Olivet College Mission Statement
The mission of Olivet College is to make available to a diverse campus community an education which will enrich lives intellectually, morally and spiritually. Having gained these qualities through the educational experiences at Olivet, our hope is that our graduates will embody the Divine art and science of doing good to others, as stated by the founding fathers of Olivet College in 1844.

The following Olivet College Vision and four strategic priorities were developed using the college's mission and vision statements.

Olivet College Vision

1. Achieve academic and co-curricular excellence
2. Foster a culture of responsibility as articulated in the Olivet College Compact
3. Strengthen enrollment management and student retention
4. Achieve strong financial status

Olivet College Vision

Our Vision
Olivet College is dedicated today, as it was in 1844, to the principle that the future of humanity rests in the hands, hearts and minds of those who will accept responsibility for themselves and others in an increasingly diverse society. This principle of individual and social responsibility is realized in the context of a distinctive liberal arts experience which nurtures in our students the emergence and development of skills, perspectives and ethics necessary to better themselves and society. We seek to involve our students in an active academic community which cherishes diversity of thought and expression. In so doing, we will help our students discover ways they can most effectively contribute to the common good.

Our Aspirations
We aspire to provide a campus-wide academic culture such that our students will come to understand the need to serve others as well as themselves, to celebrate both the wealth of human diversity and the bond of human similarity, to care for the earth and all its resources, and to strike a balance among their intellectual, physical, emotional and spiritual capacities. It is our hope that each graduate will embrace our essential principle in his or her life's work.

Our Commitment
Driven by our academic vision, Olivet College maintains a learning environment that encourages scholastic excellence among students, faculty and the wider campus community. Students at Olivet College are committed first to their learning. Faculty at Olivet College are committed first to their teaching. And, the institution is committed first to providing the necessary resources and support to achieve these goals both within and beyond the classroom.

Our Heritage
The foundation of our guiding principle was established by the founders of Olivet College when they wrote,

We wish simply to do good to our students, by placing in their hands the means of intellectual, moral and spiritual improvement, and to teach them the divine art and science of doing good to others.

*Adopted by the Olivet College Faculty Dec. 6, 1993; adopted by the Olivet College Board of Trustees Jan. 29, 1994

1. Achieve Academic and Co-Curricular Excellence

Objective 1
Maintain a fully staffed, highly qualified teaching faculty

Initiatives

1. Provide effective orientation and mentoring resources for new faculty.

2. Provide an enriching and rewarding professional environment for faculty, including campus workshops and opportunities to observe exceptional teaching practices, external professional development and leadership training opportunities, institutionalize faculty IDPs (Individual Development Plans), annual assessment and evaluation of personnel and alignment of compensation and benefits with accepted benchmarks.

Objective 2
Insure a current and well developed curriculum

Initiatives

1. Develop and establish a curriculum (five-year) review process that includes assessment of the Liberal Arts Core, Major Seminars, programs and concentrations, portfolio program, and major/minor programs.

2. Institutionalize a "writing across the curriculum" program.

3. Implement the special education program for the preparation of teachers of K-12 students with learning disabilities and/or emotional impairments.

Objective 3
Foster process that promotes dynamic development in academic departments

Initiatives

1. Effectively establish certain "mandatory" departmental organizational elements, including an advisory council, at least one professional organization and strategic plans that drive curricular development.

2. Provide leadership training and support for department chairs.

Objective 4
Provide and maintain an environment that is conducive to teaching and learning, including deliberate link of curricular (academic) and co-curricular (student life) elements

Initiatives

Extend learning beyond the classroom walls via extended support of non classroom student space.

1. Carry out initiatives contained in the Campus Facilities Plan.

Develop joint (curricular and co-curricular) programs for the college community, including emphasis in student Portfolio on co-curricular learning.

2. Increase levels of faculty and staff participation in a broad range of campus activities. Create and foster pre-professional student identity incorporating departmental and co-curricular activities.

Objective 5
Insure a successful HLC-NCA review

Initiative

Form a dedicated review team and execute a thorough and campus-wide collaborative self study 2004-2007 (prior to NCA Team Visit in early 2007).

1. Fully execute a (self-study and logistical considerations) NCA site visit anticipated for early 2007.

Objective 6
Create an enriching student life experience

Initiatives

1. Encourage creation of student government organizations with formal avenues to engage with the campus administration and board of trustees, including access to leadership training opportunities.

2. Conduct a well-organized intramural program that accommodates the interests of as many students as possible.

3. Encourage and reward attendance by students at a wide range of campus and community events.

4. Foster a strong and responsible Greek-life system on campus via administration of a formal accreditation process, effective advising structures and mandatory community service requirements.

