EDU 542: Strategic Planning for Educators

Overview

Learning organizations are being impacted by rapid change both in the needs they have for information and the delivery of information to their stakeholders. Virtual classrooms, global communications, global economies, tele-courses, distance learning, wired classrooms, state funding, and increased competition for scarce resources are a few of the sources of those changes. It is no exaggeration to say that, in total, these forces hold the potential for a radical rethinking of the mission, structure, curriculum, learner profile, and stakeholder relations of virtually every educational institution, profit and non-profit organization, corporate and traditional learning organization concerned with delivering appropriate, well-designed education and training.

To plan effectively under these conditions, members and leaders in educational environments must be able to anticipate the impact of new developments on their organizations and curricular programs. Efficient contextual planning and management in uncertain times depends on obtaining accurate and continuous intelligence about changes in the organization's external environment; and then using this information to focus direction, derive operational plans, and implement these plans, all while continuously evaluating the planning and management activities.

The purpose of this course is to increase student knowledge and skill in assisting an organization to plan more effectively for a constantly changing internal and external environment. The course will cover the basic components of strategic planning processes that can be adapted to specific educational environments.

In addition to weekly assignments and Forum discussions, each student will develop a strategic plan for an organization, department, or entity within their workplace or an organization with which they have knowledge or close contact.

Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:

• Define strategic thinking and its importance as a planning tool.
• Identify key organizational members to include in the strategic planning process identifying their areas of responsibility.
  
• Conduct internal and external environmental scans for their specific educational organization, specific program, or their business entity.
  
• Conduct brainstorming and input sessions to identify opportunities, threats, and issues.
  
• Write briefs of critical issues facing their educational or business organization. In the educational setting, these issues would address instructional objectives.
  
• Design an operational plan addressing critical issues based on a strategic planning model.
  
• Design a plan to monitor implementation and progress to goals for the strategic and operational plan.
  
• Revise the strategic plan in response to evaluation of impact and to maintain its timeliness by applying timely, efficient, effective, and ethical review processes.
• Establish an ongoing environmental scanning system for their specific educational organization.

Course Requirements

Power Point Software

Required Texts
EDU 542 texts are available from the JIU/MBS bookstore