The UNC Board of Governors Committee on Strategic Planning met Monday to discuss increased access, lowering the achievement gap and degree completion in the UNC system as part of their five-year plan.
The plan outlined by the committee focused on five themes: access, student success, affordability and efficiency, economic impact and community engagement, and excellent and diverse institutions. Each theme is composed of multiple draft goals, totaling 13.
Chairperson of the Board Louis Bissette said one of the committee’s main tasks during the meeting was to streamline the draft goals.
“I want as few as we possibly can," Bissette said. "Eight, nine goals that we can really work and really go to the legislature and say, 'You need to help us fund these.'”
The committee agreed to combine two component draft goals that focused on increasing timely degree completion and reducing achievement gaps.
Andrew Kelly, UNC-system senior vice president for strategy and policy, said the two goals were combined because the committee is looking to increase degree completion while specifically targeting students with an achievement gap between themselves and their peers.
Kelly said the reason for streamlining the goals is to give all UNC institutions a compatible framework for success.
“Let’s spell out the overarching goals and then let’s work with our constituent institutions that at the end of the day are the ones that have to do the work,” he said.
Craig Souza, vice chairperson for the committee, said at the meeting the plan must focus on goals affecting all UNC institutions, but must also recognize the plan will affect institutions in different ways.
