Goal #1: Develop clear pathways into and through the university to ensure equitable access to higher education, enhance student engagement and success, and improve retention and graduation rates.

• Initiative 1.1: Increase enrollment through the development and implementation of a relational recruitment model integrated with clearly branded marketing.
• Initiative 1.2: Increase retention rates of new freshman students, closing equity gaps.
• Initiative 1.5: Map inclusive, evidence-based, and pedagogically sound High-Impact Practices (HIPs) to our academic and student engagement programs in a developmental way throughout a student’s journey.

Goal #2: Elevate culturally sustaining practices so that the cultural wealth that
historically excluded students, faculty, and staff bring to our university community is integrated into the learning environment.

• Initiative 2.2: Develop workshops and seminars for staff to advance culturally sustaining practices in student engagement and success programming.

Goal #3: Elevate the holistic well-being of our students.

• Initiative 3.2: Increase awareness and utilization of student health and wellness support services.
• Initiative 3.3: Support and expand access to basic needs, including establishing a resource coordinator dedicated to assisting students experiencing food and housing insecurity.
• Initiative 3.4: Expand access to financial literacy and financial coaching services for all students through a partnership between the Financial Wellness Center, the Center for Financial Planning and Well-Being, and academic programs.

Goal #1: Amplify and elevate the university’s relationship with local and regional communities.

• Initiative 1.1: Integrate our strategic planning and activities with the cities within Kittitas County and with the county as a whole, as well as with other cities and counties in our region.
• Initiative 1.2: Integrate our planning and activities at the Centers with the communities local to the Centers and include the Centers with campus- wide initiatives.
• Initiative 1.3: Cultivate a partnership with the Yakama Nation and other regional tribal nations built on meaningful, ongoing consultation, collaboration, and cooperation.
• Initiative 1.4: Participate in the creation and implementation of an economic development plan that builds a partnership between CWU and the cities within Kittitas County and with the county, as well as with other cities and counties in our region.

Goal #2: Partner with businesses, nonprofits, governmental agencies, tribal agencies, and other entities, as well as with individuals, to increase opportunities for students.

• Initiative 2.1: Create an Institute for Civic and Community Engagement that partners with SLICE to expand community partnerships to provide experiential learning and civic engagement opportunities for students.

Goal #1: Establish hiring, onboarding, and evaluation processes that nurture a culture of inclusion for all employees with a focus on increasing the number of employees from historically excluded groups.

• Initiative 1.1: Make diversity and equity a priority in the hiring, onboarding, and retention of faculty and staff.
• Initiative 1.2: Create a process for ongoing consultation with historically excluded faculty and staff regarding the development of support mechanisms necessary for their success.

Goal #2: Become a Hispanic Service Institution (HSI)

• Initiative 2.3: Develop a plan for early outreach, targeted recruitment, retention, and graduation of Latinx students.
• Initiative 2.4: Develop a plan for hiring, retaining, mentoring, and promoting Latinx and bilingual faculty, staff, administrators.
• Initiative 2.5: Implement bilingual and culturally responsive practices across the institution, including translation of important materials and information into Spanish.

Goal #3: Cultivate an inclusive and welcoming campus culture that embraces
diversity, that fosters a sense of belonging for all students, faculty, and staff, and that nurtures pride in the university.

• Initiative 3.1: Develop and implement diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) training programs for faculty, staff, and students to raise awareness, build understanding, and promote inclusive practices across the university.
• Initiative 3.2: Establish, maintain, and resource affinity groups for
  historically excluded students, faculty, and staff, focused on marginalized identities such as racial/ethnic, LGBTQ+, disability, and internationals, to create a safe and supportive environment where they can connect and share experiences.
• Initiative 3.3: Build mechanisms for nurturing a strong sense of affiliation with and pride in Central Washington University.

Goal #1: Promote sustainable practices and responsible stewardship of land and resources to support an ecologically healthy and socially just world, while respecting and honoring Indigenous peoples.

• Initiative 1.1: Develop and implement a comprehensive, university-wide Sustainability & Climate Change Action Plan, which incorporates environmental, social, and economic considerations into university operations, infrastructure, and academic programs in collaboration with the local community.
• Initiative 1.2: Integrate sustainability into university-wide curriculum to provide students with the knowledge, skills, competencies, and values necessary to shape an equitable and sustainable future.

Goal #2: Elevate shared governance and collaboration across the university and advance professional development and leadership opportunities that demonstrate the value of our human resources and that build a strong, united university
community.

