Formal review will track Brock’s progress on its Strategic Plan

Less than two years after Brock University adopted an Institutional Strategic Plan that commits it to specific goals and priorities until 2025, the University has published the first annual report card intended to examine progress in achieving its objectives.

The review document Brock University, Performance and Overview Indicators (September 2020) is a snapshot that uses quantitative and qualitative measures to show how the University’s key performance indicators are aligning with the objectives set out in the Strategic Plan.

Because this is an inaugural report with no previous benchmarks to use as comparators, this year’s data and findings will primarily provide a baseline that can be used for comparisons in future annual reviews.

The Strategic Plan, which was drafted by a University-wide task force then approved by Senate and the Board of Trustees, identifies Brock’s four strategic priorities for 2018-2025:

  • Offer a transformational and accessible academic and university experience;
  • Build research capacity across the University;
  • Enhance the life and vitality of our local region and beyond; and
  • Foster a culture of inclusivity, accessibility, reconciliation and decolonization.

In turn, each of those priorities has its own indicators and factors that help gauge progress in each of the four key areas.

The information in this report aims to provide an overview of the University’s performance.

The indicators and metrics outlined in this report take into account the post-secondary environment as well as the Strategic Plan and its priorities.

The first annual report shows Brock’s commitment to the Strategic Plan despite the challenges posed by the pandemic. While many institutions are reconsidering or revising their strategic plans, Brock remains committed to its strategic priorities.

Brock President Gervan Fearon said the annual review is vital in order for the University to be confident it is realizing the full benefits of going through the strategic plan exercise.

“Many people across campus collaboratively invested a lot of effort into building a plan that is a vision for the University,” said Fearon. “We owe it to ourselves and to the entire University to make sure we are staying the course and working together to achieve our goals.”

Lynn Wells, the University’s Provost and Vice-President, Academic, said the goals in the Strategic Plan are designed to make Brock an even more inclusive and dynamic centre of teaching and research, and in turn help the University contribute further to advancing regional community and economic development.

“The Strategic Plan is rich in terms of its content,” said Wells, “but collectively we all need to be sure that we are really effectively executing all of the specific items that will ultimately determine whether or not we realize our goals.”


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