Strategic Planning Manual - Glossary & Acronyms

WHAT DO YOU MEAN WHEN YOU TALK THAT "STRATEGIC PLANNING" TALK?
A BRIEF GLOSSARY

The terms used at EKU in talking about strategic planning don’t have special meanings beyond their common definitions. The following are some of the most commonly used and their meanings in this context.

• Academic Program Review
  The primary purpose of academic program review is to ensure that quality and continuous improvement is an integral component of all EKU programs. Academic program review is an ongoing process for refining Eastern’s programmatic directions and priorities; shaping resource allocations; monitoring the status, effectiveness, and progress of academic programs; recognizing and responding to program strengths and weaknesses; identifying important directions in the disciplines or professions that need to be addressed; and assessing the relationships among and contributions to other academic programs and the overall mission of the University.
  
  
• Analyze
  “To examine minutely or critically…”
  
  
• Assessment
  Assessment answers the question: “How well are we doing things?” It is the systematic collection and analysis of information to improve student learning, educational support, and administrative functions.
  
  
• Assessment Impact Report
  A report generated from TracDat that serves as a quick review of each office’s progress in carrying out its planned activities and implementing its strategic plan.
  
  
• Bloom’s Taxonomy
  Bloom’s Taxonomy (1964) is a well-known description of levels of educational objectives, which includes the levels: knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.
  
  
• Closing the Loop
  The results of one year’s work in strategic planning indicate what the next year’s plan should focus on. This is “closing the loop.”
  
  
• Data
  “Facts or figures form which conclusions can be drawn…”
  
  
• Environmental Scan
  The process of taking stock and involves thorough examination of both the internal status of the organization and the external context in which it is situated
  
  
• Evaluation
  Evaluation, often used interchangeably with measurement and assessment, typically represents the various methods of measuring student learning, quality of programs, or performance at work.
  
  
• Facilitator
  Serves a group by guiding them process of the meetings: helping with the flow of discussion, working to get full participation, keeping the group towards its goal, etc.
  
  
• Goals
  A convention holds that goals should be general statement of themes or directions, either measurable or not measurable as stated. They represent a commitment to broad intentions and aspirations.
  
  
• Goals Grid
  Goals Grid is a simple, easy-to-use, useful tool for developing goal clarity.
  
  
• Implement
  “to carry into effect; fulfill; accomplish…”
  
  
• Inclusive Process
  An inclusive process means that people who have a stake in the work of your organization/unit/department participate in the planning process in an appropriate way. This does not mean that every client, volunteer, and staff member must come to a joint consensus about what to do. It does mean that these interested individuals have a chance to be heard by the decision makers.
  
  
• Institutional Effectiveness
  Institutional Effectiveness is the ongoing quest for quality and the demonstration of how well EKU is fulfilling its mission and realizing its vision. The institution identifies expected outcomes for its educational programs and its administrative and educational support services, assesses whether it achieves these outcomes; provides evidence of improvement based on analysis of those results.
  
  
• Key Performance Indicators
  KPI most frequently refer to those many ways that performance can be quantified. Academic departments may find it difficult to find workable measurements that truly depict student learning. Since each unit chooses its ways of “counting” to match the intentions to be “counted,” the variety of measurements can be unlimited. In practice, though, most units rely on familiar measurements such as enrollment, student credit hours, success of graduates, dollars, number of publications, and satisfaction ratings of students/clients. Other more qualitative but equally valid KPI include judgments and appraisals.
  Direct Methods: Require students to display their knowledge and skills as they respond to the instrument itself.
  Indirect Methods: Ask students to reflect on their learning rather than to demonstrate it.
  Long-Term Indicators: Provide a holistic view of objectives
  Quantitative Methods: Refers to findings that are mainly the product of statistical summary and analysis.
  Qualitative Methods: Refers to findings that are not arrived at by statistical summary or analysis and lack quantification altogether. It is often about naturally occurring, ordinary events in natural settings and obtained from interviews and/or observation.
  Short-Term Indicators: Provide nearly immediate feedback about how things are going.
  
