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2025 Visionary Plan

If you have questions or comments, or suggestions, please send an email to 2025@k-state.edu

Fall 2019 Feedback and Suggestions: Priorities

Feedback from visits and email

What do you see as the top priorities to be included in the updated 2025 plan to advance our vision as a premier student-centered, public research land-grant university?

View feedback from
Agriculture and KSRE
Align with our vision of food and agricultural rural revitalization; require every student to take two overlay courses (e.g., within K-State 8); maybe relate to 2025 initiatives or land-grant mission?
Recruitment and retention of top talent (faculty and staff) and a merit plan
Improve student recruitment efforts by modernizing the system, being more creative and flexible, and online options; never say “no” to campus visit requests
Merit implementation to build incentives
Enhance outreach, engagement, and extension
Upgrade facilities
Global Citizen – revitalize prior relations and former connections/relationships in developing countries for study abroad and other experiential learning; serve as model and signature opportunities for other universities across the globe (i.e., India, Ethiopia, Africa, Asia); we have lots of examples and need to revitalize these connections
Reducing barriers to success
Stabilize enrollment
Maintain strong collaboration
Fundraising
Minimize redundancies, streamline paperwork
Grassroots endorsement (make sure all faculty believe in the vision/plan)
Consistent message (branding)
Increased efficiencies – admin, department, and student levels
The 2025 plan must be connected to the budget model
Enhance the national and international reputation
Enhance recruitment of multi-cultural students
Need to recognize western and southern Kansas State University Student focused – strong teaching and advising
Student focused – strong teaching and advising
Innovative ways to reach non-traditional students
Upgrade facilities
Take better care of the look of the campus
Improve facilities and infrastructure
Increase visibility to prospective students and improve recruitment
Increase amount and visibility of research info and extension publications
Commitment to diversity
Be nimble and responsive to technological changes and changes in demographics, timely
Economic development of the state
Demonstrate value and return on investment on public and private investments in KSU
Champion value of factual, science-based info
Explore diverse ways to fund and maintain programs as well as facilitate discussion of our value to legislature
Maintain footprint and impact of extension to broaden horizons
Focus on safety of the campus community
Facilities
Hold true to a dynamic student experience – undergraduate research, study abroad, internship, extension experience
More visible connection to the Extension experience/network across our state to the undergraduate experience
The Extension system is the unique distinction available only to K-State students; just like undergraduate research, international experience, an intentional research or internship experience for every undergraduate degree would set each graduate apart in the marketplace
Facilities
Faculty retention and staff retention
Technology infrastructure and use in research, teaching, and extension/engagement
Balance tuition vs. costs
Kansas – research, investment, funding, economic-development, extension, etc.
Students – non-traditional, diversity, demographics, enrollment, etc.
Utilization – Efficiency, resources, redundancy, faculty, retention, facilities, etc.
Upgrade our information technology infrastructure. Explore strategies for for improving digital engagement with key audiences. Specifically, those that facilitate co-creation of knowledge. Support rural broadband initiatives to improve rural lives, which may increase enrollment in the process.
Strengthen online degree programs with opportunities for face-to face-mentoring of distance learners. Create opportunities for ALL learners to receive the social support they need to be successful.
Explore strategies to address negative perceptions of Kansas. The state’s image is a major barrier in attracting technology companies and a diversified workforce and students.
Increase staffing diversity in student services. Professionals and student ambassadors at university are homogenous for the most part. Find ways to attract and hire people who can relate to learners of all ages and backgrounds. Provide more training and support for current faculty and staff. Clarify expectations of faculty in helping students access these services.
Visionary Goal – Remove “By 2025” from the draft vision because student-centered should be right now, not later
We need to emphasize campus safety – open carry, etc.; need to move counseling center back to the middle of campus
Architecture, Planning and Design
Engaged scholarship community engagement – the modernization of the land-grant mission
Access to educational model – increase opportunities to access (online courses programs)
Leveraging land-grantness, access to communities – opportunities for engaged learning, scholarship, and research
Using new technologies to increase the dissemination of the knowledge
Support with funds, facilities, infrastructure for transdisciplinary collaborations
Better communication of current initiatives
Create a design innovation incubator for funding and communication of all transdisciplinary K-State initiatives; serve as an incubator (connecting design with other disciplines and colleges, private industry partners); industry wants to fill gap at this level – we can do this; students see they have a say in this
Design sustainable futures – responding to current and next generations and changing world; create accessible and affordable quality education
Integrate Design (!) for better problem solving innovation
Experiential learning; research teams having a designer on them will have very different results
Students want to see how they are going to change the world
Increasing access – can we get to universal access for those admitted?
Equity should be a consideration of access is important
Resources are a limiting factor – we need support for all three of these missions
More balanced set of priorities in 2025 – better balance of resources for all three of our missions
“Student-centered” – we need resources for linking students to undergraduate research opportunities
How do we prepare students to deal with the very real impacts of global climate change?
Thinkers and leaders – we need to prioritize how we are developing innovative ways of leading in education
Use our professions to deliver the thinkers and leaders who can address our complex future of systemic problems.
Do we want to lead in distance learning?
Arts and Sciences
Recognizing diverse points of view – building character of citizens/civility
What we do as A&S is central to all of the strategic initiatives – how do we make better opportunities for people? This should be articulated in all of our departments; we need to be a part of all of this
Basic research, creative, and scholarly activities
Data analytics
Resiliency and sustainability
Equity, access, social justice
Value all the disciplines
To be student-centered means we have to make KSU affordable: inexpensive, safe housing, study spaces, financial aid that reduces debt, living wage initiatives for student and faculty/staff workers, address income inequality, mental health services, students need classroom facilities improvement (furnished, climate control – heating and cooling)
Reduce reliance on part-time, adjunct labor
Scholarship support for all students who need it
Recruitment of students from underserved populations and communications
Preserving the liberal arts breadth of educational experiences that prepare people for lifelong learning
Communicating value of liberal arts, science, and technology to the broader public
Fostering citizenship
Research and scholarship – high quality
Link between scholarship and citizenship
Innovation AND quality
What does Cyber Land Grant University mean?
Innovation can’t be separated from quality
Global good, health, and biosecurity and aviation are content specific and limited
Value in learning
Quality education
These are not in the plan, but should be: visionary areas appear narrowly focused and omit important areas of strength (like engineering social sciences, humanities); need to explicitly add RSCAD (advancing frontiers of knowledge); climate change – lots of work in most of our basic sciences; data analytics
We support the growth of the whole person, they can become the best version of themselves, and make positive contributions to society
We teach our students how to understand the world around them – the science world, the social world, and their own inner world – and to communicate their knowledge
More state funding
Invest in a liberal arts education – families spend so much money to send their kids to liberal arts college; as we think about our land-grant mission, as we think about access for all, we need to really truly invest in liberal arts
Student-faculty ratios: more broadly, continuing the student “centeredness” requires access to faculty, to research opportunities, more individualized education; this requires stable, secure, tenure-track lines (not just in research, but in teaching); stability of faculty is crucial to the best education; we need stability of funding for faculty in humanities and liberal arts: to regularized, permanent positions will shared governance and a respectable wage; targeting and retaining diverse faculty.
