Enrollment management

  1. Enroll 1,580 first-year students in fall 2018 and 40 in spring 2018 reflecting Elon’s enrollment goals, especially academic ability, diversity and a well-rounded high school experience that is appropriate for Elon’s style of engaged learning. The majority of these students will fall within a total SAT range of 1160-1300 and an ACT range of 25-29 with an average SAT of 1230 or an ACT of 27.
  2. Enroll new students in each graduate program to meet the following goals:
    1. PA: Enroll 36 students Januarys 2018 & 2019
    2. DPT: Enroll 44 students Januarys 2018 & 2019
    3. M.Ed.: Enroll 21 students summer 2018
    4. M.A. Interactive Media: Enroll 36 students summer 2017 & 2018
    5. MBA: Enroll 55 students in academic year 2017-18
    6. M.S. Management: Enroll 15 students fall 2017 & 2018
    7. M.S. Accounting: Enroll 15 students spring 2018
    8. M.A. Higher Education: Enroll 12 students fall 2018
  3. Successfully launch college access and success programs.
    1. Pilot a program that provides college advising to high-achieving low-income high school students in Alamance County, NC.
    2. Implement application process for Coalition for Access, Affordability, and Success (a diverse coalition of public and private colleges and universities working to improve the college admission application process for all students).
  4. Develop new programs for cohorts of incoming students, providing scholarships and programing that support those with interests in the following academic and co-curricular areas:
    1. Maroon Sports (15 students)
    2. Health Professions/Pre-health (15 students)
    3. Pre-law (15 students)
    4. Global – Dublin (20 students)
    5. Change Makers – Civic Engagement (15 students)
  5. Finalize fall 2018 first-semester in Dublin program for 20 first-year students through University College Dublin (UCD) and in collaboration with the Foundation for International Education (FIE) and develop programs for those students to transition to Elon for the spring semester.
  6. Develop strategic partnerships with Elon College and the business, communications, and education schools to enhance yield events for admitted students.

Presidential transition

  1. Introduce Elon University’s ninth president to the community and beyond, and complete the presidential transition and orientation.

The Elon Leads Campaign

  1. In the final year of planning before the campaign’s public phase in 2018-19, align all goals and objectives of the ELON LEADS campaign goal to:
    1. Ensure 60% of all funds raised will be designated for scholarships
    2. Progress total philanthropic commitments made to ELON LEADS scholarship priorities from $45 million secured by May 31, 2017 to $65 million by May 31, 2018
    3. Secure at least 25 new endowed Odyssey Scholarships
    4. Secure at least 20 new Fellows Scholarships
    5. Secure at least 50 new Elon Engagement Scholarships
  2. Reach at least $140 million toward the ELON LEADS campaign by May 31, 2018, including the following priorities:
    1. Completing fund raising for ELON LEADS capital priorities: Schar Center, Richard W. Sankey Hall, and LaRose Student Commons in the Historic Neighborhood
    2. Securing a naming gift for a new facility for engineering and physics
  3. Engage the university community, including trustees, faculty, staff, students, alumni, parents, and friends, in the planning of the public launch of the ELON LEADS Campaign in 2018-19 and ensure launch activities focus on the impact of philanthropy, especially the impact of scholarships.
  4. Host the fifth annual #ElonDay 2018 on March 13 to expand engagement of alumni and friends across the globe.
  5. Reach the following annual fundraising targets in support of the ELON LEADS comprehensive campaign:
    1. Raise $2.5 million in Elon’s Greatest Needs
    2. Raise $2.8 million in designated annual giving
    3. Achieve 1150 members of the Elon Society
    4. Increase Phoenix Club Annual giving to $1.5 million and achieve 2,300 donors
    5. Raise $500,000 toward annual scholarships and designated priorities for Elon Law
    6. Increase the number of alumni donors from 6,700 to 7,200 to achieve 24% alumni giving
    7. Achieve 32% current undergraduate parent giving

