Who We Are

The Division of Strategic Educational Alliances (SEA) strengthens UNT's impact by connecting academic excellence with regional workforce demand and strategic enrollment growth. Through Executive and Professional Learning, the Workforce Intelligence team, and data-informed program strategy, SEA supports career-aligned learning, innovative credential pathways, and employer partnerships that advance student success and regional economic mobility. By bridging higher education and industry, SEA expands opportunity for learners while supporting long-term institutional sustainability.

Download Full Plan Strategic Educational Alliances

Our Strategic Goals (2026–2030)

A student takes notes on a whiteboard desk in class

Launch and grow industry-partnered, executive, and professional learning

Drive
Develop employer-partnered learning opportunities that support workforce upskilling while expanding student access to industry-informed content. By 2030, SEA aims to build a sustainable portfolio of employer-supported programs, diversify institutional revenue aligned with workforce needs, and expand student access to career-aligned learning.

Our Implementation Priorities

  • Launch industry-partnered, executive, and professional learning programs: SEA will build an initial portfolio of employer-partnered programs aligned with high-demand skill areas and establish processes for turning industry-informed content into learning experiences that can be embedded in courses or accessed independently by UNT students.
  • Expand enrollment and completion pathways for adult and transfer learners: SEA will conduct market assessments, collaborate with academic units on program positioning and modality expansion, and advance degree-completion pathways for adult and transfer learners — including through the Tuition Benefit Concierge Service, which helps working professionals navigate employer tuition benefits as a pathway into UNT programs.
  • Build out the Texas Talent Accelerator as a regional collaboration model: SEA will formalize the operational structure and partnership engagement model for the Accelerator, launch regional workforce dashboards, and begin data-sharing processes that connect employer and economic development partners with program development across the institution.

Core Metrics

1st to 2nd Year Retention
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UNT Baseline (2024/25): 77% | UNT Target (2030): 90%

Unit contribution to achieving targets:

  • Support career-aligned and industry-informed learning experiences that help students connect their education to professional goals.
4-Year Graduation Rate
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UNT Baseline (2024/25): 42% | UNT Target (2030): 65%

Unit contribution to achieving targets:

  • Expand work-integrated learning experiences through corporate partnerships that strengthen student engagement and momentum toward completion.
6-Year Graduation Rate
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UNT Baseline (2024/25): 61% | UNT Target (2030): 80%

Unit contribution to achieving targets:

  • Strengthen degree-completion pathways for transfer and adult learners through flexible program positioning and delivery models.
Annual R&D Expenditures
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UNT Baseline (2024/25): $124M | UNT Target (2030): $250M

Unit contribution to achieving targets:

  • Grow partnerships connecting academic expertise with industry and workforce initiatives, expanding applied research collaboration opportunities.
Doctoral Degrees Awarded
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UNT Baseline (2024/25): 286 | UNT Target (2030): 300

Unit contribution to achieving targets:

  • Contribute market intelligence and partnership development that informs emerging advanced program opportunities.
Time to Value
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UNT Baseline (2024/25): 6 years | UNT Target (2030): Decrease time for programs over median

Unit contribution to achieving targets:

  • Support flexible credential and career-aligned learning opportunities that allow students to build workforce-relevant skills prior to graduation.

Emergent Metrics

Important Dimensions of Our Success that Require New Approaches

Post-graduation placement:
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Percentage of graduates placed in high-demand occupations or graduate and professional programs

Uses Lightcast Alumni Pathways and partner-provided data to assess graduate outcomes; will collaborate with institutional partners to refine tracking of placement in high-demand fields connected to career-aligned learning.

Career-aligned learning:
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Percentage of academic programs that integrate internships, industry-sponsored projects, or other work-integrated learning experiences

Will work with academic and institutional partners to track student participation in industry-informed and career-aligned curricular experiences developed collaboratively across programs and modalities.

Awards and recognitions:
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Prestigious awards, exhibitions, and performances achieved by our students, faculty, staff, and alumni

Tracks staff speaking engagements and presentations at national and professional conferences, along with recognition of award recipients across the division.

Innovation and entrepreneurship:
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New ventures, startups, and public impact projects launched by students, faculty, and alumni

Maintains a portfolio of new initiatives; will continue tracking projects incubated through its New Ventures work and partner with campus units to document outcomes and institutional impact.

Student and alumni engagement:
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Perceptions of how well UNT prepares graduates to pursue lives of meaning and purpose

Gathers feedback through employer partnerships and executive learning initiatives; will work with institutional partners to develop additional methods for capturing perceptions of career readiness.

Unit Level Metrics

  • Executive and Professional Learning enrollment and program growth: Monitoring program growth and enrollment trends helps identify high-demand areas, guides future offerings, and ensures programming remains aligned with learner and workforce needs.
  • Platform and nontraditional program growth: Tracking strategic growth across online, Frisco, and other extended-reach programs allows SEA to assess impact on access for adult and professional learners and align strategy with market and workforce demand.