STRATEGIC PLAN FY16 FY20 EXCELSIOR COLLEGE STRATEGIC PLAN FY16 FY20 1

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1 STRATEGIC PLAN FY16 FY20 EXCELSIOR COLLEGE STRATEGIC PLAN FY16 FY20 1

2 VALUES Excelsior College contributes to the development of a diverse, educated society by valuing lifelong learning that is characterized by: innovation as a source of improvement, flexibility as a means of service delivery, excellence as the path to success, and integrity, honesty, and caring as the basis for lasting relationships. MISSION Excelsior College provides educational opportunity to adult learners with an emphasis on those historically underrepresented in higher education. The College meets students where they are academically and geographically, offering quality instruction and the assessment of learning. VISION Excelsior College aspires to be a model higher education institution for the 21st century. Excelsior will be a provider of choice for those who seek to pursue their educational goals in a flexible, individualized manner. Excelsior will continue to serve as a cost-effective stimulus for lifelong learning and individual achievement by providing robust options for the assessment of learning and aggregation of credit. Excelsior will be recognized as an important academic collaborator and as a valuable partner in addressing societal and workforce needs. 2 EXCELSIOR COLLEGE STRATEGIC PLAN FY16 FY20

3 PRESIDENT S MESSAGE Excelsior College s history and expertise is rooted in the assessment of learning, online adult education, and flexibility in degree attainment. The College provides a learning environment that helps students finish what they started by recognizing prior learning, awarding transfer credit, and providing an affordable path to their goals. Excelsior College faces an increasingly competitive environment as other higher education institutions embrace the online model, new credentialing models emerge, and as more organizations (both colleges and companies, whether for-profit or not-for-profit) develop as innovative providers of education. The College is uniquely positioned to facilitate learning and motivate students to achieve academic success in a higher education environment which is facing significant change. Excelsior s leadership recognizes the deep expertise of the College in these areas and the unfulfilled need in the marketplace the time to act decisively is now. The College will capitalize on its strengths through a strategy which focuses on five areas: 1) enhancing student success; 2) providing high-quality, innovative teaching, learning, and assessment; 3) building the Excelsior brand; 4) delivering an exceptional learner experience; and 5) growing and diversifying revenue while sustaining quality. The College will continue to grow and innovate as an adult-serving institution through sustained focus on student success and high-touch, career-focused programs and services. A personalized learner experience where adults feel supported by a team of experts will help learners meet their educational goals. Meaningful partnerships with employers and academic institutions will reach more students and enrich the curriculum. Learning will be structured and delivered in manageable components suited to career paths and busy adult schedules and needs, while also affording the opportunity to earn credentials from prior learning. Building a brand that is simple yet powerful is also critical to our growth. Two important aspects of the strategic planning process are ongoing assessment and measurement, as well as regular reviews and updates. As a living document, the plan will be reviewed annually and updated as needed. In addition, progress toward goal attainment will be measured and reported quarterly, both to the College s leadership and to the Board of Trustees. This plan demonstrates our commitment to enhancing the core aspect of the College s work, while simultaneously renewing our belief in the importance of innovation and experimentation. With the adoption of this plan, Excelsior College will emerge as a model higher education institution for the 21st century. John F. Ebersole, LPD EXCELSIOR COLLEGE STRATEGIC PLAN FY16 FY20 3

4 2020 Strategic Area 1 STUDENT SUCCESS Student success at Excelsior College is defined by helping students meet their education and career goals in a flexible and personalized manner. This is achieved with the help of a team of College experts who understand the unique needs of the adult learner. The process of degree completion is made more affordable through the acceptance of credit for prior learning, reasonably priced courses and services, credit-bearing exams, and low residency requirements. Students will be transformed by their educational experience through the mastery and application of workforce skills in complex, real-life situations. By supporting learners as they progress toward their educational goals, the College encourages lifelong learning and engagement between the individual and the institution. GOALS 1. By FY20, degree completion rates will reach or exceed the established goal for at least 90 percent of programs. 2. By FY20, credit accumulation rates will reach or exceed the established goal for at least 90 percent of programs. 3. By FY20, retention rates will reach or exceed the established goal for at least 90 percent of programs. 4 EXCELSIOR COLLEGE STRATEGIC PLAN FY16 FY20

