At the heart of every great university is a story: one that reflects its people, its place, and its purpose. The Differentiator Project is a campuswide effort to define what makes UCCS not just a university of choice, but a university of distinction.
This initiative has been shaped by hundreds of voices across campus and beyond. Insights from students, staff, and faculty to alumni, donors, and community partners have helped uncover the values and experiences that make UCCS unique. The Differentiator isn’t a marketing slogan, but a reflection of UCCS’s shared story, one that honors the university’s roots and inspires its future.
What is a Differentiator?
A differentiator is a clear, compelling reason why students, partners, and stakeholders choose UCCS over other institutions. It heralds the skills and knowledge each UCCS graduate attains on their college journey and prepares them for their next steps. It must be:
- Relevant to audiences’ needs and aspirations
- Difficult to replicate, showcasing unique strengths
- Integrated into the core experience, reaching the majority
- Provable to the market, backed by outcomes and recognition
This project is not about creating a new identity for UCCS. It’s about building upon and elevating what already defines the university.
Project Goals & Progress
Over the past year, the Office of Strategic Initiatives has engaged in a robust and inclusive process to identify UCCS’s differentiator. Their goals have been to:
- Gather broad input from campus and community stakeholders
- Analyze feedback across all groups
- Develop differentiator themes that reflect shared values and aspirations
At a kickoff event in September 2024, over 100 UCCS faculty, staff, and students engaged in a workshop to launch this project. Hundreds of pieces of data were collected to help understand what is unique about the UCCS campus. After the event, additional focus groups were conducted in connection with Enrollment Management and Student Affairs and community partners, which provided additional context to what people value about UCCS and envision for the future.
Throughout the spring semester, the University Leadership Team (ULT), comprised of shared governance leaders from the Student Government Association, Faculty Assembly, and Staff Council, as well as the chair of UBAC along with deans, vice chancellors, chancellor and subject matter experts, convened in working sessions with EAB to learn more about what a differentiator is, see examples from other campuses, and to discuss the timeline for the project. These meetings helped to shape the direction for this fall as well as provide additional data to what was previously gathered.
Over the summer, an in-depth analysis helped shape three potential differentiators. The draft differentiators were presented to the ULT in August along with the process for additional focus groups. This session informed focus group protocol, stakeholder groups, and the survey option for September and October.
Between September and October, 10 focus groups were conducted and an outreach survey was administered. Over 260 participants, including students, faculty, staff, alumni, donors, and community partners, shared their insights on three potential differentiator themes. Findings from these efforts were used to refine the three draft differentiators into two.
Draft Differentiators
1. People, Place, and Purpose
Rooted in Colorado. Focused on People. Driven by Possibility.
At the foot of Pikes Peak, UCCS transforms potential into purpose. We are a university defined by our people — faculty who teach with heart, staff who create belonging, and students who discover their power to make a difference. We are shaped by our place — Colorado Springs, The Olympic City, a community of innovation and care — where the mountains remind us to rise to every challenge. And we are driven by purpose — connecting learning to life through applied experiences, interdisciplinary discovery, and partnerships that strengthen our region and our world. At UCCS, every student finds not only knowledge, but a direction — a way to live, lead, and contribute with purpose.
2. Innovation with Heart
Applied. Inclusive. Inspired by the Rockies.
At UCCS, innovation has heart. Here, creativity and compassion come together to solve real-world challenges — in business and health, in the arts and sciences, in classrooms and communities. Rooted in the spirit of the Rockies, UCCS empowers every learner to lead with purpose, think across boundaries, and turn ideas into impact. From the groundbreaking Bachelor of Innovation to micro-credentials that prepare learners for the future, we champion education that’s applied, inclusive, and human-centered. At UCCS, innovation isn’t just what we do — it’s who we are: bold thinkers and caring doers creating change that lasts.
Each theme reflects the values, strengths, and aspirations of our campus community. The Office of Strategic Initiatives is asking campus to reflect and react to these two drafts.
“We know we are getting closer to identifying our differentiator, and it may be one of these two, but it is more likely a combination of what people value from each of these,” said Robin Parent, Vice Chancellor of Strategic Initiatives and Chief of Staff.
What’s Next
The Top Two Differentiator Theme Feedback Survey has been launched to all campus stakeholders. Campus is asked to weigh in on what resonates or does not resonate from each of these themes. The survey takes a few minutes and will be open through November 30. Complete the Differentiator survey here.
The Office of Strategic Initiatives also announced the launch of the Differentiator Project Website, which features the themes, explains the “why” behind this project, and shares more about the process. Visit the Differentiator website here.