Learning Resources

Abstract: Social mobility is an emerging area of focus for higher education institutions. In recent years, we have seen a proliferation of measures related to social mobility produced by publishers, scholars, think tanks, and foundations. However, it is still unclear which social mobility measures to advance, or when to intervene to improve social mobility outcomes. We rely on a century of literature from economics, sociology, and policy analysis to identify an appropriate framework to understand higher education’s contribution to social mobility. Using the metric-based planning framework, we identify areas for institutional intervention to enhance social mobility outcomes.

Abstract: Is a strategic plan necessary for institutional success? In preparation for a new strategic plan at UTEP, we reviewed literature and found many publications that described the procedures of plan making and also case studies of how plans are produced. We also found substantial literature that questioned the value of strategic plans. These findings prompted us to think about the historical and theoretical basis for strategic plans: How did they emerge, what is their theoretical value, and is there a right way to do them? In our article we offer surprising answers to these questions based on a review of a century of theory and planning literature.

Abstract: Big data and analytics are promoted as an approach that can improve educational quality, student success, strategic and operational decision-making, and knowledge discovery. Over the last three decades, the University of Texas at El Paso has refined its planning system and integrated metrics within a comprehensive planning framework—to produce dramatic outcomes. The article describes the institution’s metrics-based planning approach and the context that produced it.

Abstract: The university faced extraordinary changes in the characteristics of its students and its mission, and the policy environment of its administrative decision making. That context and the strategic planning process undertaken by its leadership to guide rather than react to the changes are outlined. The campus adminstration had three major tasks: (1) to stimulate a more open dialogue about the university's future; (2) to plan a major external grant to ensure an institutional focus rather than a disciplinary one; and (3) to link the institution's academic program review, regional accreditation self-study, and state-mandated strategic planning to campus perceptions of critical issues and the external grant agency's criteria. The planning and evaluation center coordinated and strengthened the university's institutional responses to various external agencies by convincing the campus of the intrinsic value of such a planning process for faculty, students, and staff and by implementing a participatory process for their involvment and contribution to its new direction. The university's model and inital outcomes are described. The approach and exeriences should be relevant for other commuter institutions that are attempting to address issues of accountability and academic excellence for "non-traditional" students.

Abstract: Article It takes external pressures and internal leadership to energize integrated planning.