1. An Integrated Strategic Plan for AUC
Budgeting and Planning for
An Integrated Strategic Plan for AUC
Brian MacDougall, VP for Planning and Administration
Thursday, October 15, 2009

2. What is Integrated Planning?
The process of effectively coordinating all planning, budgeting, and assessment activities, throughout every level of the university, to achieve AUC’s mission and strategic goals.
It is participatory and includes all stakeholders and departments.
It assumes accountability, continuous improvement, ongoing communication and feedback, and regular system checks to monitor progress.

3. AUC’s Mission
The American University in Cairo (AUC) is a premier English-language institution of higher learning. The university is committed to teaching and research of the highest caliber, and offers exceptional liberal arts and professional education in a cross-cultural environment. AUC builds a culture of leadership, lifelong learning, continuing education and service among its graduates, and is dedicated to making significant contributions to Egypt and the international community in diverse fields.  Chartered and accredited in the United States and Egypt, it is an independent, not-for-profit, equal-opportunity institution.  AUC upholds the principles of academic freedom and is dedicated to excellence.

4. AUC’s Six Strategic Goals
Goal 1: High-Quality Faculty
Attract and retain nationally, regionally and globally-recognized faculty; provide the infrastructure to support world class discipline-based research, scholarship and creativity; advance research and innovation to address the challenges of the global society; support and sustain outstanding teaching; and promote multidisciplinary collaboration and the highest ethical standards.

5. AUC’s Six Strategic Goals
Goal 2: Excellence in Academic Programs
Promote excellence in learning and achievement of outcomes in and beyond the classroom; develop outstanding academic programs that meet national, regional, and international needs; and foster students’ intellectual, cultural, and personal development to prepare students for lifelong learning.

6. AUC’s Six Strategic Goals
Goal 3: International Education
Broaden the scope and enrich the quality of international education at AUC; develop outstanding academic, co-curricular, and extra-curricular programs that promote an understanding of international interdependence, cultural diversity, and consideration for values and traditions different from a student’s own; strengthen efforts to attract more international faculty and students to AUC; expand study-abroad opportunities for AUC students; and increase the international reach of AUC’s research and publishing programs.

7. AUC’s Six Strategic Goals
 Goal 4: Service
The university has long served as a leader in service to Egypt and the region. AUC will continue to support and expand this role by strengthening and expanding its continuing and professional education programs, by increasing financial aid to students, by building research and service linkages with the broader community, and by graduating students who value service to their communities and to larger causes at the national and international level.

8. AUC’s Six Strategic Goals
Goal 5: Institutional Effectiveness
The university will more closely integrate planning, assessment, and resource allocation; promote continuous quality improvement through our assessment efforts; and increase communication and transparency throughout the university.

9. AUC’s Six Strategic Goals
Goal 6: Operational Excellence
AUC will develop and implement strategic plans for critical areas across campus to ensure that we have the human, financial, and technological resources we need to achieve our goals and will develop and implement structures to promote and reward professional excellence.

10. AUC’s Six Strategic Goals
High-Quality Faculty
Excellence in Academic Programs
International Education
Service
Institutional Effectiveness
Operational Excellence

11. Progress to Date
Critical areas at AUC are developing integrated strategic plans to improve institutional effectiveness:
Enrollment Management IT HR
Facilities and Operations/Space Utilization
Institutional Advancement
Finance
Assessment
The Provost is developing a faculty plan and setting academic priorities over the strategic planning period.
The Board of Trustees has established three planning committees to look at AUC’s strategic positioning, faculty development, and community outreach.

12. What are our Planning Assumptions?
Feasibility studies for new and expanded programs must be completed as part of the planning process.
Financial sustainability must be achieved in all of our planning efforts.
Plans must align with the mission and strategic goals of AUC.
The planning matrix is to be used for all new initiatives.
Assessment plans must be developed for all units.
Budgetary projections:
Student enrollment
Tuition and fees
Faculty compensation and recruitment goals
Staff compensation and recruitment goals
Inflation
Provision for increases in supplies and services
Capital spending level
Exchange rate
Transparency and accountability

13. How to Prepare a Strategic Plan
Department/unit mission (may include statements on vision and values)
Environmental scan (SWOT analysis)
Strengths, weaknesses (internal to AUC), opportunities, threats (external to AUC)
Goals -- Where does the unit want to be at the end of the plan? These should relate to AUC’s strategic goals.
Objectives – “SMART” – specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, time-bound
Strategies/tactics – what actions will unit take to achieve objectives?
Benchmarks for success – how will unit measure achievement of objective?
Required resources

14. Planning Process
Prepare operational budgets, with no new initiatives. Totals should reflect inflation only.
All new initiatives should be entered on planning matrix, with estimates for operational, capital, and personnel costs.
Should be related to dept. objectives and AUC strategic goals.
Should include a way of measuring success of initiative.
Departments must indicate if they have assessment plans on file with IR.

15. Planning Matrix 1 2 3 4a 4b 4c

16. Planning Process
Submit operational budgets and planning matrices to dean/area head for approval.
Area heads will consolidate budgets and plans and submit them to the Budget Committee.
In Feb., a preliminary report will be sent to the BOT.
Rolling strategic plan and budget will be finalized in April and sent to the BOT for final approval in May.
Approved plan and 2011 budget will be communicated to the AUC community in June.
Review of plans and progress -- planning/budgeting cycle -- will begin again in Sept.

17. Timeline Activity Deadline
Communication of Planning and Budgeting Guidelines
October 15, 2009 
Submission of budget for 2011/12 by all planning units (VERSION 5)
November 15, 2009
Planning Forum for community input into directions for the strategic goals
November 2009 (TBD)
Consolidation of plans and budgets at the school level by deans, including goals , priorities and planning matrices (VERSION 4)
December 9, 2009
Consolidation of plans and budgets at the area head level (VERSION 3)
January 3, 2010
 Review of plans and budgets by the Budget Committee
January 25- February 4, 2010
Preliminary report to the Board of Trustees on priorities and budgets
February 2010
Consultation with the AUC community on priorities and resources
March 2010
Finalization of rolling strategic plan for and accompanying budgets
April 2010
Monitoring report due to Middle States Commission on Higher Education
Approval of strategic plan and budget by the Board of Trustees
May 2010
Communication of approved plan and budget for the 2011 year
June 2010
Beginning of the new academic year
September 1, 2010
Review of plans and progress – planning cycle repeats
as per 2009/10 timetable

18. Planning Resources
Long Range Integrated Planning and Budgeting Committee
Representatives will meet with each school and major admin. unit to review planning process and answer questions.
Institutional Research
Will provide data and technical assistance in planning and assessment as needed.
AUC Planning Central website
Located under “About AUC” on AUC’s website.
Budget memo, planning assumptions, downloadable templates, links to blog
AUC Planning blog -- FutureTalk
For community input into activities and directions related to our six strategic goals – tell us what you think AUC should do to achieve its goals:
us if you need assistance or have questions.

19. AUC Planning Central

20. FutureTalk

21. Questions?
If you have any questions or need any assistance, contact us at: