NIU College of Business
STRATEGIC PLANNING COUNCIL XVI MEETING MINUTES
FRIDAY, MARCH 29, 2013 ~ 8:00 – 10:30 AM
(Academic Year: 2012-13) ~ Friday, March 29, 2013 ~ 8-10:30 a.m.
STRATEGIC PLANNING COUNCIL XVI (SPC)
SPC Members Present:
Amy Buhrow (Coordinator AACSB/Assessment), Mike Cahill (Undergraduate Student Rep), Ann Carrel
(Director, Executive, Professional, & Fast-Track MBA Programs), Anthony D'Andrea (Director,
Development, Senior Gift and Estate Planning Officer – COB), Michelle De Jean (Director, COB
Marketing), Ken Elliott (MGMT Instructor, UBUS 311), Geoff Gordon (MKTG Chair), Lenita Hepker
(Administrative Assistant to the Dean), Vijay Krishnan (MKTG Faculty), Chang Liu (OMIS Chair), Brain
Mackie (OMIS Faculty), Lori Marcellus (Director Undergraduate Studies), Mark Misic (Director of
Technology), Paul Prabhaker (Associate Dean, College of Business), Denise Schoenbachler (Dean, College
of Business), Pam Smith (ACCY Faculty), Nancy Russo (OMIS Faculty), Ursula Sullivan (MKTG Faculty),
Beth Towell (Associate Dean of Undergraduate), Michael Welsh (Alumni/Welsh Industries, Owner), Dan
Wunsch (Associate Dean for Administration), Cassandra Young (Director, Alumni Relations), and Lei Zhou
(FINA Faculty)
SPC Members Unable to Attend:
Tim Aurand (MKTG Faculty), Brenda Hart (Staff Council President, MKTG Dept.),Curtis Batterton
(Alumni/McDonald’s Corporation), Carolinda Douglass (Vice Provost), Kyle Lundin (Undergraduate
Student Rep), Len Lundstrum (FINA Faculty), Sarah Marsh (MGMT Chair), Rebecca Shortridge (ACCY
Faculty), Marc Simpson (FINA Chair)¸ Mahesh Subramony (MGMT Faculty),and Jim Young (ACCY Chair)
Guest:
Joan Petros (ELC Director) and Bill McCoy (BELIEF Director)
The Dean welcomed and thanked the group for their flexibility and participation in the retreat and
program exploration process. She noted that the exploration reports have already helped her clarify
college priorities. She also noted the importance of Carolinda Douglass’ participation as a conduit to
NIU Administration for the wonderful things happening in the college and the challenges that limit the
college’s impact.
The Dean reviewed the agenda and next steps in the retreat process. A college-level SWOT analysis will
be created, key programs or imperatives will be discussed, and the SPC will be divided into five subgroups. Each group will be asked to meet prior to May 10 with the goal of producing a list of five
initiatives the college should pursue in the next three to five years. The groups will be asked to present
the initiatives along with general information on activities, timeframes, and resources required on May
10. If teams need additional information, they should contact Amy Buhrow.
Ken Elliott made a motion to approve the minutes from March 8, 2013 meeting. Ursula Sullivan
seconded the motion. The minutes were approved as presented.
SWOT
The Program Exploration Framework was reviewed.
