Strategic Plan

PILLAR 1:  ACADEMIC AND CO-CURRICULAR EXCELLENCE

GOAL: South Dakota Mines is the premier STEM institution of choice for students seeking a challenging, engaging, relevant, and supportive academic experience where they are immersed in world-class learning opportunities and guided by talented and renowned faculty. 

• Objective 1.1: Offer distinctive academic programs that are responsive to industry needs and prepare graduates to solve global challenges and serve as leaders in an increasingly competitive interconnected world. 
• Objective 1.2: Invest in faculty through professional development opportunities to enhance their teaching, research, and service endeavors. 
• Objective 1.3: Offer co-curricular programming that promotes leadership development, civic engagement, global awareness, creative thinking, and innovative problem-solving. 

PILLAR 2:  CAMPUS CULTURE

GOAL: Strive to make our campus a place where students, faculty, and staff thrive in an inclusive, equitable, sustainable, and creative environment.

• Objective 2.1: Foster a safe, sustainable, and healthy environment.
• Objective 2.2: Promote a work-life balance that encompasses a universal commitment to institutional success and individual well-being. 
• Objective 2.3: Build a sense of community that cultivates collaboration, inclusion, and innovation. 
• Objective 2.4: Promote a culture of excellence and efficiency through flexible and transparent business processes.
• Objective 2.5: Ensure the campus community is well informed through open and transparent communications.

PILLAR 3:  PROMOTION AND ADVANCEMENT

GOAL: Increase awareness of the university by promoting achievements of our students, faculty, staff, and alumni, and develop an understanding of university needs by deepening relationships with alumni, industry, and government leaders.

• Objective 3.1: Develop a marketing and communications strategy among university, athletics, the Hardrock Club, and CARA to ensure that consistent information is shared and communicated in a manner that provides greatest impact.
• Objective 3.2: Increase awareness and recognition of student activities and achievements in academics, athletics, and co-curricular programs.
• Objective 3.3: Create stronger connections with community, industry, and state leaders to increase awareness of the university’s impact.
• Objective 3.4: Advance university support through alumni and industry engagement.
  

PILLAR 4:  ENROLLMENT AND SUCCESS

GOAL: Elevate awareness of South Dakota Mines as a premier STEM institution that provides a quality and affordable undergraduate and graduate education.

• Objective 4.1: Increase undergraduate student enrollment. 
• Objective 4.2: Engage all audiences regarding opportunities and support available to them. 
• Objective 4.3: Increase graduate student enrollment and promote graduate student success.
• Objective 4.4:  Increase student retention and graduation rates through Opportunity for All initiatives.
• Objective 4.5: Provide services and resources for post-graduate success.
  

PILLAR 5:  RESEARCH AND INNOVATION

GOAL: Promote an innovative and research-driven culture that discovers knowledge and creates wide-ranging partnerships that benefit society through economic growth.

• Objective 5.1: Obtain a Doctoral Research University Carnegie classification. 
• Objective 5.2: Expand the research enterprise. 
• Objective 5.3: Increase knowledge and skills in research development including proposal preparation.
• Objective 5.4: Increase the awareness and involvement of undergraduates in research.
• Objective 5.5: Develop state-of-the-art facilities and information technology that bolster the research, instructional, and communication needs of the campus community. 
• Objective 5.6: Reduce the administrative burden on grants to allow faculty to focus on research. 
• Objective 5.7: Encourage entrepreneurial pursuits related to intellectual property.

METRICS

Primary Measures of Success:

• Total student enrollment (Goal: 2,850 Headcount/2,350 FTE)
• Six-year graduation rate:
  • Undergraduate students (Goal: 65%)
  • PhD students (Goal: 80%)
• Retention rate: Freshmen to sophomore (Goal: 80%)
• Philanthropic support, annual (Goal: $25M) 
• Research expenditures, annual (Goal: $20M/year)
• Invention disclosures, annual (Goal: 15)
• Technology licenses, annual (Goal: 3)