A Letter from the Dean

Introducing the MET 2030 Strategic Plan

We are pleased to present the Metropolitan College Strategic Plan 2030—a distinct set of initiatives that will allow us to anticipate the evolving landscape of industry and maintain our position as game-changers in professional education and the workforce of the future.

The MET 2030 plan was developed in response to a sea change in the global economy, where technology drives rapid innovation in industry, leading to the emergence of evolving professional roles that are left unfilled. Faced with a widening skills-gap that traditional colleges and universities are challenged to meet, continuing education schools such as BU’s Metropolitan College perform the important function of anticipating change, prioritizing graduate and career-focused study in areas of sustained and growing employment, and maintaining the agility to develop relevant programs.

Over several years of intensive discussions and analysis in close coordination with Boston University’s Strategic Plan 2030, we have identified five broad strategic priorities that support Metropolitan College’s vision and remain integral to maintaining our leadership position in continuing and professional education:

Academics that meet and anticipate the needs of changing industry, for lifelong career success
Applied research and scholarship within our faculty and innovative digital teaching modalities
Student success through comprehensive advising and mentorship
Diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives that build upon our tradition of leadership
Collaboration with other BU schools and colleges and the development of academic partnerships and career-pipelines with industry

We strongly believe in the social responsibility of leading universities to make research, scholarship, and education accessible to wider audiences. In recent years, this broad mandate has been refocused and refined by important changes in the structure of modern economies, most notably the emergence of new industries that require the development of specific knowledge and skills, and by the rapid pace of innovation—even in existing industry sectors—that demands continued reeducation.

The BU MET Strategic Plan will guide the initiatives of Metropolitan College through 2030, positioning us as a national and international leader in the professional education space consistent with Boston University’s profile as a world-leading, research-intensive university. And while BU’s residential education, limited by the physical campus, is highly selective, there are no bounds for the online and innovative distance education that Metropolitan College has pioneered, expanded, and continues to improve.

Thank you to all who have been involved and engaged in the planning process, including the Dean’s Advisory Board, the Faculty Council, department leadership, and our faculty and staff.

Sincerely,

Tanya Zlateva, PhD
Dean

Metropolitan College’s Strategic Planning Process

Metropolitan College’s strategic planning process has proceeded in conjunction with the development of Boston University’s Strategic Plan 2030.

January–June 2018

SWOT Analysis

MET began exploring strategic directions through extensive discussions with departments, leadership, the Dean’s Advisory Board, and the Faculty Council. Faculty and staff were also engaged via College Town Hall meetings. MET departments submitted their analyses of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT), which were summarized in the “Dean’s Narrative and SWOT Analysis.”
September 2018–April 2020

Forging Our Strategic Direction

Throughout the University’s planning process, MET provided extensive research and analysis on trends in professional education with special focus on digital learning. MET Dean Tanya Zlateva served as cochair of the Boston University Subcommittee on Digital Learning & Resources.
May 2020

BU Strategic Plan Approved

Boston University’s Strategic Plan was approved by the Board of Trustees in May 2020.
May 2020–April 2021

Our Strategic Initiatives

Metropolitan College departments presented their strategic plan proposals. Implementation of the MET strategic plan was discussed with faculty and staff in the MET Town Hall.

In 2021, actions included a summary of College Strategic Planning, an All-MET Strategic Initiatives Discussion, the MET Dean’s Advisory Board Presentation, the MET Leadership group college strategic plan discussion, and, in November, another MET Town Hall Strategic Plan update. By the end of 2021, the College was supporting its strategic initiatives with performance metrics and funding.
Through 2030

Working, Refining, and Renewing

As a living document, the Metropolitan College 2030 Strategic Plan reflects an ongoing process, including the implementation of initiatives over time, the assessment of outcomes as the College achieves stated objectives, and the refinement of our strategy based on measurable data.