One of the great challenges of leading a college is choosing among the many excellent ideas that will strengthen the institution. Inevitably there are more great proposals than there is money or time to support them. How to make these choices? At Carleton, we’re soon to begin a strategic planning process that will help us set priorities among a variety of good outcomes. It will put the College in a position of strength as the economy improves and will let us test our goals within a realistic financial envelope.
A good strategic plan will shape our future budgets, let us measure our success, and eventually serve as the programmatic base for a future fund-raising campaign. We have not crafted such a formal, comprehensive plan for Carleton since the late 1990s, so the time is ripe to do so again.
It’s critical that any planning process at Carleton be inclusive, transparent, rigorous—and, of course, utterly honest. We can’t go into such an effort seeking a preordained outcome. The planning process we’re currently debating would begin with agreed-upon assumptions—“givens” about Carleton and its market position—and then identify a series of key questions that need to be answered to shape our future.
For example, I believe most of us would agree that Carleton’s overarching goal will continue to be providing students with a liberal arts education that is among the best in the world. Other assumptions might be that Carleton remain a residential campus and that we continue to serve traditional-age (18- to 22-year-old) students.
Once we agree on our key assumptions, we will pose a set of truly defining questions, such as: What makes Carleton distinctive? What would our ideal student body look like? Can we sustain our current tuition and financial aid policies? How can we prepare our students for careers and lives after graduation? The answers to those questions will give us a clear sense of where Carleton needs to go over the next decade.
We will establish a series of working groups (made up of elected and appointed constituents from across the College community) to try to answer these questions. In framing its answer, each group will need to examine the financial consequences of any proposals, consider how changes in technology could lead to different recommendations, and develop clear metrics to gauge outcomes.
I would like for us to develop a new strategic plan by the end of the 2011–12 academic year. However, we will extend that time line if needed to do the job right. Because we will go through this process together and seek consensus on key priorities, I am confident that we will emerge with a plan that is consistent with Carleton’s culture and allows us to address our most pressing needs.
Web Extra: Learn more about the strategic planning process and share your comments.