- Belonging and Readiness: We will expand mentoring and advising networks, linking students with alumni, advisory boards, and the Women’s Engagement Council, and will enhance mental health services and peer-led wellness programs that foster a deep sense of community.
- Expand Access and Growth: We will increase residential enrollment to 3,600 students and World Campus enrollment to 1,400 students through targeted recruitment and barrier-removal for underserved students. Simultaneously, we will expand our talent pipeline by growing High School Dual Credit participation to 200 students annually.
- The Open Lab Commitment: We will embed high-impact experiential learning into every curriculum map, enabled by a centralized tracking and support system.
- Predictive Success: We will integrate student success dashboards with predictive analytics to trigger proactive human outreach for at-risk learners.
- World Campus Parity: We commit to closing the persistence gap for World Campus learners to ensure they achieve an increased graduation rate.
- Strategic Portfolio Management: We will utilize APPR data to review all academic programs and to redesign, reinvest in, or sunset 10–15% of our programs by 2030. This data-informed process will ensure that our portfolio remains academically excellent, market-relevant, and mission-aligned.
- Adult and Fast-Track Pathways: We will launch four new accelerated or second-degree programs (e.g., Nursing, Engineering Technology), support the development of 7-week course structures where applicable, and formalize credit-by-portfolio processes for career-pivoters.
- AI Curricular Integration: We will require field-specific AI literacy milestones in 100% of programs, supported by faculty development.
- Evidence-Based Excellence: We will implement a college-wide initiative to train 90% of faculty and staff in evidence-based teaching and advising practices that maintain high expectations while removing unnecessary barriers to student persistence.
- Modular Learning: We will launch 10 or more modular or non-credit offerings that are accessible, stackable, and clearly articulated to degree pathways.
- Graduate Pathway Growth: We will increase research-integrated graduate enrollment to 35 students and professional enrollment to 200 students through new governance-approved pathways.
- Signature Pillar Excellence: We will grow annual research expenditures to $15 million by prioritizing internal seed funding for cross-disciplinary proposals, establishing the Applied Polymer & Composite Innovation Hub within the CMC, and expanding CORE’s community-engaged research.
- Major Awards: We will secure at least four awards greater than $1 million and two awards greater than $2 million by 2030.
- Federal Funding Pathways: We will pursue Behrend’s own Federal Wide Assurance (FWA) designation. Securing this classification is a foundational milestone that will unlock eligibility for NIH R15 (AREA) awards and other major federal mechanisms, specifically benefiting our bio-translational and social science research ecosystem.
- Workload and Talent Optimization: To support expanded research, we will implement flexible workload models that provide course releases where needed to accelerate high-impact work—while ensuring that teaching, mentoring, and student-success contributions are recognized and rewarded.
- Undergraduate Discovery: We will increase undergraduate research participation to 25% by graduation and will integrate exposure to research experiences into first-year seminars and gateway courses.
- AI-Enabled Research: We will expand capacity for AI modeling and analytics in areas that include materials, psychology, environmental systems, and business domains.
- Knowledge Park Growth: We will implement a structured engagement model that advances student success and innovation. By leveraging our R&D assets, the CMC, and talent pipeline, we aim to attract new partners in advanced manufacturing, healthcare innovation, and data science.
- Western Campus Synergy: We will execute a minimum of three synergistic partnerships with Penn State Beaver and Penn State Greater Allegheny to share facilities and industry convenings and develop clearly defined degree-completing pathways for students.
- Civic Learning Mission: We will foster free speech, open inquiry, and civil discourse for all by integrating civic and community-based learning into general education and major courses. We will encourage interdisciplinary collaborations that promote civic engagement and foster environments for civil discourse and service learning.
- K-12 and STEAM Outreach: We will expand community-engaged learning and STEAM outreach by scaling youth education programs and expanding high school partnerships to create seamless pathways to postsecondary success.
- Strategic Resource Allocation: We will implement a new financial model that rewards performance and preserves central funds for strategic initiatives, in sync with University resource optimization.
- Philanthropic Fuel: We will accelerate the $100 million campaign for scholarships, faculty excellence, and special initiatives, including a $2.5 million Behrend Lions Fund to support our NCAA Division III teams.
- Campus Master Plan: We will update the plan to guide construction, modernization, and optimization, ensuring our physical spaces align with our strategy.
