Our Goals, Initiatives and Metrics

Goal I: Foster scholarship, discovery and innovation

Scholarship, discovery and innovation are the heart of Illinois. We must attract and retain the intellectual, human power to make them happen. This is the future of the university — where it all starts for us.

Initiatives a) Align our resources and academic and research units to best capitalize on our scholarly synergies across the spectrum i. Rebuild the faculty through 500 hires over the next five to seven years, with an added focus on enhancing diversity ii. Determine how to organize the campus for excellence iii. Implement academic program reviews to ensure the viability, relevance and impact of units b) Strengthen the visibility and impact of the arts and the humanities i. Increase funding for the Humanities and Arts Scholar Support Programs by 50 percent ii. Convene a working group in the humanities iii. Convene a working group in the arts c) Develop stronger infrastructure to support scholarship and innovation i. Develop a faculty profile-sharing database ii. Create a clearinghouse of existing seed funding programs and identify specific gaps for new seed funding iii. Develop a research data service and accompanying research education initiative in the curation, use and dissemination of large amounts of data d) Intensify our international presence i. Develop strong educational and research partnerships with leading universities and research institutes, including establishing joint institutes ii. Engage with international companies to create research opportunities and foster philanthropic support iii. Increase international alumni outreach to increase financial and other support

Metrics Number of tenure system faculty (head count) Percentage of tenure system faculty from underrepresented groups Sponsored research expenditures Sponsored research expenditures per faculty member Total research and development expenditures Number of start-up companies Revenue from patents and licenses Number of corporations with active contracts Total number of active contracts with corporations Number of grants from private foundations Dollar value of grants from private foundations Number of invited performances/ exhibits in high-quality venues Number of editorial board members Number of major external awards Click here to see the data visualization for this goal.

Goal II: Provide transformative learning experiences

With a solid academic core, we move outward: to deliver on the fundamental promise of a public university, to teach students, and to pioneer the science and the art of learning. This is transformative knowledge — for the individuals and, collectively, for the world in which they will live and work.

Initiatives a) Re-envision and reshape the Illinois student experience i. Define a new set of institutional-level learning outcomes, appropriate for a university whose graduates will contribute to solving 21st century challenges of global and local significance ii. Ensure that every undergraduate program includes an integrative learning experience (capstone course, internship, service learning, research, study abroad, etc.), and make additional co-curricular integrative experiences broadly available to students iii. Enable undergraduate students to structure their education by using one of the grand societal challenges of Visioning Future Excellence as an integrating theme Support transformative learning by offering programs and initiatives that aspire to provide integrative co-curricular activities and student support services committed to helping students fulfill their academic promise b) Embrace and enhance the diversity, as defined by the diversity values statement, of our campus i. Enhance recruiting and adopt best practices for retention of faculty and staff from underrepresented groups ii. Implement recommendations from the Chancellor and Provost Faculty Advisory Council on Diversity and Cultural Understanding c) Enhance accessibility to undergraduate programs and increase diversity within these programs i. Create a single campus office to support teaching and learning in all modalities ii. Coordinate and systematize the many programs on campus that attract and support students from underrepresented groups d) Support and augment teaching excellence in all modalities i. Create a single campus office to support teaching and learning in all modalities ii. Invest $70 million to renovate classrooms, building learning spaces appropriate for the latest modes of teaching iii. Leverage technology to provide the best possible learning experience for Illinois students e) Integrate global perspectives within our learning environment and benefit from the international diversity of our students, faculty and staff i. Build international experiences that are integrated with undergraduate curricula, both logistically and intellectually ii. Help all students develop global awareness and cultural competency, through a combination of campuswide academic goals and student-life activities iii. Integrate the large number of international students and faculty with domestic students by creating structures to enable these interactions

