2021 – 2025 Strategic Plan

The Gatton College of Business and Economics has launched its 2021 – 2025 Strategic Plan. It was approved by faculty in June 2021. The plan was created through a design thinking process, which included suggestions/feedback from a broad base of Gatton College constituents. From these ideas, the Strategic Planning Committee and college leadership developed our strategic initiatives. As part of a transparent process, Kaufman Hall interviewed multiple internal and external Gatton stakeholders to produce foundational research to aid the Committee in making decisions regarding priorities and future results.

Mission Statement

The Gatton College of Business and Economics prepares principled leaders for the global economy, produces impactful research, and elevates economic growth in Kentucky and beyond.

Legend:

Tactic/Activity
- KPI

Goal 1

Enhance the Learning Experience and Career Outcomes for All Students

Increase faculty size in line with enrollment growth.
- Improvement in faculty / student ratio
Bring cutting-edge research and training into the classroom at all levels.
- Number of course topics directly tied to faculty research
- Add research-related questions to student teacher course evaluations
- Increase # of credit-hours / courses taught by research-active faculty
Facilitate the incremental growth of in-demand masters programs through technology integration and faculty guidance.
- Increased enrollment in revenue generating programs
Promote and expand video production capabilities used for multimedia development.
- % increase in multi-media projects used in the College
- Evaluate usage of the media room
Bring teaching development opportunities to College faculty.
- Workshop attendance and faculty implementation of new pedagogies
- Creation of a College teaching resources Canvas course
- # of faculty presentations at brownbag teaching workshops

Increase scholarship funding to build a diverse and engaged student body.
- Evaluate enrollment patterns for targeted groups (URM, geographic diversity, first generation, academic excellence)
Increase marketing / recruiting resources in line with program growth and revenue opportunities.
- Evaluate expenditures relative to program growth
- Assess performance and ROI of new expenditures
Build, expand and manage department advisory boards to boost alumni engagement and informal recruiting channels as well as create connections between current undergraduate / grad students and alumni.
- Number of internships
- Post-graduation employment outcomes for participants
Implement and expand direct admissions program to attract high-performing students to undergraduate majors.
- Yield and retention data

Develop and support educational enrichment experiences that are off-campus, specifically in larger metropolitan areas and areas beyond Kentucky, that heighten our students' abilities to see themselves working / living in other areas of the US and world.
- Number of travel enrichment opportunities
- Number of internships, including micro-internships
- Level of student participation
- Post-graduation outcomes for participants
Re-evaluate and publicize the roadmap for studying abroad.
- Increase percentage of students going abroad annually
Expand VACE programs: entrepreneur’s bootcamp program, workshops, pitch events, and lunches.
- Applicant and participation measures
Expand undergraduate research opportunities such as Poverty Center or CBER interns as well as develop a Gatton Undergrad Research Scholars program for juniors.
- Participation and post-graduation success
- Impact of research on underserved communities
Create series of “life skills” mini courses to improve student success after completion of degree (e.g., budgeting, negotiating, retirement planning.)
- Participation in the mini courses
Expand post-graduation options, working with alumni networks to strengthen relationships and evaluating career service staffing to align with growth of graduate programs.
- Student outcomes
- Career service / student ratios
Expand high-return, discipline-specific experiential opportunities that support long-term career outcomes such as Wall Street Scholars, certificate programs, etc.
- Post-graduation placement and salaries
Grow enrollment in undergraduate Personal and Professional Development Courses (GPS Series).
- Sustained or increased enrollment after pilot year (AY 2020-2021)
- Improved career outcomes (% of graduates employed by graduation and three months post graduation, initial salary and signing bonus / additional benefits)
Develop and implement innovative advising practices to bridge classroom to career.
- Sustained or improved retention data
- Improved career outcomes (% of graduates employed by graduation and three months post graduation, initial salary and signing bonus / additional benefits)

Develop a standardized review process to provide feedback to inform instructors and department chairs of the quality of online course delivery.
- Course evaluation questions for online courses
- Review report for each instructor for each online course
Market and showcase exemplary courses developed by Gatton faculty for online teaching.
- Some form of presentation of courses (video, text, etc.)
Develop and implement a process to onboard new instructors, faculty adjuncts, teaching assistants and others teaching in the College.
- Formal outline of process / project outline including time schedule, instructional resources
- Evaluation done by instructors going through onboarding process