Financial model

  1. Review Elon’s financial model to ensure that future budget allocations support the highest priorities in our strategic plan and institutional enrollment goals. This review will include consideration of the following elements of the financial model:
    1. Continued slow growth of the undergraduate student body
    2. Disciplined use of the unfunded discount rate
    3. Doubling the funded discount rate from its current level of 3% by the end of this campaign
    4. Maintaining moderate tuition increases

Completing the Elon Commitment strategic plan

  1. Continue robust efforts to make Elon a more diverse, inclusive, and culturally skilled community through the following:
    1. Focus fund raising energies, enrollment efforts, and new program support to enhance student socio-economic diversity at Elon (first-generation and high-financial-need)
    2. Continue trajectory of progress in increasing faculty and staff diversity – e.g., from 12.3% faculty of color in 2009 to 17.9% in 2017
    3. Continue trajectory of progress in increasing student diversity – e.g., from 13.4% undergraduate students of color in 2009 to 17.9% in 2017
    4. Implement Diversity Edu, sustained dialogue, and intergroup relations programs as first steps in developing a national best practice model for promoting intercultural competence for all students in curricular and co-curricular opportunities
    5. Implement key objectives from university-wide task forces and working groups, including establishing a permanent advisory committee for LGBTQIA inclusion, finalizing the report and recommendations of the Hispanic/Latino working group and completing the recommendations of the Black communities presidential task force
    6. Increase participation in global experience from 80% toward 85% of graduating students as part of goal to achieve 100% access to a global engagement experience either domestically or abroad
  2. Integrate academic and residential life in support of the Living and Learning at Elon initiative by:
    1. Expanding the faculty affiliate program and increasing the overall number of faculty/staff involved in residential mentoring roles to at least 150
    2. Developing at least five new academically linked living-learning communities and offering additional residentially linked courses
    3. Developing the theme and programmatic infrastructure for the new East Residential Neighborhood, opening in Fall 2018
  3. Continue facilities planning and implementation to complete the Residential Campus Plan.
    1. Prepare for expansion of Campus Recreation into the first-floor space vacated by athletics in Koury Center to meet current and future student needs with recreation, wellness, and academic programs.
    2. Develop a multi-year plan to increase the number of faculty-in-residence and standardize apartments to attract faculty and provide space for student-faculty engagement.
  4. Partner with Academic Council to support an integrated Teacher-Scholar development model by:
    1. Implementing recommendations to enhance faculty development for post-probationary faculty, completing the objectives of the Presidential Task Force on Scholarship
    2. Executing the plan proposed by the Taskforce on Department Chairs including recommendations to improve writing effective evaluations of teaching faculty (Unit III)
  5. Implement new programmatic and curricular enhancements that:
    1. Strengthen academic engagement during Winter Term
    2. Provide new opportunities for students, faculty, and staff to learn and apply design thinking
    3. Offer immersive learning opportunities in live video and game production for athletics (Maroon Sports)
  6. Prepare for successful accreditation visits including:
    1. Completing the reaccreditation process for the School of Communications including hosting a successful site visit in Fall 2017
    2. Creating the fifth-year report for the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC)
  7. Finalize curriculum and implement a new engineering degree in fall 2018.
  8. Explore development of 3+3 programs for physical therapy education and physician assistant students to provide new opportunities for students to pursue professional interests.
  9. Launch the master of science in accounting program and complete plans for implementing the master of arts in higher education program, including recruiting the first cohorts of students for both programs.
  10. Develop a plan to recruit outstanding students who will earn the most prestigious fellowships (e.g., Rhodes, Gates Millennium, Schwarzman, Knight-Hennessy, Goldwater, Marshall).
  11. Develop School of Law as the nation’s foremost innovator in legal education by:
    1. Implementing the third year of the trimester curriculum requiring a residential placement for all students
