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Strategic Planning at Appalachian
Fall 2013
Strategic Challenges for Higher
Education
Strategic Challenges
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Removing boundaries
Establishing Interdisciplinary Programs
Supporting Entrepreneurial Efforts &
Technology
Redesigning & Personalizing Student Support
Services
Emphasizing Connected & Lifelong Learning
Investing in Technologically Competent Faculty
Hanna, D.E. (July/August 2003). Building a leadership vision: Eleven strategic challenges for Higher Education. Educause.
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Academic Affairs
Strategic Challenges
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Building Strategic Alliances with Others
Incorporating Learning Technologies into
Strategic Thinking
Measuring Program Quality
Achieving Institutional Advantage
Transforming Bureaucracy, Culture &
Assumptions
Hanna, D.E. (July/August 2003). Building a leadership vision: Eleven strategic challenges for Higher Education. Educause.
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Academic Affairs
National & State Level
Trends, Opportunities & Threats
Political/Legal/Governmental
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Increasing demand for accountability &
effectiveness
Further shifting toward political conservatism
Increasing micromanaging by General
Assembly & the Board of Governors
Growing public demand for tax reductions
Increasing use of performance funding for
state agencies
Tightening of student loan policies &
availability
Academic Affairs
Economic/Occupational
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Further resistance to increasing public funding
levels to universities
Continuing shift of educational costs to students
as tuition & fees
Growing competition for private & federal dollars
Continuing availability of jobs in health and
business services
Academic Affairs
Economic/Occupational
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Increasing demand for job preparedness by
university graduates
Increasing global interdependence
Increasing demand for workers to function in
multi-lingual, multi-cultural business & social
environments
Increasing pressure on universities to
facilitate economic development
Declining support for public liberal arts
education
Academic Affairs
Social/Demographic/Cultural
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Growing disillusionment of higher education
by the general public
Increasing cultural & ethnic diversity in the
population
Increasing aging of student and general
populations
?? High School grads
Substantial grown in central piedmont and
coastal regions of North Carolina
Academic Affairs
Technological/Scientific
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Expanding demand for & capabilities for alternative
instructional delivery systems
Increasing use of distance and on-line learning
Increasing demands for increased productivity,
through technology, in education
Increasing availability of vast amounts of information
Increasing emphasis on knowledge of how to reach
available information
Continuing job displacement due to technological
advances
Academic Affairs
Campus Level
Strengths & Weaknesses
Internal Strengths
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Tradition of teaching excellence and strong
faculty
Location in the mountains within 3 hours of
metropolitan areas
Excellent educational value
Excellent cultural opportunities & programs
Strong academic reputation
Academic Affairs
Internal Weaknesses
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Relatively low public funding levels
Discipline & organizational territorialization
Lack of ethnic diversity
Diminished concern for students’ interests
Incentive programs that emphasize the
individual rather than department of college
Excessive decentralization resulting in
inefficiency
Academic Affairs
Strategic Plan: Reach Greater Heights
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The Strategic Plan, Reach Greater Heights, was
implemented in 2008. The BOT extended the current
plan for one year to allow the campus time to complete
the SACS reaffirmation process.
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Discussions for new plan will begin in the fall of 2012.
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Campus will seek BOT approval for the new plan in the
summer or fall of 2013.
2008-2012 Strategic Plan Priorities
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Quality: Create & maintain superior curricula, programs, financial
incentives, and intellectual environments to attract, educate and
graduate an exceptional and diverse community of students.
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Research: Provide resources to enable all faculty members to
perform quality research and creative activities and enhanced
resources in successive, focus areas of strength to enable
Appalachian to make a sustained and major contributions in those
fields.
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Human Resources: Allocate resources, develop support services,
and promote a collegial culture to attract, develop and retain an
exceptional faculty and staff.
2008-2012 Strategic Plan Priorities
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Outreach: Apply our intellectual, academic, cultural and
research resources to promote sustainable economic growth,
prosperity, and quality of life throughout this region and state.
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Identity: Develop and implement a comprehensive plan to
protect and enhance our distinctive historical, geographical,
and cultural identity associated with our location in the
Appalachian mountains.
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Resource Management: Practice sound management of
institutional resources to continue to be a good value for
students.
Strategic Plan Progress
The 2008-2012 Strategic Plan had a total of 59 metrics.
