In June 2023, CUNY unveiled its seven year strategic plan for 2023 – 2030, titled
“CUNY Lifting New York.”
The seven year plan contains four goals, each of which has several initiatives aiming to expand CUNY’s commitment to equity and diversity, increase enrollment, modernize the CUNY system, and bolster graduation and career outcomes.
“This strategic plan, the product of diligent reflection, assessment and consultation across the CUNY community, outlines our vision for evaluating and reimagining all aspects of our system so that we can leverage the rapid changes of the higher education landscape while continuing to reflect the ideals upon which CUNY was founded,” said CUNY Chancellor Félix V. Matos Rodriguez in a press release on June 28th, 2023.
In the summer of 2021, CUNY formed a steering committee, which, over the course of 18 months, met with more than 140 campus leaders and 2,000 community members, and reviewed strategic plans from more than 70 bodies across CUNY. From this, the steering committee identified six themes which CUNY incorporated into the four main goals of the strategic plan:
“Be a National Leader in Providing Access to Higher Education for Diverse Populations of Students.”
“Improve Our Ability to Exceed Predicted Student Outcomes and Eliminate Academic Equity Gaps With Innovative Curriculum and Support for Our World-class Staff and Faculty.”
“Advance Our Community Through Comprehensive Research, Engagement and Services.”
“Modernize the CUNY System.”
The first goal of the strategic plan consists of four initiatives that aim to expand the accessibility of higher education for diverse populations. The first initiative is to increase CUNY’s enrollment and retention by removing barriers for students and strengthening outreach. As a part of this initiative, CUNY has worked closely with the New York Department of Education (DOE) to connect with high school students and has engaged with adults who wish to continue education through the CUNY Reconnect program.
The other three initiatives include improving the transfer process for students, expanding infrastructure that supports online and asynchronous programs for students requiring flexible schedules and exposing students of color to graduate and professional programs in effort to increase economic mobility for students.
The second goal of CUNY’s 2023 – 2030 strategic plan contains four initiatives that are designed to eliminate academic equity gaps and adopt and bolster student outcomes.
CUNY will improve curriculums and programs by partnering with faculty and engaging with industry partners to see industry demand. To support staff, CUNY plans to bolster professional development by expanding mentorship and communication opportunities for career advancement. Then, CUNY will prepare students for the workforce by expanding access to career services, building relationships with employers and alumni so students can explore career pathways. To support students, CUNY strategizes to improve the campus student support with a focus on mental health issues, food, and housing insecurity. Also, reviewing practices for staff to achieve work-life balance.
The third goal within the strategic plan roadmap contains three initiatives that plan to stimulate engagement with alumni, industry partners, and expand CUNY’s public impact research. The first initiative intends to support the growth of research, scholarship, and creative programs, and the second initiative intends to create a pipeline for student recruitment with industry leaders. The last initiative within goal three is focused on alumni. As a part of this initiative, CUNY plans to create a centralized alumni database for alumni engagement to promote the entire university and market the CUNY as a brand.
The last goal within CUNY’s strategic plan consists of three initiatives to modernize the CUNY system.
As a part of this goal CUNY plans to update the campus and institution-wide technology systems to support academics and decision making processes. The initiative aims to invest and explore new budget and funding models to increase CUNY’s financial independence and stability. The final initiative of goal four aims to modernize CUNY facilities by investing in building maintenance, bringing facilities into a state of good repair, and prioritizing on-time project completion.
The roadmap states that, “The University’s historic mission continues to this day: provide a public first-rate education to all students, regardless of means or background.” All of the goals and initiatives within the strategic plan are a part of a vision to improve academic and economic CUNY’s students, staff and New York for the state as a whole.
More information on the CUNY Lifting NY 2023 – 2030 strategic plan can be found here.