- Culture of Improvement Science: We will embed Improvement Science methodologies into our operations, empowering staff to use data to solve problems quickly and optimize workflows iteratively. By automating 75% of high-friction administrative workflows in human resources and finance, we will increase institutional agility.
- Workforce Engagement and Optimization: We will realign faculty and staff expectations to reward High-Impact Practices, research supervision, and community-engaged scholarship while expanding leadership development and mentoring to support career growth across all units.
- Culture of Recognition and Transparency: We will strengthen accountability by publishing an annual ‘State of the College’ report to provide transparent updates. We will actively recognize and reward units and individuals who exemplify high standards of excellence and student success.
We will make Penn State Behrend a place where every student can thrive personally, academically, and professionally. Success at Behrend is not defined solely by retention, but by access, belonging, and the ability to translate learning into impact. Through coordinated advising, early engagement, and success coaching, we will ensure that every student’s journey—from enrollment to career—is intentional and supported. We are committed to closing the persistence gap for our 1,400 World Campus students, ensuring they receive the same “Behrend Advantage” as our residential learners.
Key Initiatives
| METRIC | RESIDENTIAL TARGET | WORLD CAMPUS TARGET |
|---|---|---|
| First-to-second-year retention | 85% | 75% |
| Six-year graduation rate | 75% | 65% |
| Graduates with Open Lab experience(s) | 100% | 100% |
| Career development engagement (years 1 and 2) | 100% | 100% |
Penn State Behrend will deliver high-quality, market-relevant academic programs through continuous innovation and a deep commitment to real-world application. As the pool of traditional students shifts, we will diversify by designing flexible, modular pathways for learners at all stages, blurring the lines between credit and non-credit learning. This includes second-degree programs for career-pivoting professionals and accelerated pathways that respond to labor market needs.
Key Initiatives
| METRIC | 2030 TARGET |
|---|---|
| New accelerated and/or second degree programs | Four launched |
| Modular and/or non-Credit Offerings | Ten-plus launched |
| Programs reviewed and/or redesigned | All/more than 20 percent of portfolio |
Penn State Behrend will become a nationally recognized center for applied research that fuels regional innovation. Our distinct research identity is rooted in five signature pillars: Applied Materials and Manufacturing, CORE (Social Sciences), Bio-translational/Women's Health, Waterways and Great Lakes Health, and Applied Business/Policy Research. We will integrate research and graduate education to serve as an R&D resource for regional companies. To amplify our impact, we will deepen strategic partnerships with University research institutes, including the Materials Research Institute (MRI), the Social Science Research Institute (SSRI), and the Institute for Computational and Data Sciences (ICDS), connecting Behrend’s applied strengths to Penn State’s global discovery enterprise.
Key Initiatives
| METRIC | 2030 TARGET |
|---|---|
| Annual sponsored research expenditures | $15 million |
| Major awards (greater than or equal to $1 million) | 4 awards greater than or equal to $1 million; 2 awards greater than or equal to $2 million |
| Undergraduate research participation | 25% |
We connect academic excellence to regional needs, serving as a “solutions partner” for Northwest Pennsylvania. Through Knowledge Park and our Innovation Commons, we provide organizations with direct access to talent and applied research capability. We are dedicated to social mobility, preparing students not just for jobs, but for public leadership and civic contribution. By leveraging Penn State’s vast alumni and industry networks, we bridge regional ambition with global opportunity.
Key Initiatives
| METRIC | 2030 TARGET |
|---|---|
| Knowledge Park innovation | 75% of partners in engagement level; 5 partners at Level 4 |
| Youth outreach | 40,000 youth engaged annually |
| Western Campus partnerships | 3 successful partnerships |
Vitality requires financial sustainability and a culture of accountability. We will move away from traditional incremental budgeting to a model that rewards performance and explicitly protects resources for our most critical strategic priorities. We will utilize University-wide infrastructure and centralized systems where they offer the efficiency and value that drive our local mission. By modernizing our cost structure and capturing value from University-level shared services, we will ensure our staff and faculty can focus on high-value mission work rather than administrative friction.
Key Initiatives
| METRIC | 2030 TARGET |
|---|---|
| Total philanthropic funds raised | $100 million |
| High-friction workflows automated | 75% |
| Staff/faculty engagement score | +15% from baseline |