University Planning

Strategic Plan 2019-2024

Mission: Chico State is the comprehensive university of the North State with a global reach.

Through excellence of inquiry, innovation, and experiential learning, we develop students who are critical thinkers, responsible citizens, diverse leaders, and inspired stewards of environmental, social, and economic resources.

Vision: Chico State will be known as a preeminent university solving the unprecedented challenges of the 21st century.

2019-2024 Chico State Strategic Plan (PDF)


Progress on Strategic Priorities


Spotlight Stories

Students walk along the footpath and staircase outside of Éstom Jámani Hall (formerly Sutter Hall at sunset.)

The renaming of one of the largest residence halls honors the University's values and partnership with Tribal communities.

Shawn Melton (center) joined students, employees, and community members that lined up to sign up for an Android tablet and data plan all for a one-time fee of $11.

Excess Telecom gave away hundreds of Android tablets and free or low-cost data plans to help close the digital divide.

Humberto view

Since 2016, approximately 1,600 Wildcats have studied abroad in 35 countries, while hundreds of international students choose Chico for college.

Student Yarely Contreras sits with one foot up on a tree retaining wall made of bricks as she looks onto into the distance.

Giving Back Home offers support and resources to students looking to make a difference in their hometowns.

President Gayle Hutchinson (center) and partners hold shovels together at the groundbreaking ceremony for the new College of BSS Building in the footprint of the old Physical Sciences Building.

The future home of the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences will be the University’s first net-zero building.

Joseph James, Chairman of the Yurok Tribe (right) speaks as and Arthur Garcia, Cultural Resource Manager and Tribal Elder of the Wintu Tribe, speaks at the opening of the Kapusta 1B project, a new Sacramento River side channel.

The Kapusta Open Space Side Channel near Redding is open and teeming with salmon, thanks to a multi-agency partnership.


Enduring Committments

Strategic Planning Matrix

Enduring commitments are the time-honored promises we make to students and each other. They are the building blocks for a high-quality college education. They are essential ingredients to student success. Yes, we have always embraced them, and with the launch of our new strategic plan we promise to do them better than we have ever done before. 

Our Enduring Commitments are:

  • Academic Distinction
  • Transformative Student Experience
  • Prominent Scholarship and Innovation
  • Culture of Excellence and Accountability

Academic Distinction

Provide high-quality undergraduate and graduate programs through innovative pedagogy, experiential learning, and leading-edge scholarship.

  • Foster student success and educational equity through inclusive pedagogical approaches, high-impact practices, and the intelligent use of data
  • Deliver interdisciplinary experiences that prepare students for success in the global economy and develop the collaborative and critical thinking skills to solve the challenges of the future
  • Assess, restructure, and develop academic programs that are especially innovative and include student-engaged scholarship that challenges the boundaries of knowledge
  • Invest in faculty and staff growth to develop renowned programming that elevates our academic reputation

Transformative Student Experience

Enrich student well-being and drive intellectual curiosity and engagement through caring and empowering relationships and co-curricular experiences.

  • Engage students in collaborative curricular and co-curricular educational experiences that empower them to be successful in their careers, personal lives, and communities
  • Coordinate and continually improve academic and support services that maximize comprehensive student well-being
  • Increase opportunities and reduce barriers to graduation so students complete their degrees in a timely manner
  • Develop compassionate and committed citizens with local, national, and global awareness and competency
  • Advance opportunities for Student and Academic Affairs to collaborate on mutually beneficial outcomes for students

Prominent Scholarship and Innovation

Enhance and increase distinctive research and creative endeavors.

  • Be a premier university where faculty and staff are recognized as regional, national, and global leaders in their fields
  • Leverage curiosity toward scholarly activity to drive student engagement, retention, and success
  • Encourage and support faculty to advance knowledge in their fields and integrate that scholarship into their teaching
  • Integrate and embed new and innovative technologies throughout the institution in support of high quality learning environments, effective processes, and excellent service
  • Increase research, grant, and contract activities among our faculty, staff, and students 

Culture of Excellence and Accountability

Improve academic, operational, and financial processes to ensure wise stewardship and enduring use of all resources to sustain as one University.

  • Ensure that academic priorities and student success guide our plans, policies, and processes
  • Implement strategic enrollment management practices that prioritize and balance institutional goals
  • Continuously improve institutional effectiveness and student outcomes through process improvement and data driven assessment of programs, systems, and initiatives that are innovative and transformative
  • Foster an entrepreneurial environment among faculty, staff, and students to enhance campus opportunities and reputation
  • Promote collaboration and shared governance while developing an informed community through transparent and broad communication
  • Commit to a consistent Chico State identity message through the development of a cohesive positioning framework, which aligns and expresses the University’s distinctive qualities and attributes
  • Promote a culture of wellness where students, faculty, and staff work in and benefit from a safe and healthy university community
  • Hold ourselves to high standards of professional behavior, ethics, and accountability
  • Foster a culture of philanthropy and execute bold advancement initiatives to diversify and expand University revenue sources

2016 Chico State Strategic Plan