Annual Planning Development Task Force (APDTF) Recommendations MARCH 3, 2015

APDTF Membership Rebecca Chawgo (returning)James Craswell (returning) Faisal Jaswal (returning)Jarka Gurthova Kelly PaustainKent Short Sylvia UnwinJorja Gunderson Co-conveners Patricia James and Tracy Biga MacLean

Recommendation document (available at President’s Cabinet portal site) Rationale for reinstating annual planning Key features Response to the president’s charge to the APDTF Definitions Next steps

Rationale for reinstating annual planning NWCCU Accreditation: Emphasis on Institutional Planning Strategic Plan: Rebuild Our Foundations College Policy 1300 Improved resource allocation process

College Policy 1300 (1996) Bellevue College believes that developing, maintaining and implementing an ongoing process for planning is integral to the college’s progress and continuous improvement. … For any planning to be effective it must fully integrate fundamental enterprises related to the college’s operation, such as budget allocation and distribution, hiring, program development, organizational planning, and enrollment planning…. [T]he college shall implement an ongoing, coordinated and multifaceted planning process that considers the needs of the institution as a whole. These processes may include, but not be limited to, regularly updated strategic and master plans, institutional effectiveness program, outcomes assessment, program effectiveness measures, annual budget development planning, and/or other planning tools which help provide focus and institutional effectiveness.

Key Features of the recommended process Vice presidents will provide written feedback—these responses will be returned either to the plan preparer or to a dean/director who has provided the executive summary (depending on the unit). Standard work distinguished from priority initiatives Timeline established to coordinate with AY data as well as the budget cycle Annual planning will be integrated with Program Review All units will develop at least two indicators to be measured annually Unit descriptions and value-added will be publically available and current Resource allocation will be tied, clearly, to the annual planning process Some aspects of the annual planning process will depend on the governance structure currently being developed.

Charge to the APDTF Deliverables Guiding principles for unit designations Guiding principles for metrics Calendar for submitting plans, rolling up, resource allocation decisions, and feedback Functional flowchart that clarifies how strategic and operational plans should relate to each other and to the core themes Feedback mechanism Planning template Communication and implementation program

Guiding principles for unit designations Unit designations will be determined by vice presidents in collaboration with deans, directors, and other personnel; they will determine which functions require an annual plan and will designate a plan preparer. [See the Annual Planning Unit Designation spreadsheet available in the Annual Planning Document Library. ] There are approximately 50 instructional programs and 72 support units currently identified. Units are based on functions rather than on individuals or job titles. In order for planning and assessment to be most meaningful, units should stay as consistent as possible from year to year. Employee turnover and changes in responsibility shouldn’t alter the basic functions being performed. Changes to the basic unit structure should be communicated and recorded. Reorganizations, or changes to the basic unit structure, should be recorded as part of a reorganization proposal. Changes should be broadly communicated and updated in the planning section of the Future Vision public facing webpage.

Guiding principles for metrics All units should measure some aspects of their operations. Measures should be clearly connected to operational goals or priority initiatives. Measures can be quantitative (e.g., student/instructor ratio) or qualitative (e.g., focus group results), with a preference towards quantifiable information. Emphasis on routinely gathered information. Emphasis on benchmarking either over time or against comparable institutions or units. Measures are most meaningful when they are tracked across time, at least three years, allowing the college to measure continuous improvement. Developing and collecting metrics sufficient to establish an evidence-based culture may require additional data gathering, analysis, infrastructure, training, and support.

Calendar for submitting plans, rolling up, resource allocation decisions, and feedback All plans should be written to align with the Strategic Plan. They may map onto the President’s Goals, or other plans, which themselves should be mapped onto the Strategic Plan. All units should review data from the previous year in October, when data from the previous AY is available. All units should finalize their Annual Unit Plan, intended to address the following academic year, in January. VPs, deans, and directors should respond to the plans in order to inform the budget process that begins in Feb/March.

Planning template A planning template/form has been designed, which distinguishes standard work from priority initiatives, encourages metrics, and allows for resource requests [see separate document]. The form will be accessible through SharePoint. The form will establish clear links to Program Review and will become part of the Program Review submission.

Feedback mechanism Plan preparers and others who contribute to a unit’s function will receive feedback on formatting and content. Deans and directors will provide written feedback for plans that roll up to them and provide an executive summary for the VP level. VPs will provide written feedback for plans that roll up directly to them and written feedback on executive summaries. Plans will be considered during the resource allocation process. A collective annual plan will be prepared and used to inform the annual review of the Strategic Plan.

Communication prior to implementation Announcement from president to the BC community about upcoming planning workshops designed to fine tune the process. Recognize planning efforts of all the planning task forces with a celebration. Schedule time beginning Spring 2015 to familiarize faculty and staff with the planning process and documentation.

Implementation requirements Devote time and resources into the process, including, but not limited to adjustment time on the part of VPs, deans, and directors to give meaningful feedback; and additional demands for data gathering. Messaging from VP level to prioritize planning efforts. Tie college resource allocation to the planning process. Workshop the provisional annual planning process (as demonstrated on the planning form) with deans, directors, and unit plan preparers from across the campus. Workshops will include task force members from either the APTF or the APDTF Create an annual written report to summarize the work of annual planning. This would honor employee work, help with communication, and provide a valuable record for institutional memory and accreditation.

Definitions 1: Unit description and value added Describes what the unit does and what it aspires to accomplish to further the institutional mission. [This field replaces the former “unit purpose.” The change is intended to more fully describe the unit’s activities and be more aspirational.]

Definitions 2: Standard work operations Methods to produce a desired outcome and fulfill the unit’s value added. Standard work operational goals represent the basic work of a unit, providing a baseline against which to measure progress and encourage continuous improvement. [“Standard work” is a Lean term. It recognizes that most activities within a unit don’t change from year-to-year and that important— continuous—improvements can be made in these areas.]

Definitions 3: Operational goal Regular work of the unit expected in most cases to remain consistent from year to year. Operational goals identify key areas to measure in order to assess continuous improvement. Each operational goal should include an indicator of achievement and a target. [These goals replace the former “forever” goals, but don’t function in exactly the same way. Operational goals are much more specific and measurable. The broader goals of any unit should derive from the college’s core themes and the strategic direction of the college as expressed in the core themes, Strategic Plan, Academic Master Plan, and President’s Goals.]

Definitions 4: Priority initiative Refers to a new activity, decision to discontinue an existing activity, pilot idea, or particular attention devoted to one aspect of standard operations expected to be completed within a limited timeframe. [The term “priority initiative” was selected to reflect the language of the Strategic Plan. Unit priority initiatives should map onto one of the priority initiatives of the Strategic Plan.]

Definitions 5: Next Level Reviewer Dean, director, or VP. The person to whom the unit rolls up and the person designated by the VP to provide feedback to the plan preparer and other individuals involved in the work of the unit.

Next Steps Solicit feedback and support from President’s Cabinet. Request affirmative VP sign-off on Annual Unit Planning, particularly on all of the key features. Hire a vendor to design a form (probably in MS Word or Adobe for the first iteration). Schedule workshops.