Institutions often engage in elaborate assessment and planning processes that have little or no relationship to each other. Highly effective institutions are characterized by strategic planning activities that are intentionally informed by assessments of both student learning outcomes and the extent to which human and fiscal resources are being…

Too often, Boards of Trustees feel that final approval of the institution's Strategic Plan is sufficient. However, most Plans will only be successfully implemented if the Board has complete ownership and a commitment to be actively involved in many areas of the institution (not only fund raising). This article describes a successful process and…

Creating a campus master plan is the first step in the process of managing enrollment growth; however, the plan is not just a document about buildings and parking spaces and classrooms and square footage. The plan should be viewed as an investment in the future of the institution and a way to link the college's mission and vision statements to the…

To gain a full and true understanding of the value of campus heritage requires shifting perspective. On many campuses, heritage resources are perceived to have no relevance whatsoever to the challenges of sustainability. This results largely from a profound misconception about what may constitute a sustainable future and what steps may be needed…

The contemporary university operates within a global context characterized by ever-increasing uncertainty and complexity. Strategic planning must, therefore, be cognizant of future trends and how those trends will affect the university by creating both threats and opportunities. Our hypothesis is that an approach we refer to as "strategic…

The study presented in this article focuses on strategic planning in developing countries, drawing on the author's experiences in a dozen developing countries in Asia and Africa and focus groups in three of those countries: Afghanistan, Madagascar, and South Africa. It looks at the special challenges faced by planners in developing countries and…

Institutions should not assume that since they can't predict the future they should not consider it. Instead, they can use their imagination to anticipate any number of possible, probable, positive, and even preventable futures. Attendees of the joint conference, "Campus of the Future: A Meeting of the Minds," in Hawai'i this past July--hosted by…

As physical evidence of institutional aspiration and achievement, ambition and accomplishment, campus heritage (broadly defined) has emerged as a major component in comprehensive campus planning and in devising a site-specific sense of place. Physical actions related to campus heritage include the renewal and/or repurposing of landmark…

European higher education does not have a uniform record of sustained planning. The Bologna Declaration, originally signed by 29 countries (and now 45), calls for major reforms to higher education throughout the continent. The European higher education community is diverse and heterogeneous. This article clarifies these myriad cultures in the…

The University of Michigan is almost always in the midst of a building boom. Year in and year out, Michigan has one of the most active programs of building renovation and new construction of all American universities. This program is very carefully managed to ensure that substantial architectural design work is not undertaken until there is a…

In the current highly competitive higher education market in North America, many colleges have identified the importance of upgrading their existing residential housing facilities as part of their strategy to attract and retain students. The case study discussed in this article describes the successful planning process used by Perkins+Will and…

Globalization is reshaping the relationship between U.S. universities and their host cities. U.S. universities must adjust to momentous changes in the worldwide higher education system, and U.S. cities must retool to maintain their place in the innovation economy. Institutional and civic resources are being pooled to form global-ready urban…

Effective strategic planning for community colleges contains four key elements: (1) It must be mission driven; (2) It must be integrated with capability and resources; (3) It must define measurable standards for determining outcomes; and (4) It must be transparent in its intent and strategic goals to all levels of the organization. Using a…

For many it's a dollars and cents issue; for others, it's a heritage or spiritual issue. In reality campus heritage is both a spiritual and a monetary/economic issue. Some say that heritage should reflect institutional values, tradition, academic stature, and the role graduates have played in society, and others cast aside tradition and pay…

Through rapid expansion, some city universities have run out of land. This forces a new approach to campus master planning involving collaboration with the city owning adjacent land. This approach is more politically charged, requires different planning skills, and usually requires consultants. San Jose State University (California) is an example.…