Missouri State University is preparing to finalize its long-range plan that will guide the school from 2016-2021.
The Board of Governors will consider approval of the plan at its June meeting. President Clif Smart says as each unit sets their goals for next year they’ll “begin with this document.”
“Not a top-down approach… Centrally, we’ll say ‘here are three or four things we hope to emphasize.’ But everybody then gets to decide how they plug into that,” says Smart.
The plan is the result of months of communication with campus and broader community members, which Smart says started with a visioning process in late 2014.
“To evaluate what are the critical areas that are changing or that we need to make sure we’re being appropriately responsive and doing best practices.”
Input was sought in six areas; Academic Profile, Student Experience, Diversity and Inclusion, Globalization, Infrastructure and Funding. The strategic vision constructed from those areas makeup the framework for the long-range plan.
The plan is being developed by a 12-member steering committee headed by Gloria Galanes, dean of the College of Arts and Letters, and supervised by Smart and MSU’s provost and vice president for Student Affairs. Smart says 200 or more have provided input in the past year.
Smart says the 2016-2021 plan will build upon the good work over the past 25 years; which is when the university began its formal strategic planning process.
“Everything important to the university should be in here. Our performance funding measures from the state are part of our metrics. Our goals of increasing or expanding our academic programs, particularly graduate programs, will be in here.”
You can view the long-range plan overview here. Above, hear the full conversation with President Smart, part of KSMU's monthly program Engaging the Community.