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6 2020 Strategic Area 2 TEACHING, LEARNING, AND ASSESSMENT Excelsior College will use its expertise in the assessment of prior learning to design personalized academic pathways for educational and career goal attainment. Through effective teaching and online social presence, experienced faculty will cultivate intellectually stimulating learning communities in which learners thrive and are challenged to think critically and explore ideas in a substantive way. Faculty will be afforded the resources, training, and professional development to ensure an exceptional learner experience that leads to success. Teaching will focus on learning outcomes as well as mastery of competencies, with an emphasis on career and real-life skills. Course design will incorporate digital learning materials from a variety of sources designed to provide a stimulating learning experience and remove barriers that impact success. Curriculum will foster achievement of educational goals and a lifelong learning relationship with the College. Emerging technologies will be leveraged to enhance individualized learning. The College will work with academic and corporate partners to evaluate real-life experiences and maximize learner opportunities. 6 EXCELSIOR COLLEGE STRATEGIC PLAN FY16 FY20

7 GOALS 1. By the end of FY19, all degree and noncredit-bearing programs will reach or exceed the established standard for program outcomes achievement for their program, or an action plan will be prepared to address shortcomings to ensure quality of the academic and noncredit-bearing programs. 2. Each year, through general education assessment and the use of data for improvement, students will meet or exceed achievement standards established by faculty (e.g., rubric performance levels for course-based assessment, norms for standardized assessments). 3. By the end of FY18, implement a plan for incorporation of external open educational resources in courses and exams to enhance learning or the student experience. 4. By the end of FY16, develop a course enhancement plan to incorporate games, game learning principles, simulations, or other enhancements related to learning, or elements that maximize social, cognitive, and teaching presence. 5. Between FY16 and FY20, enhance faculty training to ensure effective teaching, learning, and assessment in alignment with Quality Matters and Excelsior College standards of excellence. 6. By the end of FY18, enhance and promote faculty engagement and scholarship at Excelsior College to enrich course development and ensure the highest quality academic experience. 7. Between FY17 and FY20, develop courses that can impact student success in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) areas and brand the College as a STEM institution. 8. By the end of FY16, explore opportunities for creating virtual and on-the-ground internships for students. EXCELSIOR COLLEGE STRATEGIC PLAN FY16 FY20 7

8 2020 Strategic Area 3 BRAND The Excelsior brand will be simple and clear yet impactful, reflecting a consistent image and experience from the first impression through the life cycle of the relationship. The College will develop a cohesive brand strategy built GOALS 1. By the end of FY18, develop a brand strategy to bring consistency to the College s communication and messaging. 2. By the end of FY16, establish the value proposition and brand positioning for the College s Washington, DC Center. upon a foundational architecture conveying Excelsior College as an education provider rooted in a personal, flexible, accessible, and quality-focused education. The brand platform will present a caring adult-serving institution where students can finish what they started through lifelong learning. Engagement channels and communication systems will be used to influence learner decisions to stay with Excelsior as their educational institution of choice by providing the right information and support at each decision point along the student journey. The brand will permeate all operational and functional aspects of the College so that the brand is consistently portrayed and easily identifiable. Additionally, the brand will attract and retain exceptionally talented staff and faculty as well as donors, advocates, and supporters to the College. 8 EXCELSIOR COLLEGE STRATEGIC PLAN FY16 FY20

9 Strategic Area 4 EXCEPTIONAL LEARNER EXPERIENCE The College will strive to provide an exceptional learner experience from the learner s first interaction through their entire educational journey with the College and beyond. Efficient and effective services, offered with respect and courtesy, will be a hallmark of every interaction with Excelsior College. A team of experts admissions counselors, financial aid experts, success coaches, faculty, and academic advisors will engage the learner, and help students overcome barriers to meeting their educational goals. Response time will be dramatically improved through system redesign and new technologies. Self-service options supported by convenient and easyto-use technology will also be an important part of the experience. A new student success center will provide life skills coaching and interventions necessary to sustain engagement and propel the student to completion. Predictive analytics will identify opportunities and interventions to GOALS 1. Between FY16 and FY18, improve systems, processes, and training to increase response time and achieve better integration of service throughout the learner experience. 2. By the end of FY17, pilot and evaluate proactive, developmental advising and upgrade systems in order to strengthen the advisor/student relationship and further engage students in learning activities. 3. By the end of FY17, create a student success center that provides proactive coaching and targeted student service interventions using technologies to manage, prioritize, and automate activities. 4. By the end of FY17, create a comprehensive suite of alumni services to promote engagement and ongoing involvement with the College. engage students early and throughout the student life cycle to increase credit accumulation, retention, and completion. Proactive developmental advising will focus on personalized and attainable degree planning that is supported by caring staff who understand the needs of adult students. EXCELSIOR COLLEGE STRATEGIC PLAN FY16 FY20 9

