Strategic Plan
South Dakota Mines is planning for the future from a position of strength. Our strategic planning process builds on the university’s distinctive STEM identity, academic rigor, experiential learning, industry connections, and commitment to student success while considering how higher education, technology, workforce needs, and our region are changing.
The Plan at a Glance
Building from strength while responding to change.
South Dakota Mines has a strong foundation; however, the planning process recognizes that the environment surrounding higher education, learning models, technological systems, and the workforce is changing rapidly.
Our Foundation
- Distinctive STEM identity
- Academic rigor
- Experiential learning
- Strong career outcomes
- Industry connections
- Regional impact
Forces Shaping Our Future
- Demographic change — A shrinking traditional college-age population
- Student expectations — Greater emphasis on value, affordability, flexibility, and career outcomes
- Workforce needs — Growing demand for adaptable, interdisciplinary problem-solvers
- AI and automation — Rapid changes in how people learn and work
- Research and innovation — Greater opportunities for commercialization, partnerships, and economic development
- Institutional agility — The need to adapt and make decisions more quickly
Our Institutional Thesis
South Dakota Mines will become the nation's leading engineering and applied science university for experiential, industry-connected, AI-enabled professional formation.
The plan defines:
- Mission — Why Mines exists
- Vision — Where Mines is going
- Values — How we approach our work
- Long-term outcomes — What success looks like
- Strategic objectives — What we need to accomplish to get there
Choosing where South Dakota Mines can have the greatest impact.
The strategic plan organizes institutional efforts around five long-term strategic directions.
1. Reimagine STEM Education
Experiential learning, professional formation, industry-connected education, and authentic work.
2. Accelerate Research, Innovation & Economic Impact
Research strength, commercialization, entrepreneurship, workforce development, and regional economic growth.
3. Expand Access, Affordability & Student Outcomes
Value, affordability, student pathways, retention, graduation, and career success.
4. Build an Agile, High-Performing Culture
Decision-making, collaboration, continuous improvement, institutional capacity, and resource alignment.
5. Strengthen Reputation Through Storytelling & Engagement
Brand, communications, alumni and donor engagement, partnerships, and public visibility.
Turning strategy into focused, measurable action.
The strategic plan provides long-term direction. Annual priorities and the Strategic Operating System provide the framework for implementation.
Each year, South Dakota Mines will:
Set priorities
- Identify a focused set of institution-wide priorities
- Define outcomes, measures, owners, and collaborators
Align resources
- Connect priorities to budgeting
- Identify strategic investments
- Align staffing, partnerships, and fundraising
Track progress
- Review progress regularly
- Monitor measures and milestones
- Identify risks and barriers
Learn and adapt
- Adjust timelines or scope when needed
- Share results with campus
- Carry forward, complete, or replace priorities each year
Explore: Strategic Investment Fund and Operating System
Defining the future of South Dakota Mines.
The strategic plan establishes the university's long-term direction and describes
the outcomes we want to achieve.
Our Future-Ready Model
- Experiential learning
- Professional formation
- Industry connection
- Research and innovation
- Entrepreneurial mindset
- AI-enabled learning and work
- Student belonging and support
FY2027 Focus
The first year of implementation includes seven institutional priorities and a Strategic Investment Fund designed to support strategic initiatives, pilots, and opportunities.
2027 Priorities
Create a focused structure for developing and testing new approaches to education, experiential learning, AI-enabled teaching and learning, academic programs, and faculty models.
Build a more coordinated and sustainable approach to K-12 STEM outreach that expands South Dakota Mines' reach, strengthens future enrollment pathways, and connects students with the university earlier.
Ensure every undergraduate program has meaningful experiential learning opportunities throughout the student experience, with particular focus on the second and third years.
Plan for future experiential learning and innovation spaces, modernize existing learning environments, and address aging facilities to create a safer, more effective campus.
Connect research, entrepreneurship, industry engagement, experiential learning, and economic development to create a more coordinated pathway from ideas to real-world impact.
Build stronger connections across divisions and departments through shared learning, cross-functional problem-solving, process improvement, and collaboration.
Create a clearer, more strategic approach to research investment that aligns funding, faculty workload, facilities, student learning, and institutional capacity with the university's areas of strength.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is South Dakota Mines' strategic plan?
Why is South Dakota Mines developing a new strategic plan?
What are the four parts of the strategic plan?
The planning process is organized around four questions:
- Why — Why South Dakota Mines needs to evolve
- What — What Mines is trying to accomplish
- Where — Where Mines will focus its efforts
- How — How Mines will put the strategy into action
Together, these connect the case for change with the university's long-term direction and annual priorities.
What are South Dakota Mines’ strategic directions?
South Dakota Mines' long-term strategy is organized around five strategic directions:
- Reimagine STEM education around experiential learning and professional formation
- Accelerate research, innovation, and economic impact
- Expand access and affordability while strengthening student and workforce outcomes
- Build an agile, high-performing institutional culture
- Strengthen Mines’ reputation through storytelling and engagement
These directions establish where the university will focus its efforts over the coming years.
How will South Dakota Mines measure progress?
Share Your Feedback
Your feedback will help shape the next phase of South Dakota Mines’ strategic planning. Share your thoughts, questions, or ideas as we continue developing the plan.