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Strategic Planning Council

   Change has been the order of the day during the past year at Georgia Southern University as it will continue to be during the coming year. As we anticipate the new academic year, it is important first to celebrate our successes: we have articulated a set of institutional goals to be followed soon by planning assumptions; we have implemented a new student information system; and we have prepared for conversion to semesters. We should also congratulate ourselves for our response to pervasive change--in University System policies, in nomenclature for many System institutions, and in the imminent shift of enrollment to two-year colleges. We also note several significant personnel changes in University administration.

   Pervasive change opens the door for increased opportunity; accordingly, our institution needs champions for defining our niche through the design of a marketing plan, for new ways to reward faculty and staff, and for innovative and effective delivery of our new curriculum. While we have made significant progress, many of our best initiatives require completion--efforts in faculty and staff development, full articulation of a set of planning assumptions, and the formulation and adoption of a shared vision. The Strategic Planning Council acknowledges the dynamic year just past and invites the Executive Planning Council to lead us as we celebrate, champion, and complete the following challenges:

   Georgia Southern must establish its niche in the state, differentiating itself from other System schools through the development of a comprehensive marketing plan. It is imperative that the University articulate its unique qualities to potential markets and to existing stakeholders, both internal and external. Recent System changes compel us to tell the Georgia Southern story, to refine our image, to differentiate ourselves within the state's post-secondary educational system, and to integrate all communications emanating from the University. Our top priorities should be to articulate and disseminate a shared vision and to attract the highest quality students possible. To meet this challenge, the University should implement plans well in advance of Fall 1998.

   Georgia Southern must come to agreement on a shared vision for the future of the University. We will determine the quality of our institutional life in the years to come by our response to this challenge. The SPC believes that the promotion of a shared vision will bring coherence and clarity to the hard work of faculty, staff, and students and to our planning efforts, both strategic and operational. A shared vision is central to the University's marketing plan.

   The University must provide opportunities to rejuvenate faculty and staff. For several years, all have labored in earnest to confront significant change, including dramatic changes in the student population, transition to University status, and the effective management of stretched resources. Complemented by recent initiatives from the Board of Regents, Georgia Southern has made commendable progress in reward systems for faculty and staff. New directions of the past year include redesigned evaluation processes for staff, for pre- and post-tenure review, and for the evaluation of teaching effectiveness, to name only a few; the challenge for leaders is to find innovative ways to implement the Regents' initiatives, to ensure a culture of improvement for faculty and staff development, and to infuse the campus with an ethic of service to students.

   Seldom does an institution have the opportunity to revise its entire curriculum at once. We have accomplished this objective within the past year and must now move on to implement our innovative and state-of-the-art curriculum. We must be ready to assess the curriculum in systematic and measurable ways. Assessment results will provide opportunities to fine-tune the new programs and strengthen them further. Committed to "Teaching First" and continuous improvement in the classroom, Georgia Southern should regularly examine the methods we employ to stimulate learning. And with a charge to serve the larger community of southern Georgia, we must continue to explore distance learning strategies, business-nonprofit-university partnerships in education, international programming, and emerging technologies. Georgia Southern should be a pioneer in the development and delivery of academic programs.

   After years of deliberation, Georgia Southern now possesses a set of institutional goals. Against the backdrop of University System assumptions and, at the same time reflecting its own institutional character, the University should now formulate a set of assumptions to guide our planning into the next century. The assumptions should involve realistic assessments of current conditions, rational expectations for the future, and bold projections for our place in Georgia's higher education community.