As the winter quarter moves forward, La Sierra University is preparing a new, three-year budget and working on a strategic plan to position the university to reach near and long-term enrollment targets, culminating in 5,000 by 2035.

During February meetings of the La Sierra University Board of Trustees, the university was given the green light to create a three-year budget beginning with the 2025-2026 fiscal year and with the following two years of the budget built upon an enrollment baseline created in year one. 

“That [board] action represents tremendous support of and confidence in the administration,” La Sierra University president Christon Arthur said in a February 18 newsletter and board report to the campus and university stakeholders. “We have an opportunity to make … strategic and focused investments in the areas supporting growth in student enrollment. In the 2025-2026 budget, we shall continue to invest. And in the following years, we shall review the return on the investments and continue to invest or pivot accordingly.” 

In the fall of 2024, the university established a fall 2025 enrollment target of 500 new students and a 10-year goal of 5,000 total enrollment. 

Meanwhile, a strategic planning committee is working on crafting a new university strategy and has sought the input of campus members on a new university marketing tagline toward increasing brand awareness and collectively determining the university’s core purpose and values, which will ground decision-making processes. A working group of the strategic planning committee worked on the university’s core purpose and core values statements. 

The new strategic plan is expected to be completed by November 2025. Key near-term investments include hiring a vice president of marketing, which is expected during the spring quarter, and developing social media and other advertising campaigns aimed at attracting new students. The Student Association of La Sierra University (S A L S U) organized a mixer where current students interacted with prospective students to share the ways La Sierra is adding value to them. Nyla Provost, S A L S U president, said, “S A L S U wants to be a part of the ‘enroll 500’ initiative. We want prospective students to know about the positive experiences we have because of La Sierra.”  

Other strategies are underway toward directly boosting enrollment over the coming months, with plans moving forward to develop tactics such as pinpointing competitive advantage and the university’s brand promise with a focus on rapid execution. 

Toward increasing campus engagement with university strategic and enrollment progress as well as transparency on operational matters, administrators held a first employee meeting on January 23, 2025. Faculty and staff filled an amphitheater classroom in Cossentine Hall to hear updates and ask questions. Quarterly employee meetings will be held going forward. 

“La Sierra’s best days are ahead,” Arthur said. “There is energy, there is excitement on campus. We are putting our best minds to pursue our greatest potential. We recognize that we will not grow simply by solving problems — we shall become great by leveraging our differentiated growth advantage.” 

~Darla Martin Tucker is La Sierra University's chief public relations officer.

The original version of this article was published here.