Progress Report

November 2019

The PC200 Leadership Team facilitated a working session with the President’s Senior Cabinet in August 2019 to distill the Plan’s initiative into five priorities, focused on realizing the PC200 vision and ensuring the College’s ongoing competitiveness in an increasingly challenging environment.

Priorities Established

Based on this work, the following five overarching, or Level 1, priorities were identified:

  1. Recruiting undergraduate students
  2. Creating a Center for Innovation and Interdisciplinary Studies (final name TBD)
  3. Establishing a Signature Experience program for students, integrating high-impact educational practices and experiences
  4. Becoming a model of love, inclusivity, and equity in a diverse community
  5. Developing a Disputed Questions Initiative as part of a Dominican Intercultural Center

These Level 1 priorities include several initiatives that have been combined to foster cross-functional collaboration and synergy. As such, the teams associated with each will be broad-based and include representative faculty, students (where appropriate), and staff including representatives from the offices of admission, institutional advancement, and marketing and communications. In addition, certain of these initiatives, particularly those that involve academics, will involve faculty in both the development and implementation processes.

Initiatives in Progress

Work on major initiatives in FY2020 includes the following:

• Investments made in student recruitment, including a significant increase in the number of students targeted outside of the Northeast U.S. and the hiring of a new Midwest U.S. recruiter.

• Engagement with a consultant to develop recruiting strategies for underrepresented students and students outside of the Northeast U.S., as well as financial aid and pricing strategies.

• The Office of Marketing and Communications’ review of prospective firms to conduct a brand/messaging study.

• The offices of Institutional Advancement and Information Technology collaborating to select and implement a new customer relationship management (CRM) system to drive overall philanthropic efforts and the next campaign, in support of PC200.

• A comprehensive analysis of residence and dining facilities to help the College to address any issues raised, meet capacity, and improve the overall student experience in these areas.

• Development of a strategic plan for diversity, equity, and inclusion aligned with PC200.

• The formation of working groups to begin defining and developing the initial frameworks for the PC Signature Experience and Center for Innovation and Interdisciplinary Studies.