Overview
Bridgewater State University Strategic Plan
Approved by the University's Board of Trustees in December 2009 following extensive community discussion, the Bridgewater State University Strategic Plan propels the institution along a bold trajectory of excellence and aligns decision-making around a clear agenda. Much more than a static document, the Strategic Plan identifies a dynamic process by which the University's forward progress may be managed, monitored and maximized.
The Planning Model
The Bridgewater State University strategic planning model incorporates the realm of conceptual and visionary thinking with the domain of operations and actions. Building upon the institution's mission, values and vision, Bridgewater's planning logic contains four principal components:
(click on the sections of the model to learn more)
Mission Values Vision
Our Mission:
- To educate the residents of Southeastern Massachusetts and the Commonwealth
- To use the University's intellectual, scientific and technological resources to support and advance the economic and cultural life of the region and the state
We Value:
- The belief that all students have the potential to advance themselves and succeed, irrespective of their socioeconomic background
- The promise of public higher education, in that opportunities created for students are an investment in the overall human condition
Our Vision:
- To propel the institution along a trajectory of excellence defined by positively transforming as many lives as possible
Goals must:
- Clearly advance the core mission of the University
- Be transformational
- Be conceptual in nature and not operational
- Be institutional and not divisional in scope and reach
- Be stated in such a way as to allow for measurability
- Be supported by a myriad of institutional resources
- Represent a mode of continuous improvement
Areas of Focus serve to:
- Focus the University's energies on dynamic institutional and external considerations and contexts
- Connect goals to operational action items
- Ensure the agility and nimbleness of the planning process without the need to re-cast the goals themselves
Action Items must:
- Be concrete, discrete and achievable
- Identify responsibility
- Be accompanied by a clear timetable
- Provide critical inputs for long-term financial planning
- Be clearly linked to at least one strategic goal and be shaped more generally by the areas of focus
In addition, action items progress through a four-stage life-cycle:
- Developing: Cabinet has sanctioned the action item and assigned responsibility but additional planning considerations are still needed
- Ready: All planning considerations have been made but principal activities germane to the action item are scheduled for a future date
- Underway: All planning considerations have been made and the action item is currently in progress
- Completed: The action item is finished and may be removed from the dynamic array of initiatives
Metrics are:
- Unbiased, valid and reliable indicators of progress made in advancing the overarching goals
- Determined at the outset of the planning process and may be made more precise as time goes on
Goal 1: Teaching and Learning Relationships
Maximize the intensity, diversity and richness of teaching and learning relationships forged between faculty, students and members of the broader community.
Goal 2: Personal and Professional Growth
Promote a rigorous and dynamic institutional environment focused on developing and enhancing the personal and professional growth of all campus citizens.
Goal 3: Responsibility to the Public
Expand the University's ability to foster the cultural, scientific, economic and intellectual capacity of Southeastern Massachusetts and beyond.
Goal 4: Diversity and Global Awareness
Increase global and cultural awareness and encourage a diversity of perspectives on campus and in the region.
Goal 5: Social Justice
Serve as an agent of social justice, instilling in all members of the University community a deeper understanding of the impact they each have on the greater good and our world.
Focus: Equalization of Student Success
Ensuring access for students who cannot afford educational alternatives
Bolstering probability of success for first-generation students, low-income students, and students of color
Improving residential options for international students and other students with unique housing needs
Expanding the reach of the University's co-curricular opportunities to include students of all socioeconomic backgrounds
Focus: The Teaching and Learning Environment
Advancing the holistic development of students and emphasizing the value of a liberal arts education
Optimizing teaching and learning environments, spaces and structures
Encouraging interdisciplinarity among academic disciplines and fields
Harnessing technology to support teaching and learning endeavors
Promoting student learning opportunities beyond the classroom
Developing and expanding residential learning opportunities
Strengthening further the support and development of online teaching and learning
Focus: Prudent Stewardship of Resources
Promoting energy conservation and greener operations
Encouraging paperless and streamlined workflow processes
Planning for new opportunities during the summer months
Utilizing the full power of existing technologies and integrating systems
Establishing alternative revenue sources through private philanthropy and corporate partnerships
Leveraging the shared resources and abilities of the Connect Partnership institutions
Focus: Engaging the Broader Community
Connecting Southeastern Massachusetts and the Commonwealth to new opportunities for knowledge-sharing, global culture, economic development, etc.
Expanding the reach of the University's technological resources to benefit the region and state
Promoting international partnerships with non-English speaking countries and nations of rising geopolitical importance
Extending the scope and reach of University operations to Greater Attleboro, New Bedford and Cape Cod
Striving to understand the region better and marshal the University's strengths accordingly
Focus: Investing in Our People
Expanding and focusing professional development opportunities to strengthen the University's human capital
Optimizing deployment of existing staff across the whole of the University
Promoting student leadership in all its forms
Action Items
Completed Actions
Underway/Ready Actions
Developing Actions
The University has completed more than 30 action item since the strategic plan was approved by the Board of Trustees in December 2009.
Metrics Dashboard
Metrics Dashboard
