Strategic Plan 2022-2025
Serving our Mission: Institutional Priorities
Our mission is fundamental to all that we do. In Regis College’s Strategic Plan 2022-2025, we want to carry out our mission in the best possible way––a way that allows Regis to shine as its best self.
Fortunately, we are not starting from scratch, as there are many initiatives already happening that will contribute and strengthen the planning process. But university initiatives and actions need to align, driven by institutional priorities. Strategic planning engagement offers a chance to discern and dream about potential opportunities, innovation, and investment driven by institutional priorities that will not only make Regis sustainable, but prosperous.
We want our community to practice equity in all that we do as well as carry in our hearts, minds, and actions our commitment to our values:
• love and service to the dear neighbor without distinction;
• gracious hospitality;
• peaceful resolution of conflict;
• care for all of God’s creation.
We desire to empower all community members through learning, growth, and professional development in ways that will contribute ultimately to strength in character and confidence to become agents of change for a better world.
We also need to respond to the ideals that are fundamental to our mission: inclusive excellence academic excellence, access, formation of the whole person, and responsiveness to the common good.
Finally, we always want to hold true to the heritage and legacy of social justice of our founders, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Boston. It is their legacy and charism of unifying love that propels our legacy in a very intentional and important way.
As we engage in community dialogue and consider ways we can truly shine, it is important to have a shared understanding of our institutional priorities that will provide the framework for discussions and decision-making in the strategic planning process. Our institutional priorities for the strategic plan are Equity, Investment and Innovation, and Empowerment.
The following provides a narrative for each institutional priority.
(Grounded in) EQUITY
The Sisters of St. Joseph of Boston have a long legacy of “serving the dear neighbor without distinction.” As an institution, we take pride in this legacy, understanding we are all God’s children loved equally and without condition. Equity, in its broadest sense refers to fairness, justice, and parity; equity moves beyond access to assessing outcomes. Equity mindedness requires race-consciousness and awareness of the social and historical context of exclusionary practices that disproportionately affect racially minoritized groups. Equity means recognizing that we do not all start from the same place and that we must acknowledge and redress the imbalances. The process is ongoing, requiring us to take responsibility to identify and remove intentional and unintentional barriers arising from bias or systemic structures. Regis is its best when we are intentional about being equity minded in all our practices and work, including, but not limited to:
• recruiting and retention practices;
• identifying and removing obstacles to success while maximizing potential;
• valuing differences in the community as an asset to the educational community;
• engaging in ongoing critical self-reflection of unconscious bias;
• reviewing of structures and policies that may favor one group over another;
• being an anti-racist institution.
(Driven by) INVESTMENT and INNOVATION
The landscape of higher education demands constant analysis, nimbleness, and the ability to pivot. Making the right decisions about where to direct our resources, finding niche markets to invest in, and creating innovative pathways and programs will not only sustain Regis, but allow our community to thrive and prosper. Regis shines when academic identity and mission align, when who we are within our community is articulated clearly and succinctly to our external community. Regis is its best self when we are forward thinking in our investment and innovation strategies, prioritizing:
• partnership development and stewardship;
• human capital and building capital investments;
• faculty support and development;
• innovative pedagogy and classroom technology;
• market-driven programmatic prospects and initiatives;
• data-driven decision making;
• relevant and compelling brand identity.
(Committed to) EMPOWERMENT
Empowerment is the manner in which an individual receives the necessary tools and authority to confidently succeed. Regis is its best self when all voices are heard, all identities are respected and valued. We are committed to each individual’s well-being, including their intellectual, emotional, spiritual, ethical, physical, and professional development. This commitment is evident in our tag line, “Better You, Better World.” We want our graduates to reach their full potential and when doing so, be confident in their abilities to work toward the common good. One of the best ways to contribute to the common good is to allow individuals to recognize their full potential and realize their human dignity. A vibrant university is a vibrant community when the culture and the environment offer all a sense of belonging, where diversity is championed and identities are celebrated by engaging in:
• inclusive excellence practices;
• formation of the whole person;
• professional development that includes the practices of cultural competence and cultural humility;
• a work climate that fosters work life balance, recognition, and appreciation;
• solidarity within and among us all, engaging in positive relationships with each other and the institution.
SOAR: A process tool rooted in appreciative Inquiry, designed to assess organizational strengths, and initiate change.
Description (from the American Society of Quality)
A strengths, opportunities, aspirations, results (SOAR) analysis is a strategic planning tool that focuses an organization on its current strengths and vision of the future for developing its strategic goals.
This tool differs from the commonly used SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis. SOAR engages all levels and functional areas of an organization, while SWOT is typically a top-down approach. With SOAR, the focus is on the organization and enhancing what is currently done well, rather than concentrating on perceived threats and/or weaknesses.
When conducting a SOAR analysis, the basic questions to be answered are:
1. What are our greatest strengths?
2. What are our best opportunities?
3. What is our preferred future?
4. What are the measurable results that will tell us we’ve achieved our vision of the future?
SOAR is about...
• Action
• Strength based
• Be the best (good to great)
• Innovation
• Engagement |
• Planning-implementation
• Results
• Plants seeds vs. pulling weeds
• Achieving the good vs. avoiding error |
SOAR Strengths: What makes us proud related to equity, innovation and investment, and empowerment?
• What makes us unique or sets us apart from the rest?
• What is our greatest achievement?
• How do we use our strengths to get results?
• How do our strengths fit in the demands of the market and our ability to respond?
SOAR Opportunities: How do we make sense of the opportunities in our environment around equity, innovation and investment, and empowerment?
• What are our stakeholders asking for?
• What are the top 3 opportunities to focus on?
• Who are our students and what do they need to succeed?
• How do we differentiate ourselves?
• What are some new market opportunities?
• Are new investments needed?
SOAR Aspirations: What do we care deeply about in terms of equity, innovation and investment, and empowerment?
• Who are we/ who should we become/ where should we go?
• Most compelling aspiration?
• What strategic initiative(s) would support our aspirations?
SOAR Results: How do we know we are succeeding on our aspirations for equity, innovation and investment, and empowerment?
• What do we need to create, provide, support to get the results we want?
• How do we measure success? 3-5 indicators for a score card?
• Resources needed to implement