Asheville 2030

• Chancellor's Message
• Our Strategic Priorities
• Asheville 2030 Vision Plan
• FAQ
• News & Updates

A Message from the Chancellor

UNC Asheville is pursuing a bold new model calibrated to the rapidly changing demands of today’s and tomorrow’s economies and information platforms. Built upon a strong applied liberal arts and sciences foundation, our programs prepare students to understand, master, and shape the technologies that increasingly define and inform every discipline and career path. We prepare them not just for today’s careers, but for those that are yet to come.

At UNC Asheville, students develop deep traditional skills in critical analysis, communication, historical understanding, and teamwork that are then applied directly to the issues, problems, and opportunities of the 21st-century. They cultivate the curiosity and flexibility that will enable them to flourish across the entire span of their careers.

All UNC Asheville students participate in hands-on experiences shaped by challenges and opportunities in Western North Carolina and beyond that provide a critical advantage in their career choices. Each one has close mentoring relationships with faculty, peers, alumni, and community leaders. Relationships are key, and students have an exceptional opportunity to develop and learn from them, whether competing as student-athletes on one of our 16 Division I teams or pursuing the many academic, leadership, and service opportunities available across campus. Our close-knit community offers a unique value proposition for students and employers in the region and across the state.

While institutions of higher education are not designed for rapid change, we are committed to boldly embrace and engage with the future and its continually changing expectations and demands. Here in the Land of the Sky, the mountain peaks and deep fertile valleys inspire us to be innovative, creative, edgy, and future-facing. We are a community of strong, resilient leaders prepared to rise to the challenges that lie ahead. We are UNC Asheville.

Kimberly van Noort, Ph.D.
Chancellor

Our Strategic Priorities

Asheville 2030 is a coordinated effort to position UNC Asheville for long-term sustainability by advancing four interconnected priorities:

Asheville 2030

Asheville 2030: Rising to the Challenge is our vision for the future of UNC Asheville. With new academic programs, innovative technologies, expanded student support, and elevated athletic spaces, we’re preparing students to not just face the future—but to shape it.

Priority 1: Future-Facing Academic Programs

UNC Asheville will offer a dynamic curriculum that is nimble, interdisciplinary, and responsive to emerging fields and workforce needs.

Goals

• Launch innovative and market-responsive degree/credential programs
• Streamline administrative processes to encourage curricular agility
• Increase access to a UNC Asheville degree by adding online asynchronous programs and varying term lengths that accommodate working adults
• Reorganize academic departments to maximize interdisciplinarity and innovative thinking

The Work Ahead

• Create a School of Business, Economics, and Professional Studies
• Establish 4-8 new academic programs
• Launch an online core curriculum by Fall 2027 and two online degree programs by Fall 2028

Priority 2: Technology-Integrated, Human-Centered Campus

UNC Asheville will prepare graduates for a rapidly evolving workforce by cultivating a technology-integrated campus that is innovative and human-centered.

Goals

• Build faculty capacity to embed technology throughout the academic experience
• Align technology innovation and investment with student success and career-readiness goals
• Emphasize digital literacy and the human experience as visible components of student learning
• Ensure faculty and staff are well-prepared for the ethical use and workplace applications of AI

The Work Ahead

• Employ technology-integrated and human-centered teaching practices in every degree program
• Adopt a discipline-specific, digital literacy student learning outcome for every academic department
• Establish a Liberal Arts 2.0 pathway to center the human experience in the age of AI

Priority 3: Student Success & Student Experience

The UNC Asheville student experience will bolster students’ sense of purpose and belonging, provide meaningful local and regional connections, respond to students’ interests, and positively contribute to student recruitment, retention, and graduation.

Goals

• Improve fall-to-fall persistence of all continuing students
• Invest in elevated athletic spaces and the experience of the physical campus
• Increase students’ sense of belonging and connection to strengthen campus community and prepare them for civic contributions after graduation
• Revitalize engagement with local and regional communities

The Work Ahead

• Increase fall-to-fall persistence by 1 percentage point per year
• Add 2-3 new partnerships with local and regional organizations and businesses each year
• Establish 2-3 public-private partnerships related to Millennial Campus property development

Priority 4: Career and Leadership Development

UNC Asheville’s career and leadership development framework will provide a cohesive, campus-wide journey across the student life-cycle and will embed the foundations of the liberal arts —creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration—into all professional preparation.

Goals

• Provide digital tools for students to showcase their durable skills
• Increase the number of students completing at least one experiential learning opportunity
• Embed career exploration and employer exposure into all academic programs
• Increase the number of graduates who enroll in graduate/professional school or find full-time employment within 12 months of graduation

The Work Ahead

• Establish e-portfolio student learning outcomes for all degree programs
• Ensure at least 75% of students are participating in the Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity Program and are completing an internship
• Increase the number of students finding full-time employment by 35%

Developing Asheville 2030

The University Planning Council (UPC) served as the steering committee to synthesize ideas and formulate Asheville 2030 for further consideration. The members of UPC include:

• Eight members of the faculty, including the six members of the Institutional Development Committee
• Four members of the staff
• Two students, one of whom is selected by the Student Government Association and one appointed by the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs
• Chancellor
• Vice Chancellors of Academic Affairs, Budget & Finance, and Student Affairs
• Chief of Staff
• Director of Institutional Research
• Chief Information Officer
• Director of Human Resources
• Director of Institutional Effectiveness

Working Groups

In early 2025, the Chancellor established four working groups designed to facilitate faculty and staff input in the Asheville 2030 Vision Process. Each group developed and recommended strategies and goals for the following areas:

Other Leadership Groups

UNC Asheville Board of Trustees

Bulldog Athletic Association

UNC Asheville Foundation Board

Alumni Association Board of Directors

Millennial Campus Development Advisory Committee

FAQ