The UT board of trustees held an online executive committee meeting Jan. 9 to lay out the system’s strategic plan entering the second half of the decade.
The strategic plan, which the board reviewed in detail in the fall, includes both qualitative and quantitative goals focused on student success, employee satisfaction and financial standing for the system to accomplish by 2030.
UT President Randy Boyd opened the meeting by celebrating 2025 and refocusing the committee on making this decade “the greatest decade in the history of the University of Tennessee.”
“It was, on almost every account, an incredible year,” Boyd said.
Speaking on graduation rates, Boyd recognized the graduation of 3,945 students in the fall of 2025, including 2,076 students from Knoxville’s campus. The board’s goal is to raise four-year graduation rates system-wide by 3.3% by 2030 — from 2025’s rate of 57.7% to 61% — to meet the state’s workforce needs.
“Quite frankly, there are a lot of really critical jobs that need to be filled,” Boyd said.
To accelerate UT’s contribution to the Tennessee workforce, the board mentioned exploring the creation of a three-year, 90-credit hour degree program. UT also plans to increase the number of microcredentials awarded by 8,500. Microcredentials are small, online certificates that can be achieved within 12-16 credit hours.
Boyd boasted successful numbers across the system, from enrollment rates to donations.
“A particular thing I’m proud of in enrollment are not one-campus or two-campus improvement, but every single campus improved, and all set records, which is an incredible accomplishment in the country these days,” Boyd said.
The total enrollment for 2025 stands at 64,866 students, and the board aspires to reach 85,000 students by 2030, increasing enrollment by 20,134 students, with a goal of 10,120 students — almost half of the total increase — being added as fully online students.
The board highlighted the Tennessee Valley Authority’s recent investment of $3 million to the Knoxville campus in support of the department of nuclear engineering.
“This investment from Tennessee Valley Authority is a testament to both the strength of UT’s nuclear engineering program and the importance of the nuclear energy sector to our region,” Chancellor Donde Plowman said in a statement.
The board of trustees will meet in Memphis for its winter meeting Feb. 26-27.
