Asheville 2030: Rising to the Challenge

Today, the University of North Carolina Asheville announced Asheville 2030: Rising to the Challenge, a plan to ensure the University achieves a sustainable enrollment of 3,200 students by the year 2030 while strengthening its commitment to student-centered focus, hands-on learning, human- and technology-driven solutions, and career-ready emphasis.

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — August 26, 2026 — Today, the University of North Carolina Asheville announced Asheville 2030: Rising to the Challenge, a plan to ensure the University achieves a sustainable enrollment of 3,200 students by the year 2030 while strengthening its commitment to student-centered focus, hands-on learning, human- and technology-driven solutions, and career-ready emphasis.

Asheville 2030 aligns academic priorities, enrollment strategy, financial planning, and campus development around a shared vision for a sustainable and innovative public liberal arts and sciences university. It serves as a roadmap for the University as it enters a period of focused planning to strengthen its foundation for the future and respond to the challenges facing higher education and its rapidly changing landscape.

“UNC Asheville is pursuing a bold new model calibrated to the demands of today’s and tomorrow’s economies and information platforms,” said Chancellor Kimberly van Noort. “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 take a human first approach that promotes the ethical, responsible, and flexible use of these tools — preparing them not just for today’s careers, but for those that are yet to come.”

Asheville 2030 is built around four interconnected priorities:

• Future-Facing Academic Programs

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

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

Asheville 2030 was developed through a collaborative planning process that brought together faculty, staff, students, and University leadership. The University Planning Council (UPC) served as the steering committee, synthesizing ideas and formulating the plan for further consideration. In early 2025, Chancellor Kimberly van Noort also established four working groups to facilitate faculty and staff input throughout the visioning process. Each group developed and recommended strategies and goals aligned with one of the four Asheville 2030 priorities, helping ensure the plan reflects perspectives from across the University community.

For more information, visit the Asheville 2030 website or view the Asheville 2030: Rising to the Challenge booklet.

About UNC Asheville

UNC Asheville is North Carolina’s public liberal arts and sciences university of the future, marked by technology-driven solutions, hands-on learning, a  student-centered focus and career and professional readiness. With  award-winning faculty, small class sizes, and 60+ academic programs, including  a dual degree in Engineering/Mechatronics with NC State, the University provides free tuition and fees to eligible students through its Access Asheville program as well as merit scholarships to all first-year students. In the US News & World Report 2026  edition of Best Colleges, UNC Asheville is ranked No. #10 in Top Public  Schools, and No. #12 in Princeton Review’s 2026 Top 50 Guide to Green Colleges.  Known as the Bulldogs, UNC Asheville student-athletes compete in 16  NCAA Division I Teams in the Big South Conference. For more information, please  visit: unca.edu.