Student funding, especially need-based; it is crucial for access for all; recruitment and support for diverse students
Diversity (as seen throughout): diversity of faculty and staff, diversity of student body; advocating and supporting diverse students and faculty
Valuing the scholarship, creative activity, and discovery in RSCAD; energizing our students to participate in RSCAD; we ask our students to be visionaries; to reimagine how we do all of our work; creating and space and time to value SCAD; we need better physical resources across campus – better buildings, access to wireless (mold, asbestos, etc.)
Supporting faculty development and survival
Improving basic research infrastructure and core center support
Develop curriculum to align with organizations to provide ongoing continuous education opportunities
Facilities 10 years ago 160 staff; now 60 staff and 2x106 square feet more to cover
Need to deal with $1 billion dollar back-log of deferred maintenance
Increasing student involvement in RSCAD activities; we have already sent some ideas: resilience, data analytics, basic research (see October 31, 2019 Washington Post article – long-awaited cystic fibrosis drug could turn deadly disease into a manageable condition)
Basic research and scholarly work should be present in all priorities
Incorporating ethics and data science into the description of cyber land-grant initiative
Focus on resilience
Investing faculty and facilities to meet the university’s mission
Love “as stewards of land, air, water…” – climate change in vision statement priority
Is upholding past about traditions of old or heritage, i.e., treaty ancestral lands
Diversity, a diverse and inclusive world – name it, we are doing it
Priority to keep CAD in RSCAD (creative activity and discovery)
“Serving diverse communities” – how can you expand enrollment without consideration of a diverse population and education about various aspects of that population (service departments – Statistics, English, Comm. Studies, Music, Theatre and Dance)
If strategic initiatives do not appear to include arts and humanities except as possible service vessels/to meet the defined goals, we are not same
Business Administration
Our inability to be flexible in our processes and move quickly prevents us from developing more programs that are in demand
Less emphasis on Leadership Studies represented in/on everything
Utilize extension network – communicate one-on-one (e.g., western Kansas never sees people colleges)
Be more lean – duplicated departments and initiatives – need to rationalize
What are hiring demands? Are we optimizing programs? Position programs to make students successful!
Have mandatory program for all students regarding resume, workplace etiquette, etc.
Faculty/staff evaluation improvement – punish/reward system, performance evaluation standard
Across college having dedicated advisors
Prepare for disruption of higher education – alternatives online, high school students who don’t want to go to college
Make sure students are ready before we admit them
Embed more in communities
Prepare adult learners
Reach out to students who didn’t complete
Focus on online – people aren’t moving back to Manhattan, do certificates, etc.
Corporate education – we aren’t as flexible as other schools
Transfer Students – 2+2 programs, be more flexible, partner with community colleges because land-grant
Don’t be so tied to traditional college experience
Corporate engagement
High emphasis and investment on technological infrastructure
Shift in recruitment of non-traditional students
Investment in employees at all levels
Focus on revenue generation instead of sacrifice for the new budget model
Match incentives with what the university is trying to accomplish
Working with Ft. Riley
Community and profession outreach opportunities – how do we connect with extension
Offer international experience to every student – opportunities to develop intellectual diversity (global mind-set), opportunities to offer financial support to students taking international experience
Have a more consistent student support service across campus
Business should be a core area for students in other fields to get exposed to – embed business classes in curriculum of students in other areas that may benefit from understanding how to run a business, focus on ethics and sustainability, global experience may be a fifth goal to add to the four that already exist
Do a better job of preparing our students for the digital world – potential fit within the cyber land-grant goal
Increase research resources and support, specifically library resources, databases, summer support, etc.
Become more customer-centric organization with better feedback mechanism from all stakeholders, especially students
Redefine the student target and expand the market
Transitioning into skill-oriented outcomes
More interdisciplinary partnerships across campus
Enrollment
Broad definition of target students – demographically, geographically
Institutional flexibility to allow for educational innovation
Determination of what students need so we can accurately provide those services
Community improvements to improve desirability
Partnerships with industries that would hire graduates and to improve placements
Message consistency among campus partners
Improved ksu.edu usability
Improved capabilities in electronic marketing
Updating antiquated paper based paperwork framework to prevent needless barriers
Culture of change
Managing access – ensure accessibility through managing finances and costs so that we can be accessed broadly
Providing a broad range of educational opportunities through innovation in how we deliver education and how students can access that education
Focus on ways that we help students gain success – modular learning, lifelong learning, broader view of who our students are or should be, more flexibility
Integrating and leveraging meaningful technology to increase effectiveness in achieving our goals and our reach into communities; use top techs, make them available in communities through education and promoting sharing
Messaging why our research is important and doing a better job of becoming more integral to business development in our communities through end-to-end partnerships through multifaceted sharing of expertise – everything from consulting to centers to integration with classes, corporate training
Experiences that expand the opportunities for individuals to access university through non-credit modular and other similar experiences offered in conjunction with companies
Updating to have premier facilities
We must be effective at promoting ourselves as a premier institution
Education
Quality and growth
Accessibility – both affordability and underserved population and geographic; Kansas is above the national average in high school grads with no postsecondary education, or no postsecondary degree or certificate – there is an opportunity to be more responsive
A priority innovative academic program and delivery; responding rapidly to needs by streamlining approval process; revisit the degree mindset and consider other credential programs that meet the needs of most people
Work toward greater diversity and inclusion of all groups of people
Emphasize personal messages to potential students to mirror personal experiences on campus
Create a feeling of welcome for diverse populations; fostering a culture for other communities to feel included here
International Common Element in 2025 refresh – seems buried in these discussions and seems like we are leaving it behind
Diversity and inclusion of diverse populations; need for diverse perspectives; keep recruitment of diverse student and faculty populations at the forefront
The more diverse we are, the more successful we will be
Work with community colleges; increase number of 2+2 programs/model – improving pipeline from community colleges to 4-year universities; focus on retention as well
Not just about getting students here, but going to them; meeting people where they are at; increasing online and hybrid programs available
Satellite facilities – are there other places we can be?
Global Campus
Increasing cultural competency
Supporting student success and retention (requires supporting their families as well)
Continuing research on retention and needs of diverse populations (beyond freshman year) – funding, sense of belonging, etc.
