Strategic Plan

Vision

Westminster College will use the power of learning and mentoring relationships to create a transformational and accessible student experience, enabling more vibrant, just, and successful lives for our graduates.

Mission

Westminster College is a private, independent college dedicated to student learning. We are a community of learners with a long and honored tradition of caring deeply about students and their education. We offer liberal arts and professional education in courses of study for undergraduate, selected graduate, and other innovative degree and non-degree programs. Students are challenged to experiment with ideas, raise questions, critically examine alternatives, and make informed decisions. We encourage students to accept responsibility for their learning, to discover and pursue their passions, and to promote more equitable and sustainable communities.

Our purposes are to prepare students to lead lives of learning, accomplishment, and service and to help them develop skills and attributes critical for success in a diverse and interdependent world. We promote distinctive approaches to engaged learning that emphasize theory and practice in our academic and co-curricular programs. Grounded in a culture of creativity and innovation we work to pursue excellence while promoting inclusiveness and respect for differences.

Core Values

As members of the Westminster College community, we are committed to the following values:

• Impassioned teaching and active learning
• Respect for diverse people and perspectives
• Collaboration and teamwork
• Personal and social responsibility
• College-wide excellence
• High ethical standards

College-Wide Learning Goals

Our primary purpose is to prepare students to lead lives of learning, accomplishment, and service. To that end, every Westminster student graduates with the skills and abilities that are critical to success in a rapidly changing world and highly valued by employers and graduate programs:

• Critical thinking
• Creativity
• Collaboration
• Communication
• Global Responsibility

The Westminster community will focus on three foundational strategic goals to create transformational and accessible student experiences that will enable vibrant, just, and successful lives for our graduates.

Building a Community of Learners

By 2019, Westminster will cultivate a truly extended and inclusive community of learners that reflects personalized relationships and the best attributes of a "small college".

Outcomes

• Westminster is a student-centered community of lifelong learners embodying an ethos that is respectful, inclusive, empowering, and accountable
• Westminster demonstrates equity, diversity, and global consciousness throughout its activities
• Westminster exemplifies a culture of collaboration, personal growth, and professional development
• Westminster delivers exceptional experiences to all members of Westminster's core and extended communities

Innovating to Support Student Success

By 2019, Westminster's culture of innovation and continuous improvement will place us at the forefront of high-quality, relationship-based, student-centered learning design.

Outcomes

• Westminster explores and disseminates the latest research on innovative learning practices, programs, and student support services and provides professional development in these areas
• Westminster students demonstrate mastery of the college-wide learning goals and program-specific goals
• Westminster provides programs, opportunities, and pathways for entry that meet the needs of a broader range of learners
• Westminster degrees integrate liberal education, professional programs, co-curricular activities, and community engagement

Assuring Affordability and Sustainability

By 2019, Westminster will build a sustainable, thriving institution that provides affordable, high-value student education.

Outcomes

• Westminster has implemented a transparent process of continuous improvement in all functional areas
• Westminster has processes in place to ensure student access is not limited by socioeconomic status and students graduate with as little debt as possible
• Westminster has diversified and expanded revenue sources that support the college mission and operations
• Westminster has cultivated and communicated a clear perception of value to students, parents, and stakeholders
• Westminster has identified an optimal enrollment plan grounded in consistent goals and measures

Three interdependent strategies will guide campus behaviors to enhance the success of Westminster's strategic goals. Priorities will be established, and these strategies will be implemented over time. 

Student Learning

• Internationalize our campus community and student experiences
• Create a center for innovative learning
• Provide every student with a high-impact learning experience
• Utilize integrative and community-based education to enhance student learning
• Assess student learning and hold all parties accountable for student outcomes
• Integrate liberal education and professional programs as a distinctive hallmark
• Improve retention and graduation rates

Community Culture

• Implement coaching and mentoring as fundamental experiences for everyone in the Westminster community.
• Complete and adopt a multi-year diversity plan
• Extend the Westminster network to include alumni and our external community as collaborators in student engagement
• Create a culture of respect and fairness through collaboration and transparency

College Economy

• Implement an ambitious enrollment management plan
• Commit to address the cost of undergraduate education and to graduate students with as little debt as possible
• Identify new revenue opportunities to support strategic priorities
• Implement a comprehensive capital campaign
• Implement a marketing and branding campaign that builds on our strategic initiatives and supports academic excellence and enrollment objectives
• Implement transparent processes for assessing spending priorities across campus
• Pursue accreditations and affiliations that reflect the quality of a Westminster education