Campus planning, in its proper sense, is a process that manages change to accomplish the mission, goals and strategic plan of the University in the most efficient and effective way possible. It analyzes where the University has been in the past, where it is today and charts the course for desirable future outcomes. At the same time, it provides the mechanism to efficiently use chronically limited financial resources to realize the set goals. Through the entire planning process it must be kept in mind that planning is not an end in itself. It is a methodology to guide physical development of the campus in a way that will meet the needs, desires, and expectations of the campus community.
Planning is for people.
To be successful, it must therefore closely involve them in the planning process. Traditionally, campus planning has been condensed to a campus development map. This type of specific physical development plan too frequently became the planning goal itself. Such plans, because of their static nature, soon became outdated as the conditions upon which they were developed changed. Furthermore, a fixed campus development map is not flexible enough to be easily adapted to unanticipated development needs which often do not fit into the scheme of the map.