Making path to degree completion and career attainment more clear; creating a culture of support
Increasing partnerships with trade industry – where there is room for growth; offering certification; go back to basics – agricultural needs
Asking businesses in Kansas what they need from future employees (and out-of-state Kansas)
Foster community cultural wealth (Tara Yosso, 2005)
Infrastructure – technology, service data: stay ahead of emerging trends with tech; focus on accessibility – programs that are geared to individual students/needs; social/emotional support for students; research/scholarship – time for faculty to engage with projects
Get courses online: redefine traditional ways of thinking about enrollment (caps on classes limit growth, revenue, accessibility)
Innovate/collaborate to solve “old” problems; stay open-minded with challenges; innovation across the board
Redefine the 4-year model – no more making kids take general education courses they do not need for their degree (costly, burdensome)
Establish targeted hiring priorities to maximize current available resources to support faculty research to improve teaching across the campus and community
Strategic initiative to recruit, retain, and respect students, faculty, and staff across the campus and community
Empower pre-service teachers
Return on investment
Personalize learning experience for both on-campus and online programs
Aspire to be top provider of online licensure
Increasing accessibility through medium of teaching, multiple pathways, scholarship, “place conscious” pathways
Funded research based on needs of state and global partners, especially as connected to our centers: includes emphasis on grant writing, being nimble and adaptable, re-inventing to meet new needs, feeding our efforts through internal collaboration, interdepartmental, colleges across campus, external partnerships
Leadership with regard to interdisciplinary efforts on campus, especially with regard to funding model
Recruitment efforts, especially those that are interdisciplinary and highlight our land-grant emphasis while promoting career pathways
Continue working to attract diversity of students and faculty – culture and thought
Attract and retain the very best teachers/researchers
Increased incentives for innovation
Increased incentives for bringing in external funding
Promote an entrepreneurial spirit within faculty to encourage a growth mindset regarding curriculum, funding, etc.
Create more white-space for faculty members to be allowed to grow into their research/pedagogy/scholarship aspirations – this, of course, will serve students as well
Improve visibility of our efforts
Technology to enhance/leverage increased student access to resources and support, e.g., Zoom with advisor for transfer/non-traditional/not on campus – advisor meeting
College of Education model for advising campus-wide
Enhancing access to education through technology
Identify faculty barriers to getting funding for research
Build faculty research/grant application skill and capacity/knowledge (i.e., training, workshops)
Expose faculty to other private or not-for-profit funding options
Continue to focus on student research experience opportunities (make this something revered/given esteem among faculty and students)
Engineering
We should be taking advantage of local partners (Fort Riley, NBAF) to be a leader in Defense and Homeland Security; there is a lot of money in cybersecurity and leverages the vision of the cyber land-grant university
Instead of trying to make the whole university “Top 50” – define the elements where we excel and effectively support and promote these initiatives
Change culture to gain more acceptance of risk; understanding that big rewards often require risk – both in research and in teaching
Actually be strategic, tough decisions need to be made but programs with better return on investment need to be prioritized
Make sure students feel included, e.g., financial aid, access, opportunity, mental health
Sustainable/resilient infrastructure (e.g., power/energy, cyber, civil/transportation, environmental/climate change, industrial)
Increase the number of research active graduate students
Advancing distant learning, making it intellectually accessible
Outreach, state, national, intersectional visibility
Make strategic investments that align with increasing university impact
Develop a system that rewards progress on university impact
Define specific measures that align with goals and objectives and measure what is important
Make sure strategic initiatives do not alienate groups through limited scope
Treat faculty and staff better (e.g., consistent raises, opportunities for advancement, decrease zero sum games across campus)
Michael Kramer (Nobel Prize) – poverty focus of work ties closely with food priority/initiative
Focus our educational priorities and research to meet the needs of the state of Kansas – better communicate with business, community members, policy/budget influencers, i.e., legislature/regents
Education – how to get knowledge extended beyond campus
Multidisciplinary teams – research/development and classroom environment
Research – communicate to the students in the classroom environment; involve them in research but also communicate the value to their learning and society so when they become the future leaders/decision makers, university funding is a higher priority
Sustainable development – responsible use of resources
Integrate research into the RCM budget model
Increase economic impact for our region/sate – find a way to quantify this number
Valuing merit raise for top performers – increase faculty retention
Space for targeted enrollment numbers
Innovative/hands-on classrooms/learning spaces
Artificial Intelligence and application to machines, vehicles, systems, etc. – possible additional strategic focus
Identify strategic investments – trends in industry
Continue to be good at educating students
Investment into teaching faculty to make faculty more effective
Investment into student services
Focus on the things that make us great knowing it cannot be everything – invest in those things that have the ability to grow
Be the best engineering program in Kansas and one of the best places for an engineering degree at the undergraduate level in the Midwest
Graduate School/Office of the Vice President for Research
Adequate funding from state
Convey vision across
Educate faculty, staff, and students on what Land Grant is and means – Land Grant 101 for the 21st Century: Ag (food, not “Ag”), Engineering, Service, Education for everyone
Encourage relationships between departments interdisciplinary
Enrollment, retention
Career employment – employment after degree steps
Additional scholarships and assistantships – not only undergrad level
Graduate school has own assistantships to award
Out-of-state students pay only 150% tuition/fees – not only undergrad (Midwest Student Exchange)
First generation grad students be offered same as undergrad
Online and enhanced programs for non-traditional/adult learning
Evening courses taught on campus – pay campus rate not global rate fees
Additional certificate programs
Facilities improvement
Redefine the land-grant university definition: Global perspective, not only the State of Kansas State
Competitive stipends and tuition support for our graduate students: Grad students contribute to teaching, research, and outreach
Competitive salary and benefit packages for faculty and staff
Continue support for work/life balance efforts, i.e., parental leave, one step but not the end
Lobby Board of Regents for universities to collaborate with technical and community colleges for students to earn advanced degrees
Continue to increase efforts to be military friendly – credit for prior learning
Families, businesses, prosperity (align with KBOR)
Stabilize budget – diversity funding/find new revenue streams
In innovative ways, prepare students to engage and prosper in the 21st century – match teaching and research to external needs/global opportunities
Understand and accept our strengths
Infrastructure – facilities, IT integration
Continued Financial Growth/Fundraising – fundraising from private sector, state funding
Compensation for Employees – recruit, retain
Human Health Expansion: One Health – Human, Vet, Public Health; Nursing/PA
Ag, Engineering, Vet Med – foundation bedrock – continued emphasis
Biosecurity
Identify strengths and long-term commitment by University to support valued areas
Research transformed into applications, i.e., vaccines
Translational research, medicines
Providing expertise to students and adults to develop policy regarding biosecurity threats
Emphasize positive aspects of what we do to better our global world
Innovation and Education: Platform and content; peer faculty evaluations
Cyber Land-Grant: Appropriate resources – new budget model helping? Employee benefits (work life balance – working remotely, maternity leave, flex schedule, etc.
Student Experience: Classroom knowledge – real life application (internships, etc.) across all degrees
“On campus” opportunities for Global Campus students (organizations, etc.)
Closer relationship with active students and Alumni Association in attempt to foster relationships and long-term loyalty
Building a modern Extension model that applies to new models of communication/outreach
Continuing to enhance the rural communities of Kansas – helps to build opportunities in rule communities that will allow for students to stay in the state
Building a funding model that allows tuition to remain attainable for students in Kansas – can’t replace tuition numbers with coastal students and inflate the cost for Kansas students
Build student outreach programs that engage middle-high school students to introduce them to facilities, majors, and the K-State experience at early ages and a deeper level
Continue to engage the state and legislature to re-inform the value of higher education – need to communicate the same to citizens who don’t currently hear that message; need a more compelling message, ROI
Modernizing the delivery of Higher Education to match the changing needs of industry (time frame and content)
Continue to enhance our efforts to encourage diversity in students, hiring of faculty, etc.
