Launch Degree in Three, an accelerated program that allows students to attend classes during three academic years, including summers, to complete their B.A. This is a strong recruiting opportunity, serving student needs. The program was launched in the summer of 2023.
The curriculum in the Global Leadership certificate will be made available in different modalities.
Foreign Languages: SPA 103 is offered as an accelerated 6-credit summer course.
Summer Bridge and High School Pre-College Programming: These build a stronger academic foundation and provide a head start on college success.
Summer Camps: Implement STEM, WINS, Churchill Academy.
Creativity and Innovation Program: Leverage recent psychological research to target and recruit students with creative potential. This would also require the creation of an arts program to support and retain these students.
Expand Online Education: With special attention to new student pools and needs, research, develop, create, and deliver market appropriate online education. Added Accounting, Finance, and Global and Transnational Studies to the existing portfolio (Business, Psychology, and Organizational Leadership).
Graduate Degree Options: Study, plan for, accredit, and appropriate graduate degree programs for in-person and online modalities.
Consider Bachelor of Science degree options.
Evaluate and appropriately implement math pathways, whereby broader range of courses can satisfy the math requirement; extend/ scale corequisite model to other courses, as needed; provide additional foundational remediation support.
Evaluate and enhance curricular offerings with an analytics component and feasibility of an interdisciplinary data science program.
Maximize program capacity for in-demand curriculums (e.g., STEM, Business). Develop targeted recruitment strategies to bring in-demand curriculums to full capacity.
New Degree Programs Resulting From Market Research Analysis:
Actuarial Science: Develop an actuarial science program to meet current employment demand.
The rapid development of AI initiatives and the need for the incorporation of data analytics will be required in such new and present academic products and institutions.
Experiential Learning: Allow at least one activity per major, such as internships, co-ops, study abroad experiences, and research with faculty.
Curricular Partnerships: Purposefully, innovatively, and share students and courses under different agreements and membership in consortia.
Faculty Research Supported by Undergraduates: Undergraduates support and augment research.
Partner with corporations in Westminster’s target demographic regions as recruiters for our graduates in exchange for discounted tuition for their employees. The College has most recently formed such a partnership with ATS.
Support and market summer camps/institutes/workshops/“competitions,” such as “Summer in the Shade,” as a means of recruitment for more academically interested students.
Support for research and additional faculty for summer work. See Goal 1, Theme #3
Increase funding for faculty conferences and other types of professional development.
Create a fund for the professional development of faculty and staff working with online programs. Bring in guest speakers for workshops and seminars.
Build out communication flow further for admitted student population.
Target digital ads to the IP addresses of admitted students.
Provide Zoom attendance options for online students to attend campus events. Conduct a livestream commencement ceremony for online graduates.
Ensure that all student service units support online students appropriately.
Develop stronger partnerships with community colleges (MACC, STLCC, MCC, and others) for pipeline of students and perhaps offer courses on campus.
Expand our present Army ROTC program with Lincoln U and WWU.
Increase brand awareness in a 60-125 mile radius of the College.
Explore relationships with local businesses to offer educational opportunities to their employees.
Develop strategic partnerships to expand enrollment of the military/veteran market, focusing on online programs.
Create equity-in-internship opportunities by building a scholarship or stipend program so students without the financial resources have the means to participate.
Create a co-op program for the pre-professional programs.
Develop deeper relationships with mid-Missouri communities to help recruit employers to take on student interns (Chamber of Commerce, Callaway County Resource Network, Women’s Business Network, Rotary, etc.).
Create a corporate outreach initiative by which Westminster builds strong relationships with regionally and nationally recognized organizations.
Integrate internship stats, outcomes, and imagery into the Westminster College outward-facing marketing materials and website.
Continue to market ANCM in recruitment materials, including reengaging in exhibitions of ANCM collections. Make use of the Westminster and ANCM websites.
Officially include the ANCM tour for onboarding all new faculty and staff; make ANCM part of virtual tour for prospective students.
Include ANCM in the Welcome to Westminster Information Fair.
Inform prospective students of ANCM events.
Provide annual training for the Admissions staff in regards to ANCM.
Expand virtual offerings; continue to support livestreaming events.
Offer a Museum Studies major.
Include Churchill’s “Iron Curtain” speech as a required part of all students’ first year at Westminster: reading and discussion.
Work with faculty to include ANCM resources in appropriate courses.
Engage Student Life staff in recruiting activities, including welcome events, 1:1 meetings in tours, videos, mailers/ flyers to prospective students/parents; train Admissions counselors to promote out of-classroom experiences.
Add yield piece to all admitted students regarding our academic support services.
Create marketing materials that showcase accolades, important statistics, and alumni achievements.
Review and rewrite program and course objectives according to current in-demand skills for jobs in that discipline (pending academic review).
Involve faculty/staff in recruitment, including for Museum Studies and Natural Sciences.
Offer individualized sessions online or in person.
Share video update at the beginning of school year to all high school counselors in our database that speaks to the strategic plan and new academic programs, etc.
Utilize current students from feeder schools to reach out to their high school counselors to share their Westminster experience.
Connect current students with prospective students from contiguous states to enhance yield.
Identify viable markets for recruitment expansion (AR, IL, OK).
Connect alumni with prospective students from contiguous states to enhance yield.
Create enrollment pipeline for online students that is robust and serves the needs of our regional and national market.
Joined Acadeum, a course-sharing platform with hundreds of participant colleges and universities (completed). Westminster became a teaching institution in the consortium, with the possibility to generate revenue as Westminster’s online course offerings diversifies.
Increase enrollment in men’s/women’s wrestling. Capitalize on growth in student interest in wrestling and grow teams to full capacity.
Increase enrollment in track & field and cross country and grow teams to full capacity.
Increase enrollment in football and grow team to full capacity.
Added men’s volleyball.
Junior Varsity Sports Initiative: Increase enrollment in those intercollegiate sports that would benefit from a junior varsity experience.
What is our product, and does it fit future market needs and trends? Can we deliver and produce our product in a better/different way?
What factors are important to our constituents, and how do we improve their satisfaction?
What operational improvements do we need to be a high-functioning and cost-effective institution?
