UNIVERSITY COUNCIL
PLANNING AND PRIORITIES COMMITTEE
FOR INFORMATION ONLY
PRESENTED BY:
Jay Kalra, Chair, Planning and Priorities Committee
DATE OF MEETING:
May 21, 2009
SUBJECT:
Implementation of the Second Integrated Plan
COUNCIL ACTION:
For information only
CONTEXT AND BACKGROUND:
The 20 university-level commitments within the Second Integrated Plan articulate the
university’s broad goals and strategic areas of interest. Over the past year, the Planning
and Priorities Committee has been engaged in ongoing discussion of the university-level
commitments within the Second Integrated Plan. The committee received the
commitment leader reports outlining progress towards implementation of the
commitments within the plan at its meeting February 4, 2009. On April 15, 2009, the
committee received the University of Saskatchewan Second Integrated Plan – First year
Report on Progress (2008/09), as attached. A workshop attended by committee members
will be held June 9, 2009 to report to the broader university community on the
university’s progress towards implementation of the commitments within the plan.
DISCUSSION SUMMARY:
The committee has been informed in all aspects of its work by its involvement in the
development of the strategic planning dimensions of the university’s integrated plan and
the college and unit plans and associated planning parameters. The Planning and
Priorities Committee has an essential role related to the integration of resources and
planning in support of the university’s academic priorities. The following broad strategic
considerations and initiatives of the integrated plan have informed the committee in its
deliberations:
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Innovation in academic programs and the associated benefits of increased
enrolment, resources, and enhanced profile;
The integration between academic and non-academic units to support
organizational renewal;
The development of a new resource allocation framework, which would allocate
resources based upon defined principles and indicators;
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Communication as an ongoing process supporting engagement, participation,
accountability, and transparency;
Collaboration as a theme that enables the goals outlined within the plan to be
achieved.
The commitments that have primarily engaged the committee through the receipt of
direct reports from commitment leaders and executive sponsors are the priorities to
improve the student experience; to enhance the university’s research, scholarly and
artistic profile; and the overarching commitment for quality and accountability. The
committee has identified the commitment to work together more effectively across
boundaries and the supporting strategies [financial, people, capital] as future areas of
focus.
The Planning and Priorities Committee received a progress report on the student
commitments within the plan, in conjunction with the draft Enrolment Action Plan. The
committee notes that the 16 initiatives remaining in progress from the First Integrated
Plan, many in the student experience area, have been incorporated into the commitments
for the second planning cycle. The university’s investment in student residences and the
Place Riel addition and new space for student health and counseling services were capital
projects reviewed by the committee in support of the commitment to enhance the student
experience. In its consideration of the 2009-10 Operations Forecast and the university’s
operating budget, the committee has supported increased funding for undergraduate and
graduate scholarships as an important element of the student experience.
The committee’s consideration of the commitment to enhance the research, scholarly and
artistic profile of the university has been discussed primarily in its relation of those
research input and output performance measures to be adopted by the university in
support of its commitment to quality and accountability. The Planning and Priorities
Committee met jointly with the Research, Scholarly and Artistic Work Committee on
January 21, 2009, to discuss the quality and accountability commitment and development
of performance measures. In addition to attending the May1 Quality and Accountability
Symposium, both committees also met jointly with Ken Norrie, a leading expert in area
of performance measurement to discuss the implications of performance measurement.
The committee continues to be apprised of the implementation of the university’s
information strategy through the Information Strategy and Analytics Office as a critical
support for the university’s quality and accountability commitment.
The Planning and Priorities Committee acknowledges the support and co-operation of the
Institutional Planning and Assessment Office in updating the committee on the initiatives
of the integrated plan and university’s progress in meeting its goals.
ATTACHMENTS:
University of Saskatchewan Second Integrated Plan – First year Report on Progress
(2008/09)
www/university_secretary/council/committees/planning_priorities/report_files/pdf/
PPMay200910.3attachmentplan.pdf