Goal 2

Enhance the research profile of the College

Attract, support, and retain scholars who produce rigorous, influential, and impactful research, including tenured faculty, visiting professors, postdocs, and advanced doctoral students.
- Number of citations
- Impact factor
- Faculty headcount by department
- Number of publications in premier journals
- Number of visiting scholars
Faculty integrate relevant research insights into the classroom.
- Increased number of top research publications and associated national visibility
- Number of course topics directly tied to faculty research
- Add research-related questions to student teacher course evaluations
- Increase number of credit-hours / courses taught by research-active faculty
Add research opportunities and funding for undergraduate / professional masters students and post-docs.
- Number of students engaged in research
- Number of new research courses and tracks
- Increase in doctoral student funding

Highlight the importance of impactful faculty research and academic excellence in programs and activities involving students, parents, employers, alumni, peer / aspirational institutions, and Kentucky's business community.
- Each department present research (3-4 minutes videos) to Graham Center staff, recruiting, public relations, etc.
- Number of research-related promotional videos, newsletters, presentations, employer-faculty gatherings, etc.
- Measure search engine optimization and Website engagement.
Faculty will engage more frequently with College stakeholders including alumni, employers and members of the community.
- Increase in faculty appearances / involvement in stakeholder events

Create more opportunities for faculty to share research interests / expertise both within and among departments.
- New shared research series, for example, “Faculty research interviews” (e.g. mgt. professor interviews accounting professor about her research)
Highlight research by increasing its visibility on multiple communication channels on campus.
- Estimated users reached
- # of QR codes scanned, etc.
- # of digital posters on Gatton TV monitors
- # of media hits directly related to identity, inclusion, and equity issues

Goal 3

Re-envision operations as the connective tissue between stakeholders

Centralize business activity for the College.
- Usable, scalable staffing model
Develop a staffing model for College administrative units based upon agreed metrics.
- Finish, communicate, and implement model
Clarify and document roles for business units in the College.
- More transparency
- Communicate roles along with staffing model
Create an onboarding program for administrative appointments and roles (ex: department chairs, program directors, and staff assistants) to ease the transition between appointments and staffing.
- Documented process
- Process implementation

Develop Intranet sites documenting policy, procedures, how-to’s, resources, etc. for each operations area.
- Creation of related Intranet sites
- Implementation of sites
Develop outward-facing sites for appropriate areas to provide information for those outside the College.
- Usage of web sites
Align College financial structure within the University system with our internal organizational structure.
- Transparency, accuracy, and ease of reporting
Develop a document retention model and system for College documentation.
- Retention of documents according to the official UK Document Retention Policy.

Develop the mission and vision of a College-wide Business Analytics Group focused on internal support (not an academic department).
- Fully staffed unit made up of existing and new staff
Develop a process to provide projections regarding strategic business activities in order to maximize revenue and the stakeholder experience (e.g., course enrollment projections).
- Projection results communicated with academic departments and Gatton administration
Central repository for data metrics related to students, academic programs, and College financials.
- Faster data dissemination

Provide career services to B&E staff.
- Outline of services offered by Graham Office of Career Management communicated to staff
Articulate and standardize professional development expectations and opportunities for staff.
- Participation rates
- Annual evaluation through employee performance evaluations
Analyze job duties and work arrangements for maximum staff efficiency and effectiveness.
- Efficiency of duties and use of space in Gatton building

Goal 4

Create an inclusive, diverse, and connected culture in the college

Expand bridge programs that focus on under-represented / first generation students.
- Consistently increase enrollment in the College through these programs
Increase fellowship and conference funding for under-represented minorities, women, and marginalized groups in the PhD programs.
- Number of URM who enter PhD programs
- Number of URM who successfully complete PhD programs
- Placement of the URM PhD students
Increase scholarship opportunities throughout the College allowing intentionality and selectivity around recruitment of diverse students.
- Increased scholarship funding
Events for and outreach to targeted prospective student groups to increase URM, women, international, and meritorious representation.
- Measured by yield and engagement
- Benchmark with comparable / competing business schools
- Increased numbers of international students
- Increased visual representation of diversity and inclusion in print and electronic materials

Incorporate international issues into classes to help students develop a global, multi-cultural mindset.
- Survey of students to measure impact
- Add international / multicultural related questions to student teacher course evaluations
Execute a climate survey to establish a benchmark for community and belonging and provide insight into action items that will be implemented.
- Conduct a follow-up climate survey to measure areas of success