The SPC created the following SWOT analysis:
Strengths
1. Business Community Interactions – Where the
Classroom Meets the Business World, Desire
for the business community in the classroom
2. Faculty, Staff, Leadership – Committed,
Dedicated, Quality, Leaders at NIU,
Competencies, Faculty have real-world
experience, Responsive, Competent,
Professional, United, Entrepreneurial
3. Leadership - For the good of the college,
Works as a team, Continuity, Peace and
tranquility
4. Student-Centered
5. Facility - Fosters community with atrium and
work areas, Students feel ownership (in a good
way), It’s their home, Sets the tone, Best
academic building on campus
6. Alumni – Depth, Strength, Numbers, Positions
7. Technology – Mobile lab, Cloud
8. Ancillary Programs – BELIEF, Passport, Career
Compass, ELC
9. Academic Programs
10. Integrated Curriculum – External recognition
and affirmation
11. AACSB Accreditation
12. MBA – Profitable, Recruitment, Recognition
13. Global
14. Location – Close to the city
Weaknesses
1. Faculty Buy-in – Getting into departments,
Overloaded
2. Need for Succession Planning – Attrition of
faculty, staff, leaders
3. Can’t Plan Due to Uncertainty
4. No College Placement Office
5. Part of NIU – No defined undergraduate
revenue stream, Financial model, Visual,
Reputation, Sense of community, Safety,
Segregated, Budget, 10% giveback,
Uncertainty
6. State of Illinois
7. Not a Named College
8. Internal and External Communication – About
all programs, Structurally silos
9. Lack of Global Curriculum
10. Lack of Alumni Loyalty and Committed Giving
11. Lack of Gender Diversity – Decreasing female
population
12. Student Engagement – Getting students to
participate
13. Student Information/E-mail Overload
Opportunities
1. New Delivery Formats – Online
2. Differential Tuition
3. New President
4. Placement Office – Internships, Full-time
5. Targeted Undergraduate Recruitment
Activities – Attract great students, Upperdivision Honor’s Program, High school
competitions
6. Build Pride – Grow givers
7. Executive Education – BELIEF
8. Corporate Support of Recruitment
9. Adopt Systems to Streamline Work – Digital
Measures
10. Alumni – Numbers, Positions
11. Need a Name
12. Internal Communications – Self-promotion,
Need to know, “I didn’t know that campaign”
13. Expand Passport – Points, Gaming
14. Revenue Streams for Departments
15. More Good News Stories
16. Understand and Create Programming that Fits
Students’ Needs – Online, Livestream
Threats
1. State of Illinois – Budget, Pension reform, 40%
Rule, Uncertainty, Lack of a solution
2. Bad News
3. External Constraints – State accountability
reports
4. Staffing – Need processes to work efficiently
5. Student Time Constraints – Commuters, Work,
Families
6. New President
A college-level dashboard and draft of a SWOT created and refined by several SPC members were
presented. The enrollment charts included in the dashboard cover 2007-2011. When 2012
enrollments are included, enrollments show improvement. Amy Buhrow will update the enrollments
and integrate the SPC generated SWOT into the SWOT draft. The Dean briefly discussed the online
revenue and suggested it be sent to the SPC.
Key Programs
The SPC discussed programs imperative to mission fulfillment.
Imperatives
1. Global – Our students need a better understanding
2. Accountancy – This program feeds other programs and garners external recognition
3. Face-to Face/Developmental Advising – Advising for freshmen and sophomores
4. MBA – Financial and reputation driver, Faculty recruitment
5. ELC/Sales Programs – Brings parents in
6. High-Touch/Student-Centered Undergraduate Program
7. Quality of Students
8. Expectations of Students
9. The Student Experience – Career Compass, Passport, ELC, BELIEF
10. Placement
11. Unrestricted Contributions
12. Faculty Support – Teaching schedule, Student help/Gas, Research and travel
Team Instructions
The SPC was divided into five sub-groups. Groups were asked to do the following:
1. Meet as a group sometime before May 10th.
2. Within the current environment, determine what initiatives the college can pursue to achieve the
mission and strategic objectives?
3. Report the top five on May 10th.
4. Send Amy printed materials for May 10th by May 8th.
Action Items and Wrap-up
The following actions items were identified:
1. Update the enrollments included in the dashboard. (Amy Buhrow)
2. Integrate the SPC generated SWOT into the SWOT draft. (Amy Buhrow)
3. Send SPC members the online revenue model. (Denise Schoenbachler)
The next meeting is planned for May 10th, 8:30-11 a.m. at the NIU Wellness and Literacy Center.
The Dean closed the meeting by thanking the group for their flexibility and participation.
Meeting adjourned.
Respectfully submitted by Amy Buhrow