18 (31%) of the 59 were met. Examples include:
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Implement & assess General Education program
Increase scholarship endowment to $30 million
Obtain accreditation or reaccreditation of selected academic programs
Develop & implement learning outcomes assessment by academic units
Employ best practices with staff performance reviews
Complete College of Education building
Establish College of Health Sciences
Create Office of Sustainability
Develop & implement a campus-wide sustainability plan
Improve space utilization to appropriate UNC benchmarks
Strategic Plan Progress
13 (22%) of the 59 are ongoing activities. This means there is no endpoint to
the activities cited in the Strategic Plan, but progress was made. Examples
include:
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Conduct research and prepare policy analyses to inform university decision
makers
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Develop selected Professional Science Master’s and Professional Master’s
degrees (Developed 3)
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Complete the construction of the College of Health Sciences and Allied
Professions Complex
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Attain Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification in
major construction or modernization capital projects as appropriate
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Increase on-campus residential housing to 40% of undergraduates and
maintain that level (Currently 39%)
Strategic Plan Progress
16 (27%) of the 59 were not met. These areas were targeted by the campus,
but the desired outcomes were not reached. Examples include:
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Increase percentage of entering freshmen with Predicted Grade Point
Average above 3.0 to 60% (Fall 11: 53%)
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Increase the six-year graduation rate to 75% (Entering class 05: 65%)
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Increase the percentage of underrepresented and international
student enrollment to 15% (Fall 11: 12%)
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Increase sponsored program support to $18 million (Fall 11: Est. $10
million)
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Employ best practices with promotion and tenure, post-tenure review
and merit policies
Strategic Plan Progress
9 (15%) of the 59 are not yet targeted. They remain important issues for the
campus but formal implementation was not initiated. Most of these were not
targeted because of budget reductions. Examples include:
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Increase student participation in study abroad programs by 25%
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Increase sponsored program awards in each focus area to $5 million
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Increase faculty salaries to the 80th percentile of those at our peer
institutions and maintain salaries at that level
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Employ best practices in providing support services for faculty and
staff
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Increase financial support for faculty and staff development
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Increase staff salaries to appropriate labor market benchmarks
Strategic Plan Progress
For 4 (7%) of the 59 , they are not priorities for the campus. We
have no plans to target. Examples include:
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Exceed the mean general GRE/GMAT/MAT score of the relevant
discipline for all graduate programs
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Establish research partnerships with other institutions
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Increase the number of programs in the Hickory metropolitan area
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Meet or exceed peer benchmarks for physical plant expenditures per
student FTE
University Planning & Priorities Council
UPPC
The UPPC has been meeting since September 2012 to identify the
priorities for the new strategic plan.
A subcommittee has reviewed the mission, vision, core assets, core
values and essential characteristics of the University. These important
statements are being vetted with campus stakeholders.
The mission statement must be submitted to the General
Administration for review by September 2013.
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Our Process: Appreciative Inquiry
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For significant change to happen, three conditions must
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Enormous external pressures
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People inside who are dissatisfied
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Coherent alternative plan, model or vision
Appreciative inquiry is a process that involves
discovering institutional strengths through creative
conversations that focus on what people within the
organization are doing well and on how they are
achieving excellence.
Hanna, D.E. (July/August 2003). Building a leadership vision: Eleven strategic challenges for Higher Education. Educause.
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Academic Affairs
Suggested Guiding Principles
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We are committed to make the meaningful
engagement of institutional stakeholders, the
heart of the strategic planning process
We are committed to transparency
We will actively seek an external perspective
We are committed to dealing with the tough
issues within our institution
Sanaghan, P. (June 2102) Strategic Planning: 5 tough question, 5 proven answers. Academic Impressions.
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Academic Affairs
University Planning & Priorities Council
UPPC
The UPPC has been leading the process for planning the strategic
direction of Appalachian State University and will evaluate progress on
the newly developed Strategic Plan.
The UPPC is participating in the strategic planning process by assisting
and advising the BOT, Chancellor, Provost and Vice Chancellors in
developing forward-thinking actions to achieve the mission and vision of
Appalachian State University by:
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Identifying potential priorities for the campus to protect and enhance the
Academic Core;
Revising the university-wide strategic plan;
Recommending criteria, principles and processes for resource allocation in
support of the strategic plan; and,
Monitoring success in achieving intended outcomes, and recommending changes to
the Strategic Plan as needed following annual review.
