EXTRAORDINARY
Together
Dear Friends,
In 2017, MSOE embarked on a year-long process to develop a comprehensive strategic plan for the university. A cross section of MSOE faculty, staff, students, alumni and Regents dedicated countless hours to creating a plan that provided clear direction for the next five years. The plan was announced in 2018 and work began immediately to implement the strategies and actions outlined in the document.
We have made great progress in each of the three commitments listed on the following pages, including the construction and/or development of the Dwight and Dian Diercks Computational Science Hall, We Energies STEM Center at MSOE, CREATE Institute, Ruehlow Nursing Complex expansion, Robert Spitzer Dining Commons, and Hermann Viets Tower. We appointed leaders to guide our efforts in diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging; and we have enhanced the visibility of our brand through marketing and admissions work. We established the MSOE Mindset as the set of attributes our students strive to attain; and we embarked on a major reimagining of our academic offerings through a transition to a semester calendar. The list goes on and is too long to include here I encourage you to visit msoe.edu/strategicplan to view our progress and key performance indicators.
In 2020 we, like the rest of the world, faced a global pandemic head-on. While the pandemic presented challenges that initially felt insurmountable, the MSOE community came together. We were able to continue our educational offerings, albeit in new ways, and over time we came to realize the opportunity that was being presented to us.
A team of faculty, staff, students, alumni and Regents reconvened to review MSOE’s strategic plan and determine what modifications and enhancements should be made to account for the changes in higher education, technology and the way the world interacts post-pandemic. We evaluated our strengths, opportunities, aspirations and results. That analysis resulted in an updated strategic plan to guide us through 2026, which I am pleased to present here.
Sincerely,
John Y. Walz President
Who We Are
OUR MISSION INSPIRES US MSOE is the university of choice for those seeking an inclusive community of experiential learners driven to solve the complex challenges of today and tomorrow.
OUR VISION CHALLENGES US MSOE will set the standard for preparing leaders to solve the diverse technical challenges of the 21st century.
OUR VALUES UNITE US Six values are at the core of our campus culture:
Collaboration We value working together across boundaries.
Excellence We value the pursuit and achievement of excellence.
Inclusion We value authentic engagement with diverse people, beliefs and ideas.
Innovation We value creativity and new ideas for lifelong service, discovery and growth.
Integrity We value doing the right thing in a reliable way. Stewardship We value the responsible use of our resources.
OUR STUDENTS ENGAGE US We aspire to educate and develop graduates who embody the attributes of the MSOE Mindset and become Leaders of Character, Responsible Professionals, Passionate Learners and Value Creators
OUR COMMITMENTS
We will fulfill our mission and live our values through three crucial commitments we make to:
Engaging Our Community Learning and Discovery and to Being Extraordinary
Engaging Our Community
1
Ensure that our core values govern constituent interactions with the university, everywhere they occur, so that all community members feel supported and appreciated.
MSOE is an inclusive community of students, faculty and staff dedicated to continuous individual exploration and the academic freedom to explore fields of interests. We have a passion for engaging members in a respectful, responsive and ethical manner while providing opportunities for personal and professional growth. We extend this ethos beyond our campus by cultivating sustainable and mutually beneficial relationships that transcend the expectations of our partners.
2
Increase opportunities for meaningful and significant student, faculty and staff interactions.
3
Increase awareness of MSOE throughout the communities we serve.
a. Prioritize and support the work of the Culture and Values Committee.
b. Ensure all employees know our core values and incorporate them into annual reviews and goal setting.
c. Complete a biennial cultural assessment to identify strengths and opportunities.
d. Conduct an annual employee satisfaction survey and use the results to guide actions.
e. Articulate and publicize our position and plan on diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging.
f. Engage the community in fully implementing our culture through seminars, workshops, retreats or other deliberate training sessions.
g. Continuously reinforce and sustain culture with language, traditions, celebrations, visuals on campus, and events that align with our shared values.
a. Provide physical and digital spaces and opportunities that allow for and promote faculty, staff and student collaborations in curricular and co-curricular experiences and also with faculty and staff at other universities.
b. Enhance purposeful extra- and co-curricular opportunities to strengthen our community on campus and online.
c. Commit to the resources required to maximize student outcomes.
d. Utilize virtual environments to convene people across units and throughout the university in ways that promote communication and collaboration, including expanded presidential forums and similar events.
a. Complete an analysis to determine key audiences to meet awareness objectives including those related to academics, recruitment, athletics, community and corporate engagement, alumni relations, and career services.
b. Engage marketing and public relations staff to develop a reinvigorated and comprehensive marketing plan to support our strategic priorities.
c. Engage and invite the broader MSOE community to participate in telling the MSOE story and being “brand champions/ambassadors.”
d. Engage and support student organizations in community out-reach events throughout southeast Wisconsin and in competitions throughout the U.S. and the world.
e. Identify opportunities to increase outreach at industry events (e.g., conferences or trade shows).
