Strategic Planning and Institutional Effectiveness Committee (SPIEC): Recommendations
to Establish a Strategic Planning Process for Florida Gulf Coast University
Executive Summary:
SPIEC met four times since March 2009 to develop a strategic planning process for
consideration by the Planning and Budgeting Council (PBC). SPIEC was ably assisted by Dr.
George Alexander, Associate Dean for Planning and Institutional Performance, who facilitated
the committee’s discussion of a strategic planning model and synthesized decisions into a
coherent set of recommendations.
A diagram depicting the proposed model is included with this summary (see Fig. 1). As shown in
Figure 1, a standard process is recommended comprising the following: Mission and Vision
statement reaffirmation/modification, an Environmental Scan, the creation of Strategic
Directives (goals), conception of action plans to achieve the goals, analysis of action plans for
their potential to achieve the goals, and the production of a strategic plan document. The final
document should be accompanied by a facilities master plan, a plan for information resource
development, an enrollment plan, an assessment plan, and a budget schedule to support the plan.
Specific details of each phase of this process may be found in the accompanying report.
The committee recommends activities that should occur in each stage of the planning process
and believes that steps involving the following should be conducted under the direct auspices of
the PBC: Mission and Vision, Strategic Directives, Action Plans, and Gap Analysis.
An ambitious timeline is proposed to have the plan in place by next April, but the committee also
feels that a timeline ending with approval of an updated strategic plan in June of 2010 might be
preferable since it would provide for greater flexibility and more conversation with the
university’s various stakeholders.
Notwithstanding, regardless of which end date for the new plan is chosen, the committee
believes action on the first two steps in the process (Mission and Vision, Environmental Scan)
need to begin this summer without delay. Toward this end, the Committee recommends the PBC
begin consultation on the reaffirmation of the Mission and Vision statements with various
internal stakeholders now including: Deans’ Council, Academic Council, SAC, Administrative
Services Directors, Advancement, and Athletics. Similarly, it is suggested that the PBC identify
a consultant (and funds to support the consultant) to begin work on the environmental scan this
summer.
The SPIEC is ready to assist the process in whatever way the PBC determines and awaits
feedback from the PBC.