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Resource Management
Strategic Planning
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This section of the ACE web site is unusual, if not unique, in spotlighting the role of department chairs as strategic planners. Little information about this subject directly addresses department chairs. Therefore, this section offers both practical planning tools that can be applied within a department, as well as words of advice from chairs and administrators who have worked on strategic planning at the departmental level.
We invite you to send us your comments on strategic planning, as it relates to departments.
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Advice from Other Chairs
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Boudreaux, Jane, Joan Exline, Michael Forster, and Patricia Sims.
“Strategies for Tough Times: Planning, Acquiring Resources, Reorganizing, and Maintaining Morale” (44KB:PDF)
The Department Chair 14, no. 2 (fall 2003): 3—5.
This article is very effective in aligning the subject of planning with the concerns of department chairs. Reprinted with permission from Anker Publishing Company, Inc. Posted 1/6/04
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Brakke, David F., Judith A. Dilts, Sylvia Nadler, and Jeanne A. Narum.
“Building Consensus and Implementing a Vision” (38KB; PDF)
The Department Chair 13, no. 4 (spring 2003): 26—27.
This article draws from the experience of two of the authors in development projects sponsored by Project Kaleidoscope. It highlights the difficulties in developing a collective department vision and the substantial reward of doing so. For more information, please contact Anker Publishing, Inc. Posted 11/4/03
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Jenski, Laura J., and N. Douglas Lees.
“Department Planning Within the Context of Institutional Expectations” (51KB; PDF)
The Department Chair 13, no. 4 (spring 2003): 14—17.
The authors point out the importance of conducting departmental strategic planning within the framework of the institution’s mission. For more information, please contact Anker Publishing, Inc. Posted 11/4/03
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Kelly, Robert.
“Strategic Departmental Leadership: An Interview with Al Vicere” (36KB; PDF)
Academic Leader 19, no. 2 (February 2003): 1, 7.
This interview with Al Vicere of the Smeal College of Business at The Pennsylvania State University highlights several interesting points, including the nature of power in academia and the kind of leadership that a chair must exert to advance productive dialogue on strategic planning. For more information, please contact Magna Publications, Inc.
Posted 11/4/03
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Kelly, Robert.
“Strategic Planning for the Academic Department” (81KB; PDF)
Academic Leader 18, no. 1 (January 2002): 5.
This article describes work carried out by Osama M. Ettouney, chair of the manufacturing engineering department at Miami University in Ohio. Ettouney’s experience suggests that business planning models can be applied to academe, “provided they are adapted to fit academic ideals.” Ettouney’s department successfully made that adaptation, resulting in “noticeable improvements.” For more information, please contact Magna Publications, Inc. Posted 11/4/03
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Oremland, Melvyn Jay, director, BS/MS Forensic Science Program, Pace University.
“Starting a New Program: A Case Study” (236KB; PDF)
Written specifically for the ACE Department Chair Online Resource Center.
The author describes his experience in bringing a new program into existence and establishes some principles to guide others who might attempt to do the same.
Posted 11/4/03
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Winegar, Lucien T., dean, School of Natural and Social Sciences, Susquehanna University.
“It's the Planning and the Plan: Thoughts on Strategic Planning for Department Chairs” (43KB; PDF)
Written specifically for the ACE Department Chair Online Resource Center.
Winegar offers a macro approach to planning, indicating the importance of thinking institutionally from the department level up.
Posted 11/4/03
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“Investing in Faculty: Report on Project Kaleidoscope”
http://www.pkal.org/open.cfm?d_id=14
Washington, DC: Project Kaleidoscope: 2001.
This report not only speaks to the importance of investing in faculty but also demonstrates how to calculate the costs of doing so. Posted 11/4/03
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Campus Examples
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University of Wisconsin-Madison
http://www.chancellor.wisc.edu/strategicplan/
The university web site on strategic planning, while not extensive, does provide a planning model and some articles on the subject. Posted 3/5/04
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General Orientation
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Hecht, Irene W. D., senior associate, American Council on Education (ACE).
“Strategic Planning and Department Chairs” (31KB; PDF)
Written specifically for the ACE Department Chair Online Resource Center.
The author reflects on how strategic planning translates to the task of leading a department.
Posted 11/4/03
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Morley, Jay, and Doug Eadie.
“Leading Change”
The Extraordinary Higher Education Leader. Washington, DC: National Association of College and University Business Officers, 2001.
The strategic planning of yore, which caused bookshelves to groan under the plan's weight, is being replaced by a dynamic approach to planning that allows for constant change and readjustment, say these authors.
Posted 11/4/03
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References
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“CPR for an Ailing Department”
The Department Chair 13, no. 4 (spring 2003): 24—26.
Planning is both a special challenge and a practical necessity when working with an “ailing” department. Here is one chair’s experience in that circumstance. For more information, please contact Anker Publishing, Inc. Posted 11/4/03
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Cote, Christine Brooks and Marianne Jordan. “Effective Assessment and Institutional Change”
In Jeanne Narum and Kate Conover (eds.). Building Robust Learning Environments in Undergraduate Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. New Directions in Higher Education, no. 119. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2002.
The authors present the experience of Bowdoin College as a good illustration of the linkage between assessment and departmental planning.
Posted 11/4/03
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Dickeson, Robert C. Prioritizing Academic Programs and Services: Reallocating Resources to Achieve Strategic Balance
San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 1999.
Written as a response to current accountability and fiscal pressures on higher education, Dickeson proposes a new approach to strategic planning at the institutional level. However, his 10 suggested criteria are equally suitable as a decision-making template for a department’s strategic plan. See Chapter 5 (page 54) for a list of the criteria and the subsequent descriptions that make up the chapter. Posted 11/4/03
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Haynes, J. K. “Linking Departmental and Institutional Mission”
In Jeanne Narum and Kate Conover (eds.). Building Robust Learning Environments in Undergraduate Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. New Directions in Higher Education, no. 119. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2002.
A key element in departmental strategic planning is the linkage with institutional mission. Haynes offers the experience of the biology department at Morehouse College as an example of how this can be done. Readers can extrapolate and apply the principles to other disciplinary contexts.
Posted 11/4/03
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Narum, Jeanne, and Kate Conover (eds.). Building Robust Learning Environments in Undergraduate Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
New Directions in Higher Education, no. 119. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2002.
The authors include 20 essays drawn from the experiences of institutions working with Project Kaleidoscope.
Posted 11/4/03
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Van Keuren, James. “A Practical Approach to Developing a Five-Year Plan”
The Department Chair 13, no. 4 (spring 2003): 23—24.
The author draws principles from his experience in developing a five-year plan for a master of education program. For more information, please contact Anker Publishing, Inc. Posted 11/4/03
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Tools for Departmental Planning
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Characteristics of the Ideal Department: SURVEY
http://www.pkal.org/documents/CharacteristicsofIDEALDeptSurvey.pdf
Project Kaleidoscope used this instrument in its 2002 Summer Institute. A chair and his or her department or institution could use this survey to help refine their sense of what makes an ideal department, as well as help them see how congruent their department is with the ideal. Posted 11/4/03
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The Department Thermometer
http://www.pkal.org/documents/department_thermometer.pdf
Before launching into substantial planning efforts, participants should assess their readiness to engage in such a critical task. This document provides a useful tool for generating the basic information from which the department can measure its readiness for strategic planning. Posted 11/4/03
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