Pathways to Greatness - Executive Summary

Pathways to Greatness - Honoring our Past, Creating Our Future - is a fitting description for the University of the Virgin Islands new strategic plan that spans the period 2012 to 2017. The plan is developed on the premise that the University is on a journey to greatness - and that it remains committed to providing the best quality education and experience for its students, faculty, staff, administrators, and patrons.

UVI anticipates a future of growth as seen through the lenses of six areas of focus: academic quality and excellence; student development and success; community engagement and globalization; modern and safe university environment; organizational and human development; and financial sustainability and growth. All of these areas represent the collective input of students, faculty, staff, administrators, alumni, board of trustees, and the Virgin Islands community within the context of a collaborative approach to strategic planning.

Pathways to Greatness is aspirational in its outlook. It honors UVI's past and charts a future where students perform at their best, faculty engage in a resurgence of scholarship and pedagogy, staff and administrators raise the bar of excellence in organizational effectiveness, and where institutional boards engage in philanthropic activities. It fosters an entrepreneurial spirit, engenders values and respect for humankind and the environment, promotes scholarship and inquiry into the annals of knowledge and information, demonstrates concern for the well-being of students and employees, addresses the civic needs of our communities, and encourages people to cross bridges of uncertainty and realize their dreams.

The plan is general, yet specific. It envisions a transformational return on investment that includes improved quality and excellence of programs; enhanced opportunities for student development, learning, and success; improved faculty and staff development and compensation; increased evidence of institutional effectiveness and assessment; increased opportunities for research and scholarship; and a renewed emphasis on philanthropy and entrepreneurial activities. Pathways to Greatness outlines a success model that highlights the institution's mission, vision, core values, and management values that culminate in an overall strategic integrative goal to become a cornerstone of academic excellence, operational effectiveness, and economic stimuli for the Virgin Islands and the wider Caribbean.

Pathways to Greatness gives an overview of who we are, the magnitude of the University's economic impact on the Territory, and the history and legacy of the institution. It speaks to new realities and opportunities including major challenges and current opportunities. The plan is built on a platform of planning assumptions that projects the economic, social, technological, demographics, competition, and political/legal landscape of the future. The plan is visionary in addition to being operational. It outlines specific details on performance goals, measurable objectives, strategic actions, start date, resources/costs and University lead person responsible for fulfilling each goal. Some of these approaches are outlined in the table below.

UVI is positioned at the crossroads of a dynamic future to increase its relevance to society and help chart the destiny of the Territory. It proposes to fund the plan through regular submissions to the University Budget Committee, projected increases in enrollment, the reallocation of resources, and concentrated effort on philanthropy and planned giving. The University is committed to the task of fulfilling this ambitious yet achievable plan in the interest of its students and an improved Virgin Islands.