TRANSFORMING FUTURES: Real lives. Real learning. Real impact. S TR ATEGIC PLAN 20 25 -2030
A MESSAGE FROM OUR BOARD
A MESSAGE FROM OUR PRESIDENT
Dear Friends of Park University,
Dear Park University Stakeholders and Constituents,
Park University’s history attests to our ability to adapt without losing sight of our core mission of providing access to a transformative educational experience. The title of this plan, Transforming Futures, echoes our commitment to transforming the futures of our students and of Park University during this pivotal time in higher education. Park University provides any ambitious student with an opportunity to prepare for their purpose. From our founding as a work college, Park has offered an educational experience that integrates learning and working. The durable skills that come from a strong liberal arts curriculum, combined with preparation in specialized fields of study, result in graduates who are equipped for much more than a job. The power of this approach is reflected in the real impact our alumni make in their local communities, our nation, and across the world. Transforming Futures is not just a plan. It’s a statement of purpose and a declaration of intent. Over the coming years Park will adapt to this period of accelerated change. We will do so under the direction of the student-centered model outlined in Transforming Futures. And our success will be measured by the real impact made by future generations of alumni.
Scott Jackman Chair, Board of Trustees Park University
As an institution, Park is a principled and supportive University that gives students the opportunity to pursue their purpose. Our value proposition is simple and impactful: prepare students for purpose through a career-integrated education grounded in the liberal arts. Our mission is to provide access to a highly supportive community that makes this transformative kind of education possible. Our commitment to this educational model is reflected in our Carnegie Classification as an “opportunity college,” offering accessible higher education programs that lead to higher student earnings after graduation. Of the 3,927 higher education institutions assessed, only 18 share the same Carnegie classification. This classification speaks to both Park’s history and our future as a career-focused institution where students are equipped with the knowledge, skills, abilities, and confidence to transform their futures. Our dedication to supporting the students who come to Park is what makes us special. Our faculty and staff work with conviction and tenacity. Transforming Futures grew from the shared commitment of our community to finding ways to support the next generation of learners. It sets our focus on students and provides a vision for preparing them to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing world.
Kathrine Swanson President Park University
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TRANSFORMING FUTURES: Real lives. Real learning. Real impact. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION
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A LEGACY OF TRANSFORMATIVE MOMENTS
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MISSION, VISION AND CORE VALUES
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ANCHORING PARK IN PURPOSE
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FOUR TRANSFORMATIVE COMMITMENTS
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SINCE 1875 In early April 1875, members of the Original 17—Park’s very first students—rode seventy miles in a lumber wagon to what would become Park College. The history that followed has been defined by tumult and determination. Through periods of strain, change, and triumph, Park has consistently balanced transformative change with a steadfast adherence to its founding values and educational philosophy. In Parkville we built not just a campus but a community. The development of Parkville as a city is deeply interwoven with our campus and its development. But when your mission is to meet learners where they are, you go to them. In 1962, we launched the Military Degree Completion Program, followed by the Military Resident Center System in 1973. This expansion transformed into a network of campus centers at military installations across the country. And in the 1960s we launched the Challenge Program – a schedule designed to allow students to graduate (if they worked hard) in 2.5 years. In the early 1970s, we introduced the Study Action Program and the School of Community Education, creating opportunities for students to gain work experience on campus and offering flexible education to working adults. And in the early 1990s, our correspondence programs grew into one of the first fully online learning platforms in the country.. This is not a disjointed history, but a story of how adherence to principle and tenacity of spirit can allow an institution to meet the needs of learners across time without losing sight of what’s important. Today, Transforming Futures represents the next chapter in this story. This chapter remains to be written, but we know it includes contemporary versions of how we’ve met students’ needs in the past. We are one of the first schools in the nation accredited to offer reduced credit hour bachelor’s degrees. Our Virtual Warrior Center brings our experience of supporting military students and their families to students across the nation. And our Academic Plan sets out a vision for what a Park education looks like in a post-AI world.
