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It is the policy of NNMC that an annual Institutional Strategic Planning effort is undertaken to identify and prioritize opportunities for continuous quality improvement in pursuit of the institutions vision and mission, and in concert with the institutions Guiding Principles. NNMC integrates AQIP to its Strategic Planning Process. This process is best illustrated in the attached paper presented at the HLC's 2008 Annual Conference: Integrating AQIP to the Strategic Planning Process.
Northern’s Institutional Strategic Planning Process
There are five phases to Northern’s Institutional Strategic Planning Process, they include the following:
1. Phase I, Data Analysis involves
the development, collection and analysis of data from a variety
of sources including: Student Outcomes Assessments; Institutional Data; Assessment Research;
and, Survey Data.
2. Phase II, Strategic Direction – involves Data Based Self Assessment via a SWOT analysis, and a
comprehensive Annual Strategic Planning.
3. Phase III, Plan Development – addresses the institutions Accreditation Requirements; and a
variety of initiatives including; facilities, instructional, technology, resources and legislative.
4. Phase IV, Implementation – assigns responsibility for implementation of the strategic plan’s
objectives, strategies and tactics and tracts their completion. This phase also includes the Office
of the President (OOP) review and approval – including funding when required for
implementation. And finally, this phase updates master plans for academics, budgeting,
technology, facilities and human resources.
5. Phase V, Evaluation – contemplates the monitoring, assessment and evaluation of the Strategic
Plan Initiatives and provides this information as feedback data for the next annual Strategic
Planning Cycle (PDCA).
The Institutional Planning Process includes the Annual Strategic Planning Process which is made up of the following steps:
1. DATA IMMERSION All
contributors to this Strategic Planning Process shall first be immersed in
facts and data relevant to the college, the region, student performance, community and business
needs, staff and faculty. These data shall be presented in an effort to ground all participants with
the same level of information and knowledge as a supplement to their own unique knowledge and insights.
2. SWOT ANALYSIS Once
the vision, mission and guiding principles are clearly identified, the
university must analyze its external and internal environment. The environmental scan, performed
within the frameworks of SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analyzes
information about organization's external environment (economic, social, demographic, political,
legal, technological, and regional factors), the industry, and internal organizational factors. Labor
Market Projections included herein are most valuable for the environmental scan.
3. VISION, MISSION AND GUIDING PRINCIPLES Identification
of the organization's vision and
mission is the first step of any strategic planning process. Northern’s vision sets out the reasons
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for the organization's existence and the "ideal" state that the organization aims to achieve; the
mission identifies major goals and performance objectives. Both are defined within the framework
of the university's philosophy, and are used as a context for development and evaluation of
intended and emergent strategies. One can not overemphasize the importance of a clear vision
and mission; none of the subsequent steps will matter if the organization is not certain where it is
headed.
4. OBJECTIVES, STRATEGIES AND TACTICS Northern
determines its objectives, strategies and
tactics based on (and consistent with) its vision and mission, within the framework of the Data
Immersion and SWOT analyses. These Objectives, Strategies and Tactics are the fundamental
issues the organization has to address to achieve its mission and move towards its desired
future.
5. IMPLEMENTATION RESPONSIBILITIES AND TIME LINES Without
implementation, the
strategic planning effort is only an exercise without meaning. Northern will therefore employ a
project management approach to assuring that all of the objectives, strategies and tactics have
been assigned responsibility, a time line for their completion and an ongoing management
tracking system to assure their completion, implementation and effectiveness assessment.
The Institutional Planning Process FlowChart is as follows:
The Institutional Planning Process integrates AQIP throughout. The tangible products (documents) resulting from the Institutional Planning Process require ongoing
update and maintenance. These documents include: Strategic Plan; Systems Portfolio; Action Projects;
Financial Master Plan (5 year view); Facility Master Plan (5 year view); Technology Master Plan (5 year
view); Academic Master Plan (5 year view); and finally, Policies and Procedures. These are best
illustrated graphically as follows:
