1. Developing an Annual Report
V. Shelby Stanfield
Vice Provost and University Registrar
The University of Texas at Austin

2. Agenda What is a Strategic Plan and Why Do We Need One?
Strategic Planning Activities and Concepts
Strategic Planning Process
Use of Affinity Groups
Highlighting what to expect.

3. Develop Partnerships that Promote Student Learning
Strategic Concepts
Mission states the purpose of the office’s existence.
Vision describes the office you aspire to be.
Values are the soul of an office. They are what the office stands for, what it holds dear, what it believes in.
Develop Partnerships that Promote Student Learning
Goal: is a broad, qualitative statement that answers “Where do you want to be in 2010?”
Student Affairs engages in partnerships that complement the curriculum and provide practical environments in which students can test and apply what is learned in the classroom.
Rationale: a statement that provides
context and clarity for the goal.
Current efforts: high-level statements that will
highlight efforts that are currently planned or
underway that will assist in achieving the goal. Current
Effort statements answer “Where are we now?”
Undergraduate research opportunities, conferences, and publications.
Seminars, workshops, internships and other practice-based academic experiences in partnership with faculty members.
Objectives: action-oriented and measurable
Statements that propel the office toward the goal.
Future objectives answer “How do we plan to
achieve the goal in the future”
Work with Undergraduate Studies to cultivate the relationship between academic programs and leadership competencies within such programs as Leading Roles…
Create partnerships between faculty, Student Housing and programs such as the TRIO grant…

4. What is a Strategic Plan?
Is a long-term, iterative, and future-oriented process of assessment, goal setting, and decision making that maps an explicit path between the present and a vision of the future.

5. Characteristics of a Strategic Plan
Based on Mission, Vision, and Values
Aligned with office and university goals
Proactive
Inclusive and encompassing
Sets direction, yet is flexible and adaptable
Helps determine priority
Helps set expectations for deliverables and performance
Enables the office to ensure that day-to-day decisions fit in with long-term interests
Conduct a comprehensive review of our strategic direction to provide for the appropriate support to the administrative and academic communities while ensuring continuity of our core processes.

6. Why Have a Strategic Plan?
Paradigm shift
Answers the “so what?”
Increases communication cross-functionally both internally and externally
Clarify the priorities and goals
The opportunity to create new ways of doing business.
Ask audience for why we need one
Breaking down the silos that exist in the office.
People talking cross-functionally about mutual issues that they recognized needed addressing.
The need to clarify the priorities and goals for the next few years.
Taking a hard look at what is really keeping our office from being the best.
The opportunity to create some new ways of doing business.

7. Strategic Planning Process: Answers three fundamental questions
Where are we now?
Where do we want to be in the future?
How do we plan to get there?

8. Strategic Planning - Coordinator
Facilitate and coordinate strategic planning process
Attend and participate in affinity group meetings
Integrate affinity group reports and write the first draft of the strategic plan
Assessment and evaluation

9. The Strategic Plan Three year plan Mission, vision, values Six goals
A series of prioritized annual objectives
Tactical strategies to achieve objectives
Metric for both objectives and tactical strategies

10. A Good vs Bad Mission Statement
A Good Statement… A Bad Statement…
Uses common language Uses jargon
Stirs emotion Is logical and cold
Communicates the “why” Communicates only “what”/”how”
Is concise Is long
Is a single, powerful sentence Is a rambling paragraph
Sounds good when spoke out loud Is full of clauses and hard to say
Is memorable Is forgettable
Surprises Is dull
Is action-oriented Can’t be quantified
Is specific Is vague

11. 3 Elements of a Great Mission Statement
Our Cause
Who? What? Where?
Our Actions
What we do
Our Impact
Changes for the better

12. Mission, Vision, Values Mission statement Vision Values
states the purpose of the office’s existence.
Vision
description of what you aspire to become. Answers “If we could create an office of our dreams and have the impact we most desire; what would we want to be in the future?”
Values
are the soul of office. What we stand for, what we hold dear, what we believe

13. Affinity Groups Cross-functional members Internal and external members
Environmental assessment, lit review
Established routine meetings
5-6 person teams
Focus on one of six subject areas
Cross-functional
Review existing reports
Draft report; business case, recommendations, goals, and objectives

14. Affinity Groups Mission Vision Values Operations and Services
Staff Development and Workforce Planning
Customer Relations
Information Systems and Technology
Business Continuity
Diversity
All affinity group topic areas are centered around the office’s mission, vision, and values
a group of people having a common interest or goal or acting together for a specific purpose

15. Develop Tactical Strategies
Affinity Group Strategic Planning Activities
Taking Stock
Develop a Goal
Develop Objectives
Develop Tactical Strategies
Define the Focus
Mission Vision Values
Reviewing the mission vision and values

16. Affinity Groups: Report and Presentation
Focus Statement
Defining the focus area
Taking Stock
SWOT Results, Literature Review, Promising Practices, and Stakeholders Future Directions
Goal
Objectives
In priority order
Value proposition for each objective
Tactical Strategies for each objective
Metrics for each objective and tactical strategy
4-5 page document

17. Defining the Focus Defining the scope of your focus area
Deconstruct
Set boundaries
Identifying your stakeholders
Creating a focus statement
Determine if additional committee members are needed
Providing a clear understanding of your affinity group focus.
To break down into components
Too many boundaries will make the team inflexible; too few will prevent the team from focusing clearly.