5. Complete Phase II of the Cutler Athletic Complex.

6. Develop new student life areas.

Objective 7
Maintain a highly competitive position within the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA)

Initiatives

1. Maintain clear expectations for coaches in terms of recruitment, performance and their role in fostering a culture of responsibility with students.

2. Ensure that all athletic facilities are adequate and highly competitive in comparison to other institutions in the MIAA.

2. Foster a culture of responsibility as articulated in the Olivet College Compact

Objective 1
Maintain an employee environment that demands and rewards excellence and commitment to the strategic objectives of the college

Initiatives

1. Consistent execution of formal assessment and goal setting for all employees.

2. Commitment to employee development programs.

3. Constantly improve compensation and benefit programs to remain competitive and designed in such a way to attract and retain top level employees.

4. Communicate matters of employee interest (e.g. policy, campus events) in a timely and informative manner.

Objective 2
Foster a culture of one human family: diversity and similarity

Initiative

Develop programs and structure that promotes communication and enlightenment for employees, students and College trustees on issues of diversity.

Objective 3
Increase expectations for students regarding responsible behavior inside and outside the classroom

Initiatives

1. Create a constant dialogue with student organizations (including Greek societies),athletic teams and individual students regarding what is responsible behavior.

2. Foster responsible civic involvement.

3. Strengthen enrollment management and student retention

Objective 1
Achieve a consistent capacity enrollment at the college from spring to fall and fall to spring semesters that elevates the overall college enrollment between 1,150 ö 1,200 total students.

Initiatives

1. Fill available beds in all resident halls and theme houses.

2. Create more and better housing options for students through capital fundraising.

3. Achieve retention rates that will result in a level and moderate need for new students each year of approximately 320-350.

4. Continue to raise mean incoming high school GPA and test scores by recruiting academically prepared students.

5. Achieve a more balanced distribution of students based on relative level of financial need roughly as follows by recruiting from a wider range of high schools.

6. Reach an overall gender balance by recruiting more females for athletic teams, and the arts and sciences.

7. Attain greater non-athlete student enrollment as a means of reaching 1,200 enrollment goal by recruiting for specific academic majors.

Objective 2
Establish institutional retention strategies that will elevate the college's retention and graduation rates to a level at or above national averages for private liberal art colleges.

Initiatives

1. Provide academic support services for all students.

2. Develop protocol regarding institutional research activity and analysis of data relating to student outcomes and issues pertinent to retention (including academics, student life and financial issues).

3. Actively communicate to the employees that retention is everyone's responsibility.

4. Enhance faculty involvement in New Student Orientations.

4. Achieve strong financial status

Objective 1
Achieve a balanced operating budget on an annual basis which provides for consistent support for the strategic curricular and co-curricular initiatives of the college. Budget must fully consider the following:

Operating revenue in light of enrollment expectations and other auxiliary activities

Strategic investment levels for programs (curricular and co-curricular)

Debt service and facilities maintenance requirements.

Initiatives

1. Consistently execute an annual process to identify and obtain resources needed to achieve the initiatives for key student programs.

2. Throughout the year, identify opportunities to improve productivity/efficiencies in order to free up resources for our most strategically important areas (process of on-going improvement).

Objective 2
Provide needed financial resources via fundraising for improvements to the physical campus at levels necessary to continue providing competitive resources for our students estimated needs will range from $25-$35 million.

Initiative

1. Complete strategic assessment of curricular and co-curricular programming to be offered by the college. From that assessment, a working campus plan can be fully developed and engineered into a facilities model for purposes of fundraising and other potential finance considerations.

Objective 3
Achieve significant endowment growth. Endowment of $30 million via new gifts of $15 million and investment growth of no less than an average of 8% annually.

Initiatives

1. Achieve a minimum annual return on investments of 8% via adherence to stated investment policy and utilization of proven investment management professionals.

2. New contributions (net of any spending) via tactics engineered by the Olivet College Advancement Office.

3. Consider a prudent and responsible spending rate policy including appropriate time for implementation. Must be brought forth to Board of Trustees through the Finance Committee.

Objective 4
Through fundraising efforts, donor stewardship programs and continued enhancement of systems and procedures develop a foundation of giving to Olivet College that will serve to provide annual cash support of a minimum $7 million by 2012.

Initiatives

1. Develop structures to ensure that all campaigns (quiet or public) are well organized and roles and responsibilities are clearly defined (both staff and volunteers).

2. Develop Case Statement for prospective donors that is informed by, and clearly aligned with, the strategic priorities and campus facilities plans of the college.

3. Continue to engage alumni and put forth expectation of 100% participation by alumni in annual giving goals.

4. Continue to enhance measures taken to build upon relationships with past donors.

5. Ensure that the public image (including the perception of alumni) consistently portrays our commitment to excellence and the mission of the college.