    2. Creating an advisory board and a strategic planning process for the Center for Engaged Learning in Law (CELL)
    3. Continuing longitudinal assessment of the new curriculum with funding from Access Group, and share results as a best practice
    4. Enrolling 140 students in fall 2018 with average and median LSAT scores at least one point above those of the class entering in fall 2017
    5. Meeting Academic and Bar Support (ABS) goals for improvement in bar exam support and bar pass rate (year-over-year improvement and moving toward at least 80% bar passage rate)
  12. Implement recommendations of the Presidential Task Force on Social Climate and Out-of-Class Engagement, including the following:
    1. Creating a working group on the role of sorority and fraternity life at the university
    2. Establishing an exploratory committee to consider the development of a traditions council
    3. Appointing an implementation team for recommendations from the First-Year Summer Experiences (FSEs) report
    4. Implementing the 2017 recommendations of the University Committee on Alcohol and Other Drugs
  13. Redesign university May commencement ceremonies for 2019 and beyond.
  14. Expand and enhance marketing communications efforts, including the following:
    1. Create and begin implementation of a new three-year marketing plan with a primary focus on student recruitment
    2. Create new undergraduate admissions video assets for campus visit and online campaigns
    3. Form a standing university marketing committee
    4. Highlight faculty and student scholarship through submissions to The Conversation, video interview shorts, next generation of Elon Poll surveys, and targeted media pitches to regional/national outlets
    5. Build excellent websites for all of Elon’s academic and administrative departments in the new mobile-friendly WordPress content management system with a priority on prospective student navigation and access to information
  15. Develop a comprehensive five-year strategic plan for alumni engagement by:
    1. Proposing a Faculty Associate for Alumni Engagement position to advance academic integration
    2. Reimagining the reunion program as a summer college for June 2018
    3. Driving alumni annual giving participation to 27%, in line with aspirant institutions
  16. Implement a program that serves as a national model for Division I athletics to enhance high-impact learning experiences of student-athletes, specifically in each of the five Elon Experiences.
  17. Develop new information security policies and adopt best practices for compliance of sensitive data by:
    1. Introducing new instructional videos on data protection for faculty and staff awareness campaign
    2. Introducing new practices for university departments concerning credit card usage and processes
    3. Developing and adopting new data backup and system patch routines to enhance security and reduce liability
    4. Defining and introducing procedures and standards for storage of local and cloud-based university data
    5. Reviewing and approving new individual access levels and account permissions for systems with sensitive data like Colleague, Raiser’s Edge, Slate, etc.
  18. Complete planning for following projects:
    1. Engineering and physics building
    2. Elon Elementary School replacement
    3. Inn at Elon
  19. Complete design for following projects:
    1. Smith and Virginia residence halls renovations
    2. LaRose Student Commons
    3. Moseley Center renovation
  20. Complete construction on the following projects:
    1. Schar Center
    2. Phoenix Drive extension
    3. Law School renovation phase 2
    4. Maynard House renovation
    5. Martin Alumni Center addition
  21. Complete renovations for the following projects:
    1. Student spaces
      1. West residence hall renovation
      2. Moseley 215 renovation
    2. Furniture upgrades
      1. Danieley A-F bedrooms
      2. Colonnades A & B lounges
      3. Oaks C & D living rooms
    3. Learning spaces
      1. Elon Poll relocation to Powell 2nd Floor
      2. Gray Pavilion renovation
      3. Carlton 221 renovation
      4. Belk Library 113 renovation
      5. Alamance 201 renovation
      6. Maker Hub in the Elon Town Center
    4. Office spaces
      1. Koury Business Center office renovation
      2. Alamance second floor office suite renovation
      3. Bursar office renovation
      4. Powell second floor renovation
  22. Start construction of major new facilities
    1. Student Spaces
      1. South Campus student recreation center
      2. East campus housing/varsity tennis center
      3. McEwen Dining Hall renovation and addition
    2. Learning Spaces
      1. Richard W. Sankey Hall
      2. Koenigsberger Learning Center and Belk Library renovation