The Strategic Plan

The first Strategic Plan developed as part of the IPPF was 'Future Directions:  The University Strategic Plan 2004-2008'.  This plan provided the University with a clear direction for the future and enabled achievement of its main goals - a commitment to our students and growth and sustainability in its traditional areas of strength – intensive research and high quality teaching.

It also focussed and directed the University to maximise opportunities and meet the challenges of a competitive Higher Education environment by setting out clear, high-level goals for the core areas of its business.

While the University’s core characteristics remains unchanged, the challenges faced in achieving its goals do not.  As a 'living' document that remains responsive to a changing environment, the Strategic Plan is reviewed annually, and rolled forward to ensure a five-year plan is available prior to the commencement of the annual planning cycle.  The 2004-2008 Plan was comprehensively updated in 2007 prior to the end of its 5-year cycle.

A New Strategic Plan for 2008-2012

The new plan for 2008-2012 is intended to capitalise on the University’s existing strengths and take advantage of new opportunities.   

‘Building a Great Research University: The University of Adelaide Strategic Plan 2008-2012’ was approved by Council on December 3, 2007 for public release in February 2008.  This plan is the University’s vision for the future and outlines the strategies necessary to position it to move forward. The plan was revised and approved by Council during 2009 to take account of changes to the Commonwealth policy environment and the impacts of the global financial crisis. This has not resulted in a change of direction for the University, but rather allowed us to reconfirm our approach and commitment to building a great research university and to ensure a clear alignment of our goals to those of government and the community.

The Strategic Plan is available in various formats from the Current University Plans and Performance Reports page.

Prepared by the Vice Chancellor and the Vice-Chancellor’s Committee, in consultation with University Council, the University community and external stakeholders, it sets the overarching direction for the University over a five-year period.

The new plan:

• Reasserts research as a defining University characteristic;
• Asserts that research is not conducted at the expense of education but as an essential element of teaching excellence;
• Demonstrates a stronger external focus that meets the broader community’s expectations locally, nationally and internationally;
• Integrates Community Engagement (with Internationalisation as an extension of that community) within the core business themes;
• Is  more strategic and directional in nature than previous plans;
• Provides the strategic framework under which more specific and detailed strategies will be outlined within the University’s various operational plans; and
• Sets aspirational targets that define the performance levels required to achieve the vision.

Key Strategic Focal Points for 2008-2012

Research

• Research Scale
  • Restoring national share of research income
• Research Focus and Impact
  • Development of larger-scale, high-impact research concentrations
  • Leveraging external funding
• Research Training
  • Increasing international HDR enrolments
  • HDR Completions

Education

• Scale in Student Numbers
  • 20,000 EFTSL
  • Expanding pathways and opportunities outside traditional areas of local demand
  • Lifting levels of retention and progression
• Quality of Teaching
  • Greater postgraduate focus facilitating higher undergraduate TERs
• Student Experience
  • Flexibility
  • Support
  • Services

Services and Resources

• Enabling Services
  • Implementation of Services Excellence program
  • Simplification and standardisation of business processes
  • Efficiency benefits to be reinvested in research and education
• Resource Capability
  • Whole-of-Institution improvements to enable delivery of growth targets

Community Engagement and Internationalisation

One of the core values of the University is an understanding that the institution exists by the will of the communities of which it is a part: locally, nationally and internationally.

Shaping, recognising and responding to community needs and expectations are considered essential to the University’s future and this has been embedded within each section of the plan.