In some cases, we learned that an institutional crisis precipitates strategic planning because of the sense of urgency the crisis aroused. Even under more stable circumstances, campus constituencies need to believe that the planning process is authentic and that they have a personal stake in the process and outcomes. At one campus heavily invested in student learning assessment, data are regularly used to examine and update planning and programs. Another campus used a marketing research approach to inform its planning process in order to determine whether public perceptions of the institution reflected the change in mission that the institution had engineered. It is evident that institutions successfully implementing change place a great deal of emphasis on communicating the process and the resultant plans, not only to internal constituencies but also to important externals, such as alumni.
Several institutions have their plans on their websites.
One president began an email dialogue with the entire campus about the planning process. Other leaders sponsored breakfast sessions for discussion of the process, open forums where progress reports were given to the campus community, and visits with campus groups to talk with people and to dispel myths that might arise. All this was very time-consuming but very effective in communicating the planning process. Encompassing the Culture We found that successful planning was always linked to the institutional budgeting process. New planning initiatives not linked to the budget process will die and thus increase campus skepticism about planning.