Student recruitment and retention
Maintaining high quality (including affordability and return on investment)
Emphasizing research and expanding on capabilities)
Bringing in additional funds that can catalyze undergraduate research experience and support faculty
Provide an environment that allows faculty to compete for funding
Adopt to ever-changing society by embracing diversity, improving international focus to ensure well-rounded experience for students
Expand our global focus for public services and research applications
Continue to expand global food systems initiatives
Adapt to changing environment: Training and educate the community we serve; non-traditional higher education opportunities
Late adopter advantage – what has worked for others
Focus on technical, short-term trade skills – non-traditional degree focus that is based on land-grant mission/community, i.e., MTC teaches vet tech, etc., that we do not
Increase research and extension in targeted areas: bio defense/ag security; animal health corridor; vaccine development; global food systems; increased engage with non-traditional partners, industry
Global Food Systems – be specific (all-encompassing)
Animal Health
Develop two year program around animal corridor
Continue to cultivate relationship with national security and economics
Biosecurity
Climate Change
Online programs – new version of Global Campus, tuition (bring costs down), not duplicating classes
Cybersecurity
Break down divide between Olathe and Salina campuses
Partner with government agencies to make collective decisions based on new governor initiatives
Health and Human Sciences
Mission and Vision (revised)
Innovation in education – online learning
Research, student success
High quality faculty – support, resources
Collaboration throughout the university
Brand – how we market ourselves and promote ease of use and access to university information and resources (example – website)
Engagement, outreach, extension
Non-traditional students – those already in the workforce and is coming back for more education (or first higher education), flexibility
Awareness of student support programs, like mentoring, especially past the first year
Responsiveness to business and industry
Technology – improving student enrollment experience, etc.
Student engagement (e.g., invest in TopHat) – experiential learning
Public health – nationally accredited program
Innovative classroom spaces (e.g., outside)
New College of Health building that includes Kinesiology
Incentives for collaboration across units, with community partners, etc.
Better faculty mentorship programs
University infrastructure (lights, heat, etc.)
Review approval process in wake of new RCM model – prevent decisions based on self-interest
Prioritize health-related programs to support new strategic initiative
Students’ well-being: career readiness, physical health, mental health, basic needs (food, shelter), academic preparedness (infrastructure to provide support network), quality of learning, embracing learning styles of new population (flexible course offerings, second career students, applied and experiential experiences)
Inclusion initiatives: is research inclusive, encouraging innovation and foster intellectual curiosity, putting individuals in high-level positions that can assist underrepresented students, central student life facility that houses all services for student well-being (embrace student life cycle from recruitment to alumni), collaborative effort
Reward staff: advisors/student services, valuing support staff, provide career ladder
Back our initiatives with correct people
Facilitating teaching and research – blending it together; involving the students in research developing pathways to share with the community
Tracking outcomes and growth of alumni from programs; developing plans to address entry level needs based on employer data and alumni surveys; taking data to improve current students and prepare future alumni
Collaboration across colleges to build programs/degrees to develop new visions, new ideas, to develop contemporary degrees that will grow, weaving technology into plans and proposals, identification of future needs and initiate development of programs/degrees/certificates before our competitors
A focus on quality education at the same time that we achieve financial stability; we are being pushed toward more students in classes with lower cost faculty, over-worked faculty, faculty who have little or no time for research responsibilities, will scholars be teaching our students; faculty need to be researchers and they need to have time for teaching/mentoring and research
A focus on knowledge and skills for any learner at any time in life in addition to traditional BS, BS, PhD
We need to respect the scientific facts of climate change (CC) and address how we educate for CC mitigation and adaptation
Stand-alone commitment to human health (it’s our strategic initiative) and well-being (Gallup’s five indicators of well-being: career, community, financial, physical, social)
Sustainability
Civic engagement
Rural vitality (land-grant universities are uniquely situated)
Address the “brain drain” of Kansas communities
Improved facilities and accessibility of facilities
Prioritize support for student success, all students can be successful
What is the place of research in the RCM model, i.e., incentivize and support research/discovery; consider putting research/discovery in the investment pool; maybe designate “strategic investment” funds toward research
Incentivize and support the engagement/services/outreach mission
Cross-college, department collaboration – for programs, courses, innovations
Commitment to human health
Expanded view of aviation to include other aspects of transportation and associated infrastructure, including space, road, rail innovations needed in today’s world
Student wellness
Health
Community viability and vitality (on and off campuses)
Human infrastructure including living wage for K-State and all state employees
Focusing on student success requires attending to the needs of all our campus community and the roles that each of us play, including off campus employees (janitors, groundskeepers, good service and workers are not widgets)
Recommitment to the Sustainability Strategic Plan
Revisit Graduate Education plan to include non-traditional graduate education (i.e., professional) in recognition of different career pathways
Include climate change in the Global Food and health biosecurity initiative or as a standalone
K-State Global Campus
Online is the area of growth – universities that are successful have mandate from leadership for this growth
Have a specialized admissions process for Veteran’s – recognize challenges of coordinating timing of paperwork with VA, Financial Aid, and Office of Veteran Affairs.
What is our rank as a top 50?
What does premier mean?
Student-Centered
Include our student personas
Improvements of services
Upsell opportunity with micro-credentials
Support for faculty to do it well
Online is the future
Where is the support and push to move to online?
How serious are we?
Cyber – Artificial Intelligence tools
Aviation – several opportunities to move online and micro-credentialing
Expanding recruitment efforts as a K-State brand to encompass all campuses so that those who want to stay home can still be part of K-State by completing a degree online
Support throughout university for credentialing/micro credentialing as another way to engage students
Increased emphasis on the non-traditional students – flexible to scheduling to connect with life schedules
Enhancing student services for graduate students, especially for online students
Fully staffing student services as the funnel fills; growth is good but not if they are not supported once they get here.
Look at how we teach – teaching in a variety of ways to reach a diverse population
More opportunities for students to apply knowledge to experiences – internships
Strategic decision making based on accurate data
More interdisciplinary options
More collaborations (departments, colleges, etc.)
Value advising, student contact is important to look at how students feel connected to KSU
Top notch student services and interactions (faculty, financial aid, career services) may need more resources for these services
Get what students need – short courses, just in time training, preparation for tomorrow’s workforce needs
Envision the Cyber Land Grant University concept and expand the vision (digital technology, technology use, tools, information, protection data collected)
Stay true to original land grant mission – citizens of Kansas State University
Town hall – quantitative research, qualitative research
Understand and address the issues facing Kansas citizens
Challenges – ability to connect everyone where they are, advocate for these people
Reduction in teaching – causing students to take online, directly affected by lack of connectivity
Leveraging what we do well to help with bringing in high quality students
Online education, market education, scalability for class sizes, stackable credentials/customized degree, integrated online strategy, affordable degrees and consistency in program pricing
University marketing plan with a sizeable budget to promote the university in other states
Access to learning opportunities and information
User-friendly information (website), describe in language the user understands, mobile-friendly
Affordability for students
Resources for students from all backgrounds – consider barriers for applicants; can these be removed?
