)
• Increase endowment distributions for scholarships from $8 million to $11 million by the year 2027.
• Achieve the Higher Ground campaign fundraising goals, averaging $35 million in annual gifts and commitments (current 10-year average: $33.8 million).
• Increase our annual alumni giving percentage to 10% (currently 8.25%).
Our vision is to provide state-ofthe-art living and learning facilities that promote growth, innovation, excellence and Christian community.
Develop ACU’s campuses through enhancements that will support our strategic objectives, facilitate growth, foster Christian community and provide long-term stewardship of physical assets.
ACU’s campuses facilitate the university’s excellence in every area, and we must continue to steward the resources that have been entrusted to us. Through strategic improvements to our facilities, the university will enhance the ACU student experience, increase revenue, grow our emerging research portfolio and support high-demand academic programs.
• Complete the construction of the Freshman Village residential project.
• Complete the renovation of Moody Coliseum to support the university’s aspiration for championship basketball programs and a vibrant student experience.
• Complete the renovation of Boone Family Theatre to support ACU’s ongoing excellence in the fine arts and to provide a unique space for spiritual formation and community events.
• Construct the Science and Engineering Research Center and the Advanced Research Center to support the university’s emerging research enterprise.
• Provide room for growth and enhance the quality of our allied health programs through new construction and renovation.
• Create a Health Interprofessional Education Center to provide simulated experiences so that our students are prepared to enter health and allied health clinical settings.
• Identify strategic locations for new ACU branch campuses.
With the spotlight squarely on ACU, we find ourselves at the crossroads of unprecedented opportunity after years of transition, preparing for this moment. As we start to live out ACU’s standing as a national university, the stakes have never been higher, but the goals outlined in this strategic plan position us for success. May we remember that every blessing we enjoy is direct evidence of God’s provision for the work advanced by the dedicated service of our Board of Trustees, administration, faculty and staff. Under this leadership, ACU will remain steadfast in honoring God in all that we do. Together, we will take advantage of our increased visibility as an emerging national university to secure our standing as a premier, faith-based institution of higher education that educates students for Christian service and leadership throughout the world.