• Initiative 2.2: Elevate the application of emotional intelligence, equity- mindedness, collaboration, inclusion, and deep care through professional development and mentoring centered on building a model of leadership-in- place at CWU.
• Initiative 2.3: Develop a new performance management process and criteria for staff that advances the university’s vision and values.

Goal #3: Implement values-based budgeting to ensure the efficient and effective use of fiscal resources and the long-term fiscal sustainability of the university.

• Initiative 3.1: Right-size and fully fund instructional and non-instructional employee costs that meet or exceed the historical norms of the university and that support the vision, mission, values, and strategic plan.
• Initiative 3.2: Reduce redundancies and inefficiencies in goods and services costs and develop mechanisms to monitor and control spending in support of the vision, mission, values, and strategic plan.
• Initiative 3.3: Develop a values-based fund to incentivize, reward, and invest in the vision, mission, values, and strategic plan.
• Initiative 3.4: Build university reserves equivalent to a minimum of three years of bond payments.

Goal #1: Reduce Fear/ Increase Psychological Safety. Psychological safety in the workplace is defined as “being able to show and employ one’s authentic self without fear of negative consequences to self-image, status or career.”1 In order to fulfill our mission to be a model learning community of equity and belonging, F&A leadership team is committed to creating an environment where employees feel safe to participate fully in their work. This includes creating and sustaining an environment where speaking up, asking questions, and sharing concerns or ideas can be done without fear.

• Initiative 1.1: Communicate openly and transparently. Share information in ways that make sense for employees and ensure employees have opportunities to participate in the decision-making process. All employees take responsibility for their actions and decisions.
• Initiative 1.2: Collaborate with, and train supervisors on divisional expectations designed to establish psychological safety.
• Initiative 1.3: Provide supervisors with actionable strategies that build trust and create consistency across Finance and Administration.

Goal #2: Make continuous Improvement. Continuous improvement is an ongoing process of identifying, analyzing, and making incremental improvements to systems, processes, and/or services. It means ensuring that employees are
provided information about their performance, development, and opportunities.
Collaboration, collecting and providing feedback, and data are essential to continuous improvement.

• Initiative 2.1: Discuss and determine divisional key performance indicators (KPIs) which demonstrate and measure operational excellence. Each area will conduct assessment and gather feedback regarding relevant KPIs. Areas of strength and challenge will be identified. Activities that change form and/or function and/or add value will be explored and, when appropriate, implemented.
• Initiative 2.2: Demonstrate functional expertise in each department and unit.
• Initiative 2.3: Explore best and emerging practices within areas of responsibility. An organizational development plan may be needed to guide the change process.
• Initiative 2.4: Ensure division-wide, on-going, consistent, and meaningful performance management is conducted for all employees. Determine and communicate standards, train supervisors on how to have productive, sometimes difficult, conversations, and how to engage employees in performance improvement.

Goal #3: Great Supervision. Supervision is the bedrock of the employee's experience. In the 2022 Employee Engagement Survey, 86% of CWU employees said their supervisors treated them with dignity and respect and 82% of employees indicated they know what is expected of them in their jobs. While we should be proud of these results, it was also clear that employees need 1) a better understanding of how we measure and recognize employee success, 2) clearer communication between all administrative levels, and 3) help successfully navigating change.

• Initiative 3.1: Connect job responsibilities for every position directly to the mission and vision of CWU.
• Initiative 3.2: Train leads, supervisors, and employees on emotional intelligence.
• Initiative 3.3: Identify strategies and training on how to manage conflict.
• Initiative 3.4: Support institutional citizenship. Institutional citizenship includes all the positive and constructive employee actions and behaviors that aren’t part of formal job description. Examples include a) exhibiting characteristics of the Wildcat Way, b) attending events such as academic lectures, athletic events, music, and theatre performance, etc.) volunteering to serve on a committee, etc.
• Initiative 3.5: Enhance visibility to career planning and/or development available for employees..
• Initiative 3.6: Make onboarding meaningful to new employees. In The Advantage, Patrick Lencioni writes, “The most memorable time of an employee’s career, and the time with the biggest impact, are his or her first days and weeks on the job.” Finance and Administration will provide a strong cultural foundation for all new employees which leads to stronger performance, higher engagement and less turnover. Engaged employees participate in campus sponsored community events, volunteer on committees and projects, participate in professional development, etc.
• Initiative 3.7: Improve student retention through meaningful employment.