Mission

Mount Mary College, an urban Catholic college for women sponsored by the School Sisters of Notre Dame, provides an environment for the development of the whole person. The college encourages leadership, integrity, and a deep sense of social justice arising from a sensitivity to moral values and Christian principles.

Mount Mary College commits itself to excellence in teaching and learning with an emphasis on thinking critically. The baccalaureate curriculum integrates the liberal arts with career preparation for women of diverse ages and personal circumstances; the programs at the graduate level provide opportunities for both men and women to enhance their professional excellence.

Vision

Mount Mary College is recognized as a diverse learning community that works in partnership with local, national and global organizations to educate women to transform the world.

Purposes:

• To provide undergraduate and graduate programs.
• To offer all students a basis for intellectual convictions, ethical values and an aesthetic framework.
• To integrate the liberal arts with career preparation.
• To prepare students to use leadership qualities and to demonstrate social responsibility.
• To foster excellence in teaching.
• To serve in the tradition of the School Sisters of Notre Dame.
• To operate with fiscal responsibility.

Introduction to the Strategic Plan

The strategic plan for Mount Mary College builds upon the College’s historically demonstrated ability to transform lives through education. The plan calls for Mount Mary to continue to offer career preparation with a strong foundation in the liberal arts in a context that emphasizes leadership for social justice and value-based decision making. This strategic plan effectively positions Mount Mary to recruit an increasing number of undergraduate and graduate students and to create an overall experience that supports their success and satisfaction. Through this plan, Mount Mary will increase its visibility and enhance a diverse learning environment. Finally, the plan addresses the financial stability and growth of resources that are essential to the achievement of all goals.

Philosophical Background

Drawing on the guiding philosophy of the College’s founding order, the School Sisters of Notre Dame, the strategic plan reflects an institutional commitment to effect social change through education. In keeping with this philosophical approach, and in support of the SSND mission, the strategic plan was formulated with the following guiding principles:
Mount Mary College will

• Remain a Catholic college,
• Remain a women’s college and offer post baccalaureate opportunities for men and women,*
• Continue to be a mission driven institution,
• Secure financial stability,
• Remain focused on and responsive to the individual needs of each student,
• Increase diversity on all levels,
• Retain and build upon the liberal arts tradition.

Marketplace Trends

In order to develop a plan that was comprehensive and achievable, attention was paid to the external factors existing in the educational environment. The following circumstances were seen as important considerations as the planning process was undertaken.

• A high level of competition exists in higher education, including "for-profit" institutions, on-line courses, and corporate training programs. Milwaukee and southeastern Wisconsin also offer a wide range of educational opportunities.
• Changing demographics reveal a projected decline in traditional aged students in the Midwest, but growth in the South and Southwest.
• Technology is a critical component of the current learning environment.
• Institutions increasingly serve a more diverse student body.
• Students have and will continue to have greater financial need.
• Growth is expected in non-traditional student and graduate student populations.
• Greater accountability is demanded of higher education institutions in terms of measuring outcomes of student learning.

Initiatives and Goals

Goal 1: Develop new academic programs
Goal 2: Enhance current academic programs

Goal 1: Cultivate financial resources that will allow the College to fulfill its mission
Goal 2: Address space issues, including adequacy, repair and upkeep of buildings
Goal 3: Address technology issues
Goal 4: Update the campus-wide crisis management plan.

Goal 1: Recruit effectively
Goal 2: Provide adequate financial aid to attract and support students
Goal 3: Strengthen ongoing communication and involvement between academic departments and admission

Note: The following objectives are designed to increase fall to fall retention by 3 percentage points and to improve the 6-year graduation rate by 2 percentage points.

Goal 1: Assess data and disaggregate appropriately to better understand retention patterns
Goal 2: Strengthen meaningful connections between academic and student affairs
Goal 3: Expand student life and services to meet the needs of all students
Goal 4: Enhance and coordinate academic and other student services

Goal 1: Focus on mission, including women’s leadership
Goal 2: Increase visibility of Mount Mary community at the local, regional, national and international levels
Goal 3: Revise website

Goal 1: Attract, retain and support a diverse, highly qualified faculty, administration and staff
Goal 2: Continually seek to extend outreach in the community
Goal 3: Attract, retain and support a diverse student body

Conclusion

The Strategic Plan for Mount Mary College 2007-2012 represents a collaborative effort among all members of the College community. The strategic initiatives that have been identified are seen as essential to the continued growth and viability of the institution and have provided the framework from which all the goals and objectives flow.

The plan was developed to anticipate, evaluate, and take advantage of opportunities that will lead Mount Mary to claim its future. Innovative thinking and risk taking are the hallmarks upon which Mount Mary was founded. The next five years will undoubtedly offer further examples of those qualities as the College continues to redefine the ways in which it can serve its students, serve its community and serve the world.

^*Mount Mary College and Columbia College of Nursing jointly offer a Bachelor of Science in Nursing to women and men.