The Strategic Plan
Dordt’s strategic plan is grounded in our mission and the Task and Framework of Dordt University, yet it also seeks to address the needs that we see and anticipate as we consider Dordt today and view the external landscape.
MISSION & VISION
Dordt continues to use its mission and Founders Vision to ground its day-to-day activities and long-term goals.
TASK & FRAMEWORK
- The Educational Task describes "the implications of a Reformed confession of biblical faith brings to Christian higher education."
- The Educational Framework outlines the basic principles that direct Dordt as it seeks to fulfill its educational purpose.
Both of these documents continue to influence Dordt University—learn how:
"True to the Task"HOW IT HAPPENS
1—DEVELOP EFFECTIVE KINGDOM CITIZENS
Dordt University students belong to a robust Reformed learning community that provides them with a Christ-centered worldview to lead culture in lives of service to God and neighbor.
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2—ELEVATE TEACHING, LEARNING, AND SCHOLARSHIP
Dordt University faculty and staff challenge, inspire, and equip students for service through first-rate learning both in-person and online. We invest in creativity, expertise, and collaboration.
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3—FUEL INNOVATION THROUGH NETWORKS AND PARTNERSHIPS
Dordt University has an entrepreneurial spirit, inspiring paths for faculty, staff, and students to create and pursue new opportunities. We deliberately connect with networks and partners to deepen our shared Kingdom impact.
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4—ENSURE FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY AND STRENGTH
Dordt University protects current and future viability and value by serving as a top-rated learning organization with transparent planning, appropriate resourcing, and new revenue generation. We further our financial strength by stewarding the talents of our staff, faculty, and students.
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5—DEEPEN AND BROADEN DORDT’S ENGAGEMENT
Dordt University cultivates a committed constituency. We seek relationships with students, alumni, families, schools, churches, and communities who are eager to serve Christ and faithfully obey his word.
More
6—PROMOTE JOY-FILLED WORK
Dordt University views work as purposeful and meaningful service to the Kingdom of God. We commit to shared accountability for healthy institutional pace and personal rhythms.
More1—DEVELOP EFFECTIVE KINGDOM CITIZENS
Dordt University students, on-campus and online, belong to a robust Reformed learning community that provides them with a Christ-centered worldview to engage the culture in lives of service to God and neighbor.
THEME GOALS
- Engage faculty, staff, and students in discipleship practices and meaningful projects about what it means for us to be committed to Reformed, Christ-centered learning, both curricular and co-curricular.
- Stand out in Christian higher education by reimagining what faith formation in community looks like in online learning for undergraduates and graduates.
- Strengthen our learning community to foster a sense of belonging, reflect the diversity God created, and prompt us to love Jesus and our neighbors.
- Dordt University Task refresh
- Create a vision for racial and ethnic diversity
- Further develop the Defender Way
- Establish a gaming guild to provide ways for students to connect
- Encourage faith formation on campus
- Encouraging student participation in faith formation practices
2—ELEVATE TEACHING, LEARNING, AND SCHOLARSHIP
Dordt University faculty and staff challenge, inspire, and equip students for Christ-centered service through first-rate learning both in person and online. We invest in creativity, expertise, and collaboration.
THEME GOALS
- Maintain, celebrate, and publicize outstanding quality of teaching and co-curricular leadership (e.g., ensembles, athletics, theatre, worship arts).
- Designate leadership roles and funding for developing teaching, learning, use of technologies, worldview, and faith formation in curricular and co-curricular work with students.
- Every student participates in experiential learning such as mentoring from committed constituents, a field experience, practicum, clinical, co-op, internship, research, off-campus study, service learning, or other opportunities for serviceable insight.
- Expand research and field-based experiences for faculty.
- Establish online and graduate programs
- Create state-of-the-art facilities like the Ag Stewardship Center and Fourth Avenue Theatre
- Renovate the Kuyper Honors Program space
- Establish the Kielstra Center for Research and Scholarship
3—FUEL INNOVATION THROUGH NETWORKS AND PARTNERSHIPS
Dordt University has an entrepreneurial spirit, forming paths for faculty, staff, and students to create and pursue new opportunities. We deliberately connect with networks and partners to deepen our shared Kingdom impact.
THEME GOALS
- Leverage networks, partnerships, and initiatives to achieve targets for growth in programs and centers.
- Empower employees to benchmark programs and departments, set goals, research solutions, execute competitive ideas, and assess results.
- Propel new and growing programs in Pro-Tech, online, graduate, continuing education, and accelerated degree programs.
- Determine Dordt's economic impact on local and regional communities
- Establish Coaching for Transformation through a partnership with the Center for the Advancement of Christian Education (CACE)
- Create the Dordt Media Network
- Found the Thrive Center and K&K Dooyema Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation
- Establish Excel Achievement in partnership with the Thrive Center
4—ENSURE FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY AND STRENGTH
Dordt University protects current and future viability and value by serving as a top-rated learning organization with transparent planning, appropriate resourcing, and new revenue generation. We further our financial strength by stewarding the talents of our staff, faculty, and students.
THEME GOALS
- Steward available funds (e.g., capital campaign and loans) for capital projects to implement our campus master plan to maintain and develop our learning-centered residential campus.
- Prioritize Lean culture to create more value for students by using fewer resources and maintaining an organizational stop-doing list.
- Rework Dordt’s model for student work.
- Achieve more transparent communication and processes to provide accessible, timely information for accountable decision making.
- Enroll more than 1,400 undergraduate students by fall 2022
- Complete the Enterprise Risk Assessment
- Expand and rethink student employment
5—DEEPEN AND BROADEN DORDT'S ENGAGEMENT
Dordt University cultivates a committed constituency. We seek relationships with students, alumni, families, schools, churches, and communities who are eager to serve Jesus Christ and faithfully obey his word.
THEME GOALS
- Expand our committed constituency, Defender Nation, in order to sustain and grow student enrollment.
- Grow church relations to deepen our long-held relationships and foster new opportunities to partner with like-minded churches, denominations, federations, and coalitions.
- Tell our story so Dordt is known – reputation for being true to the Educational Task, promoting uncommon decency and civil discourse, and winning the next generation for Christ by serving and sending students.
- An increase in the alumni giving rate
- Construction of the American State Bank Sports Complex
- Further emphasize church relations through the hiring of a director of church relations
- Ranked number one in student engagement by the Wall Street Journal and Times Higher Education six years in a row
- Continue to maintain the Hope Fund
- Increase parent communication
6—PROMOTE JOY-FILLED WORK
Dordt University views work as purposeful and meaningful service to the Kingdom of God. We commit to shared accountability for healthy institutional pace and personal rhythms.
THEME GOALS
- Define employee well-being, take baseline measurements, and hold ourselves accountable for reaching our targets for improvement.
- Ensure that people know what is expected and that these expectations reflect a mutual understanding of office as well as shared accountability for healthy institutional pace and personal rhythms.
- Develop shared leadership values for hiring, people development, decision making, communication, accountability, and celebration to be used across the institution, with modeling from Cabinet leaders.
- Intentionally monitoring employee satisfaction and responding through ongoing professional development opportunities, and health and wellness initiatives
- Implemented payroll process improvements and streamlined the hiring, selection and onboarding process through enhanced technology and workflow redesign
- Launched “lunch and learn” sessions for staff and faculty, and improving the benefit open enrollment processes and access to employee resources
- Increasing resources and access for employees regarding vaccination clinics, financial advising, benefit management and other educational opportunities