STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS SUGGESTIONS WANTED

The University administration is currently discussing the process to be used for the next round of strategic planning and invites faculty, staff, and students to contribute suggestions. The Executive Officers have been reviewing various strategic-planning models, all of which have many common elements. For example, all of them suggest an organization should assess the relevance of its mission, trends from the external environment, values guiding the strategic-planning effort, and the current internal environment. Once this basic information is gathered and assessed, then specific tactical decisions, operational plans, and measurement indicators need to be determined. During the planning process in 1993/94, a Committee for University Strategic Planning (CUSP) was appointed to prepare the plan. The 1993/94 strategic planning initiative was designed to be broad-based and inclusive. The intent of this upcoming round of planning is to build upon the success of this University-wide approach. (For a detailed flowchart of the CUSP process, please see the 1994 Strategic Plan; copies should be available in all departments.)

Because the University is a decentralized environment, i.e., there are many departments and services operating within the University, the Executive Officers would specifically like input on how the University community might approach strategic planning to ensure a consultative approach. Furthermore, the University has several initiatives underway which will inform our next planning process. For example, the Centennial Commission, the Cultural Self-Study, and the University Priorities and Budget Advisory Committee (UPBAC) will have important information for the development of a new plan. In addition, several governance structures must also be considered when developing a strategic-planning process.

A website is being created to gather suggestions from faculty, staff, and students. The address is http://www.kent.edu/ksuStrategic/index.shtml. For those faculty, staff, and students not connected to the web, suggestions may be forwarded to President Carol A. Cartwright in writing and faxed to 330/672-3281. All suggestions for the planning process should be submitted by March 30 to allow the Executive Officers time to review the information received. The planning process will be shared with the University community before the end of the semester. Implementation of the process will then begin immediately because the target date for strategic planning completion is Spring Semester 1999.

*****

The purpose of this newsletter is to encourage communication among all members of the University community. If you have any questions or concerns about the information presented in this newsletter, feel free to contact Dr. Sally Kandel, Dialogue Editor, extension 4695. This newsletter is also available on the web (http://www.kent.edu/vph/dialogue.htm).