Carlow’s Institutional Goals

Welcome to Carlow’s 2024 State of the University, where we reflect on shared accomplishments and outline our vision for the future. Together we are advancing transformative education, championing social justice, and upholding our dedication to fostering personal growth, inclusivity, and leadership. Today, we celebrate Carlow’s mission to build a more just and merciful world. 

Guided by these values, our initiatives—spanning academics, student life, employee engagement, and operational efficiency—have already made great strides. But, as you will hear, there are exciting developments still to come.  

Goal 1: Create a 21^st Century Academic Experience

• Growth Targets: Increase overall enrollment 3% by Fall 2025. Programs launched since 2020 will reach target enrollment.
• Accreditation & Standards: Ensure all CHW and CAS programs meet accreditation benchmarks by July 2025 and achieve Middle States re-accreditation by Spring 2025.
• Student Outcomes: Keep DWF (drop, withdrawal, fail) rates below 30% for Compass skills courses and provide experiential learning opportunities to 95% of graduates. 
• Enhanced Support: Integrate information literacy into select first-year courses reaching 100% of students. 80% of faculty will affirm that academic support needs are met by Student Affairs.

Goal 2: Enhance Student Experience 

• Retention & Community: Improve first-year retention to 85%, and by 2028, reach a 6-year graduation rate of 75%. 80% of students will report feeling a sense of belonging. 
• Student Life & Learning: Increase the average class size to 14 by Fall 2025. Ensure 80% of residential students feel there’s enough to do on weekends and are satisfied with on-campus dining. 
• Global Engagement: Launch two international partnerships by mid-2025 and increase study abroad participation by 20%. Boost our international campus population by 10% by 2025. 
• Resources & Accessibility: Update five classrooms by Fall 2025. Expand outdoor Wi-Fi access by 50% and add six new computing and printing stations. 

Goal 3: Strengthen Carlow’s Brand Recognition 

• Mission-Driven Brand: Emphasize Carlow’s commitment to job-readiness, social mobility, and Mercy/Catholic heritage. At least 20% of incoming students will identify as Catholic. 
• Community Engagement: 20% of new students will be from outside of the region. 80% of prospective students who visit campus will rate their visit as above average. 
• Digital & Media Presence: Grow social media engagement by 10% over competitors, adding 1,000 new followers. Increase website traffic and new users by 10%. 
• PR & Internal Engagement: Complete 25 organic interviews or media features by 2025. 65% of those surveyed will state they are aware of Carlow and our programs. 

Goal 4: Enhance the Employee Experience 

• Inclusion & Diversity: Roll out the IDE2A strategy to foster equity and inclusion, with 80% agreeing it advances our social justice agenda. 75% of staff who complete the anti-bias, awareness, and ethics training will rate it as above average or better. 
• Job Satisfaction: 80% of employees will report general job satisfaction, with professional development opportunities offered annually. 
• Recognition & Compliance: Ensure 100% onboarding participation for new hires covering key training modules. Provide eligible faculty and staff with a general pay increase by 2025. 

Goal 5: Uphold Ethical Leadership and Social Justice 

• Mission-Focused Training: 100% of new adjunct faculty will complete Mercy heritage training, reporting a deeper understanding of Carlow’s mission. Recruit 24 faculty and staff for the McDarby Institute; all participants will report a deeper understanding of Mercy’s roots after attending the immersion trip to Ireland. 
• Bias Reporting & Response: Users of the comprehensive bias reporting process, aligned with Title IX protocols, will rate their experience as satisfactory; all complaints will be tracked and resolved 
• Community and Student Engagement: Increase student participation in social justice and diversity events by 20%.  

Goal 6: Streamline Operations for Efficiency 

• Process Optimization: Launch a Student IT Helpdesk to enhance frontline support and eliminate the outside contractors. Reduce 50% of redundant incoming calls by creating a single answering point.
• Financial Oversight: Develop a budgeting and compliance tracking system and reduce outstanding expenses to under 60 days. Ensure Sarbanes-Oxley compliance across all cabinet members.
• Space Policy: Finalize the Space Policy by the first quarter of 2025.
• Employee Recruitment: Increase job applicant pool by 25% using a contracted service.
• Major Facilities and Capital Planning: Finalize a Major Facilities Plan that prioritizes key projects across the university by June of 2025. Submit the Institutional Master Plan for city approval by end of the first semester in 2026.

Goal 7: Strengthen Financial Health 

• Institutional financial growth plan: Ensure academic operations are streamlined, contracted services are decreased by 7%, annual contributions are made to the endowment, staff and faculty receive annual raises, and a debt collection system eliminates accounts receivable. 
• New Revenue Streams: The Fab lab will generate $15,000 in 2025. Print Services will generate $60,000, and athletic camps will produce $10,000. Capture rental income from St. Agnes Center and other venues across the campus by the first quarter of 2026.  
• Operational Cost Savings: Save $50,000 in printing costs and reduce instructional expenses by $1M. Maintain an institutional margin of 54% for academic programs. 
• Grant Funding & Resource Reallocation: Secure at least two external grants per college to support faculty salaries and program costs, enhancing Carlow’s sustainability and financial resilience. 
• Fundraising: $18,000,000.00 will be raised by June of 2025.