UIS NorthStar Initiative

NorthStar is our guide to operationalizing the UIS Strategic Compass through the reshaping of our university for operational efficiency and academic excellence to ensure long-term sustainability and relevance.

UIS seeks to be a resilient, adaptable and market-aligned academic institution. To achieve this, we must maintain our student-centered approach and focus on action items that will position UIS to be fiscally sustainable, market-relevant and growth-minded.

UIS' NorthStar Priorities

Academic Portfolio Review & Prioritization: Strengthen UIS' academic portfolio.

Launched in 2024, the Academic Portfolio Review & Prioritization evaluated academic programs based on factors such as workforce demand, enrollment trends and community impact to ensure UIS continues to offer high-quality, mission-aligned programs that support student success. Findings from the Academic Portfolio Review were shared with the university on Sept. 12, 2025. Programs were required to submit a structured response to their scorecard and classification reflecting on their performance across key criteria and a forward-looking plan aligned with institutional priorities. Read more in Provost Schwab's letter (UIS log-in required).

Academic programs submitted 379 action plans and are currently working those plans. This will be an ongoing process, with regular reviews occurring in future years to ensure our academic portfolio remains strong and relevant for the students and community we serve.

On March 10, 2026, the provost shared the following update on the APR:

There is continuous improvement work ahead for us, and changes will take time. Change, even positive change, is challenging. I appreciate the work that has gone into this extensive review and all that will go into implementation. I believe the collective efforts are putting UIS on a sustainable and intentional path. We will continue to monitor progress, and the lessons learned along the way will inform adjustments for the next APR cycle that will take place sometime after our HLC reaffirmation in 2027.

Deficit Reduction: Achieve an annual budget balance of zero by FY32.

Over the past several years, the university's budget has accumulated a deficit that must be reduced. There are two primary ways to improve our fiscal outlook: grow revenue and reduce and/or better control expenses. With enrollment growth a continued challenge nationally for public regional universities, UIS cannot rely solely on enrollment and retention improvements to effectively balance the budget.

Tactics to help achieve this strategy include:

• Hiring Slowdown: In place as of September 2024, all requested positions and salary increases must first be reviewed by the Strategic Staffing Committee, comprised of the chancellor and vice chancellors, before being approved to post. Hiring managers are encouraged to think creatively and carefully about how to approach vacancies before requesting a position be filled.
• FY27 budget cuts: Proposals for 2-, 5- and 8-percent cuts were presented May-June 2026 to the University Budget and Planning Committee. The Chancellor's Cabinet received the committee's recommendations and voted in July 2026. The outcome of this budget-cut exercise was announced to division leaders soon after.
• Voluntary Separation Plans: The 2026 VSP program is complete. The Division of Finance and Administration is evaluating the fiscal impact this fall.
• Space Utilization: The university has an opportunity to optimize the use of space throughout campus to achieve cost-savings and operational synergies. A space utilization study occurred in early 2025, and recommendations for action steps were presented to the Cabinet during the Spring 2025 semester. Several opportunities are under consideration or in planning stages for execution.
• Other initiatives: Develop a strategy for use and distribution of the remaining Strategic Investment Fund dollars (approximately $1.1 million); explore funding model changes in areas that generate non-state dollars; identify opportunities to reduce contract expenditures; and continue to review our scholarship distribution.

Student Retention: Improve student persistence, reduce dropout rates and increase graduate rates.

UIS wants students who attend our university to complete their degree or achieve their non-degree academic goals. A number of initiatives are under way to better understand why some UIS students may "stop out" and use that data to build programs and initiatives to better retain them.

Tactics in place to work toward this priority include:

• A Retention Plan Steering Committee has been established and is led by individuals representing the divisions of Academic Affairs, Student Affairs and Enrollment and Retention Management. The purpose of this group is to develop a comprehensive, institution-wide retention plan that supports the UIS mission, enhances student success and improves retention rates across all demographics, academic programs and modalities.
• Student Affairs reimagined New Student Orientation to provide a stronger initial start for incoming students.
• UIS staff have ramped up outreach to students who have stopped out but are close to earning a degree. Additionally, we are working to identify ways to better re-engage with stop-out students. 
• GPA information has been added in AdviseU for reference by advisors when talking about student’s best course of study.
• Internal dashboards have been created for use in analyzing retention-related data.
• Retention efforts have been aligned across campus to support HLC Quality Initiative work.

To view data on retention rates, the following reports are available through Institutional Research:

• First-Time (Freshmen) Student Retention & Graduation Rates
• First-Time Transfer Student Retention & Graduation Rates
• First-Time Graduate Student Retention & Graduation Rates

Enrollment Growth: Strategically grow enrollment through targeted recruitment strategies and strong yield efforts.

The Chancellor's Cabinet added this priority in July 2026. The Division of Enrollment & Retention Management will share its priorities early this fall.

Feedback and Questions

Have questions, concerns or ideas? Share them via the NorthStar Strategic Priorities Feedback Form. Submitted questions may be used to develop an FAQ in the future.

Have a success story to share related to one of our three NorthStar priorities? Send it to chancellor@uis.edu.

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