Jayhawk Statue

Strategic Plan

Jayhawks Rising is the KU Lawrence and Edwards strategic plan. The three mission-based institutional priorities for Jayhawks Rising are Research & Discovery, Healthy & Vibrant Communities, and Student Success. Within this strategic plan, the School of Professional Studies has the following strategic priorities:

Research & Discovery

Engaged Research 

  • Develop and execute an applied research plan aligned with the SPS mission and vision to advance faculty research opportunities.    
    • Develop guidelines to align research projects with the SPS mission and vision. 
    • Enhance frameworks, resources, and mentorship to pursue applied research. 
    • Provide grant writing assistance and administrative support for external funding opportunities.
  • Encourage and facilitate student research. 
    • Develop guidelines to align student research projects with the SPS mission and vision.  
    • Provide opportunities to disseminate and promote student research.
    • Propose and establish departmental honors for undergraduate students in SPS. 
  • Enhance the exchange of research knowledge with local, regional, and national entities.
    • Develop joint initiatives with community, industry, and governmental partners to translate research into practice. 
    • Support collaborative grant-based research initiatives with community and industry partners.
    • Promote open access publishing and scholarship.  

Innovative Teaching

  • Promote student engagement and academic excellence by supporting the development of innovative programs and continuously updating curricula to meet evolving industry and student needs.
    • Work with OneKU entities to develop and promote experiential learning opportunities for students in SPS undergraduate programs.
    • Facilitate participation of SPS faculty in industry collaboration opportunities to explore new developments and knowledge sharing.
    • Develop innovative programming to meet workforce needs beyond traditional offerings in higher education. 
  • Engage with OneKU partners to adopt and share best practices.
    • Foster participation on OneKU committees to develop relationships, learn about best practices across campuses, and identify collaboration opportunities.
    • Promote engagement in workshops offered by OneKU entities to learn and share best practices in teaching pedagogy with faculty in other units across the campuses.
    • Facilitate SPS administrator and program director engagement in opportunities offered to academic leadership across OneKU.
  • Enhance dissemination of pedagogical research through faculty publications, conference presentations, and social media.
    • Establish opportunities in SPS and the Edwards Campus for teaching professors and other faculty to share their pedagogical research.
    • Encourage SPS faculty to share pedagogical innovations through presentations across OneKU entities. 
    • Promote the external dissemination of innovative teaching best practices by the Edwards Campus and SPS faculty.

Healthy and Vibrant Communities 

Stewardship

  • Develop and implement a financial plan that aligns with the needs of the Edwards Campus and SPS in the context of OneKU. 
    • Develop and implement a three-year financial plan to advance Edwards Campus and SPS budget priorities.
    • Implement a robust annual budget preparation process to support academic, administrative, emergency, community, and facility needs.
    • Develop a mid-year budget review process that allows for the reallocation of funds to support new administrative, student, or community priorities.
  • Enhance emergency training and safety.
    • Collaborate with OneKU Emergency Management to create and implement a comprehensive emergency training schedule and communication plan.
    • Establish and operationalize an emergency team to serve as a resource for emergency preparedness and response across campus. 
  • Leverage Edwards Campus infrastructure improvements, including building and landscape enhancements, to facilitate partnerships across OneKU and create dedicated space for collaborative academic initiatives.
    • Conduct assessments of the campus infrastructure to inform priority enhancements to be addressed in a five-year facilities budget plan. 
    • Engage students, staff, faculty, and external partners in designing and using collaborative spaces to support cross-unit academic initiatives and partnerships. 
    • Complete Jayhawk Central development to expand options for students and Johnson County residents to enhance campus life and community engagement.

Community Engagement 

  • Foster Edwards Campus as a vibrant integration hub.
    • Develop and implement KUEC community-building programming.
    • Advance the Edwards Exchange as a platform for communication, ideation, and coordination of community-building events.
    • Evaluate and align staff and faculty work assignments and locations to foster an interdisciplinary community of learners.
  • Strengthen strategic partnerships across OneKU
    • Create a OneKU internal task force to plan for the future of the Edwards Campus.
    • Enhance the Edwards and SPS community engagement strategy to complement OneKU initiatives.
    • Collaborate with OneKU entities to provide civic and cultural engagement opportunities for students, staff, faculty, and KC Metro residents.
  • Enhance our regional community presence. 
    • Raise awareness of the Edwards Campus and SPS across the region.
    • Expand academic events, involving students, staff, and faculty, that showcase OneKU research and innovation. 
    • Revise board governance structures to support community engagement in campus-level leadership initiatives.  

Student Success

Student Lifecycle 

  • Enhance the quality of the student experience to strengthen recruitment efforts, improve graduation rates, and support career readiness for undergraduate programs at the Edwards Campus, the Lawrence Campus, and online. 
    • Partner with Transfer Affairs to establish articulation agreements and Community College MOUs. 
    • Engage Jayhawk Academic Advising to promote undergraduate programs across OneKU. 
    • Enhance critical recruitment opportunities, including the student advisory board, community college advisor events, and more. 
    • Map an annual calendar of robust undergraduate student experiences for in-person (Lawrence and Edwards) and online programs in support of retention and graduation.  
  • Strengthen the quality of the in-person and online student experiences to enhance recruitment efforts, improve graduation rates, and support career readiness for graduate programs. 
    • Partner with Graduate Enrollment Management to establish robust recruitment strategies focused on working professionals. 
    • Map an annual calendar of robust graduate student experiences for in-person and online graduate programs (both course-based and CBE) in support of retention and graduation. 
    • Establish academic support documents (e.g., degree plans and handbooks) for all graduate degree programs. 
  • Secure targeted funding to enhance financial aid, expand support services, and improve student success outcomes. 
    • Expand SPS access through scholarships and tuition assistance.

Academic Programs 

  • Provide comprehensive academic program support and quality assurance across all delivery methods and locations.
    • Ensure HLC accreditation compliance within SPS and continuous programmatic accreditation compliance with program-level accreditors.
    • Provide support to ensure high levels of SPS program quality through collaboration with the OneKU entities.
    • Develop and scale SPS support on the Lawrence Campus for faculty, staff, and students related to our Lawrence-based programs, including offices, classrooms, marketing materials, and open office hours.
  • Conduct ongoing evaluations of program portfolio to ensure alignment with evolving student interests, workforce demands, industry innovation, and regional economic development objectives.
    • Continually review market opportunities to launch new programs in SPS that align with our mission.
    • Annually assess the impact of the SPS academic program portfolio and adjust appropriately.
    • Develop and implement a robust graduating student and alumni survey to obtain program feedback and career status. 
  • Strengthen advisory boards for all academic programs by increasing industry and non-profit engagement, ensuring curricular relevance, and fostering partnerships that support student success and employment outcomes. 
    • Strengthen the KUEC Workforce Development Advisory Board through periodic review of membership to ensure all programs have representation.
    • Ensure every program within SPS is part of an advisory board established that meets at least twice per academic year. 
    • Advance OneKU partnerships to support the career readiness of students and alumni.