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A LEGACY OF TRANSFORMATIVE MOMENTS Park University has been a resilient, mission-driven institution since 1875. We’ve always transformed to meet the moment while remaining steadfast in our purpose: providing ambitious students the opportunity to pursue a transformative educational experience where they earn career-ready experience along with the durable skills imparted by a vibrant liberal arts curriculum.
MISSION
VISION
Park University offers access to a transformative education that equips learners to realize their individual purpose, navigate their professional journeys, and thrive through
Park University will be nationally recognized for a distinctive model that integrates students’ real lives into the classroom, prioritizes real learning through career-integrated pathways, and equips students to drive real impact in their communities.
Today Park has embarked on another moment of transformative change. As in the past, our efforts to meet students where they are will be directed by the principles that informed our founding.
CORE VALUES PURPOSE: We empower students and each other to discover and pursue
• We exist to create a community with the capacity, first and foremost, to support any student, regardless of their background or interest, in the development and pursuit of their sense of purpose.
meaningful paths.
• Transformative education is both holistic and career focused. Purposeful work contributes to the greater good of society while empowering students to transform their future. To realize that future, students need both durable skills and career-ready experiences. • Our success is defined by the lives our alumni live — the impact they make in the community, the contributions they make to world; and the support they offer to those around them.
BELONGING: We create a supportive community where all voices, from
our local communities to the global village, matter and all are treated with civility and respect.
INTEGRITY: We act with honesty, transparency, and trust. EXCELLENCE: We pursue the highest standards in teaching, learning, leadership, and service.
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ANCHORING PARK IN PURPOSE
Today’s students need to be adaptive, creative, and prepared to use the tools available to them in pursuit of impactful careers. Our educational model fosters durable skills and foregrounds work-integrated experiences that ensure alumni can shape what comes from a rapidly changing world. Students’ potential is cultivated through the ways we organize our community and focus our efforts.
REAL LIVES. Our students are not blank
slates. Their life experiences, aspirations, and personal education plans are deeply respected by our faculty as part of the educational experience.
REAL LEARNING. Learning and working go together. Each Park student has a work-integrated experience where they see the relationship between their education and their future career.
OUR EDUCATIONAL FOCUS Thriving amidst accelerating change requires an education attuned to the matters of judgment inherent in the purposeful application of skills. Our alumni leave equipped with the skills needed to be of service to communities that need their leadership. Durable skills entail an understanding of how to learn, how to frame and solve problems, how to think empathetically and creatively, how to exercise ethical judgment, how to be part of a team, and how to express oneself well. This is why we remain committed to providing a holistic educational experience that does not confine students to a narrow set of subjects.
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REAL IMPACT. Authentic learning prepares our students to be change-makers. They challenge themselves and others to make a difference through their work.
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FOUR TRANSFORMATIVE COMMITMENTS
1. Provide students with a holistic academic experience,
equipping them with the durable skills and professional experiences needed for long-term success. Our students count on the opportunity we provide them. We have a solemn responsibility to provide meaningful opportunities to our students.
1. Provide students with a holistic academic experience, equipping them with the durable skills and professional experiences needed for long-term success.
COMMITMENT GOALS
11. Realize enrollment growth and increase retention through an enhanced studentfocused experience.
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111. Optimize financial, technology, physical and human resource sustainability in support of our student-centered focus.
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1V. Foster an engaged community where faculty, staff, students and the external community are empowered to collaborate, connect, and partner for the benefit of the greater good.
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Integrate students’ lived experiences more intentionally into our classrooms and the Park educational experience. Adopt the framework of durable skills to identify, measure, and articulate Park’s liberal arts value proposition. Create accessible, relevant work-integrated learning (WIL) opportunities for all undergraduate students. Strengthen student learning across modalities and locations by empowering faculty and staff to create relationshiprich learning experiences.
