Strategic Plan

OUR MISSION

Together, we drive discovery, create opportunity and empower individuals to lead the future of business.

We are Nebraska Business.

Guiding Principles

CHALLENGE
YOURSELF

BE
INCLUSIVE

ASK BOLD
QUESTIONS

LOOK TO
THE FUTURE

MAKE IT
MATTER

Mission-Focused Goals

To fully realize the promise of our mission, we must promote research and discovery, facilitate learning and transformation, and foster connection and engagement. Each of these goals is critical to our success, and the strategies are the means by which we will achieve the goals and achieve our mission.

Research + Discovery

Promote research and discovery, by supporting a dedicated and energetic community of scholars continually striving for research excellence and fostering a place of ongoing personal discovery.

Nebraska Business is a dedicated and energetic community of scholars continually striving for research excellence. Our faculty and doctoral students produce innovative research that expands knowledge in the disciplines and influences professional practice. The College is also a place of ongoing personal discovery and strengths-based development for every member of the Nebraska Business community. To promote research and discovery we will:

Strengthen the research reputation of Nebraska Business by delivering high quality research;
Empower faculty in their shared commitment to achieve intellectual growth, enabling them to foster discovery and disseminate new knowledge;
Produce graduate scholars who are successful in their disciplines;
Promote a culture of research across undergraduate students, staff and faculty that facilitates personal and professional growth;
Foster a dynamic, strengths-based community that nurtures engagement and inspires development; and ignite students’ curiosity and their desire to challenge themselves.

Learning + Transformation

Facilitate learning and transformation, by creating distinctive, personalized and transformative educational experiences driven by research and a dynamic marketplace.

A Nebraska Business education empowers individuals by igniting a passion for learning and by creating distinctive, personalized, and transformative educational experiences driven by research and a dynamic marketplace. Transformation operates on a personal level, but also institutionally. To facilitate learning and transformation we will:

Provide transformational learning experiences both inside and outside of the classroom;
Create relevant educational experiences that can be personalized to meet the diverse needs of students;
Adapt curriculum, educational opportunities, and programs based on research and the needs of a dynamic marketplace; and
Develop, renew and offer distinctive programs that attract students and provide exceptional preparation for future careers.

Connection + Engagement

Build meaningful connections and engagement, by serving as an academic hub that fosters mutually beneficial, enduring relationships among its stakeholders that enrich learning for all.

Nebraska Business is the academic hub that fosters mutually beneficial, enduring relationships among its stakeholders. Engaging alumni and a wide variety of external stakeholders with faculty, students and staff enhances our research and discovery, and enriches learning for all. Building and deepening these connections extends our reach and the scope of our impact. To ensure that Nebraska Business is the place to be we will:

Share our expertise to assist stakeholders with their business-related challenges;
Collaborate with our external community to secure input for curriculum development, research support and internships;
Annually engage and involve all living alumni of Nebraska Business in a meaningful way;
Communicate and solidify our reputation with the external stakeholders as Nebraska Business – the place of discovery, opportunity and empowerment; and
Partner with external stakeholders to achieve greater financial self-sufficiency.

Success-Enabling Goals

To fulfill our mission and achieve these goals, Nebraska Business must continually adapt to the needs of our community as an efficient and effective organization that advances our mission and provides a rewarding experience for all stakeholders. For Nebraska Business to thrive, we are committed to the following enabling goals:

Community + Culture

Maintain a welcoming, collegial and supportive environment that attracts and retains a vibrant and diverse faculty, staff and students.

Operations + Resources

Enhance the efficient utilization of resources and develop additional funding opportunities to support faculty, staff, students, facilities and technology in pursuit of the overall mission of Nebraska Business.

Communications + Branding

Enhance the quality of communication to all stakeholders to solidify our reputation as Nebraska Business – the place of discovery, opportunity and empowerment.

Measurements of Success

This strategic plan reflects the input of stakeholders throughout the Nebraska Business community, and its successful implementation necessitates coordinated efforts by faculty, staff, students, and alumni. These efforts will be led by the Dean and a working group composed of college faculty and administrative leaders.

We will measure our achievement of the overall mission through the following metrics:

Progress toward university goals, specifically related to:
- Enrollment growth while maintaining academic standards;
- Increased graduation rates; and
- Increased retention rates to the University.
Consistent production of high quality and impactful research;
Improved placement and internship outcomes;
Enhanced diversity among faculty, staff and students;
Consistent use of climate and engagement surveys of faculty, staff and students;
Growth in college endowment and alumni giving;
Increased number and quality of applications submitted to distinctive programs;
Enhanced outreach and engagement with alumni and business partners leading to successful collaborative efforts;
Meeting all AACSB standards of accreditation and exceeding them where feasible.

Background

Nebraska Business has a long tradition of prominence as one of 16 founding members of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) in 1916. In recent years, Nebraska Business has been consistently ranked among the top 40 public business colleges in the U.S. Nebraska Business built this strong reputation at the same time as it experienced unprecedented growth in student enrollments and faculty. Since joining the Big Ten in 2011, Nebraska Business increased our faculty by over 25%, fueling an expansion of academic programs, innovative research and research productivity. We offer two MBA programs, MA or MS degrees in Professional Accountancy, Economics, Actuarial Science, Finance and Business Analytics, as well as PhDs in business and economics, and ten undergraduate business majors. In addition, we offer many distinctive programs that allow students to choose their own path and tailor their business education to achieve their individual goals. With nationally ranked programs offered at affordable prices, we deliver a high return on investment to our students. We have over 37,000 living alumni who are busy changing the world, bringing Nebraska values and work ethic to the world of business. We similarly prepare our current students with the knowledge, skills and courage to be influential leaders. We pursue audacious goals and strive for excellence in all we do.

Nebraska Business hired a new Dean in the fall of 2017. With the help of Academic Leadership Association, an external facilitator, we launched a strategic planning process in the spring of 2018. The process began with a two-day workshop where we gathered over 45 people who represented various stakeholders including faculty, staff, students, alumni, business partners and university representatives. We reviewed trends in higher education and business education, conducted a stakeholder analysis, assessed our positioning within the university and debated how to achieve the next level of excellence. Six working groups focused their discussions on people, programs, external relations, research and scholarship, internal operations, and mission, vision, values, while deriving input and feedback from various stakeholders.

Nebraska Business will remain true to the university’s core mission as a land grant institution, while emerging as a premier public business college in the United States through innovative research, dedicated teaching and committed service to our community. We will support a collaborative research culture that engages with industry and produces knowledge to provide new insights that inform business leaders. We will broaden student thinking by creating learning laboratories to support experiential and transformational learning opportunities that cultivate awareness of critical societal and global issues. We will expand our collaborative networks and serve as an academic hub to all of our stakeholders.