Learning Resources

Abstract: Build Capacity for Integrated Planning

Whether you’re preparing a committee for an upcoming planning process or simply looking for directions for your own professional development, the Integrated Planning Competencies can help you determine the knowledge, skills, and dispositions your institution needs to advance integrated planning.

Integrated planning requires building capacity in the people who do planning so they have the necessary knowledge and skills for success. But higher education institutions that focus only on developing planning-related expertise often face hurdles when they attempt integrated planning. Why? Because colleges and universities are complex environments and using an integrated planning approach in those environments requires a wide range of knowledge, skills, and dispositions. Some of the required expertise might seem obvious (like writing goals or analyzing information). But some of it may be less so—particularly expertise related to “soft” skills or human skills, like communication or collaboration.

To provide more clear and specific guidance, SCUP identified competencies—knowledge, skills, and dispositions—that individuals need for successful integrated planning. We analyzed the experiences and viewpoints of around 300 planners and higher education administrators in order to surface the competencies—both obvious and inconspicuous—that underpin integrated planning success.

Abstract: Edited by Eugene L. Zdziarski, Norbert W. Dunkel, and J. Michael Rollo
Routledge: Oxfordshire, England: 2021
388 Pages
ISBN-13: 978-0367333720

Abstract: Higher education experienced extraordinary challenges in 2020 and tackled them head on with agility and creativity. Transformative leadership can help our institutions thrive even in the face of a world health disaster, its attendant fiscal challenges, and systemic racial and social injustice. This presentation will demonstrate how leaders can surmount these obstacles by aligning strategic priorities for the future. Come learn how to work across boundaries, differences, and beliefs while intentionally developing the essential skills and abilities you need to strengthen your institution and community.

Abstract: The pace of change is getting faster, and it’s getting harder to anticipate what the future holds—and how your institution can prepare. Scenario planning can help your institution plan for a volatile and uncertain future. Scenario planning uses today’s forces and trends to imagine probable futures and what they could mean for your institution. It’s a flexible process that can inform your institution’s regular planning processes or be used as part of recovery planning in response to disruptions or catastrophic events.

An Integrated Approach to Scenario Planning is a toolkit that will walk you step-by-step through scenario planning. It includes instructions, examples, and blank worksheets that you can use to start scenario planning at your institution immediately. Don’t let your college or university get blindsided. Download your copy and prepare for the future.

Abstract: As campuses consider re-opening plans, from staff for summer hours to students in the fall, environmental health and safety is critical. Michelle Santoro and Frank Baxter from Skanska USA Building moderated this Coffee Chat about strategies, lessons, and plans for safely re-opening.

Abstract: Inform your planning and decision-making for the fall as you prepare for a new academic year by using data from a recent national student survey and institutional perspectives gathered from more than 60 institutions.

We set out to answer questions that are on the minds of so many institutions as they try to understand how their students are feeling and decide if / when / how to reopen their campuses in the fall. While students are generally satisfied, they have found some aspects of the COVID-19 transition challenging, miss the sense of community that campuses fostered, are questioning the value of their education, but despite all this are likely to return in the fall.

Abstract: The University of Alaska Anchorage was prompted to start incident management planning following a 2019 earthquake, but found they still had to get creative when it came to meeting student needs in the wake of COVID-19. Interim Provost John Stalvey explains their “alternate delivery” model, how the flexibility and creativity of students and faculty have allowed them to meet student learning outcome goals, and ways they’re supporting the local economy and taking advantage of empty buildings by moving ahead with current capital projects.