About
In the fall of 2025, WSU embarked on a system-wide redesign effort to explore how its five statewide campuses, Global Campus, and 39 county-based Extension offices could be more effectively aligned to meet the evolving needs of students, communities, and the state of Washington. The effort reflects WSU’s commitment to strengthening its land-grant mission, enhancing impact, and creating a more responsive and resilient system.
Through a collaborative and inquiry-driven process, WSU aimed to better understand what is needed for long-term sustainability, how to align resources with priorities, and how to evolve institutional models that are innovative, budget-informed, and regionally responsive.
The core charge
The WSU System-wide Redesign focused on asking and answering four key questions:
- What unique strengths and opportunities can WSU leverage to become the number 1 choice for higher education in Washington and beyond?
- How can we redesign our organizational structures and operations to maximize student success, innovation, and engagement in a rapidly changing environment?
- What strategies will enable WSU to serve an evolving, diverse population—while advancing economic, workforce, and community impact as a world-class land-grant university?
- How can emerging technologies (such as AI, VR, and AR) and data-driven insights be integrated to create a future-ready WSU system?
More than 1,700 voices from students, faculty, staff, university leaders, business and industry partners, tribal leaders, health care providers, nonprofit organizations, economic development leaders, K–12 and community college partners, and regional community leaders from across Washington spoke to experiences, aspirations, and ideas through discovery sessions, workshops, and co‑design conversations.
This work, led by the Co-Design Council, aimed to generate recommendations that honored each location’s distinct strengths while advancing the system’s overall coherence and effectiveness.
The strategic recommendations
The redesign work produced five strategic recommendations to guide WSU into the future. These recommendations provide a framework for aligning and accelerating work across the university.
Operating System
Decision Making Authority
The opportunity
To establish a systemwide decision authority and responsibility framework that replaces informal, influence-based decisions with transparent, consistent role-defined authority.
Operational +
Org Structures
The opportunity
To implement a centrally coordinated, locally embedded organizational model that standardizes operations through standard operating procedures, workflows, and processes while preserving campus-level execution.
Data &
Investments
The opportunity
To refine its systemwide KPI measures and develop a data framework that aligns metrics, funding decisions, and performance accountability.
Value Creation
WSU Your Way
The opportunity
To create a seamless, systemwide learner experience that allows students to move fluidly across programs, campuses, and modalities.
Regionally Responsive WSU
The opportunity
To establish a coordinated regional engagement model aligning regional needs and external partnerships with system priorities.
WSU System-wide Executive Committee
The Executive Committee provides oversight and accountability for the systemwide redesign, ensuring decisions align with the university’s mission and long-term goals.
WSU System-wide Co-Design Council
The Co-Design Council is a diverse group of WSU leaders, faculty, and staff working together to co-create the university’s system-wide redesign through dialogue, experimentation, and shared vision.