MEASURES OF SUCCESS Number of Classes Taught by Full Time Faculty Full Time Faculty to Program Ratio Undergraduate Course Completion Rate Graduate Course Completion Rate Pell Eligible Completion rate at 8 Years First Year Retention Rate Graduation Rate Rate of Alumni Employment One Year Out Student Net Promoter Score
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11. Realize enrollment growth and increase retention through an enhanced student-focused
experience.
A Park education is an opportunity. To realize that opportunity students must know the value of our approach and be supported along their educational journey. Through intentional marketing and communications our community can find those eager to pursue their purpose. By focusing our efforts on their success, we ensure that students are our highest priority.
COMMITMENT GOALS •
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Achieve optimal student enrollment across all student types (Parkville, Gilbert, Campus center, Graduate, Online, and International) that reflects our mission, vision, and values and positions the University for fiscal sustainability. Establish and promote a clear institutional identity that positions Park as a university of choice within each market it serves. Offer an appropriate academic program mix to meet the needs of the University’s stakeholders and ensure long-term success, considering factors influencing student enrollment and demands of the labor market.
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Utilize pre- and post-matriculation student success/student lifecycle data to enhance core student services and promote increased credential completion.
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Implement an academic advising model that integrates career mentoring, emphasizes relationship building with faculty and staff, and expands opportunities for engagement and leadership.
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MEASURES OF SUCCESS Cost of Attendance Total Student Headcount New Student Applications for Fall Terms Number of New Students Enrolled Per Year Student Persistence
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111. Optimize financial, technology, physical and human resource sustainability in support of
our student-centered focus.
A focus on the fundamental needs of our students will define our budget and fundraising decisions over the coming years. By realizing efficiencies, we can devote more resources to our students, either through providing services or finding ways to invest in them directly. Careful budgeting and fundraising can build institutional capacity to reduce tuition, award scholarships, and provide services that help keep students on track. It also allows us to support and develop a community of faculty and staff with the capacity, skills, and commitment needed to make our students opportunity a reality.
COMMITMENT GOALS •
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Ensure financial sustainability through budgeting and resource allocation focused on student success. Identify alternative revenue streams which augment our ability to build and maintain educational, physical, technological, and human infrastructure to support students.
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Deliver high-impact, mission-focused student experiences through a modern digital core.
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Improve efficiency and impact of administrative process through learning-focused workflows.
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Create opportunities for faculty and staff to develop the skills necessary to lead.
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Anchor our working culture in recognizing the impact and value of faculty, staff, and administrator’s support of student success.
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MEASURES OF SUCCESS Revenue to Augment Tuition and Fees Private Contributions Endowment Market Value Percent of Budget Spent on Instruction Percent of Budget Spent on Student Services
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IV. Foster an engaged community where
faculty, staff, students, and the external community are empowered to collaborate, connect, and partner for the benefit of the greater good.
It takes a community to support the educational journey of our students. Working together, our faculty, staff, and stakeholders become the foundation of our students’ success. A strong foundation takes empowered, engaged, and connected people across our community. From connections come opportunities to grow our resources, expand the experiences open to our students, and help enrich our teaching by linking it to the needs of our wider society.
COMMITMENT GOALS •
Develop robust, iterative communication channels for all stakeholders.
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Grow philanthropic support aligned with institutional priorities.
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Deepen engagement with alumni, community partners, and future alumni.
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Collaborate with community organizations, educational institutions, and businesses to create mutually beneficial partnerships.
MEASURES OF SUCCESS Faculty and Staff Net Promoter Score Alumni Giving Rate Alumni Volunteering and Event Attendance Rate Number of Partnerships Supporting Programs, Students, or Research
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TRANSFORMING FUTURES:
Real lives. Real learning. Real impact.
SSTRTRATE ATE GGII CC PLPLA ANN 2026-2030 2025 -2030