MANHATTAN — Kansas State University has leaned into its land-grant heritage and mission with the launch of its Next-Gen K-State strategic plan. Built from input from more than 10,000 students, faculty, staff, alumni, donors and other university stakeholders — including the 2,457 Kansans who participated in last academic year's regional community visits across the state — the plan outlines how the university will transform to serve new kinds of learners, solve grand global challenges, and contribute to the economic prosperity of the state.
"Being a next-generation land-grant university requires us to renew our commitment to the land-grant mission, which is all about access and opportunity," said Richard Linton, K-State president. "But access and opportunity today means something different than it did in 1863 — we must evolve to meet the needs of today's learners who are seeking different kinds of training and education, and we must embrace our responsibility to serve the state, nation and world through research and engagement in new and exciting ways.
"The plan, which outlines key priorities for the institution, four distinct opportunity areas for interdisciplinary focus, and 17 relevant measures of success, will guide the university through the year 2030. Specific goals around student enrollment and retention, academic innovation and applied learning experiences, research growth and impact, and engagement and economic impact will define the future of the university. Linton added, "As the nation's first operational land-grant university, we view it as our responsibility to redefine what that means in modern-day contexts — and by delivering unmistakable value to all who wish to learn, grow and prosper, we will set the standard for what a highly engaged, people-centered, and learner-focused university can and should be."The plan can be viewed in full at k-state.edu/strategic-planning. Redefining student populations
K-State is consistently recognized by The Princeton Review for a variety of student experience and support rankings, including boasting some of the nation's happiest students. The Next-Gen K-State strategic plan recognizes that to continue to meet the needs of all students, K-State must expand its offerings. "Critical to the Next-Gen plan is this idea of strongly connecting our program offerings with industry and workforce needs," Linton said. "Not all who are seeking education today are looking for a traditional degree — we need to be ready with a full suite of program options that meet students where they are. "By expanding the makeup of K-State's student body to include more certificate-seeking students, microcredential-seeking students and more, the university has outlined a pathway to grow to 30,000 learners by 2030."That doesn't mean 30,000 students on the Manhattan campus or across our physical campuses, nor is it 30,000 degree-seeking students — it's 30,000 citizens of the world accessing the opportunity to learn how they want, when they want, for whatever reason they need," Linton added.
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