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Mission Statement

We empower individuals to learn deeply, grow confidently, and navigate change with purpose.

Vision Statement

Where curiosity enables every learner to impact the world.

Values

• Respect: Reflects how UCM builds a welcoming environment where each individual feels supported, included, and part of something larger than themselves.
• Well-being: Emphasizes creating an environment where people feel safe and healthy – being able to learn, work, and engage while supported in both their physical and
  mental well-being.
• Innovation: Reflects UCM’s ability to evolve, experiment, and adapt — remaining future-ready in teaching, programs, technology, and institutional practices.
• Service: Highlights UCM’s commitment to serving others — in the classroom, in the region, and in society — contributing and making a meaningful difference to others
  through action.
• Opportunity: Reflects how UCM opens doors — creating pathways, removing barriers, and supporting personal, academic, and professional success.
• Integrity: Represents upholding ethical behavior, honoring commitments, and creating trust in relationships and decisions.

Imperatives

 

1. Learner Access and Achievement: UCM ensures every learner who enrolls is supported, engaged, and able to progress from access to achievement – experiencing a clear sense of belonging, purpose, and success from entry through completion and beyond.
2. Applied Learning: UCM delivers applied, experiential, and workforce-aligned learning that prepares every learner to translate knowledge into action and succeed in meaningful careers, service, and leadership.
3. People and Culture: UCM cultivates a culture that invests in the growth,
   development, and well-being of staff, faculty, and learners — strengthening trust, collaboration, and shared responsibility across the university community.
4. Partnerships and Impact: UCM is a trusted anchor institution that strengthens regional, state, national, and global partnerships to expand opportunity, support economic development, and advance community prosperity.
5. Operational Innovation and Excellence: UCM embraces innovation and excellence in teaching, technology, physical plant, processes, and operations to create a modern university.
6. Institutional Identity: UCM advances a clear and compelling identity that elevates its visibility, demonstrates its transformative impact, and strengthens its competitive position regionally, nationally, and globally.

Opportunity Actions:

1. Deliver World-Class Academics and Learning Experiences: How UCM designs curriculum, instruction, and applied learning experiences that prepare learners for life, work, and leadership.
2. Design Learner Support and Engagement Systems: How UCM supports learners academically, socially, and personally from entry through completion and beyond.
3. Develop, Support, and Engage People: How UCM develops, supports, and engages faculty, staff, and learners to foster growth, trust, and shared responsibility.
4. Cultivate Strategic Partnerships and Organizational Relationships: How UCM collaborates with employers, communities, alumni, donors, and external partners to expand opportunity and impact.
5. Leverage Technology, Data, and Digital Resources: How UCM leverages technology, data, and analytics to enhance learning, work, decision-making, and innovation.
6. Align Operations, Policy, and Resources for Sustainable Growth: How UCM aligns policies, processes, structures, and investments to support strategic priorities and sustainability.
7. Communicate with Clarity, Purpose, and Impact: How UCM communicates its identity, impact, and successes to build visibility, trust, and advocacy.

Developed through a yearlong process with broad stakeholder input, the plan is intended to serve as a working document, with metrics, implementation and assessment continuing as units develop aligned initiatives. See the strategic plan timeline below.

 

Strategic Plan Timeline

Activities	Stakeholders Involved	Outcomes
Planning - Getting Started (April-May 2025)
Senior Leadership Meet w/SPC Chair & Facilitator	President, Provost and Vice President of Finance and Administration	Process Discussion and Preliminary Stakeholder Analysis
UCM 2031: Direction Setting - Establishing our "North Star" (May-June 2025)
President's Council: 1:1 Structured Interviews by SPC Members	President's Council	Feedback on Mission, Vision, Values, Imperatives and Opportunity Agenda
Stakeholder Engagement & Discovery (July-September 2025)
Stakeholder Feedback: Process and Data Collection by SPC members (surveys, interviews, focus groups)	Students, Faculty, Staff and External Stakeholders	Input on Mission, Vision, Values, Imperatives and Opportunity Agenda
Strategic Planning Work Session #1: Data Review & Preliminary Work (November 2025)
Facilitated Large-Scale Stakeholder Engagement Event	Mixed Stakeholder Representation (approx. 64 participants)	Input and Validation from Stakeholders on Mission, Vision, Values, Imperatives and Opportunity Agenda
Drafting the Elements & Framework of the Strategic Plan (December 2025-January 2026)
President's Council Feedback and Guidance on Strategic Plan	President's Council	First Draft of Strategic Plan with Focus on Revised Mission, Vision, Values, Imperatives and Opportunity Agenda with Metrics
Work Session #2: Validation of the Elements & Framework of the Strategic Plan (February 2026)
Facilitated Large-Scale Stakeholder Engagement Event	Mixed Stakeholder Representation (approx. 64 participants)	Final Draft of Strategic Plan with Focus on Revised Mission, Vision, Values, Imperatives and Opportunity Agenda with Metrics
Board Alignment & Awareness (April & May)
Present mission, vision and values to Board of Governors Conduct campus awareness campaign	Board of Governors Campus Community	Shared understanding and validation
Preparation and Strategic Planning Work Session #3  (May & June)
Facilitated Large-Scale Stakeholder Validation Finalize framework and KPIs Design Nuventive Updates	Mixed Stakeholder Representation (approx. 64 participants)	Final Review and Feedback on UCM Strategic Plan 2031
Approval & Leadership Activation (June)
Present to Board of Governors Launch leadership briefings Distribute planning tools	Board of Governors Campus Community	Institutional alignment and readiness
Unit-Level Planning (June, July & August)
Unit-Level Planning	All Individual Academic and Operating Units	Initiative generation across campus
Campus Re-Entry & Data and Systems Integration (August & September)
Campus update Configure Nuventive Map to strategic imperatives Continue academic planning and highlight early progress	Campus community	Sustained momentum of strategic plan Reporting system ready

 

 

Participation

Success at UCM is a shared endeavor. To ensure our strategic plan reflects the diverse perspectives of our global community, we prioritized broad participation across every stage of development. We celebrate the 1,600 students, faculty, staff, alumni and community membres who shared their vision through our 2025 survey, as well as the dozens of stakeholders and more than 65 workgroup members who contributed their expertise. This collaborative effort ensures our path forward is grounded in the lived experience and aspirations of those we serve.

 

Have Questions?

Contact our Strategic Plan Chair:

Ann McCoy

Vice Provost, Academic Programs & Graduate Studies

mccoy@ucmo.edu