This 2020 Vision Mid-Cycle Report summarizes achievements made in strategic plan implementation. It holds NJIT accountable for the established targets and goals; it also reflects the university’s commitment to dynamic strategic planning by showing adjustments to the original 2020 Vision. Specifically, it offers updates on progress toward meeting Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and revisions in goals or strategies to address the emerging challenges confronting higher education.
In a world defined by revolutionary technology, a university like NJIT must be a path to every student’s professional success and an engine of economic growth. The success of local, regional and national economies increasingly depends on skilled professionals in the technological fields that are at the core of NJIT’s academic mission.
NJIT has transformed its profile over the past four decades, growing from a small engineering school into a doctoral research university, and this growth continues. Today, the university enrolls more than 11,400 students and spends over $140 million on basic and applied research annually. Over the next decade, NJIT will accelerate the pace of change. Our vision for the university in 2020 guides the development of students, the transformation of the curriculum, the growth of scholarly research, the fostering of a global community, and the appropriate investment in human, physical and technological resources. It charts a course that will move NJIT into the ranks of premier research institutions.
Of the objectives outlined in the strategic plan, five had the highest priority and we have realized significant progress in:
- Graduation—Achieving ambitious graduation rates for all students.
- Curricular Reform—Implementing a cutting-edge curriculum for educational success.
- Promoting Academic Scholarship—Supporting and facilitating faculty scholarly research.
- Faculty Renewal—Developing and retaining faculty committed to education and research.
- Global Community—Fostering international collaborations in a diverse academic setting.
The university has made major strides toward achieving many targets set in the KPIs. These accomplishments show the university’s commitment to change and improvement. The planning committee developing 2020 Vision did not select KPIs for the certainty of success. They were selected to challenge the university to excel. For this reason, amid numerous successes, some challenges remain. In these areas it will be incumbent on the university community to be innovative about tactics and focused on investments. In particular, the stability of university personnel means that promoting diversity will require a sustained effort over a longer period of time.
2020 Vision energized NJIT’s trajectory. The Strategic Priorities of the plan called for developing a student body of the best prepared and most ambitious, entrepreneurial young men and women. They see themselves as future leaders in their fields, prepared because they know that an NJIT education provides the knowledge they must have to succeed, as well as an understanding of the world’s complexity that equips them with the wisdom to be designers of a global society. The university will also be a local, regional, and national leader in economic development as it partners with government and industry and contributes directly to the knowledge-based society.
The original 2020 Vision emerged through an open, participatory process. In early December 2013, members of the NJIT community were invited, in the spirit of shared governance, to participate in the strategic planning process. More than 200 faculty, administrators, students, alumni and board members joined five committees and numerous subcommittees to design the objectives and strategies. Out of these committees emerged specific reports for five areas: students, learning, scholarly research, community, and investment. Ultimately, through rounds of comments and revisions at all levels, these reports became the final strategic plan.
As the NJIT community worked together to set the priorities for 2020 Vision, it has also worked collaboratively to achieve the goals set out in this plan. In fall 2015, the Provost charged the committees, including key administrators and faculty, with implementing the strategies and achieving the KPI targets associated with each priority. The plan has focused the activities of each committee and offered specific targets to assign accountability. The committees have been instrumental in coordinating investments, conducting rigorous assessment, and responding to new challenges for the university.