Incorporate diversity and inclusion into staff professional development.
- Staff participation, retention, and progress toward a diverse workforce
Develop a hiring process that reduces the opportunity for unconscious bias.
- Progress toward University of Kentucky’s diversity personnel and hiring goals

Goal 5

Establish Mutually Beneficial, Lifelong Relationships with Alumni

Facilitate the presence of alumni / employers in classrooms, speaker series, mentorship program, and other events, with a focus on DE&I.
- Increased job / internships /and other post-graduate placements
- Increased alumni giving
- Increased student satisfaction with educational experience
- # of students/alumni participating in mentorship program
Expanding industry relationships / internships opportunities with a focus on: 1) increasing internship opportunities outside of KY, and 2) utilizing greater area expertise in career services for developing industry relationships and connecting students with employers / alumni.
- Increased employer pool / student placements inside and outside of KY

Formalize a mentorship program between alumni and students with a focus on DE&I, facilitating engagement between multiple key stakeholders.
- Analytics of platform to measure success of engagement
- Measure both quantitative and qualitative outcomes
Communicate engagement opportunities, including information about high performing students to our Gatton alumni via all the channels.
- Evaluate analytics for all channels (website should serve as a one-stop location for alumni)
- Number of hire / internship increases
Distinguished Lecture Series: Invite distinguished speakers from academic, politics, business to discuss pressing societal challenges.
- Engagement of University with wider community, yielding increased outreach visibility
- Donors to underwrite the series and other activities
Develop a podcast series that highlights successful Gatton alumni in the “Behind the Blue” podcast.
- Use analytics of platforms to measure success of engagement

Increase Gatton-specific events on- and off-site that are geared towards enabling our alumni to make more meaningful connections with one another at University events (e.g., UK Athletic events).
- Number of new contacts and relationships and the depth of connections
Rollout and promotion of the Gatton College app allowing higher connectivity to the College, UK and other alumni / faculty and staff.
- Assess app engagement measures (e.g., # and duration of interactions with the app)
Develop a database of alumni and key companies who hire within the region.
- Better and consistently targeted communication with alumni and employers
Establish additional departmental advisory boards.
- Board membership and participation
Expand the cultural impact of Gatton as a “Second Home” – the support and culture of Gatton can be important to all alumni.
- Increase relationships
Expand area alumni expertise in Graham Office of Career Management and Alumni Relations.
- Increase relationships
Encourage faculty engagement with alumni / employers through continuing education, advisory board membership and classroom events.
- Number of alumni engaged with faculty
- Number of alumni engaged in continuing education through Gatton
- Number of alumni engaged in classroom, extra-curricular activities

2021 – 2025 Strategic Plan

Mission Statement

Legend:

Goal 1

Theme 1: Deliver high quality education across a portfolio of academic offerings using traditional and innovative technology and pedagogy

Theme 2: Foster an engaged and dynamic student population by attracting a diverse and talented applicant pool

Theme 3: Improve student outcomes with expanded enrichment opportunities (both classroom and experiential) and enhanced and expanded employer relations

Theme 4: Further develop and implement strategies to provide support for online academic programs and instruction in the College and executive education

Goal 2

Theme 1: Increase research quality, visibility, and academic impact

Theme 2: Position research at the core of Gatton’s academic stakeholder ecosystem

Theme 3: Recognize and support the diversity of the College’s scholarly expertise

Goal 3

Theme 1: Review and clarify roles and responsibilities of Gatton Administration positions / areas in alignment with new organizational structures within the College to ensure the most efficient and effective division of responsibilities

Theme 2: Update and document College policies and procedures that streamline time and effort and increase transparency

Theme 3: Develop and staff a Business Analytics Group within the College to provide data for decision making in the College

Theme 4: Develop and promote talent management of College staff to further work-life balance and retention

Goal 4

Theme 1: Expand recruitment and scholarship initiatives to attract and enroll a more diverse student body

Theme 2: Foster a College environment that showcases and celebrates the inclusion of diverse backgrounds and ideas

Theme 3: Evaluate College policies and procedures to identify areas that need to be more inclusive

Goal 5

Theme 1: The College will create opportunities for Gatton alumni to engage with current students

Theme 2: The College will develop a communications plan to showcase high profile alumni and share information to external constituents

Theme 3: The College will provide opportunities for alumni to stay involved with the College and other alumni

Gatton College of Business and Economics

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