Priority 2015 MNU “H MNU’s North Star


e who fails to plan, plans to fail” is a popular quote often used to inspire businesses and individuals to achieve success. But there is also a biblical basis for this sage advice. Habakkuk 2:2 instructs the reader to, “write the vision; make it plain upon tablets, so he may run who reads it.” Two years ago the MNU executive administrative team set out to write a vision which will inspire and direct the entire campus toward achieving an ambitious set of objectives.


This vision is Priority 2015. Serving as MNU’s “North Star,”


Priority 2015 streamlines all of the various strategic plans written over


the past several years. The condensed plan is now an 11-page booklet that clearly outlines six overarching objectives and the tactics that will be executed to achieve them over the next five years.


“Rather than trying to fix one problem at a


time, we felt it was critical to set a course with a strategic plan that would give a strong sense of direction, provide some real benchmarks, and an accountability structure for the university administrative team,” says MNU president Dr. Edwin H. Robinson.


Once the plan was finalized and approved by the


Board of Trustees, Dr. Robinson spent the summer of 2010 distributing it to church constituencies, faculty, and staff members.


The plan contains the following six objectives:


• Mission based enrollment with 1,300 traditional undergraduate students and 1,500 adult and graduate students in professional programs.


• Increasing resource development through annual giving, endowment growth through gifts and investments, grants, and alumni giving.


• The capital development of 21st National Distinction


century campus facilities.


MNU is already making great strides toward meeting the goals outlined in objective two, which focuses on achieving an academic program of distinction. A central tactic is obtaining the highest level of accreditation for each professional program. Presently MNU enjoys accreditation by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. The Commission governs accreditation in the North Central States of the U.S. The next natural step in creating an academic program of distinction is raising the bar through additional national accrediting bodies.


“Our goal in the accreditation process is that


Faculty such as Dr. Crayton Moss (’76), professor of athletic training, help move MNU forward in its objective to gain recognition for academic programs and faculty scholarship. Moss has developed accredited athletic training, kinesiology, and sports management programs at four universities.


every one of our professional programs that has an accrediting standard associated with it would move to the highest accreditation possible,” Dr. Robinson says.


In August the graduate counseling programs


leading to the Master of Arts degree were approved for accreditation by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). Dr. Todd Frye, chair, Counselor Education program, describes the CACREP accreditation as the “gold standard” in counseling preparation programs nationwide.


MNU’s strategic Plan, Priority 2015, outlines aggressive objectives and goals and is making strides in the areas of academic accreditation and distinction.


• An academic program of distinction with innovative programming and exemplary faculty and student scholarship.


• Create a premier community life with first preference on-campus student services for 700 traditional undergraduate students living in residence halls.


• Stable financial position with a positive cash flow from operating activities annually, compliance with liquidity ratio requirements for the outstanding series 2008 bond issues through FY15, and the elimination of current long-term debt no later than June 30, 2020.


6 | Accent magazine | Fall 2010


“It’s recognized in the field of counseling preparation programs and with licensing boards as being the model of what counseling preparation looks like,” Frye says. “It ensures that the content taught in the program is consistent with national expectations.”


In addition to an assurance that the program meets national academic standards, graduating from a CACREP program offers students a distinct advantage: higher portability of their degrees from state-to-state and minimizing lengthy state licensing procedures.


“Most of the states’ licensing boards base their educational


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