The planning process for Flying Further began in 2020 and involved collaboration across the university community to ask the difficult questions, understand our challenges and leverage our opportunities.  

What did the strategic planning process look like? 

The planning process was a comprehensive universitywide effort stewarded by three committees. The 42-member Strategic Planning Steering Committee, a diverse group of representatives from a broad range of schools and colleges, administrative units, alumni, and community members, led the introspection and assessment phase of the process. The Futures Committee, a group of senior university leaders, focused on our vision for the university. The Executive Committee oversaw and facilitated the strategic planning process. 

In the first phase of the process, we engaged in assessment, evaluation and research, with a critical eye on who we are as a higher education institution, how we operate in this space and in the world, our capabilities, and our points of growth. From there, we articulated our values, crafted our aspiration statement and defined our strategic priorities. 

Phase 1: Assessment and Research 

The Steering Committee led assessment and research in the first phase. It objectively assessed the university’s role in the changing higher education landscape, allowing us to identify and address our strengths, capabilities and points of growth. It delved into a period of research and discovery to determine and catalog Temple’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, as well as the university’s core values, within the context of the dynamic nature of higher education in the U.S. 

Phase 2: Aspiration Statement and Strategic Priorities 

With a clear understanding of the university’s strengths and core values established in Phase 1, Phase 2 focused on developing the Flying Further aspiration statement and strategic priorities. 

The aspiration statement is the foundation of our work at Temple. It articulates our shared purpose—what makes our community unique and why what we do is important. Once the statement was developed, the focus shifted to the future and the development of comprehensive strategic priorities to realize that collective vision.  

The university’s strategic priorities guide the strategic plan and how we engage in meaningful change for the future. Our efforts focus on five strategic priorities: We will facilitate boundless access for future generations of learners, providing exceptional educational excellence by aligning the future of learning with the future of work; we will build on and support the strength of our faculty to provide extraordinary thought leadership in research, scholarship and creative expression and enhance our efforts in community engagement, from our neighbors in North Philadelphia to global communities impacted by our campuses around the world; and, we will be intentional in elevating our foundation for tomorrow so that our standing reflects the remarkable quality of our special university.   

Phase 3: Action Plan 

Phase 3 centered on translating the university’s strategic priorities into a clear action plan with initiatives tied to measurable outcomes. Faculty, staff, and students contributed ideas to advance our goals, and the university established an institutionwide structure for sustained development, execution, and assessment of strategic initiatives. This framework enabled Temple to identify a set of high-impact initiatives, support stakeholders in developing detailed implementation plans, and track progress and impact as the work advanced. 

The initiatives emerging from Flying Further have driven meaningful progress across the university and set in motion changes that will shape the Temple community for years to come. Highlights include: 

• A comprehensive redesign of the enrollment process and a reimagined approach to financial aid, which contributed to enrollment gains, expanded access through the Temple Promise, and record-breaking application volume. 
• Major advancements in student success efforts, including expanded academic advising resources and the adoption of a predictive analytics tool that enables earlier identification and support of at-risk students. 
• Strengthened support for faculty-led interdisciplinary work through the launch of the Faculty Development and Collaboration Hub (FDC-Hub), a one-stop resource for interdisciplinary guidance and connections, and I-SPARK, which provides programmatic and administrative support from early team formation through full proposal submission. 
• Continued investment in student well-being, including the development of a dedicated Mental Health and Wellness division. 
• Deepened engagement with the North Philadelphia community through initiatives such as the Community Gateway, which reinforces Temple’s role as a civic anchor and advances educational access and economic development in surrounding neighborhoods. 

You can find additional information about the initiatives developed under Flying Further by visiting the pages linked below. 

Educational Excellence

Thought Leadership

Foundation for Tomorrow

• Campus Development Plan
• Dean Reviews
• RCM Optimization
• Data-Driven Decision-Making
• Employee Engagement
• Business Efficiencies