Oregon Rising - a Strategic Plan for the University of Oregon
In Fall 2023, the University of Oregon launched a broad and inclusive strategic planning process that included a number of forums and feedback sessions open to students, faculty, staff, and community members throughout the 2023-24 academic year. President Karl Scholz and his leadership team reviewed all feedback to synthesize and refine the information into four clear goals:
- Enhance pathways to timely graduation
- Be a leader among the nation’s public research universities in career preparation
- Create a flourishing community – faculty, staff, and students
- Accelerate UO’s impact on the world through focus on research in signature areas
The plan, title Oregon Rising, was presented to the Board of Trustees in September 2024. Read more about the plan, including updates and a message from the president, on the official Oregon Rising website.
Oregon Rising includes significant focus on the academic and scholarship aspects of our shared work, which are core to the university mission. However, it is important to recognize that this critical work is made possible by the skill and efforts of the many employees who perform essential roles in every area of our campus.
Finance and Administration Employees Support Achievement of Oregon Rising Goals
While much of the direct work to implement the Oregon Rising plan falls outside of the Finance and Administration portfolio, the work that our teams do every day is critical to the plan’s success. Finance and Administration units support a strong foundation for the university’s strategic priorities by providing critical services, whether physical, human resources, financial, technology, or other areas that keep the campus running.
Finance and Administration unit employees play an important role in reaching our goals as a university. For example, while the goal to ensure timely graduation for students will likely involve changes to curriculum and advising, our teams will contribute in a number of ways, including ensuring that:
- Classrooms are clean and functional (Custodial Services)
- Proper classroom technology is installed and ready for use (IS)
- Electricity, heat, and A/C are functioning properly in all buildings (Utilities & Energy)
- Campus is a safe place to teach and to learn (UOPD, Safety & Risk)
- Employees are paid and student payments are properly applied (Business Affairs)
gOAL 1 | gOAL 2 | goal 3 | goal 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
Enhance pathways to timely graduation
| Be a leader among the nation's public research universities in career preparation
| Create a flourishing community
| Accelerate UO's impact on the world Signature scholarship in
|
Support budget planning to strategically prioritize resources Design and construct state of the art, modern facilities for teaching and learning Deliver efficient, accurate service for student payment accounts Maintain sidewalks, wayfinding, and accessible transportation options for students and employees to access the services they need Provide safe, clean classrooms and shared campus spaces | Provide VPFA UOAdmin internship students with meaningful development and experience through supervised project work in all areas of Finance and Administration Support hands-on education through Sustainability Academic Residential Communities (ARCs) Employ student workers in the IS Cyber Security Operations Center (CSOC) to monitor threat intelligence, learn and implement incident response functions, and help to guide recovery after an incident | Recruit and retain diverse, highly qualified teams of employees in every department Connect employees with professional and personal development opportunities Convene and support employee networks and social connection within and between teams Provide business support that serves department needs efficiently and effectively Support access to high quality childcare, on campus and within the broader community | Conduct trainings and assess lab hazards to support research safety and continuity Perform research and services within the Institute for Resilient Organizations, Communities, and Environments (IROCE) Build and support specialized technology used in labs and classrooms across campusEnsure all employees are paid accurately and on-time Create flexible, accessible paths for departments to reach their recruitment and staffing goals |
Goal 1
Goal 2
Goal 3
Goal 4
Enhance pathways to timely graduation
- Establish a policy and practice action team
- Remove institutional barriers
- Analyze curriculum
- Focus financial support
Be a leader among the nation’s public research universities in career preparation
- Define career readiness
- Embed career-focused curriculum
- Leverage our alumni network
- Facilitate engagement
Create a flourishing community
- Measure community flourishing
- Engage and develop employees
- Expand access to existing credit courses
- Recruit and retain faculty
- Enhance business operations
- Support infra-structure
Accelerate UO’s impact on the world
Signature scholarship in
- Environmental resilience
- Youth behavioral and mental health
- Human performance and sport
- Accelerating innovation and scientific impact
Support budget planning to strategically prioritize resources
Design and construct state of the art, modern facilities for teaching and learning
Deliver efficient, accurate service for student payment accounts
Maintain sidewalks, wayfinding, and accessible transportation options for students and employees to access the services they need
Provide safe, clean classrooms and shared campus spaces
Provide VPFA UOAdmin internship students with meaningful development and experience through supervised project work in all areas of Finance and Administration
Support hands-on education through Sustainability Academic Residential Communities (ARCs)
Employ student workers in the IS Cyber Security Operations Center (CSOC) to monitor threat intelligence, learn and implement incident response functions, and help to guide recovery after an incident
Recruit and retain diverse, highly qualified teams of employees in every department
Connect employees with professional and personal development opportunities
Convene and support employee networks and social connection within and between teams
Provide business support that serves department needs efficiently and effectively
Support access to high quality childcare, on campus and within the broader community
Conduct trainings and assess lab hazards to support research safety and continuity
Perform research and services within the Institute for Resilient Organizations, Communities, and Environments (IROCE)
Build and support specialized technology used in labs and classrooms across campus
Ensure all employees are paid accurately and on-time
Create flexible, accessible paths for departments to reach their recruitment and staffing goals
Finance and Administration Mission and Strategic Priorities
Within the VPFA portfolio of units, our efforts are driven by a mission and set of strategic priorities that guide the way we do our work.
Our mission as a collection of service units is to provide effective and efficient services to the University of Oregon community. Whether it's employee recruitment, technology assistance, business functions, or childcare, Finance and Administration units strive to meet the needs of our university community.
Our approach can be described in three strategic priorities that guide the way we work within our various operational areas.
1. Utilize principled problem solving.
- Ask questions to understand department and business needs and goals
- What are you trying to achieve?
- What is the “Why?”
- Empower employees to be creative, customer-centered problem solvers while also ensuring the highest level of ethics and compliance with the law as well as university policies and procedures
- Encourage innovative and adaptive approaches that address constraints and limitations while meeting the business goal
2. Recruit, retain, and develop a diverse, highly qualified staff.
- Create career pathways and opportunities for growth and development
- Support robust and specialized onboarding by department and role
- Build social connection, engagement, community, and belonging for all employees
- Provide development tools and resources for excellent supervision
- Support employee career goals and provide ongoing development for employees to do their jobs effectively
3. Improve business processes and leverage technology and data effectively.
- Regularly review and refine business processes to align with industry best practices
- Foster a culture of innovation and continuous improvement
- Identify opportunities for automation and efficiency wherever possible to free up employees to focus on their most important work
- Improve inter-departmental communication to reduce bottlenecks and delays
- Utilize data to track goals and make informed decisions
- Explore potential uses for AI and other technologies