RP GROUP RESEARCH INSTITUTE
Introduction to Planning
Linda Umbdenstock, PhD
Maria Narvaez, MA
Barbara McNeice-Stallard, MSc
RP Group - Mt. SAC - April 27, 2007
Welcome and Housekeeping
• Grab a mop (just kidding)
• Restroom location
• Cell phones/pagers or any
other loud or vibrating
thing-a-me-bobs
• Question cards (on your
tables)
RP Group - Mt. SAC - April 27, 2007
Fundamentals of Planning
• What is planning?
• How do the plans interrelate?
• How to do planning by committee?
• How to keep the plan alive?
• Re-working the plan
• Theoretical versus practical
considerations
RP Group - Mt. SAC - April 27, 2007
What is planning?
• Definition (Group Activity: see RP Book)
• Planning involves people,
consideration of the political
environment and many other
aspects and it sometimes gets
out of control (that is the fun
part – really).
RP Group - Mt. SAC - April 27, 2007
Definition (con’d)
• Based on the college’s mission
statement, planning involves deciding
the college's focus/ priorities, setting
institutional goals, developing
institutional/ departmental strategies,
outlining tasks and creating schedules
to measure if the goals are reached,
evaluating the outcome and doing it
all again (i.e., think, plan, do, and
evaluate cycle).
• Group activity: Evaluation, Planning,
and Improvement (ACCJC document)
RP Group - Mt. SAC - April 27, 2007
How do the plans interrelate?
• Types of Plans:
–
–
–
–
–
–
Educational Master Plan
Facilities Master Plan
Program Review/Planning
Budget Planning
Strategic Plan
Along with the other plans:
• Student Equity Plan
• Basic Skills plan
RP Group - Mt. SAC - April 27, 2007
Interrelated Plans
• See planning diagram
• Plans should be interrelated much
like the threads in a woven rug.
Take away one plan (i.e., thread)
and the rest may not fit together
well and the whole planning cycle
(i.e., rug) might fall apart
• LBCC Educational Master Plan,
Mt. SAC PIE
• Group Activity: How do your plans
interrelate?
RP Group - Mt. SAC - April 27, 2007
How do to planning by committee?
• Carefully
• What is the committee’s charge?
• Who is the committee & how does it
relate to the doers?
• Set parameters for the committee’s
role and watch the boundaries
change. How much is too much?
• Group Activity: How can you
change a non-functional
committee into a functional one?
RP Group - Mt. SAC - April 27, 2007
An Accreditation Perspective
• The Standards
• Theme on Planning and
Evaluation
• Dialogue (ACCJC document)
• Evidence (ACCJC document)
RP Group - Mt. SAC - April 27, 2007
How to keep the plan alive?
• The planning cycle: Don’t let the dust settle
• Action needs to be taken on the plan. Who
is responsible for it? How much work really
should be done within a year?
• Embed the plan into routines
• Motivate people & groups to work w/the
plan – become an inspirational speaker
• Frame the message--constantly
RP Group - Mt. SAC - April 27, 2007
Re-working the plan
• Re-visit the plan, especially when you
have new key players (e.g., President)
• Keeping on task
• Create a quality representation of the
college’s vision
• Fix a timeline for renewal
• Language of rationale for renewal:
clarity & interpretation, new
information, inquiry mode as evolving
part of college culture, expectation of
learning, reflection, responsiveness
RP Group - Mt. SAC - April 27, 2007
Plan Creation: Theoretical versus
practical considerations
• Books tell you only one way of
doing the planning process –
and each book has a different
idea of how to do it
• In practice, whatever will work
with your organization, given
the current state of the plans,
the organizational culture and
the accreditation standards, is
what you do
RP Group - Mt. SAC - April 27, 2007
Rest of the session
• Three topics:
1. Developing Goals and
Objectives
2. Institutional Effectiveness
3. Practicalities
• Lunch
• Reality Shock and Q & A
• Networking
RP Group - Mt. SAC - April 27, 2007
Topics
1. Developing Goals & Objectives
(Maria)
2. Institutional Effectiveness
(Barbara)
3. Practicalities (Dealing w/a variety of “planning
types” & expectations, constraints & ambitions,
intercepting mandates & reactivity, sustainability issues,
funding ups & downs, shifting timelines, etc.)
(Linda)
RP Group - Mt. SAC - April 27, 2007
Developing Goals and
Objectives
• Definitions
• Writing SMART objectives
• Hands-on Activity
RP Group - Mt. SAC - April 27, 2007
Goals
• Goals are relatively permanent
statements of the major
accomplishments to be
achieved. College goals are
part of the Master Plan and
reflect the entire scope of
college activities and the Title 5
requirements describing the
purpose of the college. College
goals are reviewed regularly
but not changed frequently,
and are often used to organize
the objectives in Subject and
Unit Plans.
RP Group - Mt. SAC - April 27, 2007
Objectives
• Objectives are created to
achieve the college goals and
are organized in written plans
at all levels around college
goals. They are the specific
things that the college will do to
meet its goals, both long and
short term, and are expressed
at a precise level of specificity
including timelines for
achievement, associated costs,
and those to be held
responsible for completion.
RP Group - Mt. SAC - April 27, 2007
SMART Objectives
•
•
•
•
•
S:
M:
A:
R:
T:
Specific
Measurable
Attainable, Achievable
Relevant, Realistic
Time-bound, Timely
RP Group - Mt. SAC - April 27, 2007
Institutional Effectiveness
• Definition
• Measurable Goals
• Evidence (e.g., plans,
achievement toward
goals, self-reflective
documentation)
• Group activity (ACCJC
document)
RP Group - Mt. SAC - April 27, 2007
Practicalities
• What is life really like in a
planning office?
• What are typical problems &
dilemmas
• Group activity
RP Group - Mt. SAC - April 27, 2007
Contact Information
Linda Umbdenstock, Administrative
Dean, Planning, Long Beach City
College
lumbdenstock@lbcc.edu
Maria Narvaez, Planning Assistant, Long
Beach City College
mnarvaez@lbcc.edu
Barbara McNeice-Stallard
Director, Research & Institutional
Effectiveness
Mt. San Antonio College
research@mtsac.edu
RP Group - Mt. SAC - April 27, 2007