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Our next chapter
Honor our past.
Build what comes next.
Our Purpose
Transformative Learning and Adaptability for Life
- Prepared Professionals.
- Community Leaders.
- Civic Stewards.
Defiance College is looking toward 2046 with a shared commitment to an affordable, accessible education that prepares students for a changing world.
Through relevant academic programs, career preparation with Jacket Journey, and community-based research through the McMaster School for Advancing Humanity, our plan connects the work we do today with the college we are becoming.
Our Vision
As a mission-driven institution, Defiance College intentionally designs well-rounded and experiential learning opportunities that empower graduates to be career-ready, ethical, engaged, inclusive and adaptable in an ever-changing world.
Defiance College: Regionally-ranked. Nationally recognized. Locally responsive.
Five aspirations
One shared
future.
Reimagine its Academic Model
Relevant programs. Applied learning. Preparation for a changing world.
Build Institutional Durability & Responsiveness
Align resources, infrastructure and technology with the college’s future.
Modernize the Defiance College Experience
Connect learning, campus life and career readiness.
Invest in People Who Carry the Mission Forward
Support the faculty and staff who make the Defiance experience possible.
Extend Defiance College’s Impact Beyond Campus
Build partnerships that connect our students, our region and the world.
Turning direction into action
Three areas of focus.
Explore the goals guiding our programs, resources and partnerships.
01Distinctive Programs & ExperiencesLearning with purpose. A campus where students thrive.
- Distinguish or develop three to five signature undergraduate programs, with all programs emphasizing critical thinking grounded in academic analysis.
- Build national recognition for innovation and effectiveness, with the potential for regional ranking among independent colleges in the Midwest.
- Advance a culture of academic innovation, application and technological acumen across campus.
- Expand industry-recognized certificates and microcredentials as workforce needs evolve.
- Review and update graduate and adult programs for viability and fit.
- Support teaching, research and creative excellence for students, faculty and staff.
- Strengthen well-being initiatives and supportive mental health resources across campus.
- Cultivate a respectful, welcoming, trustworthy, collaborative and engaged campus culture rooted in traditions, college pride and accountability.
- Strengthen existing partnerships and seek new local, regional, national and international connections.
- Enhance and measure the student experience inside and outside the classroom.
- Use legislative and organizational connections to address national retention measures in the context of athletic transfers and transient student populations.
- Establish and pursue four- and six-year graduation rate goals in accordance with HLC requirements.
- Establish and pursue first-year retention rate goals in accordance with HLC requirements.
02Foundational & Financial SustainabilityThe people, resources and systems to move us forward.
- Align campus goals and Higher Learning Commission (HLC) criteria and assumed practices with reviewed and updated policies and procedures.
- Promote and expand the reach of Defiance College’s distinctive market niches.
- Align each Cabinet leader’s functional area with the SIP, prioritizing and reassessing resource investments annually.
- Invest in the campus environment and infrastructure to meet current and future operational, educational, residential, summer, community, regional and accessibility needs.
- Develop an integrated technology environment that improves efficiency, the student experience and up-to-date, well-rounded, experiential teaching and learning.
- Develop and retain a diverse, high-performing faculty and staff to support institutional needs.
03Community Engagement & PartnershipsA stronger Defiance. A stronger region. A wider reach.
- Demonstrate Defiance College’s estimated $50 million economic impact on Northwest Ohio.
- Strengthen engagement and connection with younger alumni.
- Establish and implement a comprehensive marketing and communications plan.
- Expand student engagement in and beyond the community through service, leadership and experiential learning.
- Respond to community and workforce needs through purposeful, mutually beneficial partnerships that support students and the college’s standing in the region.
Goals are condensed for this web overview of the Strategic Integrated Plan.
A living plan · 2026–2046
A long view.
Ongoing accountability.
Board and administrative oversight will guide execution, with regular review to keep the plan responsive to the needs of students and the college.
Every year
Check progress, goals and objectives. Prioritize and reassess resource investments.
Every three years
Conduct a thorough assessment of the plan. The first review is planned for 2029, aligning with the anticipated HLC Assurance Argument.
The mission that moves us forward
To Know. To Understand. To Lead. To Serve.
Defiance College graduates students to lead distinctive lives in their chosen professions through a spirit of service.