The Board of Regents is dedicated to maintaining the trust and managing the investment Iowans have placed in the Regent institutions.  The Board’s 2010-2016 Strategic Plan, in concert with the individual strategic plans of Iowa’s Public Universities and Special Schools, enables the Board to carry out its mission effectively, efficiently, and for the benefit of all citizens.

Mission

The Board of Regents, working through Iowa’s Public Universities and Special Schools:

• Provides high quality, accessible education to students;
• Engages in high quality research, scholarship, and creative activities to enhance the quality of life for Iowans and society in general;
• Provides needed public services;
• Creates and supports economic development in partnership with public and private sectors.

Priorities

Our Strategic Plan focuses on three specific priorities, all of which have been demonstrated in the many accomplishments outlined in this FY 2010 Annual Report, and which will guide our future accomplishments:

• Access, Affordability, and Student Success;
• Educational Excellence and Impact;
• Economic Development and Vitality.

Goals

Iowa’s Public Universities shall be affordable to all academically qualified Iowa residents.

Iowa’s Public Universities will increase the degree attainment of underrepresented minority students.

Iowa’s Public Universities will increase the percent of undergraduate students who graduate within four years.

Iowa’s Public Universities shall increase distance education opportunities for lifelong learning especially for place-bound and non-traditional students in Iowa to support their educational and professional goals and enhance their quality of life.

The Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School and the Iowa School or the Deaf shall meet or exceed state academic standards in reading and mathematics.

Iowa’s Public Universities and Special Schools will demonstrate that their student outcomes assessment programs help students achieve identified learning goals.

Iowa’s Public Universities shall contribute to the expansion and diversification of the Iowa economy.

Iowa’s Public Universities and Special Schools shall be increasingly efficient and productive.

Preferred Future

To fulfill our obligations to Iowans, the Board also uses strategic planning to create a long-term vision of the Board and the institutions; to establish the course by which the Board and the institutions will achieve that vision; and to maintain strategic focus and high-quality programs for the future.

The Board’s 2010-2016 Strategic Plan specifically outlines this vision, or preferred future, for providing effective and quality public education for the citizens of Iowa:

• The Regent Enterprise will be an invaluable asset to the State of Iowa through active engagement, research, and learning.
• The Regent Enterprise will be recognized among the nation’s leading systems of public universities for:
  • Excellence in undergraduate, graduate, and professional education
  • Leadership in meeting state, regional, national, and global needs through quality undergraduate, graduate, professional, extension, and outreach programs, research, and service.
• The Regent Enterprise will also be recognized for its excellence in meeting the needs of students who are blind or visually impaired and deaf or hard of hearing

This preferred future will challenge the Board, our institutions, and all Iowans, to aspire to reach an even greater level of excellence for Iowa’s Public Universities and Special Schools in FY 2011 and beyond.
As the needs of Iowans change, as funding sources fluctuate, and as new discoveries spark exciting opportunities, the Board of Regents will work, with the strength and consistent guidance of its Strategic Plan, to ensure that its institutions continue to serve our state, nation, and world.

See the full Board of Regents 2010-2016 Strategic Plan at http://www.regents.iowa.gov/StratPlan/stratplan.html