The KPIs we will use to measure this commitment are:
• Alumni Engagement
• Brand Awareness
• Community Engagement
• Diversity and Inclusion
• High-Impact Practices
• Value-Driven Culture
Visit msoe.edu/strategicplan to learn more about the KPIs.
Increase community engagement to foster deeper connections between MSOE and educational, corporate and community organizations in ways that maximize attendance and impact. 5
a. Explore additional opportunities for attracting and engaging PLTW
b. Create a “pathway into MSOE” for area high schools to broaden and deepen their relationships with the university.
c. Explore additional educational partnerships with area colleges and universities.
d. Expand and deepen engagement with the community surrounding the MSOE campus.
Increase alumni involvement to better connect them with one another and with MSOE through in-person and virtual events.
Ensure satisfaction of our internal and external stakeholders in their interactions with MSOE.
a. Conduct an alumni engagement survey to understand current engagement, barriers and opportunities—particularly for recent alumni—and repeat the survey on an annual basis.
b. Strengthen engagement with the Alumni Association.
c. Support and enable a commitment to lifelong learning and preparedness of our alumni through robust professional education offerings and career counseling in person and online that serve their expressed needs and the demands of a continuously changing market.
d. Expand opportunities for alumni to engage with MSOE in ways that benefit them, and to share their experience with current students.
a. Conduct an internal audit to review current communications among internal and external stakeholders and evaluate staffing needs to foster effective internal and external communications.
b. Research and implement best practices for a portal for disseminating communication across campus to stakeholders.
c. Work with the administration, faculty and staff to maximize the impact of the Career Connections Center for alumni, students and corporate partners.
d. Evaluate the need for an events planner position to coordinate internal and external special events to ensure a positive and inclusive experience whether online or in person.
Learning and Discovery
Our educational programs cultivate an environment of collaborative and professional experiences that drive our community of learners to create the extraordinary. Personalized, student-focused and experiential learning is at the heart of our approach to education. The pursuit of discovery also underpins the learning we do. Our enduring commitment is to deepen learning and discovery and enact educational innovation to equip leaders who embody the MSOE Mindset and are ready to solve the century’s most intractable challenges.
2
Enhance learning throughout our community for students, faculty and staff.
a. Identify, pursue and implement strategies to improve the success of all MSOE students including the elimination of equity gaps for underrepresented students.
b. Facilitate, recognize and reward engagement by our faculty, staff and administrators in professional development that supports instructional innovation.
c. Put systems in place to continuously evaluate and improve the learning and teaching experience across all modalities.
d. Engage the K–12 community to inspire children about STEM, foster excitement about what they can accomplish, and strengthen our mutually beneficial relationships with schools.
Enhance our educational programs to deepen experiential learning and focus on the development of the professional.
a. Ensure a robust framework is in place to periodically review all existing and proposed new undergraduate and graduate degree programs for health, institutional alignment, instructional approaches, and ability to meet the needs of our constituencies.
b. Evaluate the ways in which we grant academic credit to our students.
c. Identify and establish the infrastructure, practices and policies necessary to increase interdisciplinary collaboration among students and faculty.
3
Ensure that all students use real-world projects and initiatives in their field of study or extra-curricular interest to benefit society and the communities where we live and work.
a. Expand the work of the CREATE Institute in coordinating, tracking and assessing project-based experiential learning opportunities across campus and connecting these opportunities to the MSOE Mindset and Common Learning Outcome development.
b. Provide professional development and support for faculty to integrate project-based learning and other high-impact practices into the curriculum in ways that promote student development, strengthen industry connections, and meet the needs of community partners.
The KPIs we will use to measure this commitment are:
• Community Engagement
• Scholarship
• Student Success
• Undergraduate Research
Visit msoe.edu/strategicplan to learn more about the KPIs.
c. Create a robust student professional development series that leverages and strengthens industry partnerships, supports general education goals and professional preparation, and fosters growth of the MSOE Mindset.
d. Expand current initiatives and collaborations to strengthen our commitment to obtaining the Carnegie Community Engagement Classification.
4
Develop a funded, nationallyrecognized, application-oriented undergraduate research program.
a. Align faculty hiring, retention and promotion practices to recognize undergraduate research emphasis.
b. Assign workload for faculty advising undergraduate research projects.
c. Allocate space and equipment for undergraduate researchers and explore establishing an undergraduate research livinglearning community.
d. Specify undergraduate research curricular applicability for every undergraduate program at MSOE and institute a curricular colloquia series for undergraduate researchers.
5
Enable all full-time faculty to engage in ongoing, meaningful and productive scholarly activities.
a. Formalize support for faculty and staff throughout the research process, from development, submission, and management of research proposals to ensuring the tools are in place to conduct the research.
b. Facilitate widespread faculty scholarly activities and professional development with mentorship beyond the first year, teaching assignments, space allocation, equipment and recognition.
c. Develop hiring, retention and promotion policies that allow for varied faculty workloads, where teaching, research and service are balanced in ways that meet the needs of the university and recognize the contributions of faculty.
d. Create policies so first-year faculty can establish and/or transition scholarly work to MSOE.
