In March 2009, the RAND Frederick S. Pardee Center for Longer Range Global Policy and the Future Human Condition hosted a workshop called "Shaping Tomorrow Today: Near-Term Steps Towards Long-Term Goals." The workshop gave policymakers and analysts an opportunity to explore new methods and tools that can help improve long-term decisionmaking. The…

Issues management, concerned with the identification, analysis, probability, and timing of a developing issue and with organizational response, is discussed as an aspect of the institutional strategic planning process. Its application at Pennsylvania State University is described. (Author/MSE)

Today's unprecedented rate of change requires that decision-makers use effective procedures to deal with the increasing complexity and uncertainty regarding the future results of their decisions. Strategic planning is a middle- and long-range method that fills this need. Its holistic, general-systems orientation is the only way to handle the…

The objective of this booklet is to present an integrated picture of the philosophy, process, and practices of strategic planning in an organizational context. It is based on the premise that planning includes the design of a desired future as well as effective ways of bringing it about. Specifically, the document illustrates a planning…

A system for long-term planning for facility needs and arrangement is described. A cost objective was established, and factors in the decision making were weighted: functional arrangement, efficient use of space, flexibility of any plan, minimization of cost, equity of arrangements for different groups, and balance between available space and…

Whatever comes of retrenchment, it is argued, there must be an educational program that relates to the stated commitments of the institution as evidenced by its mission statement. As educational institutions are required to reexamine resource allocation, they will be required to face alternatives among the many options available. (MLW)

Planning in higher education has evolved as a response to changes in the environment, such as expanding enrollments, student unrest, economic recession, and pressures for financial accountability. Strategic planning has emerged as one way institutions can handle and overcome the adversities of the future. Definitions of strategic planning are…

This paper integrates principles of Total Quality Management (TQM) with those of investment for institutions of higher education. TQM with investment budgeting as one of its critical tools is seen to be essential for effective management in a time of decreasing financial resources. A process for investment budgeting is outlined and explained…

This paper examines the philosophical approaches to knowledge that have governed education and concludes that a new paradigm is needed for the new millennium. Education is subdivided into a three-level hierarchy, including: (1) the accumulation of factoids as knowledge; (2) the development of knowledge into theories and models for the purpose of…

This study attempted to determine whether strategic planning would enhance a higher education institution's fiscal condition. It also systematically evaluated the extent of institution-wide strategic planning among private four-year postsecondary institutions in the United States. A definition of strategic planning and a conceptual framework based…

This paper is based on the assumption that in shaping academic strategies for long-range planning purposes, educational institutions must be able to gather adequate information on which to base administrative decisions. Information on how the institution has operated in the past as well as how it is currently operating are critical items for valid…

This paper examines issues related to women in higher education on a worldwide basis. Following an introduction, individual sections address the following topics: guiding principles for fostering a gender-inclusive culture through education; follow-up to the 1995 Beijing World Conference on Women; five challenges in higher education today,…

The development and implementation of long range planning mechanisms in a polytechnic institute are described, from inception of the idea through formulation of objectives, subgoals, strategies, policy guidelines and priorities, development of a goals and directions statement, and assessment of external environment and internal capacities. (MSE)

Initial results of the survey research phase of a 3-year study of institutional planning in higher education are presented. The Institutional Planning Project was undertaken by the National Center for Postsecondary Governance and Finance. The national survey examined administrators' attitudes on planning and their perceptions of the planning…

The use of strategic long-range planning at Carnegie-Mellon University (CMU) is discussed. A structure for strategic planning analysis that integrates existing techniques is presented, and examples of planning activities at CMU are included. The key concept in strategic planning is competitive advantage: if a university has a competitive…