Building a best-in-class student experience
A letter from the Vice Chancellor, Anna “Dr. G” Gonzalez
To our WashU community,
Over the past decade, the world has changed rapidly. So too have the needs of today’s college students. To address the changing landscape in higher education, I launched in 2021 a strategic planning process to identify key areas where the university can distinguish itself in delivering a transformative student experience. Our leadership team recently finalized Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) that align with the university’s Here and Next initiative, allowing us to track progress toward providing a best-in-class student experience at WashU. The pages ahead outline the five anchors of our strategic plan along with the associated OKRs. We look forward to your partnership as we carry out this important
Warmly, work.
Division of Student Affairs Strategic Plan Overview
Five anchors will drive our work toward a best-in-class student experience.
Sense of Belonging
Objectives
▶ Ensure students have access and social capital to the resources they need to learn, grow, and flourish.
▶ Create more equitable access to residential, social, and gathering spaces for all students.
▶ In addition to orientation, provide a Bearprints for Success course introducing first-year students to resources geared toward their academic success and personal well-being.
▶ Redevelop the structure of residential education and second-year programming that more closely aligns with student needs.
▶ Implement a premiere intergroup dialogue program comprised of courses and workshops that foster civil discourse around all worldviews.
Key Results
▶ Students report an increased sense of belonging and a stronger connection to the institution during their time at WashU.
▶ A high proportion of students are involved with co-curricular activities and report meaningful levels of engagement in them.
▶ Retention and graduation rates remain among the highest in our peer institution group.
▶ Students who enroll in Bearprints for Success show a greater understanding of resources and take advantage of them.
▶ Continuous assessment to ensure Student Affairs is meeting the needs of our students.
▶ Identify trends among students who are not utilizing campus resources and offer relevant support.
Healthy Excellence
Objectives
▶ Students will graduate healthier than when they arrive.
▶ Build and implement a cutting-edge health and well-being facility.
▶ Create a highly effective health promotion program that earns Health Promoting Campus accreditation.
▶ Foster a campus culture that models healthy excellence as a top priority for WashU students.
▶ Center for Counseling & Psychological Services (CCPS) obtains two accreditations for four doctoral internships and four practicum students.
▶ WashU Cares program increases case management size and level of guidance during student medical leave.
Key Results
▶ There will be a downward trend in the number of students experiencing unhealthy outcomes related to the health concerns affecting students nationally.
▶ Students will report having learned or developed healthy habits that proactively foster their health and well-being.
▶ Students in distress will encounter increased support in navigating resources that keep them on track toward their degrees.
▶ There will be an increase in students who take leaves of absence returning to WashU and remaining on track toward successful degree completion.
Career Development
Objectives
▶ Create ONE unified career center.
▶ Chart a course for career discovery and create pathways to meaningful and competitive employment opportunities throughout our students’ lives.
▶ Develop and implement an individualized career development plan for students to enable success from orientation to graduation and beyond.
▶ Provide all undergraduate students with two fully-funded pre-professional experiences and graduate and professional students with one career-related experience.
▶ Build a robust program for advising Ph.D. candidates seeking employment.
▶ Diversify the portfolio of new corporate contacts and deepen engagement with corporate contacts, constituents, and alumni to position WashU as a leading institution in attracting talent to their organizations.
▶ Expand services to all alumni throughout their career.
▶ Elevate a campus-wide student employment initiative to champion career competencies through best practices for on-campus employment.
Key Results
▶ WashU will report an annual increase of undergraduate students securing their chosen job or graduate professional school admission.
▶ WashU graduates will exceed average compensation for R1 institutions nationwide and maintain competitive industry salary trends.
▶ WashU will be a nationally-recognized model for excellence in career engagement.
▶ An increased number of students will report WashU helped them gain understanding and confidence with career & self-development.
▶ WashU will report increases in the number of industry leaders recruiting its students.
▶ WashU will report increases in the number of students receiving fully funded pre-professional experiences.
Leadership
Objectives
▶ Create a renewed focus on leadership as an essential quality for WashU graduates.
▶ Develop a shared mental model of WashU’s distinctive perspective on leadership — that effective leadership is (a) purpose-driven; (b) comprises character and capability; and (c) not limited to those who hold a formal leadership role.
▶ Develop an experiential learning series that enhances students understanding of leadership skills and impact.
▶ Build a tradition of cohort based leadership models focused programs that impact both undergraduate and graduate students from their first year through graduation.
Key Results
▶ Students will produce a statement that articulates:
» their individual purpose and guiding values;
» an appreciation of convergent and competing value systems in society;
» an understanding of how their values, purpose, and identity affect the larger community.
▶ Students will report having an expanded and refined understanding of what leading entails for their profession and how it can help guide their life’s journey.
▶ Students who undergo advanced programming (years 2-4) will demonstrate:
» growth in leadership capability;
» a clear sense of leadership identity;
» experience developing habits that accord with one’s values.
Objectives Equity, Diversity & Inclusion
▶ Establish programming and gathering spaces to address the needs of increased diversity in our student population.
▶ Create a robust four-year program for our first-generation or limited-income (FLI) students that ensures access to services, mentorship, and real-world experiences that position them for success at WashU and beyond.
Key Results
▶ Key metrics for students from underrepresented backgrounds will be similar or better than the overall student body.
▶ Students will report increasing levels of engagement with peers whose perspectives and identities are different from their own.
▶ Students will develop an understanding of various cultures and identities, especially those that are different from their own.
▶ Students will strengthen their ability to meaningfully engage with others on topics related to perspectives and identity.
Matthew Inman, AB ‘24
“My journey as a student, a scholar, and as an individual has seen its most profound growth through experiences outside the classroom. I have not only discovered lifelong friends, but also ignited passions that will continue to shape my life long after graduation. None of this would have been possible without the unwavering support and vast community dedicated to creating these transformative opportunities.”
Zane Hankin, BS ‘24
“I am so grateful for all of the co-curricular opportunities WashU offers because they have shaped my experience at this school and for the rest of my life. I have been able to develop as a leader and team member, push myself mentally and physically, and find a way to turn my passions into my career. On top of the incredible benefits to my own development, I have met lifelong friends. I am so grateful for the seemingly endless opportunities at WashU.”