18. Stakeholder Future Directions
Taking Stock
Mission Vision Values
Promising Practices
Literature Review
SWOT
Stakeholder Future Directions
Internal and external assessment

19. Taking Stock Determine stakeholders’ future directions
Mission, Vision, and Values
SWOT Analysis
Internal and external assessment
Determine stakeholders’ future directions
Literature review
Review of promising practices from the field

20. SWOT Analysis: Internal and External Assessment Activity
Strengths
Weaknesses
What do you do well?
What unique resources can you draw on?
What do others see as your strengths?
What could you improve?
Where do you have fewer resources than others?
What are others likely to see as weaknesses?
External
Opportunities
Threats
What good opportunities are open to you?
What trends could you take advantage of?
How can you turn your strengths into opportunities?
What trends could harm you?
What obstacles do you face?
What threats do your weaknesses expose you to?

21. Stakeholders’ Future Directions
Who are our stakeholders?
What do they need?
Are we meeting their expectations?
How will we know?
Stakeholder Interviews
Chairs will interview stakeholders
Literature Review
Presidential Task Force Reports
University or Divisional Strategic Plans
Professional Journals

22. Promising Practices
Registrar offices in universities from across the country
Promising practices currently used in our office

23. Taking Stock Examine the data
Where have we been?
Where might we end up if it’s “business as usual?”
Additional questions
Do we have outdated procedures, processes or systems?
Do our customers perceive a problem?
Objectively look at the facts and findings
Identify themes from your results

24. Stakeholder Directions
Mission Vision Values
Developing a Goal
Promising Practices
Literature Review
SWOT
Stakeholder Directions
Taking Stock
Goal

25. Goals
A goal is a broad statement of what the affinity group hopes to advance towards in 3 years and is qualitative in nature
Be sure that the goal is aligned with the mission, vision, and values as well as the overall university’s vision
Be realistic about what you can achieve
Start with an action verb

26. Examples of Goals Strengthen the identity of student affairs
Create an enhanced, campus-wide culture of wellness
Increase efforts to build a secure and inclusive community
Enhance the university’s commitment to instructional quality

27. Stakeholder Directions
Mission Vision Values
Objectives
Literature Review
SWOT
Stakeholder Directions
Promising Practices
Goal
Objective 1
Objective 2
Objective (n)
Taking Stock

28. Objectives
Objectives are specific, measurable statements that must be accomplished in total, or in some combination, to achieve the goal.
Ask yourself, “What factors will assist you in meeting your goal?”
Themes identified during “Taking Stock” activities
Challenge yourself and your group to be creative when developing objectives
Do not create a wish list

29. Objectives Five steps for creating an objective:
Critical success factors.
Indicators. Measureable quantifiable parts; able to determine how well you are doing.
Performance criteria. Answer, “how much (or how little) of a change is necessary before considering the objective successful?”
Time frame. Amount of time to reach the performance standard.

30. Objective Examples
To increase the percentage of high school students taking a rigorous curriculum.
Critical success factor: rigorous curriculum
Indicator: Define rigorous curriculum (how are you going to measure it?)
Performance Criteria: Increase of 10% after one year
Time frame: Baseline (May 18); Follow up – (May 19)
Stakeholder: High school students

31. Stakeholder Directions
Tactics
Mission Vision Values
Literature Review
SWOT
Stakeholder Directions
Promising Practices
Goal
Objective 1
Tactic 1.A
Tactic 1.B
Objective 2
Tactic 2.A
Objective (n)
Tactic N.X
Taking Stock

32. Tactical Strategies
Tactics describe specific activities or tasks involved that will advance the objectives.
Each objective will have a one or more tactical strategies
Tactics will explain “why” or “how” it will be done – where the rubber meets the road.

33. Stakeholder Directions
Metrics
Mission Vision Values
Literature Review
SWOT
Stakeholder Directions
Promising Practices
Outcome
Measures
Process
Measures
Taking Stock
Goal
Objective 1
Tactic 1.A
Tactic 1.B
Objective 2
Tactic 2.A
Objective (n)
Tactic N.X

34. Metrics Outcome Measures Process Measures
Measuring factors within the objectives
Process Measures
Measuring tactics taken to successfully complete the objectives

35. Implementation/Monitoring (IM), Evaluation (E) PERFORMANCE
IMPACT
E / P
E / P
E / P IM P IM IM
Planning (P)
Implementation/Monitoring (IM),
Evaluation (E)
PERFORMANCE

36. Questions?