The administration reported that it was currently revising its approach to strategic planning and that, going forward, several aspects of the planning process would involve the board. In September 1997, the reorganized planning committee began an 18 month planning cycle. Strategic issues will be identified in time to meet the board's timetable for approval of the 1999-2000 budget. Finally, the discussants noted the importance of the board's committees. Both the trustee survey and the follow-up discussion indicated that the University of Scranton board is vital and engaged.
Trustees are generally quite satisfied with the role they play and the responsibilities they bear.
Trustees believe themselves to be custodians of the University's mission and see themselves as properly involved in assessing the University's progress toward the mission. Further, most trustees are satisfied with their communications with the administration and feel they are appropriately involved in the many broad operational questions facing the University. Virtually all trustees see the University President as their primary relationship and the selection of a new President as the single most important task facing the board. As a result of this self-study, the board identified an interest in being more involved in strategic planning, an interest prompted in part by changing student demographics and increasingly competitive marketplace for high education.