Strategic Planning Timeline and Process October 18, 2012
Planning Philosophy
The UC Davis Student Affairs strategic planning effort will:
· utilize a grass-roots process with input from all divisional staff, strategic partners, and students.
· allow for division level discussion, cross-departmental dialogue, and in-unit evaluation and planning.
· produce a plan responsive to divisional values, campus priorities, regional realities, and national and international forecasting.
Steering Committee
A representative committee will guide each stage of the planning process. Membership includes two members from each “arm” of the division, one member from Development and Athletics, and at least one Student Assistant to the Chancellor. Associate Vice Chancellor Emily Galindo will chair the committee with assistance and support from the Co-Chair Laura Hall and the planning consultant. Committee members were identified by the AVC/VC team with care taken to select members from across the organization, to consider the impact of direct-reporting relationships, and to identify staff who are engaged, effective program planners, broad thinkers, and capable writers.
Phase I – Information Collection
October 15, 2012 – January 15, 2013
1. Assemble and Charge Steering Committee
Committee comes together in October. Reviews and refines overall plan and gets to work preparing for agreed upon activities and events.
2. Literature Review/Identification of Trends
a. Confirm and identify relevant documents/publications.
b. Review literature with a focus on identifying emerging trends that address key questions: Who are our students? What are their needs? How do we best respond as a Division?
3. Environmental Scanning/Identification of Constituent Needs
a. Conduct Student Staff Focus Groups
b. Survey Student Affairs Staff
c. Develop Partner Interviews
d. Survey key Student Affairs organizations across state and the nation.
e. Compile and analyze results.
4. Student Affairs Staff Feedback
Provide opportunity for feedback throughout the process. In light of the identified trends and constituent needs, how is the division poisedto serve these needs over the next three to five years?
5. Chancellor’s 20/20 Initiative
Monitor findings and recommendations as they become available.
6. Areas of Focus
Develop a foundational planning document that outlines what trends we identified, what the needs are, how we are positioned, and how the 20/20 Initiative might play into our findings.
7. External Perspective
Identify Student Affairs leaders at comparison campuses to offer observations regarding the information we have identified in our foundation document. Are we in tune with national trends and standards in terms of what we are forecasting? Have we correctly predicted the emerging needs relative to the trends, and finally from their perspective is our division positioned and capable of responding in the manner we have laid out in the Areas of Focus?
Phase II - Staff Engagement
January 16 – April 15, 2013
1. All-Division Planning Kick Off
Kick off meeting to include purpose of strategic planning and orientation to planning process. AVC provides overview of themes and environmental scan. Discussion of division-wide values. Large and small group response to general themes and division values. Staff provided with data collected in Phase I.
2. First Strategic Response Retreat
One or two day retreat to fully engage in activities and discussion responsive to data provided from information gathering phase. Planned and facilitated by Steering Committee. Involve all divisional staff or plan for representative attendance?
3. Department/Unit Level Discussion
Directors/AVC’s are provided with a facilitator’s guide to prompt in-depth discussion of themes, data, and values and how their units can respond, re-invent, and initiate change. Results submitted to the Steering Committee in standard format.
4. Second Strategic Response Retreat
Half or full-day retreat to present, discuss, and react to outcomes generated in first retreat and unit/department discussions.
Phase III – Plan Development
April 16 – June 10, 2013
1. Prepare Draft of Plan
2. Internal Review: Interim VC and AVC’s.
2. Broad Input
a. Students: Reconvene student focus group(s) to react and respond to plan.
b. Staff: Distribute for staff review and response.
b. Peers: Engage UC partners or other peers in response to plan.
4. Complete Final Draft
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