The long-term plan has been two years in the making.
PRINCETON -- Princeton University would build a new residential college to accommodate a growing number of students and other new facilities under a strategic plan approved by the university's board of trustees Saturday.
The 24-page framework released Tuesday identifies key goals and major priorities for the Ivy League school as it looks toward its future.
The strategic planning process began in January 2014.
"While the completion of this framework is a significant achievement, more planning remains ahead of us," President Christopher L. Eisgruber said in a statement. "The framework identifies a number of goals that will require very substantial commitments of resources and significant fundraising ... and all of the priorities it articulates will require through consultation, wise decision-making, and the judicious allocation of funds."
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Here are some of the priorities identified:
Under "supporting excellence in the university's core mission":
- Continued efforts to attract and support talented faculty, students and staff from a wide range of demographic groups and to enhance the diversity and inclusivity of the entire campus community "at all levels and in all fields."
- Reaffirming Princeton's "signature commitment" to affordability and ensuring that all students on financial aid are able to attend without requiring loans
- Adjusting the size of the graduate student body selectively and strategically, with an expectation of incremental growth over time as the university adds faculty members and expands into new areas of scholarship and research
Under "meeting Princeton's responsibilities for leadership in research and education":
- Beginning to plan for 125 more undergraduates per class and for the construction of a seventh residential college
- Reinstate a small transfer admissions program for the first time since 1990 as a way to attract students with diverse backgrounds and experiences, such as military veterans and students from low-income backgrounds, including some who began their studies at community colleges
- Build an interdisciplinary program and new facilities in environmental studies
Under "responding to technology's impact on research, education and society":
- Investment, including new facilities, to support new and existing research and teaching programs in the School of Engineering and Applied Science
- Continue to explore how online pedagogy can enhance teaching on campus and elsewhere
- Collaborate with nonprofit, for-profit and governmental sectors to advance the university's educational and research mission
"The administration will review the task force recommendations with an expectation that some will be pursued further, some will not and some will go forward only if there is sufficient philanthropic support to pay for them," the school said.
Princeton's endowment, which is now valued at $22.7 billion, represents about one-half of the university's operating budget.
Cristina Rojas may be reached at crojas@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @CristinaRojasTT. Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.