Stevens has declared an ambitious goal to become a national and global technology-centric educational magnet by 2023, according to the Stevens 2032 Strategic Plan released earlier this June. The Strategic Planning Steering Committee has led a 17-month-long process of creating a set of goals and core values to follow within the next decade to perform 10 years of great success. Following the 2032 plan, the goals have been engineered to follow the vision Inspired by Humanity, Powered by Technology.
As mentioned in the articulated plan, four strategic priorities within a batch of nine goals include enhancing the student’s experience and success, amplifying Stevens’ impact through research and innovation, elevating the academic reputation of Stevens, and strengthening and connecting the Stevens community. Each of these goals, along with the five others, are developed through a SMART-focused layout that comprises key initiatives and strategies that can directly be applied to a system of progression, like the doubling of research funds from $40M to $80M per year target.
The plan is bold but attainable. Stevens’ position can be modeled by four modules: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Starting with its strengths, the academic datasets show an increase in research awards and graduation rate, but also entail the accomplishments, which provide a strong foundation for Stevens to build upon in the future. Weaknesses must be assumed, as Stevens recognizes the limitation of their 55-acre campus, and the past incapacity to reach student satisfaction at its highest levels. Opportunities are taken for granted and the committee made sure to state them as mentioned by the example of the increasing demand for a technology-savvy workforce, and increasing acceptance of online education, both opening doors to a new virtual system of education. Threats are also mentioned in the plan, leading factors to unplanned misfiring if not taken seriously. These include the increased competitive pressures from peer schools, and the escalating cost of higher education closely related to post-COVID inflation rates.
Stevens aspires to track quantitative and qualitative performance on a regular basis, acknowledging the interconnection and interdependence between each of these goals, and will not sacrifice quality for quantity. Stevens’ committee also aspires to share the annual progress with the Stevens community on stevens.edu. This annual plan will be developed by the leadership team to execute smaller, annual targets, which are sent and revised by the Provost and Vice Presidents.
The plan states integrity, diversity, equity and inclusion, and sustainability as core values that members of the community should follow in order for each of the goals to be achieved. Each dean is responsible for the proactive implementation of academic goals related to the 2032 Strategic Plan on a department level, whereas each student is encouraged to put forth their best knowledge and performance which will inevitably lead to higher marks on a bigger scale at Stevens.
As declared by the Strategic Plan, each goal and its stakeholder is interdependent and woven together, guiding Stevens’ efforts to make the vision of 2032 an actual reality.
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