Strategic Plan-2017

Goal 1 – UA Little Rock will prepare its students for success.

Objective 1
Increase recruitment of undergraduate and graduate students in all populations toward a goal of enrolling 15,000 students by fall 2022.

Strategy 1
Develop and implement aggressive initiatives to recruit and retain traditional, nontraditional, transfer, underrepresented, and online students.

Strategy 2
Develop and implement aggressive initiatives to recruit and retain international students.

Strategy 3
Develop and refine programs that encourage utilization of educational opportunities, such as distance learning, by active duty and veteran students, and nurture community among veteran students by offering resources that aid in military student success.

Objective 2
UA Little Rock will continue to develop and integrate innovation and technology into instruction to enhance the student learning experience.

Strategy 1
Provide students with education that is current with respect to course content, educational technology, experiential, and research opportunities.

Strategy 2
Provide an innovative curriculum that fosters student responsibility and resilience and provides tools for life-long learning.

Strategy 3
Implement processes for continually improving educational offerings and measuring their effectiveness.

Strategy 4
Create strategies and student-life resources to engage and assist non-traditional, transfer, and military students in achieving their educational goals.

Objective 3
UA Little Rock will ensure student success through excellent academic and co-curricular programs as measured by state, national, and internal measures.

Strategy 1
Implement a process for data-informed decision-making for continuous campus improvement.

Strategy 2
Implement effective procedures for advising, including declaration of major.

Strategy 3
Implement effective procedures for mentoring.

Objective 4
UA Little Rock will enhance opportunities to enrich learning beyond the classroom that lead to civic engagement and lifelong post-graduate success for students.

Strategy 1
Value and reward faculty working beyond the classroom with both undergraduate and graduate students.

Strategy 2
Increase the number of collaborative relationships between UA Little Rock and external organizations that create learning opportunities for the university’s students.

Strategy 3
Increase high-impact learning in academic programs, including increased opportunities to engage in creative activities with faculty.

Strategy 4
Expand and strengthen programs for high-achieving undergraduate students including expanding Honors programs and developing individualized opportunities for students with specific career or graduate school Objectives.

Strategy 5
Provide support for career readiness after graduation, including career counseling and opportunities for students to connect with professional exploration.

Objective 5
UA Little Rock will nurture a sense of campus community.

Strategy 1
Create and publicize student-centered events, gathering spaces, and campus traditions.

Strategy 2
Accelerate UA Little Rock’s brand trajectory by leveraging its athletic program to recruit and retain students, strengthen the image of the university, enhance community outreach, and nurture a sense of pride and community on campus.

Strategy 3
Enhance connections to the campus community through the use of digital technologies such as social media and mobile applications.

Strategy 4
Maintain a safe campus environment.

Strategy 5
Develop on-campus housing options to meet demand for emerging populations such as family housing.

Strategy 6
Work with community partners to develop student-centered amenities (such as dining, shopping, and entertainment) on the campus and in the University District.

Strategy 7
Enhance the student intramural program.

Strategy 8
Partner with relevant academic programs to create a UA Little Rock Child Care Center to support employees and students.


Goal 2 – UA Little Rock will strengthen and support the human resources and infrastructure necessary to fulfill its mission and vision.

Objective 1
 UA Little Rock will recruit, hire, support, and retain faculty and staff who are committed to student success, research, and diversity.

Strategy 1
Enhance merit-based processes for aligning faculty and staff salaries with salaries at peer institutions.

Strategy 2
Hire, support and develop faculty and staff with the demonstrated capacity to contribute to the achievement of the university’s research, teaching, and service mission in alignment with the 2007 Faculty Roles and Rewards report.

Strategy 3
Invest in professional development of faculty and staff.

Strategy 4
Design and implement recruitment and incentive processes to attract a diverse pool of candidates for faculty, staff, and administrative positions.

Strategy 5
Develop and institutionalize leadership and successor training.

Strategy 6
Improve retention of faculty, staff, and administrators from underrepresented groups through targeted mentoring programs.

Objective 2
UA Little Rock will utilize an integrated planning approach to maintaining and supporting high-quality educational experiences.

Strategy 1
Develop and implement an upgrade plan for classrooms, laboratories, and libraries.

Strategy 2
Systematically fund university-wide technical and data support infrastructure.

Objective 3
UA Little Rock will implement best practices in facilities management that foster a safe, functional, attractive, sustainable, and accessible campus environment.

Strategy 1
Develop a timeline and financing plan to address and prioritize the needs identified in assessment of deferred maintenance needs.

Strategy 2
Obtain LEED certification for all new capital projects.

Objective 4
UA Little Rock will improve the public’s perception of the university.

Strategy 1
Encourage brand uniformity across the university by making branding materials available for independent use by campus units.

Strategy 2
Assure timely update of web content throughout the university web pages to enhance the institution’s reputation and the recruitment and retention of students and employees.

Strategy 3
Communicate key accomplishments of UA Little Rock faculty, staff, students, and administrators widely to appropriate audiences in a timely manner.

Strategy 4
Promote UA Little Rock to the public as a safe, vibrant campus with engaging and relevant events, exhibits, and performances.

