Strategic Plan Core Principles

CU Denver will fulfill its responsibility as the Denver metro area’s anchor higher education partner by making education work for all.

To achieve this, we will: 

Learner Success

Make education work for all through access, equity, opportunity, and meaningful outcomes.

CU Denver provides career-aligned learning experiences that maximize learner potential from high school to retirement. As a primary educator of Denver metro area professionals, we will increase affordability and access to equip our region’s workforce for excellence. We welcome all and meet learners where they are, providing opportunities to uplift everyone who entrusts us with their dreams, whether through the transformative power of a traditional degree, or through career advancement fueled by a certificate or other credential. Our success will be measured by the outcomes that matter most: how well our learners persist, graduate, and thrive in their careers.

Discovery and Impact

Prioritize discovery and innovation through research and creative works that address community needs and contribute to the public good.

Our ideas and entrepreneurial spirit combine with our vibrant, inquiry-driven academic culture to generate new knowledge, spark positive change, and instill in learners a sense of wonder and purpose. As a public urban research university, we must ensure that our discovery and innovation efforts serve the public good, empower our faculty, undergraduate students, and graduate students to engage in meaningful research, and have impact in clear and measurable ways—seen and felt by residents, industry partners, and civic leaders—across and beyond the Denver metro area.

Organizational Excellence and Innovation

Cultivate a campuswide innovation ecosystem that enhances our excellence, efficiency, resiliency, and ability to achieve goals in support of our students and employees.

We will continue to innovate and evolve how we educate and support our learners, and how we operate as a university. By maximizing the effectiveness of academic and administrative processes, systems, and services our learners and employees depend on, we can better adapt to changing conditions and create excellent and efficient approaches that support the success of our people. We will invest in opportunities that will yield greatest impact and collaborate in seamless and integrated ways to help learners, faculty, and staff access resources and find solutions. By empowering our employees to grow and do their best, we strengthen and enable our learners to do the same. 

Belonging and Meaningful Work

Foster an inclusive community where belonging, meaningful work, and public service support the flourishing of all.

CU Denver is more than just a place to work: it’s a community in which we celebrate each other and hold one another to high standards. We challenge one another to generate positive momentum, and we work together to build an environment that fosters growth and excellence in all we do. Anchored in a culture of equity, belonging, empathy, and support, we recognize our responsibility as stewards of a public-serving institution, and we work to create a university that others strive to emulate. We are confident that when CU Denver achieves its ambitions, we will increase opportunities, pride, and impact for all.