Connection across all university constituents to needs of constituents (i.e., students, alumni)
Think globally – how to expand reach
Meeting state goals – employment, educated citizenship
Tie to research, tie to industry needs (NBAF)
Thinking beyond the “traditional 19 year old freshman” – make sure all students are served equitably
Collaboration across the university – centralize services where it makes sense, break down silos
Agility to respond to changing needs/priorities
Clear focus of student/learner centered pedagogy/quality of learning to be separate from research mission; not reasonable for faculty to be both in most areas
Lifelong learning opportunities – improve non-traditional/adult learner options (outreach, engagement, professional development, continued learning) -; expand reach of K-State to fulfill Huron recommendations
Strategy around hiring and resource initiatives (questioning that 2025 plan was on hold due to lack of project management resources)
Speeding up timeline and development – need to be less risk-averse, slow process currently; need to run through long and complex approvals (Faculty Senate as an example)
Focus on changing audience/university mindset – need to understand future learner needs
Communication and continued training of teaching faculty and staff and their role with mission and vision of university and market and work-force requirements/needs
Focus on entrepreneurial attitude; staying in touch with current and future trends; embodied campus-wide (not only Global Campus) and efficient modes of disbursing information.
Look at generations and workforce needs, look at questions of values of degrees – what are all the other options? Where will K-State meet those needs? Should be driven by student/learner and not K-State faculty and administration (market-focused groups identifying skills and needs from constituents)
Our priorities need to reflect the following: K-State needs to be competitive with other institutions; facilities need to be attractive; be able to streamline operations and process to be efficient (have many archaic practices); infrastructure
K-State branding needs to showcase our innovation; all facets need to strive to be a premier institution – leaders in higher education (pioneers in the new landscape of the future of higher education)
Ensure students are central to research (undergraduate research opportunities); ensure excellent services (quality advising; inclusivity; culture central to students)
Understanding broader student base – age, needs, flexibility – ask students what they want/need, location
Improve procedures for admissions, transcript analyzation, enrollments, financial aid, cashiers, credit for prior learning
Compress need to function as one University
Reduce intentional “cannibalization” for financial resources
Community and outreach education, non-credit, workshops, UFM (community engagement)
K-State Libraries
Well-rounded education important; develop a full range of knowledge, skills, interests such as hard skills (e.g., technical) and soft skills (communication, negotiation, and especially critical thinking)
Sustainability planning, budget, priorities, goals
Service learning – assignments that offer real value to both community and standards
Provide for more faculty positions and rewards and retention
Library or university of creativity across all disciplines, foster entrepreneurship, innovation, creation, and the thrill of achievement and success
Foster deep intellectual curiosity and love of learning – lifelong impact on standards
Well-funded library – providing access to research and create an environment for student success
Expand online education presence
Raise more money for Foundation
Ethically grow our private/public partnerships
Advising students in a way that helps them best use their resources; not continue pursuing a degree they will not be successful
Ensure teaching faculty have the necessary abilities to effectively teach students
Have better internship opportunities for high school/freshman to try out their jobs before pursuing a degree in that field
Infrastructure – technology, building, and grounds maintenance; library collection (important for accreditation and research) and staffing to support initiatives
Explore corporate land grant (other universities) partnerships to help with funding
Explore other methods for funding – grants, etc.
Having departments and university work together – less duplication of services, licenses, facilities, staff etc., would save money
Assessment of process – efficiency reviews, workflow reviews
When a priority is implemented – use project management to ensure completion (i.e., Total Rewards)
Recognize and promote accomplishments which will help with recruitment and retention
Service learning
Don’t lose sight of importance of soft skills and humanities
Library of creativity – simulates creativity in all disciplines, love of learning and cultivating intellectual curiosity
Affordability
Balanced pathways for research and teaching – value excellent teaching as much as research
Open access and scholarly communication; ties back to value of access
Attracting and retaining faculty and staff
Not having pathways for advancement of USS and classified professionals
Clear mission for Global Campus and making more accessible and affordable; how do we differentiate our Global Campus
More student advisors to help retention, more resources to help student well-being, mental health, food security, physical health
Need-based scholarships through senior year
Making education affordable and relevant
Produce scholarship that benefits the public
Excellence in teaching
Increased enrollment
Attract and retain top teaching and research faculty
Student success
Emphasizing commitment to diversity, inclusion, and the global world
Communications and marketing
Non-traditional students and connection at different life stages with perspective students
Graduate and undergraduate students
Cost
Scholarship for need – more than merit
Diversity scholarship beyond merit and need
Access – whether distance education or library resources, students have to be able to mutually access resources as good remotely as locally
Remove structures that don’t support collaboration
Critically looking at new budget model in support of student-centered services – service units
Must assess new budget model
Climate change and water
How do we define a liberal education
How do you balance the liberal education with the practicing of getting education – need X hours to get degree but not all liberal classes affect practicality 
Evolving to support new careers/positions impacted by online social/technology changes, e.g., students offered jobs over others because they can think creatively
Innovation does not mean redo what we have, but reenvision of what we have – something like CAT community classes
Stop trying to be everything to everyone – identify what we do really well and be ok letting the other stuff go, but don’t look at as “winners/losers”
Focus on non-traditional students who are growing as a student population
Recognize how state’s culture and population are developing in order to meet current needs
Working to make college education more affordable; make communities aware how K-State grads are impacting them
Making college affordable for a diverse population
K-State Olathe
Recruit, retain, and graduate workforce-ready students
Develop robust student support structure for success
Activate deep community reach way before high school
Increase non-credit experiences to engage future students
One health focus, interdisciplinary
Enable and support satellite campuses to be nimble and innovative; improve collaboration between campuses (remove the competitive barriers)
Recruit, retain, and develop faculty dedicated to student success, research programs
Develop and strengthen online presence to deliver needs/wants of future students
“Just in time” education – we have to “skate to where the puck is headed” – W. Gretzky
Student-centered experiences in and out of the classroom for traditional and non-traditional students
Explore and expand programming in KC
Leveraging our expertise and reputation in strength areas (expand programming in KC – USDA, eliminate programs and services not in our wheelhouse)
Aligning resources to support recruitment, marketing and retention of students
Align resources with viable programs
Align reward concepts – reward excellence in all areas – education, faculty, staff, and research
Recognizing excellence
Continue to focus on diversity
Optimization of administrative services to better support “top priorities”
Locate programs in regions where students are living/working
GLP/GMP courses
Cyber-education
Increase collaboration across all campuses
Develop continuity to business needs – clear path from education to job (business)
Possible fifth initiative – responsiveness to business
Value partnerships with alternative education systems – develop strong relationships and avenues for collaboration; acknowledge value of alternative education systems, e.g., community colleges, MCC, vet tech program partnerships (2+2 with college of agriculture, animal science), technical programs, etc.
