Eastern Oregon University > EOU Ascent 2029 Strategic Blueprint > Strategies & Goals

Strategies & Goals

The Ascent 2029: Strategies & Goals are focused on fostering an inclusive, supportive environment that empowers students and strengthens our Mission and role as Oregon’s Rural University. Our strategies include providing clear academic pathways, robust mentoring, and career-focused learning experiences to ensure students grow and succeed in the classroom and beyond. Cohort-based support systems and expanded work-study opportunities will help students build meaningful connections with faculty and staff. At the same time, holistic admissions and targeted strategies will drive recruitment and retention. Enhanced onboarding, recognition programs, and a culture of inclusive support will enrich the EOU experience for everyone in our community, and financial sustainability remains a key focus, supported by a transparent tuition model, operational efficiencies, and strategic partnerships.

Student Success

Strategies

  1. Develop Student Centered Pathways to Promote Student Success
  2. Develop a Robust Mentoring Program
  3. Develop One Stop Shop for Student Queries and Assistance
  4. Enhance Career Focused Learning in Curriculum and Extracurricular Experiences
  5. Increase Student Engagement

Goals

  • Create a roadmap for student success that supports their journey at multiple phases
  • Align university policies, practices, and teaching with best practices to support students
  • Support students through individualized and cohort based care
  • Establish meaningful relationships between students and their faculty, staff, and community
  • Create one-stop shop (online and on-campus) to provide guidance for student queries
  • Provide student centered support system with a customer service mindset
  • Increase students’ sense of purpose within curriculum with career focused planning and skill development
  • Increase belonging and purpose with increased work study, internships, service learning, and career/project based learning
  • Develop students’ self-efficacy to increase their success and engagement
  • Ensure online and on campus students have opportunities for engagement and assistance
  • Provide students with informative communication that enhances their educational journey and make opportunities clear

Enrollment

Strategies

  1. Refine Admissions Policies and Practices to be Holistic and Student Centered
  2. Enhance Recruitment Strategies
  3. Address Admitted to Matriculated Gap (Summer Melt and Stop Outs)
  4. Recruitment and Student Centered Website Redesign

Goals

  • Ensure admissions policies and practices support the experiences and provide pathways for students from diverse backgrounds including home schooled and rural backgrounds to EOU
  • Ensure student centered transfer opportunities exist that do not increase time or cost to degree
  • Reduce student cost of attendance by reviewing requirements that are onerous and difficult for students to fill
  • Increase direct admission programs for home schooled, high school & transfer undergraduate students
  • Create a direct admissions process for EOU undergraduates to graduate programs 
  • Increase student enrollment through student centered practices 
  • Develop new markets and intensify existing markets for recruitment 
  • Increase student enrollment through purpose driven communication
  • Create identification and belonging of student prior to starting courses
  • Increase student persistence through admission process
  • Provide engaging and informative student centered website experience to enhance recruitment and marketing of EOU
  • Generate a more seamless transition between online and on campus student website experience
  • Ensure essential/critical online resources are available to support student success.
  • Streamline website experience by moving EOU internal materials to intranet (in line with accreditation standards)

University Life and Welfare

Strategies

  1. Enhance Onboarding Experience and Professional Development Opportunities
  2. Enhance Employee Recognition Programming
  3. Foster a Culture of Civility and Support
  4. Leverage Branding to Strengthen Culture
  5. Improvement of Facilities Through Student Centered Focus

Goals

  • Build culture of support and belonging at EOU from moment of hire
  • Provide staging ground for employee growth and success through professional development opportunities
  • Recognize the contributions of employees through genuine appreciation and transparent measurements of success 
  • Foster a welcoming community for employees that highlights institutional and employee successes
  • Recognize the humanity of all members of campus, balancing compliance with empathy 
  • Foster a culture of civility where members of our community can disagree with each other respectfully
  • Create a collaborative spirit of mutual support and respect, enhancing shared governance processes and removing unnecessary silos
  • Recognize who EOU is and build tradition, collective culture, and pride in EOU.
  • Leveraging messaging that enhances EOU’s value proposition in attracting and retaining both students and talent.
  • Create inviting spaces centered on the student experience at EOU
  • Enliven the on campus student experience with accessible and attractive public spaces

Financial Sustainability

Strategies

  1. Develop an Academic Master Plan
  2. Develop a Tuition Model That Encourages Access, Promotes Persistence, and is Competitive
  3. Pursue Campus Efficiencies to Preserve Student Access
  4. Increase Partnerships and Donor Relationships

Goals

  • Develop community responsive academic programming that meets new student demand, understands demographic trends, and supports regional development
  • Create a mechanism to assess academic portfolio and programs
  • Create fiscally responsible academic programs with community partnerships
  • Preserve access to higher education, create tuition models that are transparent and financially manageable
  • Ensure EOU is competitive in a turbulent era of higher education
  • Ensure EOU resources are used efficiently and effectively supporting access and financial aid
  • Enhance financial aid and the Foundation’s delivery of aid to students to increase persistence
  • Reduce and monitor expenses to preserve student access to EOU 
  • Reduce time spent in operations that are not adding benefit
  • Deepen relationships with government, business, and nonprofit organizations to enhance enrollment and develop community responsive programming
  • Increase budgetary sustainability through partnerships and donor relations 
  • Develop staging ground for a successful and collaborative capital campaign