School of Nursing Strategic Plan

We embrace and celebrate both what is common and unique. We build thriving communities that value diversity of thought and expression while encouraging personal and collective growth.

We value what all members of the community bring to the table. Through collaborative teamwork that spans disciplines, we foster the skills and mindset to seamlessly integrate with diverse teams to impact education, the profession, and healthcare.

We develop respectful relationships focusing on the mind, body, and spirit where we live, work, and play. We prioritize empathy and acceptance of self and others as we strive to relieve suffering within our communities.

We go beyond the boundaries of what is known, inspiring discoveries, fostering creativity, and embracing new possibilities. We open doors to new perspectives, enriching our understanding and empowering us to learn, grow, and innovate.

We uphold integrity as the cornerstone of our actions, ensuring honesty, transparency, and accountability in all endeavors. We embody professionalism through competence, respect, and ethical conduct, fostering trust and loyalty within our communities.

Today's healthcare environment is rapidly changing, including advances in technology (think artificial intelligence for one), new delivery and financing models, and continued concerns related to health equity. Additionally, all of our programs, from baccalaureate to doctorate, must be re-envisioned to meet our new competency-based accreditation standards (as of January 1, 2025). Our charge in the coming years is to build our programs that provide students with durable and transferable personal and professional skills that will make them successful, meeting the demands of diverse healthcare workplaces and patient populations in an effort to improve the health of all populations they will serve.

A career in nursing is challenging given today's healthcare environments. We want to ensure our graduates are prepared with not only their essential professional skills, but that they have skills in critical conversations, advocacy (for patients and for themselves), collaboration, and innovation to ensure longevity in their nursing careers. We also want to ensure they have a seamless transition to practice, something our clinical partners have been advocating for but that nursing education in general has failed to deliver. Our focus on student success will allow our students to build a robust professional nursing identity and will make them highly sought after graduates.

To have a successful strategic plan, it is critical that the School of Nursing build culture of belonging, where faculty, staff, and students are able to learn and work in a diverse, collaborative, collegial environment. The goal for all is growth, development, and success, where we all come together through critical dialogue to arrive at innovative solutions that ensure that all remain key stakeholders in the School of Nursing's future success. Diverse ideas are valued. Work/life/school balance is honored. Kindness leads. Lifelong learning is supported.

The attainment of and strategic use of sustainable resources are essential for the success of the School of Nursing's strategic plan. This includes the all-important 3 T's: talent, time, and treasure. The talent of our faculty and staff, our students, our alumni, and our clinical and community partners are second to none, and the commitment of all these stakeholders will allow for the innovative growth that will fuel our long-term success. With the right talent in place, we can ensure that everyone's time is not only valued but used in creative ways that allow them to flourish in their areas of expertise, while also allowing time for individual growth and opportunities for advancement. Finally, building our "treasure chest" will allow us to make education more affordable for our students while providing us with the necessary resources to build innovative programs and conduct 21st-century research and scholarship to advance nursing education, the nursing profession, and the health of our communities.