Approach and Development Process
The new academic plan parallels Vision 2026 but will extend to the end of 2027. Thereafter, it is hoped that the Vision and Academic Plan will run parallel so that the academic plan supports, reinforces, and achieves the Vision.
In Fall 2023 Dr. Tracey Kinney was appointed as the plan coordinator. Dr. Kinney has been a member of the History Department since 1994. Over thirty years they have chaired the History Department three times, served as Asian Studies coordinator, and chaired various Faculty- and University-wide committees, including Arts Curriculum and Arts Planning & Priorities. In assembling this new academic plan, we issued an open call to participate to the KPU community. Contributors were invited to meet with the plan coordinator for 30 minutes or more as needed, and to identify key priorities, specific areas in need of improvement, and systemic challenges.
In total 69 members of KPU faculty, staff, and administration participated in this process. The plan coordinator also sought input from academic council and met regularly with the Provost & Vice President Academic, Dr Diane Purvey, throughout the development process. In Spring 2024, 1945 administrators, faculty, and staff were surveyed on the proposed goals and key actions. 392 responses were received for a survey response rate of 20%. Finally, input from KPU’s student body was collected via a series of facilitated meetings on each of KPU’s five campuses. Students were provided with QR codes which allowed them to comment on each of the key actions under Goal 1 and to provide more general feedback on issues impacting student success and engagement. Almost 300 student responses were received. Further edits to the key actions were made on the basis of all of these survey responses
The goal of the Academic Plan 2027 is not simply to reach a series of markers by 2027, but rather to show continuous improvement in key areas over the life of the plan. Specific goals may need to be adjusted depending on environmental changes in higher education generally, and at KPU more specifically. By building the plan around flexibility and ongoing improvement, we will have hopefully “planned for the unplanned”.