Metrics Four-year graduation rate Six-year graduation rate Four-year graduation rate of underrepresented groups Six-year graduation rate of underrepresented groups Graduation rate for transfer students Freshman-to-sophomore retention rate Percentage of underrepresented students-undergraduate Percentage of underrepresented students-master?s Percentage of underrepresented students-professional Percentage of underrepresented academic professionals Percentage of underrepresented civil service staff Entering freshmen ACT/ SAT average composite scores Selectivity (accepted/applied) Freshman yield Average undergraduate terms to a degree Average doctoral terms to a degree Student placement Student-to-faculty ratio Instructional units per faculty Percentage of undergraduate students with a research experience Percentage of undergraduate students with an international experience Percentage of instructional units from online courses Undergraduate scholarship and grant dollars awarded: institutional and gift funds Percentage of courses taken online by students Percentage of students participating in leadership courses/experiences Click here to see the data visualization for this goal

Goal III: Make a significant and visible societal impact

When you combine the core of discovery with transformative learning and teaching, the outcomes are no longer measured simply in degrees or in citations. They are seen in how the world is changed for the better through contact with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Initiatives a) Develop our students to be future leaders with strong communication skills and who are engaged in their communities b) Create structures to better coordinate major research and outreach efforts around the societal challenges defined through the Visioning Future Excellence initiative i. Develop the Institute for Sustainability, Energy and the Environment ii. Develop the Interdisciplinary Health Science Institute iii. Explore the development of a new social science research institute c) Invest through cluster hires and other means in select areas that are linked to the themes that emerged from the Visioning Future Excellence initiative d) Educate the broader public, leveraging the research and innovation of the university (e.g., U. of I. Extension, Illinois Public Media, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, etc.) e) Develop and execute an integrated, coordinated and sustained marketing and communications effort to all stakeholders and influencers: students, alumni, parents and friends, businesses and government leaders f) Create a comprehensive public engagement strategy to maximize our impact both in the shaping of public policy and in effecting positive change in the quality of the lives of our stakeholders

Metrics National academies membership Total disclosures of inventions Media hits (NYT, Chicago Tribune) Percent of sponsored research expenditures from foundations and corporations Number of public engagement activities Number of individuals serving on foundation and corporate boards, federal and state advisory boards Student and alumni visibility (e.g., key awards and impacts on society) Alumni feedback survey results Click here to see the data visualization for this goal

Goal IV: Steward current resources and generate additional resources for
strategic investment

The groundwork we've laid over the past few years has prepared us to begin moving and organizing right now. Through careful stewarding of resources and with innovations in processes and efforts to find new efficiencies, we have built a capacity for reinvestment in key strategic actions. This is a capacity we will augment through our advancement efforts increasing our portfolio of grants and contracts by investing in the commercialization of our work and through a continual focus on recognizing efficiencies in resource development and through allocation.

Initiatives a) Develop a systematic effort to continually steward the resources of the university i. Continue to identify and implement resource conservation opportunities ii. Simplify processes to free up resources and enable faculty and staff to focus on their critical work b) Develop strategic and transparent allocations of resources i. Implement an enhanced Indirect Cost Recovery (ICR) policy that is fair and transparent and encourages faculty to conduct interdisciplinary research in the unit that is most appropriate ii. Implement an ongoing review process for nonacademic units c) Actively explore additional revenues through self-supporting, online and continuing education programs d) Allocate additional institutional resources to increase the amount and availability of student scholarships and other financial aid e) Enhance opportunities to generate external funding by providing grant proposal infrastructure for units that do not currently have access to such resources f) Compete more effectively for multidisciplinary large-scale proposals by creating a campuswide proposal development office to nurture and provide administrative support to faculty g) Foster an integrated approach to institutional advancement efforts i. Partner with the Alumni Association to develop a robust model for engaging alumni, parents and friends in the life of the campus ii. Strengthen the campus fundraising efforts to prepare for our fourth comprehensive campaign that will focus on soliciting support for programs and projects, endowed leaders and faculty, student support and facilities tied to our strategic vision of doubling permanent fundraising capacity

Metrics National academies membership Total tuition dollars Dollars generated from self-supported and cost-recovery academic programs Number of budget deficits Dollar value of budget deficits Private support (cash) Alumni giving participation rate (percentage) Number of new donors Number of major gift prospective donors under management Number of principal gifts ($5 million and above) Number of major gift proposals ($100,000 and above) Number of Chancellor Circle donors Dollar value of deferred maintenance Energy expenses Dollars invested in capital projects (nonauxiliary units) Click here to see the data visualization for this goal