Need to build business education partners (e.g., hospitality management – could do this with other areas (animal health data management – Kim Young); how does this work with KBOR, etc.? We need help with this
K-State Olathe representation in 2025 planning
Innovation in education – need to change policies and procedures to allow innovation; we need to be able to be nimble, agile, and responsive; quicker turnaround on new initiative
Invest in online learning to increase quality, consistency, and training for faculty, pedagogy; new/better technology – integrative; project based/team based to allow interaction/engaged online learning environment; keeping up to date on cutting edge technology
Communication among departments/units/colleges – one university – for internal (university) and external (community)
Less obstacles/red tape for students, staff, and faculty: hiring process, enrollment, finding information, staff and non-tenured faculty promotion – no career paths
Olathe – JCERT restrictions lifted
More for-credit programs that are in high demand in region, existing programs from KSU, MHK and Polytechnic, aviation in KC as example; more undergrad completion programs
Plans for program growth – adding faculty, courses taught on campus
Be innovative in how we deliver – on site, downtown, etc., i.e., Fri/Sat, quarterly face to face, online
Look at KSU Olathe to help grow enrollment
Collaborative
How can technology to maintain 3-legged priorities
Take education to community – e.g., labs not available for some areas (dental hygiene)
How do we best deliver lifelong education
Don’t ignore the importance of “soft skills” in career/business
Research focus is still critical
Cooperate with industry to benefit them and lower tuition costs
Right-sizing our initiatives (don’t have to always grow) – stay in our lanes of what we do well
Create more unity within the system – we already have our KSU hats on
Be more accessible to a diverse student group: cost, place-bound students, working adults, international program – improvement
Incentivize people that actually accomplish the goals of the vision
Employee-first management leads to better customer service – including accountability
Statewide extension, urban areas
Funded strategies to perform the land-grant mission state-wide
Deliberate effort to fully maximize K-State extension state-wide as a means of projecting MHK capabilities
Committed investment in the KS urban areas
Determine and fund a plan to create a sustainable Olathe campus, that allows maximum impact by K-State in KC
Educate all of K-State as to what a land-grant university is
K-State Polytechnic
Affordability
Provide educational opportunities for all audiences with different modes of delivery
Competency-based learning – learn as you go/self-paced
Transparency
Adaptability
Staying current with technology/trends/student wants and needs
Consistency
High school connections/allow introductory core classes online
Military tuition rates
Educational innovation (off campus learning)
Collaboration with community partners
Extending the classrooms through technology
Scholarship of teaching and learning
Maintain/expand the Extension program
Develop sustainable programs
Increase the number of social sciences and liberal arts on Polytechnic campus
Don’t forget about using the university undergraduate SLO’s to define the university degree
Innovation in education (to get what we have to the people who need it)
Distance learning pedagogy
Connectedness, within online classes as well as face-to-face
Undergraduate research; mentorship of undergrad students
Research needs to be aimed at improving something
Behave entrepreneurially – finding resource streams and opportunities to add value that can be merged in ways that build and disseminate value for society
We need metrics that monitor areas of weakness as well as strengths regarding student centeredness – don’t lose track of students who are struggling
Aviation – experts in airport improvement grants (Federal monies); partner with business to provide facilities and equipment
Education – philosophy of technical education (lifelong learning methods)
Business and industry needs
Global aviation initiative
Fiscally responsible
Expansion to new markets – innovation in current markets
Include student-centered approach to vision statement
Changes to current processes to focus on student experience, from interested student to alumnus – finding inefficiencies and reward them to provide a superior student experience that only K-State can provide
Push more into community service for all campuses – allows for further integration and support of institutional objectives, furthering land-grant mission
Student-centered/relevancy: On demand skill training for the generation that might be out of a typical college-age, such as senior citizens; but also to stay relevant with changing technologies and upgrade knowledge. Also, bringing everyday examples into the classroom – get out of the textbook; support those that are teaching the students – make such faculty and staff have resources they need and know how to teach/learn (go to professional development courses every few years to stay up with what’s current in each area); have a collaborative space; streamline processes that help us to be more adaptable and flexible
Access to affordable education
Access to student resources
Partnerships
Internships
Global market – price of tuition
Revise how global classrooms function
Classroom functions
Meeting the needs of working students
Evaluate the needs of students vs. focusing on needs of faculty/staff/university
Staff-professional development opportunities
President, CFO, COO, CIO, DCM, HCS and General Counsel
Perform outreach to citizens and the world
Have industry representatives come into the classroom to share with students; what they need from them when joining the workforce
Making sure we reevaluate the committees we have in place and make sure we have the right people on these committees that can help that group succeed
We need to stabilize our funding so that we can offer the things we really need to make us premier university
Certificate programs – build on extension outreach to create pipeline: micro-credentials, stackable credentials
Focus on competencies/outcomes
Ensure infrastructure in place to meet demands – awareness of limitations across state (e.g. broadband) – state, KSU
Ensure we are “listening” to constituents statewide and inform 2025
Embrace innovation – pedagogy, culture
Ensure stay in touch with constituents
Students at center, be unique – traditional and nontraditional 
Identity – we need to be good at what we are good at, establish who we want to be and differentiate from others in the state
Aviation with the land grant and agriculture
Chance management – why do all of the changes we are making matter? How does it matter to each unit and efforts? How do their efforts fit into the whole and make an impact?
