Virtually everyone thinks Taylor needs to expand the circle of learners he serves – both because it’s essential for institutional vitality and because we believe it’s a missionary imperative to share transformative education. of Taylor with a larger segment of learners. This includes increasing the diversity of our student body as well as growing the residential undergraduate student body, but it also involves launching and expanding academic programs to serve non-traditional students for Taylor – adult learners, those interested in graduate and professional programs and pre-college students. . This will require significant investment, so our strategies must represent wise management of limited resources to be leveraged for maximum impact. This expansion of the students Taylor serves must also align with the University’s commitment to Christian higher education and advance it, not diminish it.
We believe the best approach is to identify a portfolio of academic areas where strategic investments can be made. We have chosen these areas of focus to better serve our traditional students while creating new academic offerings for pre-college, graduate, and adult learners. Much of this expansion will be through digital or distance learning initiatives, but they will also involve investments in people, campus facilities and programs. A dedicated administrative unit within the academic division will be needed to more effectively serve these non-traditional learners. This will require restructuring of some other parts of the University Division, which could include reconstituting school-like units within the University Division while creating opportunities for collaboration between University departments. Unlike previous University efforts, none of these restructuring strategies are created to eliminate positions for the sake of budget savings. Instead, we seek to position Taylor’s academic leadership and structure to be more adaptable to the growing competitiveness of our market and to develop a cadre of academic leaders who have a sufficient and equivalent “range” of responsibilities. and are developed as institutional leaders with greater intentionality and authority. Finally, we seek to invest in academic initiatives that will serve the greatest number of students and to diversify the University’s resource base for future growth and development.
Under this priority, we have identified a set of initiatives that we believe will help our campus more faithfully reflect the Kingdom of God on earth. As our Multicultural Philosophy Statement makes clear, Taylor is committed to fostering healthy relationships in our community regardless of differences in race, ethnicity or national heritage. We believe in striving for diversity, not only out of a desire to serve a larger segment of students, but also in seeking to emulate the diverse multitude of all languages, ethnicities, and nations who praise the Lord in heaven. for eternity. We believe this process not only honors God, but also provides a myriad of opportunities to enrich everyone’s experience at Taylor. Here are the main components of Priority Pillar 1: Widening the circle of learners.
