Roxanne Gasana, deputy news editor

Berry College publicized its 2026 Strategic Plan in September after months of reviews and changes from its first version in March, shifting the plan’s focus toward student access, affordability and student experience in addition to setting some new objectives for the college to strive for.

According to President Sandeep Mazumder, the Strategic Plan is different from the master plan, which is focused on the buildings, roads and layout of the land. The Strategic Plan is student-focused and pushes forward Berry’s initial mission to give an education to students that need it.

“The Strategic Plan is the way we support and recruit our students. It is a holistic roadmap of our key focuses,” Mazumder said. “The master plan is designed to support the Strategic Plan.”

The plan has the same five strategic priorities listed in the draft from March which are: access, affordability and visibility; character, leadership and community impact; hands-on learning and graduate preparedness; faculty and student research; and stewardship of land and place. However, several details changed between the two versions.

In March, the first objective was titled “Visibility, affordability and operational excellence,” while the finalized September version was renamed to “Access, affordability and visibility.”

While operational excellence – which is continuous improvement, waste reduction and employee empowerment – is essential, Provost David Slade said the change was intended to make the priority more focused on students.

“Operational excellence is a worthy goal, and it’s a goal that we have across the board,” Slade said. “The changes to that specific priority are more about focusing the priority on student access, student affordability and national awareness in terms of the college’s impact.”

Slade said operational excellence was not removed as a goal for Berry, but instead was left out of the specific priority because it could be difficult to measure.

The March draft was presented as a strategic platform for the upcoming five to 10 years, while the final plan is being presented as a five-year plan.

“The goals are concrete and the priorities are clear. We will assess each year how we’re going to move those forward,” Slade said.

The final plan also provides specificity for each priority. Under access, affordability and visibility, for example, Berry plans to reduce the financial gap for families with need, increase merit and talent scholarships, strengthen national brand awareness and track student results.

According to Student Government Association President Kaylin Rezek, the final version also feels more focused on students than the earlier draft.

“The initial conversations surrounding the plan focused heavily on making Berry more visible to the world because of the size of its campus and the number of activities and opportunities available to students,” Rezek said. “As the plan developed, the focus moved toward students.”

Rezek included that student feedback was a big part of the process.

“SGA’s former president Anna Yard met with Mazumder monthly and she brought questions and concerns from the student body to these meetings,” Rezek said.

Rezek also said that Chief of Staff Casee Gilbert attended an SGA meeting in the spring where she received feedback and questions from students on the plan.

Slade said that although he could not identify which group had the greatest influence on the final version, students were one of several groups whose feedback was considered.

“We received feedback from students,” Slade said. “There was a survey of faculty and staff that gave feedback. We as leaders of our different units were continuing to receive feedback from our leadership teams.”

One area Rezek believes could have a major effect on students is Berry’s focus on Signature Learning Experiences. The final plan states that Berry will expand hands-on learning opportunities, strengthen LifeWorks and increase study abroad opportunities.

“Research, internships and study abroad can be opportunities that students do not always recognize as significant while they are participating in them,” Rezek said. “The Berry Journey doesn’t end at graduation.”

Alongside the Strategic Plan, Berry is also considering changes to its foundational curriculum. Slade said the project began last year, before the Strategic Plan was written, after Mazumder assigned him to work with faculty and deans to remake the curriculum.

A faculty group was gathered last fall for discussion on the current curriculum and holding student surveys. The group has proposed a new general education curriculum, which is currently being considered by faculty. Slade said the proposal is not yet final and that Berry expects to know the outcome by the end of this semester.

“It’s a project that started last year that predates the writing of the Strategic Plan,” Slade said. “The president charged me to work with the deans and the faculty to renovate our foundation’s curriculum.”

Slade said the proposed curriculum is connected to the Strategic Plan’s goal of considering new academic programs, although the curriculum project itself began before the plan.

“The final plan actually includes a goal to include a center for faculty-mentored research,” Slade said. “Faculty are currently working on what the center should look like and wha resources it should provide.”

The center could provide assistance with research costs, presentations and publication expenses.

While the administration works on establishing goals, Rezek said the biggest question for students now is what happens now that the plan has been released.

“The biggest question is what’s next?” Rezek said. “There’s all these ideas, but what exactly is going to happen?“

Slade said progress would be tracked by the President’s Office, with key performance indicators to be tracked by their respective areas.

“Within academic affairs, my team is developing a framework to track progress on priorities,” Slade said.

Rezek emphasized that the college should include students more in the decision-making process.

“I want there to be more student involvement in the changes that are happening,” Rezek said. “SGA doesn’t wholly represent the student body. There should be an equal amount of students as there is faculty and staff in these conversations.”