Integrated Enrolment Growth Plan | University Strategic Plan
As part of Shape: The University Strategic Plan 2023-2033, the U of A has set forth an ambitious goal to expand enrolment to 60,000 students by 2033. With it comes the opportunity to meet the needs of our growing province and enhance our impact in Alberta and the world. We embrace our role in delivering higher education to both Albertans and those from around the globe and welcome the opportunity to expand to meet labour market needs while sustaining outstanding academic quality.
INTRODUCING THE INTEGRATED ENROLMENT GROWTH PLAN (IEGP)
Message from the Chair, Integrated Enrolment Growth Planning (IEGP) Steering Committee
I am excited to introduce the university’s new Integrated Enrolment Growth Plan (IEGP). A first of its kind in Canada, the IEGP is a vital step in bringing to life the vision detailed in Shape: A Strategic Plan of Impact 2023-2033 as we aim to effectively manage and expand enrolment to 60,000 students over the next decade.
Fundamentally, growth is about creating a community in line with the goals and values of the institution — to foster access and diversity, ensure we continue to have an impact on the world around us and for the communities we support, and work to build a sustainable future for the university.
But growth is also about seizing opportunities and mitigating risks. As a result, the IEGP is a plan about how best to manage enrolment and respond to the conditions of the day. This isn’t just about growing enrolment arbitrarily, but continuing to focus our actions in ways that build our community, seize opportunity and adapt to our realities. In this way, the IEGP works to mitigate risk in a contextually relevant and iterative way.
Furthermore, the IEGP weaves together various elements of our community, acknowledging the different impacts and opportunities associated with our enrolment decisions. This encompasses essential areas such as infrastructure, staff and faculty development, program innovation, student support services, IT enhancements and more. At its core, the IEGP underscores our dedication to building a vibrant community, adapting to our realities, and taking actions that align with our institutional values.
As you read through the IEGP, I encourage you to think about these themes and consider how growth can shape our path forward to create the university we want to be.
Melissa Padfield
Deputy Provost, Students and Enrolment
Why Grow Enrolment?
Access
Growth ensures continued access for Albertan students by keeping pace with our province’s growing population and increased labour market demand.
Impact
Growth creates a diverse community from a variety of innovative programs, leading to even greater impact in Alberta and the world.
Sustainability
Growth enables staged investments in services, resources and infrastructure to secure a sustainable future for the university.
INTEGRATED ENROLMENT MANAGEMENT
Following approval of the IEGP by PEC-S in June 2024, an Integrated Enrolment Management Committee (IEMC) was established to provide ongoing oversight of the IEGP and its recommendations. The role of IEMC is to:
- Review faculty enrolment targets before finalization to provide strategic advice and confirm alignment with the overall institutional enrolment and growth plans, looking for cross institutional opportunities
- Oversee aggregate management of enrolment targets
- Review performance against current-year targets and identify trends or issues to be addressed
- Engage with strategic opportunities related to achieving enrolment objectives (e.g., considerations related to programs)
- Provide ongoing strategic guidance to integrated enrolment management supports, including but not limited to data and analysis approach, faculty-level supports, recruitment activities, etc.
Membership
- Deputy Provost (Students and Enrolment) — Chair
- Deputy Provost (Academic)
- Vice-Provost and Registrar
- College Deans & Vice-Provosts (CSSH, CHS, CNAS)
- Vice-Provost and Dean, FGPS
- Faculty Deans (FNS, AUG, CSJ)
- Vice-President, External Relations
- Associate Vice-President, Infrastructure Planning, Development and Partnerships
- Associate Vice-President, Performance, Analytics and Institutional Research (PAIR)
- Director, Academic Budgets and Planning
- Enrolment Management Service Partners
- Deputy Provost (Students and Enrolment) — chair
- Deputy Provost (Academic)
- Vice-Provost and Registrar
- College Deans & Vice-Provosts (CSSH, CHS, CNAS)
- Vice-Provost and Dean, FGPS
- Faculty Deans (FNS, AUG, CSJ)
- Vice-President, External Relations
- Associate Vice-President, Infrastructure Planning, Development and Partnerships
- Associate Vice-President, Performance, Analytics and Institutional Research (PAIR)
- Director, Academic Budgets and Planning
- Enrolment Management Service Partners
The Enrolment Growth Planning Process
Achieving growth on this scale is complex and requires coordinated planning with a staged approach to securing resources and investing in building our capacity to support and sustain higher enrolment. As such, an Integrated Enrolment Growth Plan (IEGP) process has been developed to initiate broad engagement, provide strategic coordination and ensure that growth is aligned with the university’s mission and organizational capacity. Through this planning process, various aspects and impacts of enrolment growth are being explored, including areas of investment, student access and experience, support services, as well as the physical space and technology to accommodate such growth.
- Align enrolment growth plans with research and teaching objectives, demographic growth potential, workforce demand and international opportunities.
- Develop detailed planning scenarios for growth objectives broken down by graduate, undergraduate, international, domestic and Indigenous learners for 60,000 students by 2033.
- Provide a roadmap for advocacy efforts and infrastructure decisions in alignment with growth objectives.
- Establish an innovative space utilization and development strategy that enables growth, including work to expand virtual offerings in online education and hybrid learning.
- Ensure a clear accountability structure and phased planning for achieving growth objectives.
- Create an appropriately inclusive process for advancing this work.
- Ensure planning connects to the objectives of the Student Experience Action Plan and aligns with other university strategic plans and initiatives.
- Decision making is ultimately governed by our institutional strategic plans and aligned with a One University approach.
- The university will endeavor to be responsive to government priorities, which includes participating in targeted enrolment funding opportunities.
- Growth planning should be mindful of our commitments to Indigenous initiatives and to equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) and is informed by consideration for the quality of the experience of our students, faculty and staff.
- Growth planning is data-informed.
- Transparency is essential throughout the enrolment growth planning process.
Steering Committee
The Integrated Enrolment Growth Plan (IEGP) Steering Committee directs development of the draft plan that will outline the interdependencies, feasibility considerations and impact needs for enrolment growth. It is composed of College Deans and Vice-Provosts, the Dean of the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies as well as support from communications and data specialists to provide an overarching lens on enrolment growth.
See Membership »
Oversight Committee
The Areas of Focus Oversight Committee assesses the data strategy associated with enrolment growth and prepares the initial draft plan for the IEGP Steering Committee to review. This committee is composed of the Chairs and Vice-Chairs from each of the Areas of Focus Groups to ensure alignment, manage connections and establish coordination across all working groups.
See Membership »
Areas of Focus Groups
Recognizing the diversity of our community and the broad reach that student enrolment has on the university, seven Areas of Focus Groups have been created to ensure all aspects of growth are examined. Members of the Areas of Focus Groups are composed of leadership, faculty, staff and students representing the three colleges, all faculties, including the stand-alone faculties, university-wide service units as well as the Students’ Union and Graduate Students’ Association.
See Membership »
- recommendations for scaled growth to achieve 60,000 students, including target enrolment composition
- interim targets including viable targets and contingencies in the absence of funding for domestic growth
- recommendations to address critical dependencies and constraints
- governance and decision pathways including recommendations for long-term enrolment planning governance
- recommendations on university community engagement
Contact
If you have questions, insights or other feedback about the Integrated Enrolment Growth Plan (IEGP), please contact IEGP@ualberta.ca.
Related Articles
Video
Verna’s Vlog with Melissa Padfield
On November 29, 2022, Interim Provost and Vice-president
link
