When writing an effective goal statement, consider a few key questions: What do you ultimately want to achieve? What purpose or impact will this goal have? And how will you define what success looks like?
Writing Goal Statements
These statements should reflect long-term goals you hope you achieve.
Action Verb
Begin with determining the action verb, “increase, develop, obtain, complete, etc.”
Example: “Develop a plan”
Impact
Answer the question, what it is you will impact?
Example: “increase student involvement”
Accountability
Include a time-bound statement of accountability.
Example: “over the next three years”
Results
Add a statement about what results will be achieved.
Example: “to improve first-year retention rates”
Examples
“Develop a plan to increase student involvement in Weeks of Welcome over the next three years to improve first-year retention.”
“Improve processes and procedures to increase the operational performance and customer impact within the next two years.”
“Increase the number of donor prospects from 50 to 100 in four years to increase giving units for the division.”
“Assemble Student Life professionals to lead research and development initiatives within the division for improved visibility within the Student Life communities – local, state, regional, and national opportunities by the end of XXXX.”
Tips for Writing Goals
- Ensure goal statements follow the SMART framework—specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-oriented.
- Keep goal statements broad in scope, covering multiple years and encompassing the objectives or outcomes needed to accomplish them.
- When using action verbs such as increase or improve, include benchmark data tied to the goal’s metrics, since these verbs require comparison points.
- Once you’ve written a clear goal statement, continue building your assessment plan by identifying how you will achieve the goal through objectives, outcomes, and measures.