The College presents a roadmap to a bright and sustainable future.
Wilson’s new strategic plan is a robust, 21st-century roadmap to stability, sustainability, growth, and ongoing success. It incorporates our traditional goals, aspirations, and values and tailors them to the needs and requirements of today’s students.
“Our new vision speaks to what we have always known about Wilson: that we are a student-centered institution, focused on student success,” said Wilson President Wesley R. Fugate, Ph.D. “Our charge in the coming years is to be even more deliberate about ensuring that all students, no matter their background, have access to a great Wilson education and successfully earn
a degree that prepares them to make a difference in the world.”
Honor, discovery, inclusivity, community, and service have always been central to who we are as a college and a community and remain the beating heart of Wilson. The strategic plan identifies these core values as key to enhancing the student experience inside and outside the classroom and keeping the institution vital and relevant.
“We are capitalizing on the successes of the past to build a foundation for future success and sustainability,” said Joshua Legg, M.F.A., associate dean for academic affairs and M.F.A. program director. Wilson has always focused on providing a rigorous and personalized education. By reaffirming our commitment to student-centered education, we are going to provide the same exceptional education at an affordable price and customized for tomorrow’s students.
The plan is the product of collaboration across the entire Wilson community. Representatives from every constituency — administration, Trustees, faculty, staff, alums, and students — participated in the process and made it the far-sighted and complete roadmap it is.
“Between our Middle States self-study and this strategic planning process,” Legg said, “we have taken a deep, honest look at every aspect of the College, identifying areas where we have to improve and those where we have succeeded in meeting the students’ needs and expectations. This plan reflects those understandings in terms of both tone and the activities that the College will engage in these next few years.”
In the past, colleges developed ten-year or longer strategic plans. However, in today’s faster-paced and ever-changing world, strategic plans, like the institutions themselves, have to be more agile and adaptable to meet the evolving needs of students and employers. Our plan maps out the goals for the next five years. By meeting these goals, we will put the College on a stable footing and in position to take advantage of the demographic, technological, and academic changes taking place in higher education.
VISION
Creating possibilities.
Forging exceptional student success. Transforming lives.
MISSION
Wilson College empowers students to be confident and critical thinkers, creative visionaries, effective communicators, honorable leaders, and agents of justice.
STRATEGIC IMPERATIVES AND GOALS
I. A Transformative Student Experience
A. Examine academic programming to ensure Wilson meets the changing needs of students.
B. Bridge the student experience between curricular and co-curricular programming.
C. Evaluate the current advising model to ensure student success.
D. Assess institutional technology needs to plan for future innovations and efficiencies.
II. Achieving Optimal Enrollment Through Access, Affordability, and Retention
A. Evaluate the affordability of a Wilson education.
B. Strengthen the College’s integrated marketing plan to enhance student recruitment.
C. Design a multifaceted recruitment plan that positions the College for optimal growth.
D. Prioritize student success across all areas of the College through a comprehensive retention plan.
III. A Thriving and Inclusive Campus Community
A. Evaluate co-curricular programming to meet the evolving needs of students.
B. Forge a culture that supports the faculty and staff experience through a variety of practices including the review and development of competitive compensation strategies and College policies.
C. Advance diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout the College community.
D. Examine Wilson’s administrative structure to support the institution’s continued evolution and growth across undergraduate, graduate, and online programming.
IV. A Sustainable Financial Future
A. Evaluate the College’s financial position and identify pathways to ensure institutional longevity.
B. Explore partnerships that will make the College more effective and efficient.
C. Maintain an annually balanced budget.
D. Increase philanthropic support.
Values
Honor
Wilson upholds honesty and integrity as cornerstones of individual behavior — both public and private.
Discovery
Wilson believes inquiry leads to a deeper understanding of ourselves, our disciplines, and the world around us. We encourage the transformative exploration and risk-taking that produce personal and communal growth.
Inclusivity
Wilson cultivates a welcoming environment in which each individual or group is respected, supported, and valued. An inclusive climate embraces differences and offers respect in words and actions.
Community
Wilson thrives in a collaborative, relationship-centered culture where we support one another in the broad range of high-level learning and work activities that we endeavor to achieve.
Service
Wilson embraces its role as an intellectual and artistic center in the region by providing programming, institutional outreach, service learning, and volunteerism, preparing our students to be active contributors in their communities.
