ORIGINAL FACULTY SENATE MEETING Report on Strategic Planning Process February 20, 1990 University Directions University Directions, the final report that outlines the University's mission and strategic goals and objectives, will be presented to the Board of Trustees at the March 2 meeting. We will ask them to approve the document in principle so that it may guide the university's planning and budget activities, effectively immediately. Implementation Plans At last month's Faculty Senate meeting, Jim Joyce reported to you that the draft implementation plans had been circulated for review by the Faculty Senate, deans, vice chancellors, and EPPC. He stated that the timeframe for responding to the plans could be extended if necessary. In response to requests from several groups, we did just that. We are very pleased with the number of comments we received and particularly with the interest shown by the Educational Planning and Policies Committee and members of the Teaching Effectiveness Committee. All suggestions received have been reviewed by Chancellor Eakin, and revised reports (reflecting many of the suggested revisions) will be distributed as final reports very soon. The Organization Plan will also be circulated for review by all groups. The seven implementation plans will be used by the planning units to guide the development of unit plans, a process that is currently underway. The nature of the implementation plans is such that in some cases the strategies simply inform the units about the environment within which they will be functioning during the planning period. For instance, by reading the facilities plan a school will know that a new building is not in its future (at least not in the next 5 years), and therefore their unit plans can be developed with that constraint in mind. In other cases, the strategies have captured ideas for new initiatives to be undertaken by various units throughout the university. Quite frankly, I think the planning teams have done an excellent job of identifying many innovative strategies for furthering the 10 goals in the University Directions. In fact, many good ideas are presented that may not directly tie back to the ten goals, but certainly will help us to achieve our mission or enhance our elements of distinction. So, units will be asked to use the implementation plans as a catalyst (if you will) for carrying through to the unit level the priorities listed in the implementation plans. To integrate these strategies into the units that will take action on them requires the planning units and their planning committees to study the implementation plans carefully and respond to them in their unit priorities for action statements. 2 Unit Plans Planning units have been hard at work developing strategic plans for each of the major divisions of the university (Academic Affairs, Health Sciences, Business Affairs, Student Life, Institutional Advancement, and the Chancellor's Office) and in the academic planning units (College of Arts and Sciences and each of the professional schools). Planning at the unit level is decentralized in the sense that each unit determines its own process for planning and is responsible for drafting its own plan for review and approval by the Vice Chancellors and Chancellor. Even though units can choose their own approach to planning they are requested to engage in a participatory process that involves the faculty and staff in their unit and are instructed to present their plans in the prescribed format to assure consistency among units and with the University Directions document. Each plan will contain a Vision Statement, a list of Elements of Distinction, and a set of Priorities for Action that respond to the 10 goals in the University Directions document. Draft plans will be reviewed by the Vice Chancellors and Chancellor in April and May and completed in June. The University's entire strategic plan, entitled Strategies for Distinction, will be completed in July and presented to the Board of Trustees in September. It will contain the University Directions document, the seven implementation plans, and the 22 unit plans. Operational Plans As we move to the next level of planning at the department/ program level, our planning becomes less strategic and more outcomes oriented and operational in nature. In the Fall of 1990, individual departments, programs, and offices will be asked to identify 1) intended outcomes of instruction, research, and service activities and 2) objectives for administrative activities. Assessment criteria and procedures for evaluating our progress toward these outcomes and objectives will also be identified. This level of planning supports East Carolina's strategic objective of assessing the institution's effectiveness in carrying out its mission and strategic plans. And, it is also in keeping with the SACS criteria on institutional effectiveness as well as General Administration requirements for an assessment plan. We are in the very early stages of designing a process that will integrate SACS requirements with GA requirements, while satisfying our own internal needs for sound planning and evaluation. You will hear much more about these activities as our efforts become more intensified later in the semester. Timetable I am pleased to report to you that the strategic planning process is on schedule. I have copies for you of the timetable that estimates the timeframe for each component of the process. Conclusion Finally, I would like to thank all of the faculty and staff who have contributed to the success of the strategic planning process so far by giving their time and energy and ideas. Frankly, without your participation and without the thoughtful discussion about East Carolina's future we cannot claim to be engaged in strategic planning. We may have a plan in 5 months, but the plan means nothing without a sound communication process to develop it. That's where you come in. Planning is one thing that we all have in common right now. It is the bond, in a sense, that moves all of us forward in the same direction as we go about effecting change within our organization. For this to happen effectively, East Carolina's people--its faculty, (all of you), its staff, its students, its alumni and its friends--must be a part of this direction-setting. We need to capitalize on the valuable contributions that all of you can make as we continue setting directions. So thank you for your contributions so far and for your future commitment to our planning efforts. SETTING DIRECTIONS STRATEGIC PLANNING FOR EAST CAROLINA UNIVIERSITY Revised JVimetable May 1, 1989 Environmental Analysis Institutional Values trengths & Weaknesses Sstimated Estimated Revised Unzt Plans Sea aee aes %& Estimated Revised 2 MOQ DSSS set - devclopment - review/consuilauon revision *- publication