10 2020 Strategic Area 5 SUSTAINABLE GROWTH AND REVENUE DIVERSIFICATION Sustainable enrollment growth will be enabled through a focus on student retention and early engagement of new students through the redesign of systems, staffing, training, and technology for learner support. Investment in student success, teaching and learning, and the learner experience will provide the agile and modern infrastructure necessary to compete in the new higher education landscape. The College will grow and diversify sources of revenue by building academic offerings designed to prepare students for careers in high-potential markets. Through the creation of relationships with partners (such as academic institutions, corporations, and others) and by offering a suite of career-focused academic offerings, Excelsior will be positioned to meet the needs of adult learners in an economy that demands new skills and just-in-time learning. The College will create lifelong relationships with learners supported by excellent service and innovative academic products that are focused on the unique needs of the adult learner. The College will reinvigorate the assessment model, capitalizing on its history and expertise, by developing assessments for new markets. Exploration of international opportunities will generate new students and partners. The College will secure external resources through expanded philanthropic campaigns to provide an additional source of funding for the strategic plan. 10 EXCELSIOR COLLEGE STRATEGIC PLAN FY16 FY20

11 GOALS 1. By the end of FY20, in health care academic programs enroll an additional 3,000 students who will earn 27,400 credits during that time. 2. By the end of FY20, in cybersecurity programs enroll an additional 1,540 students who will earn 13,200 credits during that time. 3. By the end of FY20, register an additional 3,125 students in noncredit Center for Professional Development courses. 4. By the end of FY20, the National Cybersecurity Institute (NCI) will be a self-sustaining institute and will register an additional 3,700 students in national cybersecurity noncredit training. 5. By the end of FY20, Educators Serving Educators will achieve a consistent, positive operating margin of 20 percent. 6. By the end of FY20, diversify the Center for Educational Measurement revenue stream by pursuing new market verticals for development of custom assessments, professional consulting, or component assessment services. 7. By the end of FY19, revenue from international students will be a minimum of $2.5 million for the fiscal year. 8. By end of FY19, income from annual gifts (toward the annual campaign as well as restricted funds) will reach or exceed $1 million. 9. Grants secured between FY15 and FY19 will reach or exceed $4 million, and grants funds managed will reach or exceed $3 million. 10. By the end of FY18, develop and implement staff training and leadership programs to attract and retain talent, and support succession planning. 11. By the end of FY20, provide support and infrastructure to implement career pathways with stackable credential models. EXCELSIOR COLLEGE STRATEGIC PLAN FY16 FY20 11

12 About Excelsior College Excelsior ( is a regionally accredited, nonprofit distance learning institution that focuses on removing obstacles to the educational goals of adult learners. Founded in 1971 and located in Albany, New York, Excelsior is a proven leader in the assessment and validation of knowledge. It offers more efficient and affordable access to degree completion through multiple avenues: its own online courses and college-level proficiency examinations, and the acceptance in transfer of credit from other colleges and universities as well as from recognized corporate and military training programs. Accreditation Excelsior College (and under its former name, Regents College) has been continuously accredited since 1977 by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, 3624 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, Middle States is an institutional accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). The associate, bachelor s, and master s degree programs in nursing at Excelsior College are accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing (ACEN), formerly the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC), 3343 Peachtree Road NE, Suite 850, Atlanta, GA 30326, The ACEN is a specialized accrediting agency for nursing recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). The bachelor s degree programs in electrical engineering technology and nuclear engineering technology are accredited by the Engineering Technology Accreditation Commission of ABET Inc. ABET is a specialized accrediting agency recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). Excelsior College has received specialized accreditation for its business programs through the International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education (IACBE), Strang Line Rd., Lenexa, KS The business programs in the following degrees are accredited by the IACBE: Bachelor of Science in Business with concentrations in: Finance General Accounting General Business Global Business Management of Human Resources Management of Information Systems Marketing Operations Management Risk Management and Insurance Master of Business Administration (MBA) with concentrations in: General Track (no concentration) Cybersecurity Management Health Care Management Human Performance Technology Human Resource Management Leadership Social Media Management Technology Management All the College s academic programs are registered (i.e., approved) by the New York State Education Department. 7 Columbia Circle, Albany, NY Phone: Toll Free: Fax: EXCELSIOR COLLEGE STRATEGIC PLAN FY16 FY20 SIE15-004