Project Overview | Office of the President

Project Overview

NDSU is embarking on an effort to transform the university to meet future workforce and research challenges facing North Dakota and beyond, positioning NDSU for future success.

Case for Change

While the budget challenges are daunting, a number of initiatives are under way to offset these difficulties. Prior to my arrival, the ground work had already begun to strategically realign our resources with the academic prioritization process. Huron Consulting helped with that project, and you can find the results of that work here. The final report identified numerous cost-cutting opportunities for NDSU, and several committees were created to look at those opportunities and provide recommendations. Many of those recommendations are already being implemented.

Unfortunately, these changes will not be sufficient to cover the projected deficit. Additional adjustments will be needed as we change NDSU’s operations to reflect a decreased population of students. We must continue to serve our students and the state by providing phenomenal education, research and outreach opportunities. In order to succeed in this mission, we need to acknowledge our reduced size and the changing landscape of higher education. In essence, we need to right-size and organize our institution to meet the demands of our state and region.

David Cook
NDSU President

Guiding Principles

In this process of transforming, we are guided by five strategic priorities:

Enhancing enrollment, retention and student success
Prioritizing NDSU’s Research-1 Carnegie classification status as a top research institution
Investing in the well-being of the people across the NDSU community
Building a stronger culture of diversity, inclusion and respect
Embracing NDSU’s critical role as a land-grant university

Key Strategies

Three key strategies for transformation include:

Right-sizing operations through college mergers and academic program efficiencies,
Strategic investing in opportunities that will enhance our academic enterprise and improve retention and enrollment, and
Modernizing our financial infrastructure through an incentivized budget model for colleges and reorganizing how financial services are delivered.

The President Announces New Councils and Initiatives

In less than one year, President Cook has initiated a number of President's Councils and Initiatives and fully supports the efforts of existing councils on the NDSU campus. President Cook demonstrates that NDSU is following through on its existing commitments and initiatives while also supporting and expanding NDSU's initiatives through its transformation.

The recently formed President's Steering Committee on Budget and Financial Operations Enhancement supports re-envisioning of our budget model via a new tuition incentivization plan and a financial operations assessment that will support long-term budget and financial success.

Additional Information

NDSU Transform Home Page
This is the homepage for the President's NDSU Transform website and includes information about the project initiation, communication, background data and impact to NDSU.

Project Overview
This page contains an overview of the NDSU Transform initiative and includes the president's guiding principles and key strategies.

Background Information
This page includes data accumlated while working towards creating a new Land Grant University that focuses on increased student success and outstanding research.

Resources
This page includes reports, presentations, FAQ's, and background accumulated as NDSU works towards our transformation goals.

Accounting Service Center Home
This is the homepage for the Accounting Service Center and includes information about the project background and financial impact to NDSU.

President's Steering Committee on Budget and Finance Operations Enhancements
This is the homepage for the President's Steering Committee on Budget and Finance Operations Enhancements, also located under President's Council's and Initiatives. See Huron's information regarding NDSU Transform.