THEME I: Becoming a Teaching and Learning Community

Reflective Essay on Theme I, Issue No. 6: Strategic Planning Progress

In fall 2002, the University's Long Range Planning Council carried out a five-year retrospective review of campus progress in implementing initiatives and achieving tangible results with our Strategic Plan. From the many, many activities and accomplishments reported by the divisions, departments and offices, it was clear that the goals of the plan are well-understood by the campus community, almost all parts of the university are engaged in meaningful projects to carry out activities and reach objectives appropriate to their area, and tangible results are beginning to show return on the investment of time and effort. (See the Planning Council's Assessment of Strategic Plan )

A summary of the most important accomplishment for each goal may be found in a report prepared by the Theme I subcommittee, See the Report

The full 150-page Progress Report

One of the crucial questions raised by our self-study was "How well aligned to the Strategic Plan goals are administrative support structures and incentive?" It seems apparent that the ongoing operations of the university are congruent with the plan though there is no direct relationship between the administrative hierarchy and the overarching and cross-divisional objectives and goals of the plan. While some divisions are more directly related to one goal than another, the progress report revealed there is broad participation and involvement across the campus with each goal. For example, several areas of the university beside Academic Affairs division were engaged in initiatives to realize the aspirations of Goal I to encourage teaching and learning. The Long-range Planning Council recognized this widespread involvement early on by assigning primary responsibility for each objective in the plan to a particular division, which would take the lead role.

One of the ways the on-going university structure is tied to the Strategic Plan is by the setting of annual goals and objectives of each administrator under the management personnel plan, which are directly tied and linked to specific strategic objectives. (For examples See online report ) Likewise, annual performance evaluations and salary increases for managers are based largely on meeting these assigned strategic objectives. The yearly and long-term objectives of academic departments and individual faculty members, however, are not directly tied to the plan, however, though some College Dean's require department chairs and programs to provide annual plans and evaluation reports.

Conclusions

The Long-range Planning Council made a number of recommendations for revision of the plan, ensuring better reporting on accomplishments, and getting better understanding of the objectives. The Planning Council's assessment of our progress in reaching the goals and objectives of the strategic plan made several crucial points that warrant reinforcement here:

The overall number, range, and kinds of initiatives undertaken in the past five years is impressive. The success of these activities needs to be widely shared, understood, and discussed on-campus with various groups. The results of our initiatives and the success of our most significant projects need to be summarized and conveyed to all our constituencies and on and off-campus stakeholders.
The progress report should be the basis for financial discussions and inform the decisions of the University Budget Council.
Some prioritization objectives and reduction initiatives to focus on more tangible results is recommended. The number of initiatives is almost too large to track. It is suggested that each objective be assigned only one or two clear and measurable results or expected outcomes that may be tracked.
Some of the objectives need to be restated to include more specific criteria for evaluating the degree of success and for knowing when the expected outcome has been reached. Many of the objectives are long-term ones and likely ongoing but some of them need focus less on process and more on tangible results and activities that have a point of closure and definite completion.
We need to develop a better way of capturing and reporting information from all parts of the university from normal, everyday activities that support the plans objectives. There is a need to involve all divisions and departments more closely in the plan. Many areas of the university are not mentioned in the progress report and it appears that much meaningful and praiseworthy activity and accomplishment may go unreported.

While the Planning Council noted that many objectives were only partially met or were still in progress, there is every reason to be proud of the many efforts underway and the tangible results that have already been accomplished.