Focus on what K-State is delivering; students need to know that what they are doing is going somewhere and their outcomes are a value for the money they spent
Repackaging education changes the cultural perception of higher education as a gatekeeper of the experience and credentials and “democratizes” the opportunity of learners and industry to right size their educational experience and maximize the value
Enrollment
Create new streams of funding
Deferred maintenance – improve facilities
Create value behind coming to K-state – unique
Updated technology – efficiency, streamlining processes
Affordability of receiving education here
Highly, educated, experienced faculty
Land-grant roots
More financial support for “normal” students
Faculty and staff are better educated, more opportunities for professional development
Creating industrial partnerships, cooperations
Restore state funding to keep costs affordable
Promote extension offices
Retention of faculty/staff
Become a top employer
High quality student education
Quality buildings, maintained well
Cyber structure
Value of higher education
Leader in understanding student debt – address the cost
Refocus what the 4 years look like
Pool of donors for debt forgiveness
Transform new values for new generation – give and take of creating my education
Differentiate public school vs. private school
Telling our story, selling our value
Research
Our focus on human health, our adaptation
Cross-curricular in classes, more certification to help prepare for years after college education
Provide education in different areas
Have life skills
Diversity values, inclusive institution; show them “why” is important
Continue increasing student enrollment, retention, and graduation 
Support faculty and staff growth and development to support student retention and graduation – supply necessary resources to accomplish this
Explore workplace demand for careers to continue to expand and adapt and refresh academic programming
Provide supportive and inclusive practices to recruit and retrain diverse students, faculty and staff
Extend community and global outreach and partnerships to collaborate and embrace the universities values, vision
Leverage emerging technologies to become cyber land-grant university
Find new and increased revenue streams
Targeted advertising to OSS + ISS
Capitalize on our strengths to increase enrollment
Diverse online degree offerings
Foster successful, loyal, and generous alumni
Identify key and emerging research areas
Impressive, well-maintained facilities and public appearance
Enrollment is #1
Need-based scholarships
Affordability and accessibility
Inclusiveness
Intellectual diversity and neuro-diversity
Be a step ahead in non-traditional teaching methods; innovative; quicker to action; adaptability; futuristic
Know it’s okay to fail and learn from it
More streamlined and less bureaucratic
Remove barriers to success – economic, structural, institutional, cultural
Trust in each other
Culture of innovation
Right-size university – enrollment, unit size/funding
Ensure service and support centers are adequately supported; benchmarking using data and metric from peers
Seek agreement on what can be discontinued
More fully utilize summer term to drive degree completion to 3 years versus 4 years
Certification programs – create innovative way to increase revenue through connections with industry
Ensure funding is adequate – faculty/staff, building maintenance (infrastructure), resources/tools
Research funding
Student recruitment/retention
Streamlining operations, reducing redundancies
Need diverse environment and inclusion – faculty/staff
Listen to what the students are wanting
Need partnerships with industries to define what the needs are for college graduates – university-wide
Obtain necessary resources
Commitment to developing service unit resources
Aligning operations across units toward the same common goal
Shared vision, common goal is students
Create a culture that support a sense of belonging
Retaining/graduating students in all demographics
Retaining valuable employees
Direct resources to help students, faculty and staff thrive in their communities
Connect everything we do to the student centered vision of the university
Increase corporate partnerships to enhance student experience and help with placement after degree – work with state to make this happen
“De-silo” the academic centers: programs could be integrated for students’ academic training and for their careers
Look at ourselves: become more efficient, data-driven, look at processes
Increase student population – and the right mix of students : utilize alumni/recent graduates to speak about the value of their education (all students – not just the super-successful)
Employees – focus on EE wellbeing; healthy and content employees create better spaces for students
Recruiting: First gen, diverse, ensure inclusivity when these students come, create a safe place for all
Quality of life: students, staff, community
Infrastructure improvements across the whole university
Effectively communicate the impact of our research and teaching and value of K-state
Use foundation funds to keep education affordable
Improve resources for first generation students and families
Our students are taught by the folks doing the research and writing the textbooks
Employees contribute to student success – support/training/awareness
Work study available for students
Facilities – support teaching/research
Technology – not scalable enough; look at pillars and be more on demand
Expand outreach to communities – statewide expand beyond agriculture, other ways to engage public
Capitalize on facilities throughout state, Olathe/Extensions research units
Online, blended – online and class meetings (use Olathe for online hybrid)
Explore industry partners
Lower educational costs/set up students so they don’t have to leave school with so much debt (no debt)
Digital transformation that enhances and simplifies the student experience
Reevaluate processes and traditions to see what is holding us back and how we can implement new strategies to enhance and move forward to the future
Dedicate and secure adequate resources to implement planned changes
Marketing and promoting research opportunities to students in a way that gets them excited about research and participating in research – need to develop advertising campaigns focused on promoting new vision (unified university messaging)
Cross functionality across colleges to build a student experience that provides the best program and outcome
Establish a visible identity that tells people who we are (current students, potential students, alumni, donors, etc.)
Retention of students who are struggling to give them the support that the need financially, academically, and socially in order to succeed
Use data to identify students who are potentially at risk to proactively assist them in their academic endeavors; provide actual support resources that can help
Provost and Student Life
Encourage more collaboration across units, especially in light of new budget model to reduce silo effect
The term “student-centered” needs to be clearly defined; this requires student input, NOT in the form of a survey, e.g., Student Life asks student representatives to consider if they see themselves in visions/goals, and if they believe the office is actually doing that; “who we think we are” versus what we do/where we’re going – this requires looking at student goals, not necessarily in retention/graduation rates. What is a truly student-centered metric?
Diversity and also inclusion – critical to any student-centered approach; recruiting and retaining faculty/staff – it’s not always best to hire from within; hiring from beyond facilitate culture shifts   -making students feel encouraged to go to different programs
Linking “student-centered” to research – requirement of all faculty/departments to incorporate BOTH components into programs; cannot continue to be viewed as 2 separate programs; would include undergraduate programs and non-traditional programs (music, art, etc.); paradigm shift – how do we talk about research? It’s intentional and not optional, better direction from Provost/higher levels
Ensuring students necessary skills to integrate into society
Student health and safety could be included health area; good choices, north campus clean-up, mental health support
Consistency/Ease of understanding: examples – policies, admission standards, tuition and fees, differences in college
More unified goals, collaboration that is intentional to ensure understanding of each other, our goals, and outcomes; work smarter, not harder; collaboration must be integrated into plan, ensure it continues after initial goal
Must be serving industry needs and making sure they have social skills/leadership/communication skills
Enrollment – please get this squared away!!!
Global approach, service, impact, reach
Student well-being
Student vs. faculty – be open/willing to make changes to the system, e.g., semester schedule – we need a fall break!
Be faster with changes – the historical narrative that we are a slow moving system to do things has to change; although we are changing structure now, we are still stuck in many of our daily practices
Affordability
Technology – so many of our systems, procedures, and basic (day-to-day) functions are very outdated; the message this communicates and how it limits abilities of change and our mission and needs to be addressed, e.g., search process paper applications, forms, Canvas, website. KSIS slow process for administrative functions like payroll and reimbursements – these are much harder to utilize than could/should be
Streamline process for students to complete education experiences; see Netflix – how can the Netflix model inform our educational process
Streamline process to partner with industries and civic organizations to embed learning and research within community
Need to improve how research leads to better learning, practice, education; need to communicate this better
What does the word “multicultural” really mean – first-gen, international students, non-traditional? Where do international students fit into this? Need to consider internationalization in this refresh – global versus internationalization; recruit and invite international students; translate recruitment materials into more languages; cannot just be ELP – need to include all departments; create more accessibility to international students to access university resources; team up with departments to help international students to stay at KSU
Aggressively recruit out-of-state students from high cost states that might not be able to access their own land-grant university (e.g., California, Texas, IL)
How to create a more positive image of Kansas – need to work with elected officials and city of Manhattan to make Kansas a more desirable place to live; support business developments so students see coming to KSU as a pathway to get a good job in the state of Kansas
Resource efficiencies and keeping them finalized appropriately so individual colleges/departments that do not have the funds pop up with new offerings
Caution – centralizing doesn’t always allow us to truly meet the unique needs of every unit and may stifle innovation
Work within the new budget model to understand where efficiencies can be gained
Student recruitment - various populations; making sure we know how to serve them well – don’t over enroll past resources available; try to increase applicants to allow us to be more selective in our yield
Preparing for the future of education – working with the innovation of technology leading to the innovation in teaching
Improved advising
Need-based aid
Improved transfer evaluation, complete IB, Cambridge
Develop improved transfer pipelines
Develop stronger/more tech curricula partnerships? IT programs
Curriculum development to workforce/demand; curriculum development to embrace technology in every major
Coordinate the K-12 educational outreach extension, faculty, College of Education, etc. – offer a phenomenal menu of resources that is K-State branded and makes clear our role as “your” public university to all educators/schools who use
Wellbeing – students and faculty (K-State community); having one model of wellbeing/wellness for entire university; mental health – proactive approach/prevention
Collaboration in programming – between Student Life departments, academics, community, etc.
