Goal – Student Success and Student Experience
Goal Statement
EWU will reshape institutional practices to improve enrollment (recruitment and retention), promote student success, and close structural equity gaps.
Outcomes
- Annually increase first to second year retention rate by 1 percentage point, closing structural equity gaps for targeted student populations 1.5-3 percentage points, while growing new student enrollment by 0.5 percent and targeted student populations 1 percent.
- Annually, increase overall graduation rate by 0.5 percentage points while closing structural equity gaps for targeted populations 1 percentage point.
- By 2026-2027, develop a multi-dimensional model of well-being (e.g., financial well-being, academic well-being, etc.) that is integrated campus wide to improve the student positive mental health score as indicated in the Healthy Minds survey by 10% in five years.
- By 2028-2029, decrease the DFW (Drop, Fail, and Withdrawal) rates in courses with historically high DFW rates and reduce the DFW rates for all courses to less than 20%.
- Incorporate in experiential learning opportunities (including practicum, internships, research projects, community engagement) in undergraduate degree curriculum, by cataloging current opportunities by the end of 2024-25 with 100% of programs reaching experiential learning integration by 2028-29.
Goal – Belonging through Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
Goal Statement
Through the active engagement and continuous learning of students, faculty, staff, and administrators, as well as an unwavering commitment to equitable practices, Eastern Washington University will create an environment that fosters a sense of belonging, actively promotes and sustains equity, dismantles systemic barriers, and embraces the unique perspectives of all individuals.
Outcomes
- By 2025-2026, all university and academic policies, including those specific to individual units, will undergo an equity-minded audit to identify policies and practices contributing to inequitable outcomes for historically underrepresented students/faculty/staff.
- By 2027-2028, all academic and student support units will implement equity-minded accountability and assessment practices and an annual reporting instrument that includes measures such as the participation and/or success rates of students disaggregated by race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and gender.
- By 2026-2027, the number of students who participate in a university mentoring program or university support service will increase by 10% and participants will have a 10% greater outcome (measured by retention and graduation) than those who did not participate in a mentorship opportunity.
- By 2027-2028, 100% of faculty and staff will have participated in formal training opportunities to support their growth in culturally responsive teaching and learning support, emphasizing curricular and co-curricular learning spaces (e.g., Inclusive Teaching Academy).
- By 2027-2028, all of EWU will have an improved sense of belonging by improved student journey mapping, onboarding, and training experiences to include surveys of satisfaction and exit interview feedback to increase sense of belonging for all.
- Beginning in 2024, increase alumni engagement by 20% each year through various means of time (e.g., volunteerism on boards, etc.), talent (e.g., utilizing their profession), and treasures (e.g., giving), further, investing in an active alumni culture.
Goal – Investing in Our People and Places
Goal Statement
EWU fosters an equitable, sustainable and supportive physical and social environment that encourages the recruitment, retention and engagement of the EWU community.
Outcomes
- Increase retention of employees for all permanent EWU positions by 1 percentage point annually and targeted employees by 2.5 percentage points to reflect the EWU student population.
- Increase the recruitment of qualified applicants for all permanent EWU positions by 1% annually, and align employee demographics with the diversity of the EWU student population.
- By 2025-2026, EWU will develop a campus master plan, which will explicitly incorporate residence halls, and include a vision for both Cheney and Spokane locations.
- Overall campus Climate Survey score will increase by 10% in 2027-2028 and meet or exceed other peer and national institutions.
- By 2026-2027, 100% of staff will participate in a professional development opportunity annually
Goal – Regional Anchor / Regional Impact
Goal Statement
EWU will launch initiatives that focus on applied educational programming, interdisciplinary approaches, scholarly research, community engagement, and athletic excellence. EWU will position its graduates to fill workforce needs and as pivotal contributors to regional needs, equity, and social and economic mobility. EWU will make its campus a model of sustainability through aggressive decarbonization and other initiatives that involve students, faculty and staff.
Outcomes
- By the end of 2024-2025, EWU will finalize its decarbonization plan which will describe how the University will eliminate its greenhouse gas emissions and improve the University’s climate resilience. By the end of 2025-2026 the plan will be updated to describe how students, faculty and staff will be involved in plan development and implementation.
- By 2025-2026, EWU will develop a comprehensive brand and identity marketing plan that supports the future of the university.
- By 2025-2026, EWU will complete a comprehensive regional economic profile using data-driven analytics and use that profile to promote academic offerings that benefit our region in preparation for the development of an academic master plan.
- By 2026-2027, 25% of the faculty will participate in community engagement activities, increasing to 75% by 2028-2029.
- By 2026-2027, EWU will identify, prioritize, and fund at least one major sustainability focused initiative as it establishes itself as the regional sustainability leader.
- By 2026-2027, 75% of programs will have assessed alignment between program content, student learning outcomes, and regional skills needs; by 2029, 90% of programs will have completed such an assessment.
- By 2028-2029, EWU will develop a multi-year investment and change-management plan that coordinates major state and institutional infrastructure investments with the development of faculty, student, and community engagement programs.