Objective 5
UA Little Rock will pursue the financial resources necessary to support its priorities.

Strategy 1
Redesign and refine administrative processes to increase efficiencies.

Strategy 2
Seek funds from all available sources including state and federal appropriations, tuition and fees, grants and contracts, and private support.


Goal 3 – UA Little Rock will encourage and support research and creative endeavors.

Objective 1
UA Little Rock will align research offices and policies with the university’s Carnegie classification as a doctoral research university.

Strategy 1
Support faculty in maintaining compliance with laws and regulations through the use of best practices.

Strategy 2
Support faculty in securing and administering external research funding.

Strategy 3
Support faculty in development and encourage commercialization and patenting of intellectual property.

Strategy 4
Enhance partnerships with UA for Medical Sciences and the National Center for Toxicological Research to support research initiatives.

Objective 2
UA Little Rock will improve institutional support for research and creative endeavors.

Strategy 1
Establish and implement a process by which priority initiatives, programs, centers, and institutes are supported, and their continued success evaluated, within the framework of the university’s commitment to economic and community development.

Strategy 2
Support the development of library and archival resources to facilitate scholarship.

Strategy 3
Continue and enhance an internal seed grant competition to fund strategically-chosen projects.

Strategy 4
Increase the number of graduate assistantships with tuition remission, competitive stipends and benefits.

Objective 3
UA Little Rock will support faculty in the pursuit of research and creative endeavors.

Strategy 1
Implement faculty workload policy in alignment with the university’s Carnegie classification as a doctoral research university.

Strategy 2
Increase professional development opportunities for faculty (such as Off-Campus Duty Assignments, assistance in grant writing, best practices in research methodologies, use of new technologies, and travel support).

Objective 4
UA Little Rock will support research and creative endeavors through the development of academic programs and units.

Strategy 1
Align appropriate academic programs with the university’s Carnegie classification as a doctoral research university.

Strategy 2
Align resources, policies, and personnel of the graduate school with the university’s Carnegie classification as a doctoral research university.


Goal 4 – UA Little Rock will serve as an active partner in the community.

Objective 1
UA Little Rock will work collaboratively with primary and secondary schools in the community to foster partnerships that enhance opportunities for students, especially to aid in graduating from high school prepared for post-secondary education (adapted from the 21st Century Declaration of the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities).

Strategy 1
Develop initiatives to provide cradle-to-career pathways for local area school children.

Strategy 2
Increase the role of UA Little Rock in improving the K-20 education in Arkansas by continuing to prepare highly qualified educational professionals (instructional and leadership), in particular where shortages exist.

Strategy 3
Partner with state agencies to inform state educational policy development and refinement.

Objective 2
UA Little Rock will respond to the needs of the community through targeted research, outreach, curricular and co-curricular initiatives to support economic development.

Strategy 1
Identify key areas for contribution to economic development based on periodic assessment of regional needs.

Strategy 2
Implement academic and non-academic programs to prepare students to contribute to economic development.

Strategy 3
Support regional and state economic development initiatives that align with the mission and strengths of UA Little Rock.

Strategy 4
Utilize enterprise units to better promote economic advancement and inform policy-making.

Objective 3
UA Little Rock will foster community enrichment through its research, outreach, and academic programs.

Strategy 1
Provide leadership for the University District Partnership to revitalize the neighborhoods and commercial areas near the UA Little Rock campus.

Strategy 2
Use the university’s strength in the arts and humanities to support the cultural offerings in central Arkansas.

Objective 4
UA Little Rock will work with area colleges and universities to build educational capital in Central Arkansas.

Strategy 1
Streamline processes to facilitate enrollment for transfer students.

Strategy 2
Create and refine articulation between academic programs at UA Little Rock and area colleges and universities.


Goal 5: – UA Little Rock will improve diversity, inclusion, equality, and global understanding in the campus community.

Objective 1
UA Little Rock will maintain and support its diverse student body.

Strategy 1
Assure appropriate and efficient allocation of funds for needs- based scholarships.

Strategy 2
Develop and implement a comprehensive recruitment and retention plan to increase the number of students from historically marginalized populations.

Strategy 3
Review, streamline, and increase awareness of procedures to report and respond to incidents of bias.

Objective 2
UA Little Rock will emphasize improvement in recruiting and retention of underrepresented faculty and staff throughout the institution, particularly in supervisory and managerial roles.

Strategy 1
Collect and assess data systematically on all protected class status individuals at the institution and make data accessible to stakeholders.

Strategy 2
Develop and provide access to regular updates of the institution’s affirmative action plan.

Objective 3
UA Little Rock will improve understanding of diversity and global understanding in the campus community.

Strategy 1
Continue the Diversity Council to lead the campus in planning related to diversity, inclusion, equality, and global understanding, and in launching diversity initiatives.

Strategy 2
Provide professional development and training opportunities on issues of inclusion, diversity and cultural competencies, including implicit bias training, for employees and students.

Strategy 3
Infuse content about diversity and cultural competence in ways appropriate to the respective disciplines throughout the curriculum.

Strategy 4
Enhance co-curricular programming that promotes diversity and global understanding.

Strategy 5
Increase student participation in international educational experiences.