What Higher Education Leaders Need to Know about Institutional Planning Services

Institutions of higher education (IHEs) need robust institutional planning services. Planning services help the institution leverage resources in a constantly changing environment. The strategic planning cycle is central to the institutional planning process. Good planning services supported by administration foster an institutional outlook grounded in collaborative relationships of trust.

Institutions of higher education need robust planning services for several reasons.

Limited resources mean that institutional priorities need to be identified and prioritized.

Most IHEs operate in an environment of limited resources. Public colleges in many states are experiencing reductions in federal and state funding. Private institutions are also experiencing financial pressures in the form of cutbacks in grant funding and increased taxes on endowments.

Accreditors also look for evidence of planning

Regional accreditors also look for evidence of planning and continuous improvement. The activities of an institution are expected to be directed toward advancing the mission and established goals of the institution.

Planning is key to continuous improvement

Any effort at continuous improvement requires institutional planning. A continuous planning cycle must be established. When followed, such a process creates a virtuous cycle where the institution becomes aware of its environment, recognizes critical objectives it must face and marshals its limited resources to pursue these objectives.

Planning is important for strategic positioning and institutional success

Beyond benefiting from the enhanced impact and optimization that comes from organizing the activities of an institution around a common vision and set of goals, the planning process can be employed by an institution to reflect on and leverage its unique advantages. In other words, as is true in business effective planning can help an institution identify and take advantage of its competitive strengths. Planning services help institutional units and leadership think through their mission, vision, goals and unique value proposition. This work enables institutions to formulate priorities and can equip them to make difficult decisions about which activities merit their investment of limited resources.

Role of Strategic Planning

A center piece of institutional planning service is providing leadership for the strategic planning cycle. The strategic planning process brings together all major stakeholders in becoming aware of the environment and rethinking and updating the mission, vision, values and goals of an institution in light of its current reality. Based on these goals, an implementation plan is developed which aligns with the institution’s planning process which may be a cycle of two to three years.

“Planning services help institutional units and leadership think through their mission, vision, goals and unique value proposition”

While steps may vary among institutions, basic elements for the development of a strategic plan include the following: Information must be gathered on current circumstances. This may include SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis, market studies and analyses of gaps in areas served to name a few. The mission must be revisited as should the values of the institution which guide the way the institution does what it does. A vision for the upcoming period of improvement must be established. The vision serves as the state the institution wishes to achieve by the end of the planning period, such as five or six years. Goals must be developed to take the institution from the current state to the state described by the new vision. To be effective, these goals should be accompanied by metrics and targets to determine when and whether each goal has been met. A plan for the implementation of the goals must then be developed. The plan must be implemented. Periodically during the plan and at the end of the plan period performance should be evaluated through the established metrics and targets. The planning process should then be evaluated and the cycle of improvement resumed.

Institutional perspectives built on relationships of trust and collaboration.

As in any organization, the interest of a unit may loom large and very important for that unit. For the IHE through its planning processes to marshal the resources of the institution to focus on key goals, it is important that administration understand the value of taking a broad system perspective. By virtue of their work, institutional planning services develop a broad view of institutional activities, but individual units have the expertise and depth in their respective areas to interpret institutional objectives and implement these effectively at the unit level.

The planning function can help to cultivate a system thinking habit among unit administration and cohesion around common institutional goals. This makes it possible for unit leaders to look beyond immediate unit interests and see how their unit is part of the broader whole. Planning services can help develop a broader perspective among units by helping these keep the institutional vision and priorities in mind. This change of mindset can be fostered through training opportunities and by having broad representation in interdivisional planning committees and taskforces such as institutional planning and effectiveness committees, IT advisory committees and data governance committees.

Institutional planning services need to cultivate relationships with key stakeholders throughout the institution. This enables them to accomplish the objective of having everyone moving in the same direction rather than at cross purposes. Relationships of trust among the institutional units help to overcome shortsightedness at the expense of institutional interests.

The Future of Planning Services

The fast-changing educational landscape has made it more important than ever for IHEs to develop robust planning services and planning cultures. IHEs need to be resilient, data informed, strategic and agile to flourish. This maturity level is made possible by making sure that planning is an ongoing process of collective and unit-level continuous improvement, optimization and strategic awareness.