The University of Iowa

Strategic Plan Progress & Status, FY 2012

Click any of the four "pillars" or any of the three "foundational commitments" of the strategic plan (Renewing the Iowa Promise) below the graphic for some highlights of recent efforts and investments in that area.  Scroll down for additional details (including links to Provost Butler's presentation to the Board of Regents, State of Iowa), or to see highlights of progress in FY 2012.

Renewing the Iowa Promise

Progress Report

FY 2012 Highlights

  • Record enrollment
  • Retention and graduation rates close to record levels
  • Reaching out to Iowans: Iowa Scholars Award, admissions improvements
  • Graduate programs: 85% ranked top 30 among publics
  • Private gifts in support of student success: $150M (FY09 - FY12)
  • Private gifts in support of faculty excellence: $94M (FY09 - FY12)
  • Des Moines Pollock exhibit: 34,000 visitors
  • Degree completion programs with Iowa community college districts
  • Efficiency: 4 programs closed, SCH/FTE up 10.8%, e-transactions --> 1M
  • 2nd lowest resident undergraduate tuition in BIG 10

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Pillar #1: Student Success

Access and Enrollment Growth

  • Highest total enrollment ever (31,498)
  • Most diverse incoming class (16.2% minority)
  • Highest total percentage international students (11.4%)
  • Enhanced efforts to reach out to Iowans: Iowa Scholars Award, recruiting plan, admissions improvements
  • Military-friendly school (4th year); ICOVE grant

Affordability

  • Second lowest resident undergrad tuition in Big Ten

Improved Retention

  • Early intervention helping to improve retention
  • On Iowa! immersion program (2nd year)
  • Expanding no cost tutoring for students in critical “gateway courses”
  • Expanded supplemental instruction for at-risk students
  • Full implementation of ALEKs to ensure appropriate placement of students in math coursework
  • 1-year retention and 4- and 6-year graduation rates remain close to record levels set in last year

Increased Students’ Academic Engagement

  • Enhanced academic components to living-learning communities
  • TILE (Transform. Interact. Learn. Engage.) classrooms/learning commons spaces
  • Increased funding over past three years to Iowa Center for Research by Undergraduates (ICRU)
  • Experiential learning experiences abroad

Outcomes Assessment

Career Development

  • ePortfolio electronic résumé program

Student Success Initiative Funding

  • Competitive proposal process, $1M allocated to support student success initiatives

Grad/Prof Student Success

  • High quality programs: >85% in top 30 publics
  • 4 degree programs closed; additional programs realigned for efficiency and synergies
  • New programs: MFA Spanish Creative Writing, 5 new joint bachelor’s/graduate degree programs
  • Enhanced career advising/development programs

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Pillar #2: Knowledge and Practice

Invested in Faculty Cluster Hires

  • 5 active clusters, ~50 lines allocated, 30 hired

Enhanced Processes for Monitoring/Rewarding Faculty

  • Implementing new post-tenure review policy
  • Implementing UI Academic and Professional Record (central database of faculty activities)
  • Redesigned survey for biennial Faculty Activity Report

Sponsored funding for Research

  • Steady despite downturn in federal funding
  • Third-highest annual total ever ($438.1M)
     

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Pillar #3: New Frontiers in the Arts

Rebuilding the Arts Campus

  • Working together to move forward on building, renovation, mitigation
  • Aligning campaign priorities with arts campus needs

Academics

  • Strengthened partnership between School of Art & Art History and UI Museum of Art

Outreach

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Pillar #4: Better Futures for Iowans

Educating Iowa

  • Degree completion programs with 13/15 Iowa community colleges
  • New online BBA, BA in social work in Des Moines
  • Partnership with Herbert Hoover Presidential Library – summer institute for teachers, grades 5-12
  • 46% of enrollments in for-credit continuing education at Regent universities are in UI programs

Statewide Partners

Engaged Scholarship

Carnegie Community Engagement Classification

  • Individual identified to lead preparation of application, due 2014

Better Futures for Iowans Initiative Funding

  • Competitive proposal process, $1M allocated to support"better futures" initiatives

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Foundational Commitment: Inclusion and Internationalization

Student and Faculty Diversity

  • Record diversity of incoming class (16.2%)
  • Positive trends in faculty diversity
  • Women: 33.0% of TT faculty, 38.5% of total
  • Minorities: 19.4% of TT faculty, 19.3% of total

International Students

  • UI international students and their dependents contribute $83M to Iowa’s economy
  • State-wide, international students contribute more than $280M to Iowa’s economy

Study Abroad

  • Positive impact on retention and success
  • 2009-10: 912 undergraduates, 453 graduate/professional students (a record)
  • 2010-11: 907 undergraduate, 441 grad/prof

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Foundational Commitment: Sustainability

Operations

  • Energy conservation efforts include latest generation occupancy sensors, heat recovery systems in laboratories, HVAC upgrades
  • Proteus optimization program monitoring costs
  • Sort-free recycling program launched

Education and Research

Outreach

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Foundational Commitment: Collaboration, Enterprise, Innovation

Program Restructuring to Promote Efficiency

  • International Programs reorganized to promote efficiency and coordination across IP units

Instructional Productivity

  • FTE down, student credit hours (SCH) up
  • SCH/FTE up 10.8% since 2005

Institutional Cost Savings and Efficiencies

  • Sustainability efforts lead to efficiencies (e.g., energy conservation)
  • Paperless “e-transactions” growing toward one million per year
  • Lowest ratio of executive/administrative staff to total staff in the Big Ten

Inter-Institutional Cost Savings and Efficiencies

  • Financial aid systems changes for Iowa undergraduate students: proposal developed
  • Diversified investment pools for operating and intermediate investments: 3-year reassessment
  • Workers compensation decentralization to Regents
  • Joint project to advance course materials rentals and use of e-textbooks through university book stores
  • Additional business software projects for UNI developed through UI/UNI collaboration
  • Joint participation in STAR program sustainability of measurement
  • Alternative construction delivery
  • UI and ISU electronic system for student bus services

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