Commonwealth University hosts virtual Student Town Hall

by Cleia Stern Staff Writer

Commonwealth University (CU) hosted a virtual Student Town Hall on Tuesday, Feb. 28. The meeting served as an opportunity to increase student involvement and provide information about integration.

In the meeting, Vice President for Enrollment Management, Stephen Lee, and members of the Strategic Planning Core Team discussed enrollment numbers, an emerging strategic plan framework, and upcoming changes.

Strategic Planning Core team members spoke on the university’s first unified planning process. The plan created will be designed with the unified mission, vision, and values statements of Commonwealth University.

The strategic planning process launched in Fall 2022 and will not be finalized until Summer 2023.

The Strategic Planning Committee consists of 28 members, including student representatives, alumni, and faculty members from each institution.

The priority areas of the planning process are to forward academic excellence and innovation, student success, university success, and to create a more welcoming and inclusive community.

“The entire strategic plan is designed with students at the core,” Lee said.

In addition to the priority areas, the plan also includes core commitments. The plan seeks to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion. Also, the plan will continue to allow the faculty, staff, and students of Commonwealth University to thrive.

It is important to CU that students at each university have opportunities to express their opinions, pitch ideas, and discuss their thoughts on the plan. CU greatly urges students to comment on the upcoming draft to be posted.

By doing this, the planning team can better understand what matters to students. “We are looking forward to the involvement of students,” said Amy Way, professor of Health Science and MSCHE Self-Study Co-Chair.

Statistical data was presented in the virtual student town hall highlighting how the enrollment of CU and each individual institution has changed since the previous year. The Commonwealth’s collective headcount enrollment is down 2.3% compared to Spring 2022.

The admissions team is working collaboratively as one for the three institutions. Each admissions representative is trained to be able to discuss the highlights of each university’s campus.

The moderators of the town hall discussed that they are making note of their strengths and weaknesses in order to grow. They look at where they have been, where they would like to be, and where they are going. The Commonwealth has collectively reimagined its courses to better reach the demands of students.

At the core of the long planning process is the Strategic Planning Committee’s goal to increase the student experience. For more information about the strategic planning of CU and how to provide personal feedback, visit https://www.commonwealthu.edu/strategic-planning.