The second draft of the 2020-2025 WSU system strategic plan includes new revisions based on feedback received from the WSU community. The revisions include eliminating “coded” language and focusing on the importance of dialogue between different communities. 

ASWSU President Quinton Berkompas said there are plans for each individual campus to write up their own specific strategic plan.

Berkompas said he is happy they were taking feedback from the WSU community. There is a student from Pullman campus on the committee named Kristen Johnson, according to an email to The Daily Evergreen. 

“They want to make sure that everyone gets a chance to voice their opinion,” he said. “They are including everybody in the process.”

The plan will act as the foundational document that guides WSU’s institutional decisions, Berkompas said. Each year, the plan will be updated, by the WSU community, based on experiences, new circumstances or as new opportunities or challenges emerge.

The plan was written by a group of 25 members of the WSU community and external stakeholders, according to the draft. The plan’s goal is to have WSU be recognized as one of the nation’s top 25 research institutions, while also staying committed to their principles as a land-grant research university.

According to the draft, revisions include eliminating language that could be interpreted as “coded” by underrepresented groups. It also increased the emphasis on the importance of sustainability and WSU’s role in responding to the healthcare needs of Washington citizens.

The second draft added a statement about arts and humanities to indicate that liberal arts are likely to be more highly-valued in the short-term future, according to the draft. The previous draft said the role and purpose of arts and humanities courses would be questioned.

A second statement added to the draft said the university is focused on the importance of dialogue between communities and the university in identifying solutions for issues of mutual concern, according to the draft.

The draft added a core value to the third goal. The new value said the university is dedicated to the promotion of an ethical and socially just society through an intentional commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion, according to the draft.

The plan has four main goals, according to the draft. The first goal focuses on research, innovation and creativity. The second goal focuses on the student experience. The third goal focuses on equity, diversity and inclusion. The fourth focuses on institutional effectiveness and infrastructure. Each goal has its own set of core values.

The second draft added the objective to increase the impact of outreach, extension, service and engagement activities to improve human health, according to the draft. 

The second draft said WSU’s campuses, colleges and units will further define the operational aspects that support the framework of this plan. It will also create or revise existing plans to complement and build on the direction established by the system plan.

Berkompas said this plan is using criticism from the previous plan to improve the current plan.

“One of the big criticisms of the previous plan was that we had a lot of really strong value statements and there was not a way to measure it,” he said. “That was a big goal to make sure our metrics are there to measure the goals we’re setting.”

The first and second drafts can be viewed on the WSU Insider website. A third draft of the plan will be published later this spring after it is reviewed by the WSU Board of Regents.

Editor’s Note: This story was edited to include clarification about a student from Pullman campus being on the committee. Previously, it had stated no students were on the committee.