Introduction:

In the wake of significant challenges and transformations, the College of Arts and Sciences at The University of Baltimore embarked on a crucial strategic planning journey in early fall 2022. This case study explores how the college successfully navigated a dynamic environment to create a new strategic plan that addressed the evolving needs of the institution, its faculty and its student population.

The Challenges

• Prior Plan Outdated: The college's previous strategic plan was more than five years old and no longer aligned with the rapidly changing higher education landscape. The college faced budgetary challenges, restructuring efforts, and the disruptive impact of the global pandemic.

• Lack of Resources: Previous strategic planning initiatives had relied on external consultants, which was financially unsustainable. The college needed a cost-effective approach that could engage faculty and staff effectively.

• Overwhelming Task List: The previous plan included a daunting 62-point action plan, which had led to a lack of accountability and progress paralysis. 
  

The Approach

A 3-person faculty planning team was selected by the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and charged with creating a more focused and realistic strategic plan. We approached the challenges by taking the following actions:

• Surveying Faculty and Staff: The team administered two separate surveys. The first assessed the perceived importance and completion status of the previous plan’s action items, while the second collected feedback on the college's strengths, weaknesses, and future outlook. The data was analyzed  to determine which action items remained important but uncompleted. This helped narrow down the focus to the most crucial tasks.

• Co-Creation Workshop: To encourage diverse perspectives and facilitate collaboration, a 1-day co-creation workshop was held with faculty and staff in the winter of 2023. Through a series of guided questions and activities in the sprint-style day, stakeholders were able to affirm the College’s changing values and priorities. 

• High-Level Roadmap: With both the quantitative and qualitative data collected, the faculty planning team analyzed key themes and strategic opportunities. They drafted a proposal focused on three key values and three strategic areas of focus which was put forward and adopted by the College faculty and Dean.

• Strategic KPI Development: With the support of the community in place, the faculty planning team brought in several additional College stakeholders and developed strategic action items, assigning areas of leadership and reportable outcomes to measure success. 

• Consensus & Buy-in: As a self-governed body, the College requires faculty approval of a strategic plan, along with approval of higher level administration including the Provost. Through ongoing conversations about the plan and the future of the College, the strategic plan document, including the KPI, received overwhelming support for immediate implementation.
  

Conclusion

The College of Arts and Sciences successfully navigated the complexities of strategic planning by engaging faculty and staff in a collaborative, unbiased process adopting a new and more focused strategic plan to be implemented in the Fall of 2023. By focusing on relevant priorities, setting clear parameters, and acknowledging strategic truths, the college set a positive and unified course for the future. This case study serves as an example of how educational institutions can adapt to changing circumstances and create actionable strategic plans to thrive in evolving environments, even with limited time and budgets.

Personal Role: Led the three-person faculty planning team; Created the co-creation session; Drafted final approved strategic plan

Timeline: October 2022 to September 2023