STRATEGIC PLAN THEME
Excellence in Every Experience
Elevating learning, belonging and the Lenoir-Rhyne experience
Excellence in Every Experience focuses on enhancing the quality, consistency and distinctiveness of the Lenoir-Rhyne experience for students, faculty and staff. This theme centers on student success, wellbeing and belonging as foundational to retention and long-term outcomes.
Goal
Increase first-to-second-year retention and second-to-third-year retention demonstrating sustained student connection, academic progress and belonging.
Priorities
PRIORITY 1:
A Distinctive, Mission-Aligned Undergraduate Experience
Create a scalable, distinctive, mission-aligned four-year student experience for all undergraduate students that will add meaning and value to an LR undergraduate degree and ensure students are career ready and equipped for life-long success.
Initiative
- Create four-year program plan by May 2026.
PRIORITY 2:
Facilities and Programming that Support Student Wellbeing
Create a Student Experience Plan to guide enhancements to facilities and programming that focuses on student wellbeing and vibrant campus life.
Initiatives
- Conduct campus housing study and create revised plans for housing inventory utilization and facilities upgrades.
- Develop renovation plan for Morgan Hall.
- Enhance graduate student support and engagement through improved services, communication and community-building initiatives.
PRIORITY 3:
A High-Touch, Personalized Lenoir-Rhyne Experience
Offer a high-touch, personalized Lenoir-Rhyne experience for students, faculty and staff offering a best-in-class experience for every person who sets foot on our campus.
Initiatives
- Strengthen the academic advising model to increase student engagement and reinforce student-faculty connections.
- Engage in training for all staff with a nationally renowned service-centered company.
Initiatives Implementation & Timeline
The following initiatives outline ownership and target timelines for advancing this theme. Implementation of these priorities and initiatives will support progress toward the university’s shared strategic goals.
- Priority
- Priority 1: Create a scalable, distinctive, mission-aligned four-year student experience for all undergraduate students that will add meaning and value to an LR undergraduate degree and ensure students are career ready and equipped for life-long success.
- Initiative
- a) Create four year program plan by May 2026
- Initiative Owner
- Harry Titus and Jennifer Burris
- Timeline
- Complete by May 2026
- Priority
- Priority 2: Create a Student Experience Plan to guide enhancements to facilities and programming that focuses on student wellbeing and vibrant campus life.
- Initiative
- a) Conduct Campus Housing Study and Create Revised Plans for Housing Inventory Utilization and Facilities Upgrades
- Initiative Owner
- Harry Titus and Jeremy Shreve
- Timeline
- Complete by March 2026
- Priority
- Priority 2: Create a Student Experience Plan to guide enhancements to facilities and programming that focuses on student wellbeing and vibrant campus life.
- Initiative
- b) Develop Renovation Plan for Morgan Hall
- Initiative Owner
- Harry Titus and Jeremy Shreve
- Timeline
- Complete plan by fall 2026
- Priority
- Priority 2: Create a Student Experience Plan to guide enhancements to facilities and programming that focuses on student wellbeing and vibrant campus life.
- Initiative
- c) Enhance Graduate Student Support and Engagement through improved services, communication, and community-building initiatives.
- Initiative Owner
- Harry Titus and Jennifer Burris
- Timeline
- Undertake work in 2026-27
- Priority
- Priority 3: Offer a high-touch, personalized Lenoir-Rhyne experience for students, faculty and staff offering a best-in-class experience for every person who sets foot on our campus.
- Initiative
- a) Strengthen the academic advising model to increase student engagement and reinforce student-faculty connections
- Initiative Owner
- Jennifer Burris
- Timeline
- Complete by fall 2027
- Priority
- Priority 3: Offer a high-touch, personalized Lenoir-Rhyne experience for students, faculty and staff offering a best-in-class experience for every person who sets foot on our campus.
- Initiative
- b) Engage in training for all employees with a nationally renowned service-centered company
- Initiative Owner
- Daron Montgomery
- Timeline
- Complete by fall 2026