The Loyola Board of Trustees unanimously approved its new strategic plan, “Transforming Loyola 2020.” The strategic plan will guide Loyola through the next six years, according to an announcement from the Rev. Kevin Wildes, S.J.

After 16 months of collaborative planning, the university is implementing a strategic plan that seeks to give students a “high-quality, experiential and values-based education,” Wildes said. He said that such an education will help students discover their careers, incorporate New Orleans culture into the Loyola experience and hold fast to the university’s Jesuit roots.

The planning process for this strategic plan included over 20 collaborative steps, and over half of these steps included requests for feedback from members of the Loyola community.

According to the drafts of the Transforming Loyola 2014 action plans, most of the action items will be complete by August 2015.  Some extend as far as 2022, like the Quality Enhancement Plan, which will increase the amount of experiential learning Loyola students do.

Students can currently see the results of the plan in the addition of two new majors that incorporate the distinctly New Orleanian opportunities into the Loyola curriculum, Mikel Pak, associate director of public affairs, said.

The new degree programs are a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Digital Filmmaking, which capitalizes on the booming film industry in New Orleans, and the Bachelor of Science in Popular and Commercial Music, which “takes advantage of the city’s deep musical roots,” according to a university press release.

According to the Academic Affairs website, the university plans to increase experiential learning by requiring every student to complete at least two experiential learning practices.  These practices include group research, community service, internships and international education such as studying abroad.  This is part of the Quality Enhancement Plan that continues into 2022.

The university will also increase its experiential learning by developing a four-year plan for co-curricular engagement that encourages students to get involved.

In this area, the school also plans to consolidate the various academic support services across campus into one central Student Success Center.

Loyola plans to help its students discover their possible careers by improving Career Services to be a “signature program,” according to the draft of the program’s action plan.  In addition to this, the university wants to develop Loyola’s alumni network to help students find internships and summer jobs.

The university will be implementing an e-portfolio program by fall 2016 to help students prepare for the professional world.

In addition to these changes, the university will condense academic and non-academic advising into one collaborative model to help “student development, not just progress toward a degree,” according to the action plan draft.

The university currently has a loose plan in place to develop a model to increase the Loyola community’s engagement with New Orleans, though this model has not yet been developed.

Students will be encouraged to interact with the city through service learning courses and internship opportunities at all course levels.  The university also hopes that its new digital filmmaking and popular music majors prepare students for in-demand careers in New Orleans.

The university will evaluate its Jesuit formation programs and formation programs at other Jesuit universities to determine how to improve those at Loyola.  It may develop new programs, like extended orientation sessions, retreats or increased opportunities for participation in spiritual and service programs.

Loyola will also integrate Ignatian discernment principles into its advising system and include Jesuit values in each course’s learning outcomes, as well as showing students different Jesuit organizations they can get involved with.

Wildes said this new strategic plan will be implemented immediately.