Stronger Together
Strategic Plan 2023-2029
ONU will be a welcoming and supportive community where faculty, staff, and students feel a sense of belonging and where we come together to build a strong foundation for a successful future while ensuring the long-term financial sustainability of the institution.
Pillar 1: People
Declaration: At Ohio Northern University, students are prepared for success in their careers and life; faculty and staff have the support to fully achieve their vocational goals; alumni, employers, and stakeholders are enriched through their connections to ONU; and we share a sense of belonging, inclusion, and diversity.
Objective 1: ONU will retain and graduate students by supporting their academic, professional, financial, and wellness needs, thereby creating a strong sense of belonging.
Objective 2: ONU will support its faculty and staff, creating a strong culture of engagement and belonging.
Objective 3: ONU will proactively engage alumni, stakeholders, and employers, particularly those in the surrounding region, and will build strong relationships in support of the long-term success of ONU.
Significant Outcomes: Develop a strategic plan and tactics to achieve first-year retention and six-year graduation goals, building the plan on strategies directed at student engagement, wellness, finances, and academic support.
Institute a schedule of benchmarking for employee benefits and surveys of campus culture to support a positive culture of belonging at ONU.
Establish goals for categories of diversity and underrepresented students, faculty, and staff and work with the Chief Belonging, Inclusion, and Diversity Officer to build a plan.
Establish strategies that enhance the affordability and value students experience while attending ONU.
Pillar 2: Teaching and Learning
Declaration: Ohio Northern University will be known for distinctive academic programs delivered by accomplished faculty that equip all students to succeed in their careers and meet the region’s growing workforce needs.
Objective 1: ONU will support high-quality, accessible, and diverse learning environments for students, faculty, and staff.
Objective 2: ONU will remain at the leading edge of curricular design, implementation, and evaluation to enhance learning and meet the needs of a diverse student body.
Objective 3: ONU will work proactively to align and meet the needs of employers through a 21st-century focus on its foundational programs.
Significant Outcomes: Develop a program review process to optimize academic program resources while aligning programs to workforce needs.
Increase degree pathways for traditional, non-traditional, and transfer students, including hybrid and online instructional offerings.
Pillar 3: Place
Declaration: ONU’s campus will meet the learning and recreational needs of students, faculty, and staff, as well as the living accommodations of our students.
Objective 1: The University will develop a campus master plan that meets the campus academic, residential, recreational, and athletics needs.
Objective 2: ONU’s recreational and wellness facilities will meet the needs of the campus community and build upon our foundational excellence in the health sciences.
Objective 3: ONU will invest in technology to meet the current and future needs of students, faculty, and staff.
Significant Outcomes: Envision, plan and fundraise for a renovated and expanded King Horn Center in conjunction with a Health Sciences facility.
Review current technology capabilities and align investments to deliver and support faculty, staff, and students.
Pillar 4: Sustainability
Declaration: Ohio Northern University will be financially stable by fostering a culture of continuous innovation and improvement through prudent management, effective branding and marketing, cost management, and enduring relationships.
Objective 1: ONU will balance expenditures with available resources, increasing the University’s Financial Indicators Tool (FIT) score to be in the 4 to 5 range or higher.
Objective 2: ONU will meaningfully increase and diversify enrollment, clearly communicating its brand to all stakeholders.
Objective 3: ONU will outperform investment benchmarks and increase earned income and contributed revenue.
Significant Outcomes: Achieve a five year FIT score average above 4.0 by 2027-28 fiscal year.
Meet or exceed investment benchmarks in two out of three asset classifications on a 3-5 year average annually.
Significantly increase the endowment to eliminate the structural deficit and support the quality of the institution.