Strategic Plan

Institutional Priorities

• Equity

  The Sisters of St. Joseph of Boston have a long legacy of “serving the dear neighbor without distinction.” As an institution, we take pride in this legacy, understanding we are all God’s children loved equally and without condition. Equity, in its broadest sense, refers to fairness, justice, and parity; equity moves beyond access to assessing outcomes. Equity-mindedness requires race-consciousness and awareness of the social and historical context of exclusionary practices that disproportionately affect racially minoritized groups. Equity means recognizing that we do not all start from the same place and that we must acknowledge and redress the imbalances. The process is ongoing, requiring us to take responsibility to identify and remove intentional and unintentional barriers arising from bias or systemic structures.

  Regis is its best when we are intentional about being equity-minded in all our practices and work, including:

  • identifying and removing obstacles to success while maximizing potential
  • making sure we have the most accurate and disaggregate demographic information
  • identifying equity gaps and the institutional policies or practices that are causing those gaps
  • valuing differences in the community as an asset to the educational community
  • engaging in ongoing critical self-reflection of unconscious bias
  • reviewing of structures and policies that may favor one group over another
  • creating safe spaces and opportunities for welcoming all without distinction
  • working towards the goal of becoming a center of excellence for inclusive excellence

• Innovation and Investment

  The landscape of higher education demands constant analysis, nimbleness, and the ability to pivot. Making the right decisions about where to direct our resources, finding niche markets to invest in, and creating innovative pathways and programs will not only sustain Regis, but allow our community to thrive and prosper. Regis shines when academic identity and mission align, when who we are within our community is articulated clearly and succinctly to our external community.

  Regis is its best self when we are forward thinking in our innovation and investment strategies, prioritizing the following areas:

  • partnership development and stewardship
  • human capital and building capital investments
  • faculty support and development
  • innovative pedagogy and classroom technology
  • market-driven programmatic prospects and initiatives
  • data-driven decision making
  • relevant and compelling brand identity

• Empowerment

  Empowerment is the manner in which an individual receives the necessary tools and authority to confidently succeed. Regis is its best self when all voices are heard, and all identities are respected and valued. We are committed to each individual’s well-being, including their intellectual, emotional, spiritual, ethical, physical, and professional development. This commitment is evident in our tagline, “Better You, Better World.” We want our graduates to reach their full potential and realize their human dignity and when doing so, be confident in their abilities to work toward the common good.

  A vibrant university is a vibrant community when the culture and the environment offer all a sense of belonging, where diversity is championed and identities are celebrated by engaging in:

  • inclusive excellence practices
  • formation of the whole person
  • professional development that includes the practices of cultural competence and cultural humility
  • a work climate that fosters work life balance, recognition, and appreciation
  • solidarity within and among us all, engaging in positive relationships with each other and the institution

• Equity-Minded, Mission-Driven Culture and Community

  Strengthen and deepen our equity-minded, mission-driven culture and community.

  Although we have made great strides and have engaged in many intentional efforts and initiatives to build an institutionalized paradigm of diversity, equity and inclusion, we are still on a journey, in keeping with the mission of our Founders, to transform the culture through individual, institutional and systemic changes that address and work toward eradicating inequities across all aspects of community life. Culture change not only requires equitable outcomes, but equitable processes where our community is able to continue to participate in institutional decision-making.

• Strategic Collaborations and Partnerships

  Nourish and sustain strategic collaborations and partnerships.

  It is necessary to expand our notion, definition, and understanding of “partnerships.” They are opportunities for revenue and reciprocal collaborations. Regis has amassed partnerships, but we need to examine additional ways to nurture these existing institutional relationships for our mutual benefit. Also, we can uncover and curate new ways to partner with foundations, corporations, industry, schools, and other organizations to produce sustainable growth opportunities. Partnerships must also extend internally at the micro-level, to our own community members as we look to expand mentoring and collaboration with faculty, staff, students, alumni, and other constituencies to empower the Regis community.

• Transformative Student Growth and Success

  Create innovative pathways and opportunities for transformative student growth and success.

  A Regis educational experience should all students transformed and empowered. Transformational experiences can be defined as “fundamentally challenging students’ assumptions and preconceptions, as well as their beliefs, and values, affecting how they understand themselves, others, and the world around them.” Whether this transformation is a result of curricular or co-curricular experiences; online or in-person courses; service learning/immersion or faculty guided research projects; personal counseling or career support; in the residence halls or on the playing fields; in clinical sites or the workplace; during study abroad or global experiences, we want to continue to create and expand access to these high impact experiences for all students.

• Impactful Academic Programs

  Deliver impactful academic programs for the contemporary, evolving learner.

  Regis is committed to serving all students. We are committed to designing, developing, and revising our academic programs and modes of delivery to ensure that our students not only access a Regis education, but thrive, as every student should be a success story. Teaching and learning are dynamic processes that continue to evolve. Therefore, it is important to understand and respond to the needs, learning styles, strengths and challenges of our diverse student body, our first-generation students, our veterans, our working professional students, all of whom bring different experiences, skill sets, and learning to the educational experience. It is our responsibility to determine how best to support and challenge them.

• Resources, Infrastructure, and Professional Development

  Invest in resources, infrastructure, and professional development for our faculty and staff to do their best work.

  Investment in our most precious resource – our faculty and staff – demonstrates what we value. We want our employees to thrive in their working environments and know they have the resources they need to excel in their efforts. This requires continuous investment in professional development, infrastructure improvements, competitive salaries and benefits, facilities modernization, and systems integration.

• Brand Recognition

  Improve brand recognition by conveying intersection of mission with our distinct academic strengths and authentic identity.

  Regis has an impactful mission, market-driven academic programs, and a compelling legacy that differentiates us from others. However, we lack brand identity with our external audiences and markets that conveys our story well. Creating a cohesive brand identity will not only distinguish us from our competitors but will showcase Regis as a place of choice to learn and work.

• Assessment, Accountability, and Transparency

  Cultivate a culture of continuous assessment, accountability, and transparency.

  Good decision-making and planning require a data-informed assessment strategy and transparency around decision-making. Building a culture that is data informed requires a continuous commitment to systemic, intentional changes in the way we track, assess, promote, monitor, and report and respond to outcomes. It also requires the ability and willingness to change or deviate from policies, practices, or plans that are not the quality demanded or serve our objectives.

• Financial Health

  Boost financial health to facilitate strategic investment in our future.

  Moving toward a sustainable, prosperous future requires forward thinking and vision. Continued efforts to respond to enrollment trends in all modalities; lower the discount rate; and increase (and/or stabilize) enrollment rates while lowering attrition rates are necessary. Yet, diversifying streams of revenue beyond tuition is imperative for both future growth and for supporting needed revenue and costs to maintain high quality across our current programs and initiatives. Finding niche markets, work force development opportunities, and innovative pathways that create sustainable revenue streams will help us build toward prosperity.