  
• Mission
  The mission is the key building block in the entire planning process. It states clearly, simply, and explicitly what the university or unit wants to do or be and can do or be. It reflects opportunities, capabilities, and values. A good mission statement will mobilize people by helping them answer the question, “What is my own contribution to the mission of my unit or the university?”
  “The business or service on which one is sent///that which one is or feels destined to accomplish; the destined or chosen end of one’s efforts…”
  
  
• Objectives
  These typically are considered as measurable restatements of goals. Like goals, objectives are “results,” “outcomes,” or “products” that can be counted, appraised, or judged. A well-stated objective can be readily matched with a measurement. Since objectives emanate from goals, achieving an objective, as shown by measurements, can be equated to achieving a goal or part of a goal.
  Affective Educational Objectives: Answer the question: “What do you want your students to care about?”
  Behavioral Educational Objectives: Answers the question: “What do you want your students to be able to do?”
  Cognitive Educational Objectives: Answer the question: “What do you want your students to know?”
  Educational Objectives: Defined in terms of the particular levels of knowledge, skills and abilities that students attain at the end or as a result of their engagement in an academic program.
  Planning Objectives: Planning objectives focus on administrative outcomes within the department; those things other than “student learning” that the department is currently working on.
  
  
• Operational Definition (operationalize):
  The concrete measurement of a concept (Grimm, 1993); key performance indicator is the operational definition of an objective/strategic direction.
  
  
• Performance Standard (criterion):
  A specified level of accomplishment for which you are aiming on your key performance indicator.
  
  
• Planning Group
  Each Vice President is responsible for the unit planning among those areas that report to him or her.
  
  
• Reporting Unit
  Associate Vice Presidents, Deans, Chairs, and Directors are responsible for the planning process in the units that report to them. Reporting units report to planning groups.
  
  
• Results
  Referring to results is another way of saying “products,” “outcomes,” “intentions met,” or “objectives accomplished.” The fundamental question units and the university must periodically ask is, “what are my results?” This may be a hard question to answer, but it must be attempted. Unless results can be defined or measured somehow, units can never know for sure how to improve performance nor how to use resources wisely. It is important to keep in mind that the key results lie outside the university and its collection of units, not inside (academically, socially, intellectually, or morally well-prepared students).
  
  
• Review
  “To make an inspection of, especially formally…Critical study or examination”
  
  
• Strategic Directions
  Strategic Directions are the actions that can be taken in working toward an end result. They are the various things one does. The mission says, “this is what we are here to do;” strategies usually say, “this is how we aim to do it, this is the time frame within which we expect to do it, and this is who will do it.”
  
  
• Strategic Planning
  Strategic Planning answers the question: “What should we be doing and how will we do it?” It is the campus-wide deliberate effort to formulate a clear sense of institutional direction, initiate actions to move in that direction, and determine what resources are necessary to achieve those aspirations.
  
  
• SWOT Analysis
  SWOT analysis is a tool for auditing an organization and its environment. It is the first stage of planning and to focus on key issues within the organization. SWOT stands for: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
  
  
• TracDat
  TracDat is a software application that provides academic and non-academic departments wit an efficient and reliable mechanism for managing their strategic planning and assessment needs. TracDat also allows for uniform reporting across departments.
  
  
• Values
  Values are the overall priorities in how the organization will operate; they suggest overall priorities in how people ought to act in the world, for example, integrity, honesty, respect, etc.
  
  
• Vision
  A unit’s vision expresses a compelling image of the desired future for the unit. It provides an inspiration and challenge to all members of the unit to reach toward an ideal of what the unit can become. It should be purposefully articulated to bridge the present and future and to serve as a critical impetus for change. It should be brief enough to be memorable and complete enough to direct effort.

Acronyms You May Find Useful

EKU = Eastern Kentucky University
IE = Institutional Effectiveness
IR = Institutional Research
KPI = Key performance indicator
OIE = Office of Institutional Effectiveness
OIR = Office of Institutional Research
PG = Planning Group
RU = Reporting Unit
SACS = Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
SPBC = Strategic Planning & Budgetary Council
SPC = Strategic Planning Committee
SWOT Analysis = strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats analysis