Vision for Student Success
Building on the successes of its previous Plan, Connecting to Tomorrow: Vision, Creativity, Adaptability, Montclair State University will found its new Plan on three guiding “Pillars” or themes, each pointing toward and promoting student success at every level of the institution: Fostering Student Transformation; Growing Through Diversity and Access; Discovery and Application of Knowledge.
Student success will be supported by the interconnections and interactions of these three pillars. These drivers of effort will help us to focus our attention, commit resources, develop strategies and tactics to achieve preferred outcomes, and measure evidence of our successes. They inform and call out the priorities for resource allocation and decision-making to 2025.
Championing Student Success
Over all the Pillars, strategies and success measures of our Plan hovers the single unifying intention: student success, defined both within the Montclair State University experience and following graduation in their diverse and multiple careers. Numerous studies (such as the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce Reports), that continue to confirm the lifetime income value of degrees and the still-growing burdens of student debt in achieving those degrees, urge graduation as soon as possible. This Plan assumes both of those realities for contemporary students and proposes to prioritize University strategies and resources most effectively and efficiently to deliver the highest quality degrees at the maximum value. Montclair State is justly proud of its proven ability to deliver the highest quality education at a price that is among the most affordable in the region.
This Plan will sustain and strengthen that value proposition by enhancing even further the quality of the student experience and learning outcomes, by increasing revenue generation from diverse sources, and by positioning Montclair State University as an institution of choice for talented students from New Jersey and beyond.
In light of the growth in academic programs, facilities, research and enrollments under the previous Plan, the University will focus its resources to support student success in a future characterized by mobility and change. Through synchronization of our human resources and expanded data systems, we will both motivate student intellectual development and catch at-risk students before they fail, enabling us fully to live up to the hallmark “small college” feel that has made this large University the institution of choice for generations of New Jersey families. A personalized and individualized approach will be extended to non-traditional students through degree-completion programs, new graduate programs, and multi-modal instructional models, to bring Montclair State’s total population to 25,000 students by 2025, contributing meaningfully to the skilled workforce demands of New Jersey and beyond. And finally, our dedication to our graduates will be life-long, supporting them with career services, networking and continued learning opportunities throughout their careers, and making Montclair State University their permanent partner for success.
