Substantial and sustained progress starts with a vision – a plan for moving forward. For Baylor University, that vision is Baylor 2012: Baylor intends to enter the top tier of American universities while reaffirming and deepening its distinctive Christian mission. We aim to assume a unique leadership position in higher education by adding new faculty, facilities and programs that position us as a Protestant, Baptist research university without peer. Baylor strives to be a research university characterized by thoughtful, deepening and distinctively faith-based perspectives on the calling and practice of the life of the mind--an institution of higher education that seeks to embody the highest principles of Christian community in all aspects of teaching, research and service to the wider world.

Plans for creating this Vision began in 2000 and included broad input from faculty, staff, alumni, students and other members of the Baylor family. It was presented to, and unanimously approved by, the Board of Regents in September of 2001. The 2012 vision includes twelve imperatives necessary for Baylor to fulfill the Vision. These imperatives range from academic and scholarly initiatives, to student life and campus expansion and improvement, to reaffirmation of faith-based learning, to athletics.

In the Fall of 2007, the Office of Institutional Effectiveness introduced a mid-point assessment of our ten-year vision, taking stock of progress and answering the question of "How is Baylor doing in achieving the ambitious 2012 goals?" Based on positive responses to that mid-point assessment, we now offer twice-per-year progress reports on Vision 2012. Each January, we release an update based on new information reflecting Fall data. Then, each August, we release an update based on Spring data.

This January 2009 update reflects continued progress of the University toward reaching its ambitious goals. While the twelve reports include specific information regarding each imperative, updated examples comparing current indicators with those of 2002 show:

• Baylor's student/faculty ratio improving from 18:1 to 15:1.
• The proportion of small (<20) undergraduate classes growing from 33% to 43%.
• Large undergraduate classes (50 or larger) dropping from 12% to 10%.
• Adding room for 1,000 additional students to live on campus and providing intensive living-learning programs for almost 1,300 undergraduates.
• Baylor faculty nearly doubling their level of articles published in major journals.
• Externally funded research growing by almost 60%.
• SAT scores going up by almost 40 points and GRE scores increasing by almost 100 points.
• Employment rates for newly graduated MBAs growing from less than 70% to almost 100%.
• Baylor undergraduates reporting increasingly strong desires to "influence social values" and to "develop a meaningful philosophy of life" and embracing those desires more strongly than students elsewhere.
• The proportion of undergraduates who are minorities increasing from 25% to 29%.
• The number of doctoral programs growing from 14 to 21 and the number of doctoral students from 400 to 500.
• Attendance at the Baylor Line Camps improving from 272 to 1,025.
• The number of undergraduates interested in vocational Christian ministry growing from 2,029 to 2,428.
• The number of international programs increasing from 50 to 64.
• Construction of 1)the Baylor Science Building, 2)the Mayborn Museum Complex and Harry and Anna Jeanes Discovery Center, 3) the Stacy Riddle Forum, 4)Paul L. Foster Success Center in the newly remodeled Sid Richardson Building, 5) the remodeled first floor of the Cashion Academic Center with the Southwest Securities Financial Market Center, the CNL Real Estate Learning lab, and the Curb Learning Lab for Music and Entertainment Marketing, 6)the McMullen-Connally Faculty Center, and 7)the Simpson Athletics and Academic Center.

This abbreviated list of comparisons accurately reflects a broader dynamic affecting all of the University. Baylor is, by the 100 plus indicators in this report, without exception, a stronger university. What follows is a review of each Imperative and our progress toward achieving the goals contained within them.