Thiel 2021: Student Success

Even as Thiel College celebrates its 150-year history, the institution is looking to the future. Through the creative leadership of a Strategic Planning Committee (SPC), the College bridged the transition in presidential leadership and mapped out a plan for Thiel in 2021. The SPC members included trustees, faculty, staff, students and alumni. Across two academic years, the committee evaluated the risks and opportunities specific to Thiel and in the larger context of higher education and assessed the considerable accomplishments of the Thiel 2016 strategic plan and capital campaign.

In fall 2016, President Susan Traverso, Ph.D., tasked the SPC with a review of the College’s mission, identity and core values—a process that put student success and institutional vitality in the center of Thiel’s vision. In November, members of the Board of Trustees and other campus stakeholders reviewed a draft version of the plan, and subsequently the SPC incorporated goals and strategies from that consultative process. The revised plan was presented to the faculty meeting on January 31, 2017, and faculty offered a strong vote of endorsement. On February 3, 2017, the Board of Trustees were engaged in an extended review of the proposed strategic plan and approved Thiel 2021: Student Success, displayed below, unanimously.

Thiel 2021: Student Success advances a vision of Thiel College as an inclusive learning environment where every student has the potential to succeed and where rich curricular and co-curricular opportunities prepare students for careers and lives of meaning and purpose. It is a vision of enhanced institutional confidence embracing the powerful influence that the College can have on students’ lives.

The plan focuses on three strategic goals related to the mission and vision statements. These goals, accomplished collaboratively, will advance student success and institutional vitality:

Goal I: Inclusive Learning Environment

Create an inclusive learning environment where students succeed through innovative academic programs, rich experiential learning opportunities, and dynamic co-curricular and athletic programs.

Goal II: Motivated Students

Enroll 1,100 students from a wide-range of backgrounds, motivated to succeed in college.

Goal III: Resources

Increase and strengthen resources through effective leadership, faculty, and staff development, financial management, fundraising, and partnerships.

These three interdependent goals will foster collaborative endeavors by College stakeholders.