Welcome to the Academic Affairs Strategic Framework (PDF version), a guiding document provided by GVSU's Office of the Provost.
Academic Affairs stands at the heart of our institution’s mission to foster intellectual growth, innovation, and societal impact. This strategic framework presents a collaborative vision for the future, centered on academic excellence, curricular and pedagogical innovation, transformative student experiences, teaching and scholarly activity, and engagement with our communities.
This framework is both a roadmap and a call to action. Together, we will shape a vibrant future that empowers learners, inspires discovery, and contributes meaningfully to the public good. Our framework is integrated and supports strategic leadership and engagement within and across Academic Affairs. As we look ahead, Academic Affairs will lead with purpose by ensuring that our academic enterprise remains future-ready, resilient, and deeply connected to the world around us.
Vision
The Framework starts with a Vision, which serves as a guiding light to propel us towards our future. This vision is not just a destination—it is a call to act.
As we move towards our vision, we are anchored in the need to:
- Advance student success
- Foster connections and community
- Spark discovery and partnerships
- Ensure a positive impact for people, place, and planet.
The Vision:
As we drive Grand Valley’s mission, we do so by: Leading with intention. Collaborating with purpose. Creating a lasting impact for generations to come.
Strategic Priorities
The few, multi-year, outcome-oriented focus areas define what we must achieve to advance our vision. These high-level efforts concentrate attention and resources, set guardrails for decisions, and anchor measurable results over time.
The Academic Affairs Strategic Framework consists of five strategic priorities. They are:
Strategic Priority A: Cultivate Transformative Teaching and Curriculum
Strategic Priority B: Empower Learners for the Future
Strategic Priority C: Amplify Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity
Strategic Priority D: Advance an Organization Culture of Inclusion, Equity, and Joyful Well-Being
Strategic Priority E: Activate Partnerships to Drive Positive Impact for People, Place, and Planet
Moves
A major approach to achieve strategic priority(ies) or address strategic issue(s). These tend to be multi-year in nature.
Each strategic priority in the framework consists of multiple moves. Click on an option below to learn about the moves needed to achieve that priority.
- Advance inclusive, authentically engaged, effective teaching
- Build and sustain an innovative curriculum that supports our mission and growth
- Ensure both broad and discipline-specific digital expertise
- Integrate curricular experiential learning opportunities to foster real-world application and meaning making while lowering barriers to access
- Design academic journeys that center belonging, agency, and excellence to create transformational experiences for every learner
- Solidify the first-year academic experience to meet learners where they are and create a foundation for long-term success
- Become a model for learner-readiness as we advance educational equity, grow educational attainment, and foster career resilience
- Advance research infrastructure, support systems, and recognition mechanisms to drive all scholarly innovation and creativity
- Cultivate and nurture collaborative, interprofessional, and interdisciplinary approaches to research, scholarship, and creative activity
- Build strong relationships with partners to accelerate externally engaged, mutually beneficial research, scholarship and creative activity
- Develop research capacity to solve problems and meet societal needs related to technology, healthcare, and the environment
- Foster a connected Academic Affairs community through intentional shared leadership, purposeful collaboration, and meaningful celebration
- Champion meaningful work and continuous professional growth for faculty and staff
- Optimize policies, processes, and practices to foster equity, drive operational excellence, and enhance the working experience
- Coordinate a strategic approach to external engagement to advance strategic priorities and external impact
- Deepen authentic community, professional, institutional, and industry partnerships for mutual benefit
- Strengthen our networks of alumni and donors for long-term growth
- Lead boldly in areas of excellence to drive human and environmental resilience
Actions
An action encompasses a series of activities, usually short-term and small in scale, intended to achieve a strategy. These are the specific work Academic Affairs takes to carry out a Move. This includes steps, which are the discrete, assigned tasks (with owners and due dates) that emerge from meetings or project plans.
Click below to explore the current action plan in detail.
We'd love to hear from you!
Thank you for reviewing the Academic Affairs Strategic Framework. The Office of the Provost invites you to continue the conversation of how to implement the Framework and the 2026 Action Plan within your department and college.
Have ideas or questions on how to better implement this Framework more broadly? We'd love to hear from you! Share your thoughts or questions by going to by reaching out to the Office of the Provost, or by contacting Sean Lancaster.