The Michigan Tech Plan: Continuous Strategic Planning

V. CONTINUOUS STRATEGIC PLANNING

This Action Plan is designed to be a “living document” in two ways. First, it encourages the Michigan Tech community to build an institution in which our actions and our vision are connected. The plan will be used as the basis for our direction, decisions, and activities. Second, it is designed to ensure that the vision is connected to changing environmental conditions. The process that developed this plan will continue, with annual reviews and examinations of our progress, adjusting our efforts as circumstances change. The expectations outlined here look ambitious and they will come to fruition only with the continued commitment and energy of the University community and its external partners.

To connect our actions to our vision, we will have to change the way we do things. We will need to tie decisions made about resource allocation to the goals in the plan, we will need to coordinate efforts across campus towards the achievement of goals, and we will need to reward individuals and groups for their contribution towards these goals. This may involve finding new structures and systems that are more effective, identifying useful assessment methods, and developing budget models that reward performance.

The plan will be updated each year in an iterative process. Resource allocation will be linked to the strategic plan within a general framework for financial modeling that allows us to explore the financial consequences of curriculum, staffing, workload, average class size, scholarship, research, and both undergraduate and graduate enrollment decisions in terms of their short- and long-term impact. The implementation of this plan and its linkage to the budgeting process are described in the addendum. Specifically,

we will develop strategic initiatives and campaigns in support of the strategic plan, complete with identification of timelines, resources necessary, and budgetary impact;
we will identify specific sources of funding for our strategic initiatives and develop specific plans to obtain this funding;
we will allocate and reallocate resources in favor of successful or high-demand programs;
we will keep Michigan Tech accessible for all qualified students through a competitive package of tuition, scholarships, financial aid, loans, and aggressive procurement of appropriate state, private, and corporate funding.

To connect our vision with the changing environment, this document must be an evolving plan, not a rigidly fixed road map. Today’s environment for institutions of higher education is no longer characterized by steady-state – change – steady-state, but akin to a white-water rapid that is turbulent from many interacting factors. Our strategic plan sets a general direction within that white-water, but we will need to constantly assess and respond to this environment. Periodic reexaminations will track the measurable outcomes we have identified, allowing course corrections due to changes in the external environment. It is a new beginning, not an end in itself, that can focus our efforts into a consistent purpose, one that serves well our students and alumni, our partners, and the community itself.

There are many scientific and technological universities. We seek not to be one of many, but a recognized leader among them. We seek to be one of the few scientific and technological universities with national recognition in research and excellence in education—that is, a university of choice. Admittedly, these are ambitious goals. The Michigan Tech community—staff, faculty, and students alike—are recognized for their dedication and hard work. The continued commitment, energy, and hard work of the entire University community are critical to reaching our vision.

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