Financial Crisis Could Give Jolt to Strategic Planning on Campuses

A thoughtful article by Paul Fain of The Chronicle of Higher Education. Fain talked to a lot of people and put his 30,000-foot view goggles on. Definitely worth a read:

No university leader could have predicted the full brunt of the financial turmoil of recent weeks. But colleges with solid strategic plans are more likely to remain on track and perhaps even spot opportunities, planning experts say.

"If you're really strategic in your thinking," says Thomas C. Longin, an independent consultant for colleges, "a crisis like this doesn't throw you."

However, Mr. Longin and other planners say many institutions do not adequately grasp strategic finance, focusing mostly on short-term budget needs. And they say most strategic plans take too long to prepare and are not nimble enough to respond to serious challenges.

A welcome shake-up in university planning is in the works, says Sal D. Rinella, a strategic consultant and former university president who is president of the governing board of the Society for College and University Planning.

"Strategic planning is really going to need to change," says Mr. Rinella. He adds that a tight economy "forces an institution to focus on what is most important."

Colleges will need to shorten their time horizons, with strategic plans lasting no more than three to five years. They must revisit them often, experts say, and make difficult choices, quickly, to stick to their stated priorities.