Every constituent group talked about the rising cost of higher education and expressed concerns that Taylor remain affordable for the kinds of families we have historically served. Affordability is a key driver for enrollment growth, and Taylor supporters have generously given to endowed scholarships and current-use scholarship funds for decades. In light of the increasing competitiveness of our market, Taylor must make significant gains in growing our endowment and launching new scholarships that can be deployed immediately.

In addition, the physical campus of the University plays such a central role in the Taylor experience that we require an inspiring environment for learning and living. The renewal of spaces within existing campus buildings, addressing deferred maintenance issues through recently secured financing, and the construction of select facilities that will support Taylor’s growth and development in the near future are key to ensuring the excellence we associate with Taylor.

Finally, we seek seed funding to launch new initiatives for Taylor’s next season, with a particular focus on ventures that will become revenue-generating within 2-5 years’ time. In light of these priorities, we seek the following strategic objectives.

Primary Components of Priority Pillar 5: Ensuring Excellence and Affordability

Taylor’s education is excellent, but it also requires a sacrificial investment. There is no denying that the traditional higher education financial model is under great pressure, and we risk pricing out families that used to be our core constituency. Growing our endowment is one of the key tools at our disposal as we seek to future-proof our operations to stay true to our Christian mission. In addition to long-term efforts to grow resources that can help subsidize Taylor’s undergraduate education, there are financial aid adjustments that can help keep us within striking distance of key competitors while offsetting declining net tuition revenues by recruiting larger classes. We also aspire to secure significant additional philanthropic dollars to make all of this possible.

  1. Launch Taylor's most ambitious comprehensive fundraising campaign and achieve goals that relate to growing the number of donors to the university, increasing the percentage of alumni giving, and securing three of the largest gifts in Taylor's history (exact measures to be presented to the Board in fall of 2022). [Years 1-5]
  2. With affordability at the center, use the comprehensive campaign to significantly grow the university's scholarship resources but also increase alumni and donor engagement in other measures (e.g., praying for the university, recommending it to prospective students—exact measures to be presented to the Board in fall of 2022). [Years 1-5]
  3. Restructure scholarship dollars to make Taylor more affordable and allow us to compete for a greater number of students, including more diverse students. [Year 1]
  4. Raise endowment dollars for academic programs, academic equipment, facilities, and student scholarships (exact measures to be presented to the Board in fall of 2022). [Years 1-5]
  5. Raise $16 million for the Taylor Fund over the next five years. [Years 1-5]
  6. Continue to grow resources secured by our Stewardship Planning Ministry. [Years 1-5]

Every million of auxiliary revenue dollars we grow equates to the interest to operations earned annually from $20 million of endowment. Finding ways to unlock latent resources and grow revenues will be key strategies to help support the cost of a Taylor education.

  1. Establish a taskforce to identify and seek to eliminate barriers to growth in summer programming. [Year 1]
  2. Create and then execute a plan for Taylor University Broadcasting, Inc. to support the larger work of the University. [Year 1]
  3. Refresh our campus master plan with an eye towards incorporating new academic programs. [Years 2-3]

Taylor’s classroom experience is one of the areas where our faculty shine brightest. We seek to find ways to leverage existing resources, such as the Bedi Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence (BCTLE), to improve upon this strength. We also seek to make data-informed decisions about class offerings to decrease the overall cost of delivering a Taylor education and to maximize faculty time and effort for greatest impact on our students.

  1. Expand the work of the BCTLE by building upon research into Taylor’s teaching distinctives, creating clearer connections between the promotion/tenure process and BCTLE participation, and expanding service-learning support for faculty. [Years 1-5]
  2. Strengthen the new faculty development process by expanding mentoring opportunities, revising the orientation process, and creating additional orientation and faculty development opportunities to extend beyond the first two years. [Year 1]
  3. Expand Taylor’s honor offerings to include robust, multi-year engagement with honors students. [Year 2]
  4. Work with faculty champions to revitalize and expand Taylor’s experiential learning opportunities (including both service-learning and community-based learning) and other high-impact practices (exact measures to be determined). [Year 2]

In an increasingly competitive marketplace, Taylor must do more to highlight the value of a Taylor education and to show parents and students alike the difference their Taylor degree will make for future job prospects and lifelong contributions.

  1. Keep our undergraduate community vibrant by having on-campus enrollment that matches our capacity, targeting 2,000 undergraduate students within five years (representing approximately 17% increase in enrollment from today). [Years 1-5]
  2. As the University grows the circle of learners and increases class size, maintain or modestly improve upon historically high retention seen in the past few years by averaging 88% retention over the five years of the strategic plan. In year three of the strategic plan assess and implement strategies to improve sophomore to junior retention rates. [Years 1-5]
  3. Working with the Calling and Career Office and the Provost, ensure that, by year five, Taylor can demonstrate that 100% of undergraduate students have participated in an internship, practicum, or relevant field experience for their major by graduation. [Years 1-5]