Community members share input on UNT’s future to help shape the upcoming 5-year Strategic Plan


Innovative. Leader. Responsive. Thriving. Student focused. Welcoming. Transformative. Great place for employees. World class.

Those are the words most frequently used by faculty, staff, and students who participated in the recent Campus Conversations when asked how they hoped to describe UNT in the next five years. This spring’s Campus Conversations brought together a few hundred UNT faculty, staff, and students to share input about UNT’s future and to learn about UNT’s process for developing the university’s five-year Strategic Plan. The sessions were led by UNT’s Deputy to the President Marjorie Barrett and Jaclyn Le, UNT’s Chief of Strategy and Planning.

The hour-long sessions started with an overview of the project and included information on the timeline for launching the upcoming strategic plan at President Keller’s Nov. 5 State of the University.

While participants were largely positive about UNT’s future, it was clear the university has challenges to overcome. UNT must focus on its mission and strategic efforts to leverage opportunities in the North Texas region as one of the nation’s most powerful and fastest-growing economic engines. Concerns about potential enrollment declines and tight budgets were top of mind as participants considered UNT’s “right now.”

Strengths, Assets and Differentiators

Each group shared thoughts about UNT’s unique identifiers. In every session and often multiple times in a session, the following were identified as UNT’s greatest strengths, assets, and differentiators:

    • Tier 1 research university
    • Prime location — opportunity of the North Texas region/proximity to DFW coupled with the small town feel of Denton and a pretty campus
    • Vibrant educational experience with offerings spanning the arts, humanities, social sciences, and STEM
    • Talented, supportive faculty, and staff
    • Student population — talented, smart, determined, focused; many are first-generation college students
    • Student Life/Experiences — many opportunities for students — everything from world-class libraries to D1 athletics
    • ROI: affordability coupled with the quality of programs and services

The following attributes also were identified in the sessions:

Supportive, Caring Faculty and Staff
  • Commitment to student success among faculty and staff
  • Many employees willing to adapt to best support students
  • Collegial and collaborative community
  • Focus on health and wellness
  • Staff who are knowledgeable about practices to increase accessibility for students
  • Orientation, first-year, and international student support
Exceptional, Unique Academic and Research Programs
  • Wide variety of programs across arts, humanities, and STEM disciplines
  • World-class College of Music, specifically jazz
  • Arts and design programs
  • Logistics and mobility research
  • Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science
  • Vetted residency (approved by the state) for student teaching
  • Accelerated academic programs/Quicker pathways to degrees for professionals
  • Interdisciplinary research centers
Can-do, Entrepreneurial Spirit
  • Resilient, creative, driven students
  • Grit and determination
  • Resourceful
  • Willingness to collaborate, think outside of the box, innovate/try new things
  • Not as tied to tradition
  • Proud
Frisco Campus and Connections
  • Smaller campus allows students to attend and not get lost in a large college atmosphere
  • UNT at Frisco should be seen as a market expansion opportunity
  • Growth opportunities in Frisco, especially with Universal, PGA, and Omni
  • Working with industry to provide project-based learning and prepare students for careers
  • Potential to expand corporate education

Prioritizing Goals

Each session was marked by the group working collectively to prioritize a list of potential initiatives and provide input on each. Across all six groups, student success initiatives ranked among the top three priorities with research efforts also consistently ranking high.

These priorities included:

  • Expanding career preparation and career-connected learning opportunities for students
  • Making curricular pathways more efficient to enable increased student retention and timely graduation
  • Increasing research and discovery opportunities for UNT faculty and students