Progress Continues for 2024–29 Strategic Plan

By Posted on ACUI News, Bulletin


ACUI volunteers and staff continued in the past few months to make progress on the 2024–29 Strategic Plan. Highlights that showcase some of the current work are below. You can find the full 2024–29 Strategic Plan at acui.org/about/#strategic.

Pillar 1: 

Pursue education, learning, research, and initiatives that advance the field.

Goal 1: 

Develop educational content to support the creation of inclusive communities.

  • The Education Council is working with the Central Office to add a profile section where members can self-identify as “content experts.”
  • The 2025 Annual Conference offered a variety of educational session styles, alongside 18 ACUI Adventure locations that took attendees into multiple boroughs. 

Goal 3: 

Create avenues for enhanced connection and alignment among the Education Council, Regional Conference, and Annual Conference planning teams.

  • The Education Council determined that the 2026–28 Education Plan would focus on the following core competencies: Assessment, Evaluation, and Research; Fiscal Management; and Marketing. Development of the Education Plan is forthcoming. 
  • Thirty-five educational sessions at the 2025 Annual Conference aligned with competency gaps identified by the Education Council in 2024 (Assessment, Evaluation, and Research; Fiscal Management; Marketing; and Social Justice). This exceeded the goal of 25% of the 118 sessions offered. 

Pillar 2: 

Reengage and support members at the local level through active and revitalized regions.

Goal 2: 

Strengthen Regional Conferences by having a clearly identified core purpose, structure, and intended audience to drive content development and participation.

  • A new regional volunteer structure was announced to the membership in September. Applications are being sought through December 1 for regional positions, with the new structure going into effect in January 2026. 

Goal 3: 

Create and encourage avenues for regional engagement through regional community building opportunities, networking, and local educational experiences.

  • A video was developed to be shown at all eight
  • Regional Conferences, then posted on the website, that encourages regional pride and the message that “you belong to a region.”

Pillar 3: 

Focus on opportunities for the engagement, retention, and growth of members and volunteers.

Goal 1: 

Expand membership outreach to diverse member institutions.

  • A discussion guide to help better understand the needs of those at HBCUs, Hispanic-serving institutions, and minority-serving institutions was developed and used during focus groups at the Annual Conference. 

Goal 2: 

Enhance and develop internal communications to encourage greater accountability across volunteer teams.

  • The Volunteer Development Team is working with various volunteer groups to develop a master list of team descriptions. 

Pillar 4: 

Advance initiatives to support active dialogue and civic engagement on college campuses.

Goal 1: 

Create collaborative partnerships with external associations and organizations that possess relevant expertise

  • ACUI held an initial discussion with ACPA–College Student Educators International to discuss collaboration. 

Goal 2: 

Curate existing and create new resources to support member efforts that encourage active dialogue on their campus and help them to navigate associated contentious situations.

  • A working group was established to develop an Active Dialogue Self-Assessment Plan. Current focus is defining a process to track users and efficiency and determine potential test sites. 
  • The Active Dialogue Institute planned for July 2025 was canceled due to low registration. The planning team is reworking ideas and content into a preconference for the 2026 Annual Conference. 

Goal 4: 

Explore resources to help campuses foster community building opportunities around difficult campus conversations.

  • The 2025 Annual Conference offered eight educational sessions with a focus on active dialogue and civic engagement; a preconference titled Campuses in the Spotlight: Free Speech and Student Activism Center Stage that had 24 attendees; and offered an ACUI Adventure to the United Nations. 
  • Biweekly roundtables are being offered through the end of the year, where members are encouraged to discuss relevant topics and impacts to campus.

Author

  • Steve Chaplin

    Steve Chaplin is managing editor of ACUI’s The Bulletin and manager of the ACUI College Union and Student Activities (CUSA) Evaluation Program. A former newspaper writer, editor, and manager, he has volunteered as a student mentor as a member of the National Association of Science Writers, and received awards for his writing and reporting from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, the Kentucky Education Association, and the Kentucky Press Association.

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