UPPC Responsibilities
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Reviewing mission, vision and value statements. These statements
should be reviewed at least every three years.
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Periodically reviewing progress on past and future plans
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Reviewing data from IRAP and identify areas in need of resources
to meet the goals of the Strategic Plans. The Council will:
o Identifying strategies to ensure we maintain ongoing focus on
the Plan; and,
o Identifying ways to integrate our planning efforts with
assessment and budgeting processes.
Strategic Priorities: Thinking Differently
We do not need priorities related to:
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Being good stewards of our financial resources. That is simply a
requirement for a high quality institution.
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Offering competitive salaries for faculty and staff. We cannot reach
our goals without competing for the best employees.
Having programs accredited. What is the alternative?
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Using our resources to meet our goals. This is a given.
All these items (and others) must be tracked and
measured but they don’t represent strategies or priorities,
but rather best practice.
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Steps of the Planning Process
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UPPC members self-selected a working group
Team leaders were selected for each group
Other members of the campus community
were invited to participate in the working
groups
Areas of strength for the topic were identified
Innovative ideas to further strength threads
within the topic were identified
3 to 5 strategies for possible inclusion in the
plan were created
Academic Affairs
Working Groups
Undergraduate Education
Research
Globalization
Outreach & Engagement
Resources
Diversity
Student Life
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Graduate Education
Sustainability
Work-Life Balance
Athletics
Technology & E-Learning
Accountability & Efficiency
Sustainability
at Appalachian
The Strategic Planning Survey
A survey about the strategic direction for Appalachian
sought input from:
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Faculty
Students
Staff
Members of Campus Leadership Boards
Parents
Alumni
The Community
The Strategic Planning Survey
Total number of respondents:
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Students
Faculty
Staff
Leadership Boards
Parents
Alumni
The Community
1436
408 Incomplete
1028 Completed
38%
22%
17%
1%
13%
5%
2%
NOTE: Respondents could select more than one demographic category.
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Academic Affairs
Draft Mission
Appalachian State University, along with other schools in the University of North
Carolina system, is strongly committed to teaching, research, and service as we
prepare students for lifelong learning and careers. Appalachian is distinguished by
location, programs, and vision. On a campus with the advantages of a large university
and the atmosphere of the small eclectic town of Boone, students are transformed
through strong relationships with faculty and staff and learning that is invigorated by
the old and new traditions of the mountains. Students learn to think critically, to
communicate effectively, to make local to global connections, and to understand the
responsibilities of community membership in an innovative undergraduate
curriculum. They learn in the disciplines with dedicated faculty who value teaching
and research, in graduate programs that inspire inquiry and prepare them for the
professions, in co-curricular programs that enrich classroom experience, and through
outreach. A deep and broad commitment to sustainability and inclusion guides
Appalachian’s investment in our people and our region as we value our traditions
while preparing for what has not yet been imagined.
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Draft Vision
Appalachian is guided by our long-standing connection to Boone and the
mountains. As we embrace the best of old and new traditions, we acknowledge that
our campus, town, and community are intertwined, and we commit to balanced and
sustainable relationships.
We aim to educate students for employment and lifelong learning in an
environment of social justice, civil discourse, and inclusion.
As we anticipate and adapt to challenges, we commit to efficiency, accessibility,
and work-life balance on our campus.
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Draft Essential Characteristics &
Core Assets
Appalachian’s essential characteristics make us unique among our peers:
• A teaching institution valuing small classes, consistently recognized
nationally as excellent value
• Faculty dedicated to excellence in teaching, research, new strategies, and
new technologies in an innovative interdisciplinary, integrative curriculum
• Staff dedicated to excellence in student support services, co-curricular
programming, and a safe and beautiful campus
• A transformative learning environment in the Blue Ridge Mountains, a
location of great beauty and cultural and recreational opportunity
• An appreciation for the traditions of the region and a desire to connect
responsibly to the world
• A green ethos inspiring academic programs, faculty and student research,
and care and concern for the planet
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Draft Statement on Sustainability
Sustainability at Appalachian State University is not a trend, it is a
tradition. We are active stewards of our State’s interconnected financial,
cultural and natural resources. Through engaged scholarship, we balance
critical, creative and global thinking in a living laboratory, transforming theory
into practice and fostering responsible citizenship.
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