Learning and Discovery
Raise awareness and understanding of scholarship throughout MSOE.
Advance our mission and build on our distinctive strengths and values by leveraging online, blended and technologyenhanced classroom instruction in ways that improve learning, increase revenue, and enhance MSOE’s reach and reputation.
ACTIONS
a. Ensure all faculty understand and embrace the definition of scholarship at MSOE, building on work already accomplished in this area.
b. Investigate ways to share and celebrate scholarship activity of faculty and staff, within MSOE and beyond, promoting scholarly achievements and “milestone” status reports from faculty and students on projects.
a. Generate an overarching plan to guide strategic adaptation and use of new modalities of learning.
b. Reimagine our post-graduate and non-degree programs to enhance the MSOE experience and better meet the life-long learning needs of our constituents.
c. Ensure that blended and online offerings robustly engage students with real-world projects in ways equivalent to the opportunities students have on campus.
d. Ensure that all necessary infrastructures and systems are in place for long-term success, including those that stimulate innovation in online and technology-enhanced learning and instruction.
Being Extraordinary
1
Recruit, develop and retain outstanding faculty and staff who share our core values and who are committed to personal and professional growth.
ACTIONS
a. Develop and implement strategies for improving diversity in applicant pools for faculty and staff searches.
b. Create procedures, practices and processes that deepen the sense of belonging amongst faculty and staff members and support their personal and professional growth.
c. Develop a more robust exit interview process to gather data on reasons for departure, including those related to culture, equity and inclusion.
d. Designate an ombudsperson to serve as a neutral, confidential resource for everyone in the MSOE community.
Achieving our mission and delivering on the bold commitments in this plan requires us to be extraordinary. For us, being extraordinary means delivering a customer-focused university experience built on our dedication to our community and the campus where we live, learn and work.
2
Recruit and retain a diverse and inclusive student population that is committed to personal and professional growth.
a. Develop, fund and support programs that align with local K–12 schools and community organizations for recruiting and retaining underrepresented populations.
b. Leverage co-curricular and extra-curricular programs that support all students in their physical, social and emotional well-being.
c. Share professional development resources with faculty and staff in order to ensure course structures and academic programs meet the needs of a multitude of students.
d. Establish programs that celebrate diverse cultures and backgrounds and those that encourage inclusion.
e. Increase awareness around diversity and inclusion efforts across campus.
f. Develop programs for providing technology resources to economically disadvantaged students.
The KPIs we will use to measure this commitment are:
• Diversity and Inclusion
• Facilities
• Professional Development
• Sustained Giving
Visit msoe.edu/strategicplan to learn more about the KPIs.
Implement visionary and comprehensive plans for campus buildings, instructional technologies, and information systems.
Expand fundraising to ensure our sustainability and advance our strategic mission.
a. Perform annual review of the master facilities plan and IT plan, provide priority recommendations, and implement as appropriate.
b. Conduct regular safety and security assessments for the campus; provide recommendations for improvements; schedule and implement as appropriate.
c. Develop and deploy flexible teaching spaces and technologies that are current with modern solutions, support and enhance experiential learning, and align with our values of collaboration and innovation.
d. Provide effective technology, tools and training for everyone in our community to meet the needs of an evolving learning and working environment.
a. Engage development personnel, president and Board of Regents to create fundraising strategies that engage multiple stakeholder groups and advance strategic initiatives.
b. Build a campus culture of philanthropy.
c. Develop a comprehensive fundraising campaign aligned with the priorities in this plan.
Align our institutional structure and governance with our mission, vision and values to support our culture.
a. Support and recognize effective teaching and service to diverse student populations by ensuring faculty and staff have the knowledge and tools they need to meet students’ needs in multiple modalities.
b. Implement digital and virtual tools in ways that promote diversity, equity and inclusion, and reflect MSOE values.
c. Strategically recruit diverse candidates at all levels of the organization, from the leadership and the Board of Regents throughout the university, to align with MSOE’s values and diversity and inclusion strategies.
Being Extraordinary
Apply an efficient, sustainable and customer-focused operations business model to fulfill our commitments and provide exceptional service to others consistent with our mission, values and culture.
a. Evaluate faculty pay best practices compared to our macro/micro-load model and move to a system that is more fair and less complex.
b. Leverage revenue opportunities, optimize infrastructure, and streamline processes to generate cost savings and optimize use of time.
c. Perform an annual review of the target enrollment levels and create a financial aid plan that supports the university’s strategies and priorities.
d. Evaluate key business processes to identify and implement improvements and efficiencies where possible.
e. Identify and implement the systems necessary to support electronic document management and paperless records retention to support efficient work processes and meet the needs of students, faculty and staff engaging with the university remotely.
f. Create up-to-date process documents and provide training to applicable faculty and staff as processes are streamlined.
g. Develop an enterprise risk management program.
h. Evaluate and identify options that provide employees with schedule flexibility, where possible, that supports a meaningful balance between on-campus and a virtual work life.
