· Service area population will grow at more than 2% a year.
· Georgia population will grow at more than 2% a year with the majority of that growth occurring in metropolitan areas such as Savannah. Coastal Georgia will also continue to grow.
· Georgia colleges enroll a smaller percent of the State's population than the rest of the nation, but college enrollment rates in Georgia has grown at a much faster rate than the rest of the nation.
· University enrollment of African-Americans in Georgia will continue to grow to 20.5% of students enrolled in Georgia colleges by the year 2000.
· Increases in System admissions requirements will result in decreases in the number of students enrolling in learning support, but will be more than offset by increasing rates of retention and graduation and by growth in transfer, non-traditional, and graduate enrollments.
The trend toward globalization of the economy will continue, requiring new skills for faculty and students.
The University will continue to play an increasingly important role in the economic development of the coastal region of the state. This role will require increased participation in economic and community development activities. Cooperative efforts between education, business, industry and government will be necessary to meet the economic challenges of the twenty-first century.
The University will expand its role in providing the education necessary for Georgia's African-Americans to assume professional, technical and managerial positions.
State funding and student tuition will not meet the full advancement needs of the University. Other funding sources will have to be developed to meet the needs.
The maintenance, building and renovation of the physical facilities of the University are critical to the future success of the University and will require creative and innovative administrative responses.
The University System will increasingly provide input into the establishment of a strategic direction for the System and its institutions. Savannah State University will develop strategic plans which will be complementary to System directives.
Resource allocation within the University and the University System of Georgia will increasingly be linked to institutional effectiveness and productivity. Savannah State University will develop budget contingency plans in order to be better prepared to respond to changes in state revenue collections.
Hiring of quality faculty will continue to present a major challenge to the University and will require redoubled efforts at development and retraining of current employees and the recruitment of new faculty.
Societal problems of crime, drugs, and the "underclass" will provide a continuing challenge to government, education and business. Solutions to these problems will require unprecedented collaborative efforts.
The University will continue to provide an educational opportunity for a large number of economically disadvantaged citizens of our State. This educational opportunity will form the cornerstone for our State's individual and societal economic success in the future.
The explosive growth of technology will increase at a rapid pace, particularly in the area of digital communications networks. The University must provide opportunities for our students to understand the current technological environment and be provided the skills they will need to adapt to future changes.
The University System has established policy directives that require accommodation within the strategic plan. These items include; Technology Policy/Funding Initiatives. Strategic Allocations, DTAE Partnership Agreement, Mission Review, Semester Conversion, Faculty Staff Development, P-16, International Education, Tuition Study, Capital Priorities, Admission Review, Honorary Degrees, Alternative Dispute Resolution, Budget Redirection, Academic assessment, and Campus development Planning.
The Division of Student Affairs will develop activities to enhance student life.
The Division of Student Affairs will provide services and experiences to facilitate formal, informal, and collaborative learning. These services and experiences will help students develop skills, clarify values, realize leadership potential and gain knowledge essential to their lifelong development.
Effective learning includes interaction with the University and the Community so that students learn to work together, develop friendships, care about the welfare of others, appreciate individual differences, and balance their freedom with responsibilities for their behavior.
The University must assess its degree program offerings on an ongoing basis so as to maintain an array of programs conducive to students needs.
The University must provide traditional and creative ways to insure that every student is exposed and provided the practice necessary for the acquisition of knowledge and the development of skills through inquiry, analysis, evaluation, and synthesis of information.
The U.S. Department of Education, will continue Strengthening Historically Black Colleges and Universities: Title III program bridge year funding and funding for the Educational Grant.
The expansion of Program Enhancements at Albany State University, Fort Valley State University and Savannah State University. The program, established by the University System of Georgia, in its Access to Excellence for the Millennium, the principle that the System "Shall insure that its historically black institutions are models of access to academic excellence, full partners in land-grant and other collaborations, and assets in the entire System’s continuing initiative to eradicate inequities and to increase current opportunities for all Georgians."
Accommodate new role as a University with advance planning and program development.