Data driven decision making
Evaluate academic programs: better advising; evaluate number of credits required; look at faculty hiring and how it ties into wellbeing
Include diverse perspectives in developing solutions; outreach to women and affinity groups to help strengthen their experiences to contribute – this approach can help the university build a bench for diverse leaders on campus
Improve relationship between university and community to help with recruitment/retention of faculty and students
Discuss barriers and make priorities; multiple pathways to acquire education – who is our student and how do we help them
Balance tools and resources to recruit/retain faculty/staff to help attract students. Faculty/staff can be a key to helping attract students, which help with enrollment efforts. Faculty and staff morale should be a priority. For example, if morale was improved, faculty/staff can help generate more ideas to attract students
Resources to help improve advisors relationships/tools to help improve services to students
Faculty/staff engagement and development – are people equipped to do what we need to do?
Identify/communicate return on investment – how has K-State land-grant contributed to economic development? Global food systems? Cyber-land grant, etc.?
Undergraduate research experiences
Financial accessibility
Career readiness skills and values to prepare for the future – experiential learning opportunities
Build capacity to advance equity
More undergraduate scholarly opportunities and experiential learning opportunities
Engaged/innovative online learning
Mental health services
Creating more high-impact learning opportunities; create more awareness – really focus on community partnerships
Providing the appropriate access for everyone who needs it, existing programs and make them more clear for those who think there’s a barrier; getting new-student services more involved with outreach
Breaking the communication barriers; build more effective communication channels between departments/divisions
Reinvest in personal connections between faculty/staff across campus; community building
Be more creative in driving students to majors/minors that actually fit them; figure out where attrition is and giving those students better options and alternative pathways to keep students here; innovative curriculum
Adaptable to serve different populations
Affordability
Visual/visible representation of our values, our student population
More partnerships for lower-cost education
More campus collaboration, less silos
Student engagement in their purpose of being here – high-impact learning, co-curricular experiences
Define student-centered and incentivize for buy-in from all parts of the university, both academic and student affairs
Innovative, modernized methods of education
Communication between all of access/touch-points with students; interventions
Re-define our role/responsibility towards supporting student success so it’s a part of everyone’s job
Draw connections for students between experiences to enhance their success, e.g., why is undergraduate research important?
What can we do to show we are a great school to attract international students?
Scholarships
Make progress on the achievement gap – graduation rates comparable across all student populations
Address affordability – find innovative ways to help students with the cost of attendance (expanded textbook initiatives, need-based aid, lower average college debt)
Involve cooperative extension – integrate work in classrooms and labs at university, create a loop of information/data with Kansas communities on needs/challenges, find solutions/make progress get feedback
Understand and demonstrate the value of higher education
Communication and collaboration – both up and down the organizational structure; empowering units to make decisions to benefit students.
Develop efficiencies – don’t duplicate resources, don’t add more options
Identify barriers for students and continue to reduce those (staff member was transferred 7 times to resolve a student hold)
Actually redeploy SSC and administration enforces use; one student system is most beneficial to students and university; notes in a file cabinet don’t help an advisor across campus or housing staff – MAXIMIZE EFFICIENCIES!!! Combined with FERPA training, minimize additional fees, etc., that only add cost to students/extra software programs
More effective use of space – confidential space for those offices that need it
We would like to see realistic, measurable goals with plans for assessment
Clear communication about what happens now – how are these notes used? Is this just an activity to make (without action) us feel valued?
Innovation – new partnerships, new tracks to degree completion, learner programs, certificate programs
Ability to train/retrain people in the workforce
Assessment and tracking of students
Individualized student plans rather than one size fits all
Fees associated with classes – barrier for people and affects accessibility
Financial barriers of taking exploratory classes to find a good fit/major/career
Meeting needs of non-traditional students (caretakers, single parents, veterans, full-time employees)
Innovation and education: rethinking paying for “internship, practicum, capstone” experiences, research experiences as well
Stronger and consistent academic advising
Utilization of SSC/navigate to enhance student experience and student-centered
Training and professional development for staff and faculty – retention of faculty and staff
Consistency of curriculum
Affordability – gap funding for students who have amounts due (not huge amounts); barrier to enroll, not retaining these students
Communicate that students can still come to K-State even if they’re not in one of the 4 strategic initiatives
Evaluation of dual and transfer credit
Having tools and staff to help run efficiently
Affordability
Vocabulary across campus – creates miscommunications and lack of transparency; what makes something easier for one office might make it harder for a different office
Promotion of existing programs
Focus of transfer students – expected to already have college experience, and lost during transition into KSU
We know students have a choice, how can we ensure students choose us
Accessibility on campus
A buy-in from the whole university and whole investment – get information/data from all areas of campus/ not only on international students – also for diversity; keep everyone accountable - international focus (global citizens, incoming international students)
Financial support for all community
Accessibility – meeting them where they are
Authentic connection for students/faculty across campus
Transparency and communication across campus
Increased enrollment
Increased retention
Increased graduation rates
Fostering diversity and inclusion
Affordability/availability of scholarships
Creation of a policy hub
Veterinary Medicine
Faculty and staff morale
A strategic plan or approach to right funding for KSU; putting responsibility back on the colleges rather than a strategic approach to funding; just tell the truth rather than smoke and mirrors
Priorities include food and veterinary medicine
Let currently sustainable programs remain sustainable instead of siphoning off to support unsustainable programs
Biosecurity
New VDL
Increased enrollment/recruitment (graduate and undergraduate)
Increased focus on graduate student education
Continue to enhance infrastructure: Multi-disciplinary research facility with state-of-the-art cores/services; research park; translational research opportunities (incubator), includes existing infrastructure to instantly begin work
Student recruitment – targeted, increase public visibility of key programs, stronger public reach
Sustainable funding model
Attracting nationally recognized faculty
Refocusing on programs that are important – MPH, nursing program
Evaluate college and programs to find most valuable
Interdisciplinary programs – Vet Med working with Business
Bringing industry into classroom
Enhancing technology – all around
Be early adopters – not late stragglers
Bring back the Office of Undergraduate Research
Truly look at the physical infrastructure – students need more hands-on experiences, not just lecture spaces
Vet Med specific – additional information and focus on the Masters programs and what benefits over time you would have