Our New Strategic Plan
The new strategic planning process was designed to address immediate needs while advancing Starr King School of Ministry’s (SKSM) long-term vision through broad community engagement. The process included three phases, visioning sessions, gap analysis, and plan development. The new strategic plan will guide the institution over the next three academic years (2026-2027, 2027-2028, and 2028-2029).
Strategic Planning Stages
Phase 1 (Fall 2025): Visioning Sessions
Visioning sessions with students, alumni, faculty, staff, donors/friends, and the board established a shared vision for SKSM to lead in counter-oppressive religious and lay leadership; offer diverse, practical, and accessible learning opportunities; serve as a global resource through partnerships, scholarship, and online and in-person education; strengthen financial sustainability, faculty/staff support, and student services; and model an inclusive, collaborative, counter-oppressive community.
Phase 2 (Winter 2025): The Gap Analysis
The gap analysis, informed by conversations with the Student Government President, a board member, and the Executive Circle, identified challenges related to sector and enrollment trends, financial instability, the business model and recruitment, student and academic experience, and culture, mission, and trust, while highlighting opportunities in academic innovation, student support and engagement, financial and business model adjustments, shared governance, and open communication and trust building.
Phase 3 (Spring 2026): Plan Development
During plan development, each Executive Circle member conferred with stakeholders to establish one key goal and supporting key performance indicators for academics, admissions, advancement, communications, finance, operations, and student services. The draft plan was shared with the Starr King community at the April 9, 2026 All School Meeting, presented to the Board in draft form on April 22, 2026, and finalized for Board approval on June 10, 2026 for implementation in fall 2026.
Key Goals and Key Performance Indicators
Academics
Key Goal: Offer curriculum that is relevant and accessible for a diverse generation of future learners (i.e. degree/certificate students, lay leaders, community, etc.).
Key Performance Indicators:
- Starr King School for the Ministry offers accessible theological education and scholarship grounded in ECO and multireligious values, addressing the most pressing contemporary issues, integrating classroom and field learning, and preparing students for their vocational futures.
- Starr King School for the Ministry will partially sustain itself and support communities through the teaching of its WEAV curriculum by SKSM graduates.
- Starr King School for the Ministry partners with other institutions to share graduate courses and continuing education options.
Admissions
Key Goal: Increase Student Headcount and Full Time enrollment.
Key Performance Indicators:
- Actively recruit marginalized students from differing faith backgrounds.
- Increase enrollment funnel.
Advancement
Key Goal: Increase unrestricted fundraising revenue.
Key Performance Indicators:
- Complete the Sowing Seeds campaign.
- Year-over-year growth rate of unrestricted new gifts and pledges.
- Percentage of Board members and Graduates making an annual gift.
- Number of Letters of Interest and full grant proposals submitted annually.
- Number of first-time donors acquired each fiscal year.
Finance
Key Goal: Ensure Starr King is on the path to financial sustainability.
Key Performance Indicators:
- Starr King will implement a dashboarding system to streamline communication and document progress.
- Starr King will review the business model.
- Starr King will implement a balanced budget.
Communications
Key Goal: Timely communications to facilitate strategic goals of the school.
Key Performance Indicators:
- Email and social media to increase participation at events.
- Send emails to prospective students and donors.
- Strengthen Google Ads and digital marketing while decreasing out-of-pocket costs.
- Highlight students, faculty, staff, grads, and community members to increase awareness of school.
Student Services
Key Goal: Restructure and/or expand resources in support of students’ emotional, spiritual, and vocational development.
Key Performance Indicators:
- Revitalization of the Personal Growth and Learning Grants program.
- Implementation of additional mental, pastoral, and/or spiritual care resources for student support.
- Career counseling structure that complements the new degree concentrations.
Operations
Key Goal: Operations enhance Starr King’s ability to adapt and grow in just and sustainable ways.
Key Performance Indicators:
- IT systems are sufficiently accessible, secure, and proactively managed.
- Sociocratic principles and practices are integrated into institutional meetings.
- Employee roles and responsibilities are clearly defined, annually reviewed, and improve interdepartmental collaboration and sustainable workloads.
- Our policies and shared governance structures demonstrate dynamic ways of living into our mission and learning with our ECO values.
Accountability
Members of the Executive Circle will provide joint community updates on our progress toward achieving each strategic goal and key performance indicator utilizing our All School Meetings and other internal communications.
Association of Theological Schools (ATS) – 2025 Action Letter
The new strategic planning process is addressed in the February 25, 2025 Action Letter.
A report on the planning and implementation process will be shared with ATS by the November 1, 2026 deadline. An update on the results of our report will be shared with the Starr King community upon receiving the ATS Board of Commissioners’ response following its February 2027 meeting.