STRATEGIC PLAN
2026-2031
Commitment 1: Enrollment Growth
CAMPBELL COMMITS to more effective fulfillment of its mission through a University-wide effort to achieve sustainable growth in overall student enrollments, with a target of 2% average annual growth over the five-year planning period (net increase of approximately 500 students).
Objectives
OBJECTIVE 1. We will intentionally and substantially increase investment in those academic degree programs— whether existing or new—that demonstrate a clear ability to be catalysts for enrollment growth.
Metrics of Success
We will track the success and return on investment of all academic degree programs by annual enrollment, tuition and fee revenues, retention rates, time-to-degree, and placement of graduates.
We will make determinations on the addition of any new degree programs according to empirical measures of market demand, societal need, and alignment with institutional mission.
OBJECTIVE 2. We will expand and dramatically improve the marketing and promotion of degree programs and the overarching Campbell University brand.
Metrics of Success
We will measure marketing gains by tracking website traffic, social media reach, digital search
rankings, brand sentiment, and—most importantly—enrollment yield.
We will measure gains in institutional brand awareness by tracking application and yield rates
across all counties of North Carolina and by charting the increasing proportion of non-athlete enrollment coming from out of state.
We will annually track Campbell’s status as “the private university enrolling the most North
Carolina undergraduates” to ensure retention of this institutional point of pride.
OBJECTIVE 3. We will attain and sustain an overall student retention rate that exceeds 80%.
Metrics of Success
We will measure one-year retention rates of bachelor’s-seeking, first-time/full-time cohorts
with the goal of seeing 6-8% increases over the plan period.
OBJECTIVE 4. We will increase undergraduate enrollment by intentionally creating (and effectively advertising) pathways for students wishing to move seamlessly from Campbell bachelor’s degrees to Campbell graduate and professional degree programs.
Metrics of Success
We will track increases in the number and percentage of entering cohorts in Campbell’s
graduate and professional degree programs who have already earned a Campbell undergraduate degree.
OBJECTIVE 5. We will expand and improve the physical and human infrastructure necessary to sustain enrollment growth, including new investments in faculty, staff, amenities, student services, and facilities.
Metrics of Success
We will track faculty and staff hiring in those disciplinary areas where enrollments grow to such
an extent that corresponding increases are necessary.
We will monitor increases in housing fill rates and track investments in maintaining/improving residence hall quality.
We will annually survey students to gauge satisfaction on residence halls, campus dining, parking, and core student services. We will track and evaluate divisional responses to remediate items of clear student dissatisfaction.
We will chart the establishment and monitor the functioning of a centralized career services center to support student success and professional development.
OBJECTIVE 6. We will attract and retain students through the expansion and strengthening of signature, high-impact learning experiences. These signature experiences will be broadly advertised to prospective and existing students.
Metrics of Success
We will measure increases in the number of study abroad, internship, field study, and Christian
missions available to Campbell students and the percentage of our student body that participates annually.
We will measure progress toward this objective by increases in institutional and philanthropic
support for study abroad, internships, field courses, and missions.