{"id":15542,"date":"2012-01-23T04:40:41","date_gmt":"2012-01-23T09:40:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/utnews.utoledo.edu\/?p=15542"},"modified":"2012-01-17T11:30:52","modified_gmt":"2012-01-17T16:30:52","slug":"strategic-planning-improvements-key-to-higher-learning-commission-progress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/01_23_2012\/strategic-planning-improvements-key-to-higher-learning-commission-progress","title":{"rendered":"Strategic planning improvements key to Higher Learning Commission progress"},"content":{"rendered":"

Astute strategic planning is a key component to success.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>In the early 2000s, administrators at The University of Toledo and the Medical University of Ohio were acutely aware of the fact. A few years before the 2006 merger, each institution had received word from the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools that strategic planning processes needed improvement. <\/p>\n

UT and MUO promptly created initiatives to strengthen strategic planning. When the institutions merged to form a new University of Toledo, the momentum gained from each entity\u2019s progress toward more comprehensive strategic planning was evident. <\/p>\n

Bryan Pyles, associate vice president for finance, led a team evaluating UT\u2019s progress toward continuing accreditation from the HLC. His subject, Criterion 2: Preparing for the Future, dealt heavily with UT\u2019s progress in strategic planning, among other guidelines. <\/p>\n

\u201cShortly after the merger, the president led a strategic planning initiative, and a few years later it was followed up with another strategic planning initiative that resulted in a document called Directions 2011,\u201d Pyles said. \u201cIt was very easy for my team to say that strategic planning had once been a weakness, and now it\u2019s become a real strength.\u201d<\/p>\n

Strategic planning is one of several facets the HLC targets in assessing an institution\u2019s preparation for the future. Others include:<\/p>\n

\u2022 The organization realistically prepares for a future shaped by multiple societal and economic trends.<\/p>\n

\u2022 The organization\u2019s resource base supports its educational programs and its plans for maintaining and strengthening their quality in the future.<\/p>\n

\u2022 The organization\u2019s ongoing evaluation and assessment processes provide reliable evidence of institutional effectiveness that clearly informs strategies for continuous improvement.<\/p>\n

\u2022 All levels of planning align with the organization\u2019s mission, thereby enhancing its capacity to fulfill that mission. <\/p>\n

As Pyles and his team gathered information for the 57-page section addressing Criterion 2 in UT\u2019s self-study report<\/a>, the University\u2019s action during the economic downturn already had made a case for readiness during challenging times.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur conclusion is that UT is well-positioned to be successful,\u201d Pyles said. \u201cWe had a bit of a debate; how can we say this when we\u2019re constantly talking about challenges of the budget? But when you look at our financial performance over the last couple of years, we\u2019ve done very well. The changes we\u2019ve made in the budget process to evaluate our resources allocations are in line with our strategic plan, and we\u2019re making investments to ensure we\u2019re successful in our strategic initiatives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Significant progresses in the areas of global expansion, campus infrastructure, technological readiness and student-centeredness also are documented throughout the self-study report. The expansion of programs into the Middle East and Far East represent UT\u2019s commitment to being a global leader. Enhanced technologies have allowed UT to offer an array of online programming as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do a lot more online than almost any other public school in the state of Ohio,\u201d Pyles said.<\/p>\n

With progress also came opportunities for improvement. Pyles cited examples in the area of student-centeredness, where documented problems with student services were met with the reorganization of Rocket Solution Central, enhanced online capabilities and diversity initiatives that have furthered UT\u2019s stated goal of creating \u201can organizational culture that is welcoming to all individuals regardless of their age, color, ethnicity, gender, religion, disabilities, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, gender identity and national origin.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pyles said the accreditation process isn\u2019t finished even after representatives from the commission complete their on-site survey Feb. 27-29.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the self-study report is exceptional,\u201d Pyles said. \u201cIt\u2019s a great document for someone who wants to discover what our institution is about. But it\u2019s also a reminder that we have to go back and identify the areas we found to be opportunities for improvement so we can continue to work on them.\u201d <\/p>\n

Pyles\u2019 Criterion 2 team members were Marcia Culling, William Fall, Dr. Shanda Gore, Dr. Johan Gottgens, Brenda Grant, Dr. Thomas Gutteridge, Dan Klett, Brenda Lee, Dr. Susan Pocotte and Dr. Ellen Pullins. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Be ready for the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools’ visit to campus next month. UT will be evaluated on five criteria. Read about Criterion 2 Preparing for the Future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,7],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15542"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15542"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15542\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15542"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15542"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.utoledo.edu\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15542"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}