Connecticut Community Colleges

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Connecticut Community Colleges

• Strategic Planning
• Making Dreams Come True
• Tom Flaherty
• Central Connecticut State University

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Todays Agenda

• The Vision Thing
• Plans
• Objective reality
• Features
• Gaps
• Goals
• Strategies
• Other stuff of some interest

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Mission Statement

• Answers the questions
• Whom do we serve?
• What do we provide?
• What value do we impart? How do we make the
  world a better place?
• On whos authority do we do things?

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Vision Statement

• Answers the questions
• Where are we going?
• What will we look like?
• Provides
• Destination
• Motivation
• Inspiration
• I.e., Describes the dream?

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Strategic Plan

• Provides a means to the end (the vision, that is)
• Identifies features so youll know what to look
  for, and so will others
• Includes metrics of features and helps define
  tactics
• Provides feedback (evaluation) along the way

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Strategic Planning

• a disciplined effort to produce fundamental
  decisions and actions that shape and guide what
  an organization is, what it does, and why it does
  it.
• (Bryson, 1995, p. 5)
• a formalized procedure to produce an
  articulated result, in the form of an integrated
  system of decisions
• (Mintzberg, 1994, p. 12)

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Plans.

• He had a whole lot of ideas, but a whole lot of
  ideas isn't a plan. A plan is a bunch of details
  that mesh with one another, so you go from this
  step to this step like crossing a stream on a lot
  of little boulders sticking out, and never fall
  in. Ideas without a plan is usually just enough
  boulders to get you into the deep part of the
  stream, and no way to get back.
• --Donald Westlake, Whats the Worst that
  Could Happen

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Planning Goals

• Are the major outcomes soughttasks to be
  accomplishedin realizing the vision. (E.g.,
  increase enrollment of older students offer more
  degree programs.)
• Are critical components of the vision.
• Need not have quantitative metrics attached.

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Objectives

• Quantitative features of goals. (E.g., increase
  the number of students over age 35 by 1 per
  year, add two new degree programs per year.)
• Choose objectives that are Appropriate,Acceptable
  , and Achievable.

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Activities (Strategies)

• Actions taken to reach objectives.
• Clear, measurable outcomes.
• Fixed timelines beginning end.
• Personally assigned.
• Evaluation for success by specific party
  (committee, individual, etc.).

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To make the plan work,

• we have to
• make sure that each activity addresses the
  objective its supposed to address,
• measure the success of each activity,
• monitor progress on each objective and goal, and
• Never lose sight of the overall objective the
  Vision.
• Which brings us to

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The Committees (BOT, EPC, SPSC, SPAC)

• Set the planning agenda
• Review objectives goals annually.
• allocate resources.
• monitor evaluate the projects sponsored.
• Broad-based membership, might include presidents,
  administrators, faculty, staff students.
• Report and recommend to next level.

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Advantages of the Approach

• It is quantitative, end-to-end thus, objective
  evaluation is possible.
• It has definite start and end points.
• It is amenable to change each year switch
  emphases, review and adjust.
• Broadly participative.
• Helps to focus attention on the stated objectives.

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Disadvantages

• It isnt what people expect.
• does not generate a neat five year plan to
  perfect-bind and hand out. (May use web pages
  instead.)
• does not provide a wish list to which all can
  contribute.
• Difficult to duck responsibility
• if certain goals are not met.
• if the overall objective is not reached.

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The Next LevelLinking Planning Budgeting

• Strategic planning will be effective to the
  extent that it drives the allocation and
  reallocation of resources.
• (Why else do it?)
• To be most effective it must be the ONLY driver.

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Some further thoughts

• What about mission conflict?
• E.g., affordability vs. availability
• What about seizing unforeseenopportunities?
• Whimsy? A little imagination can justify
  anything.
• E.g., It will increase retention, orEnhance
  our academic reputation.

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References

• J. Bryson. (1995). Strategic Planning for
  Public and Nonprofit Organizations. San
  Francisco Jossey-Bass.
• H. Mintzberg. (1994). The Rise and Fall of
  Strategic Planning. New York Free Press.

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Contact Information
Strategic PlanningMaking Dreams Come True
Dr. Thomas Flaherty Planning and
Analysis Central Connecticut State University New
Britain, CT 06050 USA www.ccsu.edu/planning/ Tel.
[phone] FAX [phone] Flaherty_at_CCSU.e
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